TPT March 2022

T E CHNOLOG Y

Unison bending machine reduces lead times for tubes used in critical landing systems GLOUCESTER, UK-based Safran Landing Systems OE (Original

of the visit and the testimony provided by that customer, trial parts were produced at Unison’s UK-based manufacturing centre, the order was subsequently placed, and master pipe samples were supplied to Unison in readiness for machine setup and sign off. “We benefited from excellent support and advice at every stage of the process,” added Mr Crewe. “We were particularly impressed by the effort Unison put into training, ensuring that our operators were fully familiar with the Unibend operating system and could confidently bend thin-wall titanium components, all with precisely controlled levels of spring-back to compensate for the material’s high yield strength. “Unison were also exceptionally flexible in working around our incredibly demanding production schedules. We have produced right-first-time com- ponents since day one with our new Unison Breeze machines, which our operators rate highly. Unison also fully understood our need for prompt support in the unlikely event of a breakdown – an essential requirement of our risk analysis strategy and a clear benefit of us buying from a UK-based company. “I am really impressed with the performance of our two new machines and, in particular, the opportunities the technology opens up for us to streamline our workflow from design engineering through to production, with electronic translation of a CAD model into a bending program. This both dramatically reduces the lead time of new product development from around eight months to just three days and improves the accuracy of the finished pipe to the initial design intent.” Unison Breeze machines offer rapid setup, fast tooling changes, exceptional power, rigid mechanical design, and all-electric control for right-first-time repeatability. The Unison Breeze all- electric 16mm and 30mm tube bending machines purchased by Safran are well suited to manipulating exotic alloys such as titanium and Inconel, as used in the aviation industry and provide high- quality thin wall bending.

Equipment), part of the global Safran group, has taken delivery of two new all-electric ‘Breeze’ CNC tube bending machines from tube bending machinery specialists Unison. The Unison Breeze machines (16mm and 30mm maximum tube diameter models) will be used to precision bend thin-wall section titanium tube for the manufacture of 3 / 8 " (9.53mm) to 3 / 4 " (19mm) diameter hydraulic brake and actuator pipes for commercial aircraft undercarriage systems, including those used on Airbus A320, A330 and A340 models. They replace two hydraulically operated tube bending machines that have been in use at Safran for a number of years. “Realising it was time to renew our tube bending capabilities, as part of our ongoing risk analysis activities – and necessitated by significantly increased manufacturing requirements – we approached a number of tube bending machinery manufacturers to discuss the various options available to us,” commented Safran assembly flow line manager, Jonathan Crewe. “Absolute non-negotiables were un- compromising repeatability and reliability,

as well as the ability to produce right-first- time parts. Additionally, as a key manu - facturer of aerospace components and operating within a ‘just in time’ supply chain, it was essential for us to know that should it ever be needed, on-site ma- chine tool support would never be more than a few hours’ drive away.” To enable the Safran team to experience first-hand the capabilities of its all-electric range of Breeze tube bending machines, Unison arranged for them to visit an existing customer’s facility at Farnborough, UK and observe titanium tube being bent. On the strength Unison Breeze machines offer rapid setup, fast tooling changes, efficient use of power and rigid mechanical design

Newways of sawing large billets JAPANESE company Tsune, and ITL from India, are breaking new ground by using Swiss Cut sawing machines to cut large billets. The SW Wil SwissCut S carbide blade has a cutting width of 5mm, which comes from thin-cutting technology. a cutting width of 8.5mm is used. The required spindle drive power with 8 teeth in mesh, Vc120m/min and a feed rate fz of 0.15mm results in a drive power of about 90kW. This means that the machine frame has to absorb this in terms of stability. The result is a heavy, large saw.

This parameter is used 1 to 1 in the drive power calculation formula so the required drive power is reduced by around 40 per cent or 40kW. According to a statement from Swiss Cut, the sawing of large billets has always been done with large, heavy circular sawing machines such as Ohler, Framag, Linsinger, MFL and AWSAW. Generally, metal circular saws with brazed-on carbide teeth are used. Up to a billet diameter of Ø350mm, a carbide blade with a Ø1,100mm and

The trend towards thin-cutting technology in large carbide metal circular saws can no longer be stopped. The economic advantages such as cheaper machine technology, smaller production area, massively lower power consumption are the factors that are accelerating the transformation towards thin-cutting technology.

Unison www.unisonltd.com

Swiss Cut www.sw-wil.com

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MARCH 2022