TPT January 2011

T echnology U pdate

The pursuit of excellence starts with safety

standards, while minimising the level of risk for operators. Its increasingly powerful manufacturing automation facilities help increase productivity while ensuring safety during the production process. The weak link, however, remains the adjustment and control process which, like maintenance, requires very careful examination. Only by putting these kinds of task under the microscope, together with the willingness to redesign or modify the parts that give rise to excessive risks, can better and even more significant results be achieved. That is why Oto Mills SpA now makes risk analysis the springboard for every new design. The mechanical hazards associated with the machine have been addressed as a priority, and the vast majority of the machines making up Oto Mills’ systems may now be considered fully safe, thanks to the continual involvement of the various technical disciplines (from electrotechnicians to mechanics) and a team working approach. Many important and significant results have been achieved, and others are in the pipeline, as the health and safety of its machine operators is and will always be an essential component, no matter what, for Oto Mills SpA in its constant pursuit of excellence. Oto Mills SpA – Italy Website: www.otomills.com a user-friendly programming system, programming of up to 36 radii and automatic positioning calculation for new bending radii, facilitating processing performance and programming. Files can be managed directly in DXF format in order to obtain the geometry to be performed and to create network connections

OTO Mills SpA has been designing, manufacturing and installing complete systems for the production of tubes and/or welded sections for around 30 years. The company has a 70% share of the western market for systems up to 8" and it is now extending its production range up to 24". The steady growth achieved by Oto Mills SpA through all these years in a somewhat challenging sector has been made possible largely thanks to its ability to invest in its expertise and bring excellent products to market that meet the increasingly diverse requirements of its customers. The key to the success of Oto Mills SpA has therefore been the ability to differentiate itself from its direct competitors, by always endeavouring to stay one step ahead, even in fields that are constantly changing, like safety. The new Machinery Directive, 2006/42/ EC, raises the bar in terms of machine design and construction quality for ever greater safety, while extending the definition of a “machine” and thus driving all manufacturers of tube and/or welded section production systems to adopt the CE marking and to comply with the applicable CLOMEA is a manufacturer of bending machines for metal profiles. Planning and production, completely developed in-house, relates to a range of sixty models of bending machine with various powers and technological solutions, up to CNC models. Rollers and equipment are also an integral part of CLOMEA’s production, backed by years of experience and high- level industry know-how. The target of improving the performance of machinery and flexibility of application in various fields should not affect the simplicity of use. In response to these needs and following suggestions received from customers, the company developed the new numerical control CNW333, applicable to all of its hydraulic bending machines. The CNW333 is developed on the Windows XP operating system, can operate in single and multi-run, and is applied to hydraulic

safety requirements. Oto Mills SpA has embraced this challenge too, making safety a crucial component of its machines that it builds into the process right from the design stage, while promoting the training and continuous development of its own technical staff on the EN technical standards. Given that safety measures are a joint effort between the designer and the user, those measures that can be integrated in at the design stage are to be preferred and are generally more effective than those implemented only later by the user. That is why each of its designers is motivated and engaged to develop the awareness that manufacturing in safety must be possible, and that if a hazard cannot be eliminated then it must certainly be reduced: solutions must be found at the design stage, as if left until later they may become less effective and too complex. It is only this firm belief that enables Oto Mills SpA to achieve the expected results, which certainly include the need to ensure that the machines possess the required operating functionality and meet production

Numerical control for hydraulic bending machines

machines both with two-speed rotation motor as standard and with speed regulator, which allows operation of four processing axes with automatic speed calculation. In addition to the functions already present in the other versions, it provides

for interfacing with other PCs. CLOMEA Soc Coop –– Italy Email: info@trecsrl.com Website: www.trecsrl.com

CNW333 numerical

control system (right), with the CR238MRIMW bending machine

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J anuary 2011

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