TPT May 2020

T E CHNOLOG Y

transfluid: robots as efficient tube bending machines

systems. The preparation and cleaning of the tubes becomes a lot easier. It is better to process straight tubes, when the bending machine can bend at both ends. These benefits can be enjoyed both when bending with one or two robots. With a set-up with two robots it is possible to process tubes of up to 6,000mm without any problems. The two robots work in a synchronised way. Additional equipment like clamping or support devices also synchronise with the processing robot. The robots recognise the component with a code, generate the bending se- quence and they can also choose between different radii and diameters. It is possible to

ROBOTS have already been used for some time as efficient and flexible bending machines to process tubes. These systems are constantly developed further and improved. For the experienced engineers at transfluid this makes the software user-friendly, so it is possible to work in an efficient and professional way. These bending systems from the high-tech engineering company can take isometrics data and generate bending data without separate programming of the robot system. transfluid has now designed the next step in the development of its range of tube bending robots and improved it again. The online connection to CAD systems has always been possible, which reduces the set-up time a lot. Another important aspect is to simplify the software connection because of the robot programming capabilities of each customer. The latest generation of machines can process isometrics data online. There are also positions stored in the control system, for where the piece is picked up and dropped off. In addition to this, it is also possible to retrieve the position for the necessary supports for long tubes. Because of this, a complete new complex bending geometry can be programmed and bent quickly, in a maximum of 30 minutes. This including the set-up of the bending tools. The transfluid bending cells with two robots bend long tubes at both ends. This way tubes can be supplied with forming, hoses or connection

work with a total of six different tube diameters or radii without having to change the dies. With the new developments and improvements from transfluid, a production cell with two robots can do more than bend a tube at both ends: each of the bending robots can also process different geometries. Both machines are working all the time and the system can be used efficiently and with a significantly higher output.

Even tubes with long lengths, which are nearly impossible on conventional bending machines, can be processed without any problems, as the long sections will not cause any collision problems. This is possible, because the last bending is done on the ‘floating’ tube, just before the drop off. The whole system is operated by a bending machine control unit. The benefit is that it is possible to work both with x, y and z coordinates, but also with lengths and bending angles, just like a standard bending machine. It is not necessary to have special knowledge of robot programming. In order to keep the set-up times as short as possible, the robots have pre- programmed tool settings, including axes for the set up position. This keeps the set-up time short for the operator. With the latest generation of bending robots transfluid has once again expanded the possibilities of tube processing and made it more efficient.

The latest generation of transfluid bending robots also offers safe handling: the grabbing coordinates on the tube for the pick- up from the magazine and for the dropping off can be retrieved from the pre- programmed parameters. This means that the user has to do almost no programming of the bending sequence or the handling steps. The machine simply refers to pre-loaded data.

transfluid www.transfluid.eu

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MAY 2020