TPT July 2016

T E CHNOLOG Y

Alltube backs growth strategy with BLM investment

and taking over the stock management of all parts supplied by Alltube to its customers’ production lines. Putting these in place gave us the confidence to then look for new business and increase the variety of industries that we work with.” Alltube now produces a range of manipulated tube products including hydraulic tubing, tubular welded fabrications and hose assemblies for customers in the commercial vehicle, construction equipment, agricultural machinery, mining and automotive after- market parts sectors. The BLM Elect 102 is a ten-axis machine capable of bending tube up to 102mm diameter with a 2mm wall thickness. It is part of a family of seven Elect machines, the largest of which can handle tube up to 150mm diameter. A key feature of the Elect 102 is its ability to stack eight sets of tooling, which assists in reducing set-up times at Alltube. Paul Fuller, technical and devel- opment director, who took responsibility for the purchase and implementation of the machine at Alltube, explained, “One of the first jobs that we put onto the new machine was a 50mm diameter stainless steel tube that had five bends, with differing bend angles and rotations. We previously did this job on an old hydraulic

ALLTUBE is a specialist supplier of manipulated tube and pipe components and assemblies. The company’s recent growth, with increased sales and a more diverse customer base, has led to the decision to invest in new equipment, including a major investment in the latest tube manipulation system from BLM Group. The introduction of the BLM Elect 102 all-electric tube manipulation system has enabled Alltube to increase its machine capacity and improve manufacturing efficiency. Managing director Kevin Cope commented, “We recognised where the problems lay and set about rebuilding relationships, delivering to customer expectations with strict scheduling of lead times. Adding value for customers was also part of the strategy; this involved manufacturing kits of parts for customers, delivering to line-side storage The control on the BLM Elect 102 stores operating parameters to simplify set-up

Due to the eight-stack tooling, set-up can be as simple as changing a mandrel

The BLM Elect 102 has ten all-electric axes

single axis machine. This has greatly improved our efficiency. Changeover with the tool stacking capability of the machine is measured in minutes, with most set-ups needing little more than a change of mandrel. The productivity and versatility of the BLM machine means that we now have very few limitations and the Elect 102 will certainly open up new markets for us.” The control system of the BLM Elect 102 manages the critical machine setting parameters, such as clamping, pressure die, mandrel and centreline radius data. The Siemens control also manages the all-electric activation of the ten axes, with each position/ adjustment saved with the individual part program. This means that when a tool is changed there is no need to perform adjustments, as these are done automatically by the electric movement of the axes.

BLM Group UK Ltd – UK Fax: +44 1525 402 312 Email: sales@blmgroup.uk.com Website: www.blmgroup.com

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J uly 2016