TPT January 2014

Industry News

Tube bending and fabrication SHARPE Products, which specialises in tube bending and fabrication, offers custom CNC pipe/tube bending and rolling, tube laser cutting and tube fabrication services for many industries and OEMs including the automotive, medical, furniture, retail and handrailing sectors. stainless steel. Capacity for the tube laser is up to 6" OD.

Quality inspection processes are in place for every type of quality level needed from 100 per cent fixturing on the BluCo to detailed reporting from the Tube Inspect S and 3D laser scanner. This gives Sharpe customers confidence of a smooth product development process. Specifically designed for the tube bending industry, the Tube Inspect S inspects bent parts in seconds and sends needed corrections directly to the bending machine if required. This results in shortened set-up times and more accurate set-up of parts. For customers that have a continuous need for their products, Sharpe Products offers inventory management programs such as Kanban, and stock and release programs. These programs provide customers with shortened lead times for lean operations. Jobs from prototype to large volume production are welcome. Sharpe Products – USA Email: estimating@sharpeproducts.com Website: www.sharpeproducts.com

End-forming capabilities have recently been expanded at Sharpe’s facility with the addition of a Proto-1 Ram-70 end- forming machine allowing for a wide variety of end-forming options. This six head end-former can handle tube sizes from ½" OD up to 7" OD for a variety of pipe and tube shapes. In addition to making end-forms such as beading, expanding and reducing, this CNC machine allows for multiple end-forms on one piece of tube by being hit up to six times. This allows for complicated parts to be made in an efficient and cost effective manner. The following value-added custom tube fabrication services are also available to help complete your project: high-speed cutting, end-forming: reducing, expanding, flaring, swaging, beading and threading. Fabrication: welding, notching, punching, coping and drilling. Finishing: anodising, polishing and powder coating.

Utilising state-of-the-art CNC tube bending machinery and tube inspection technology Sharpe’s bending team is equipped to handle pipe and tube up to 6" OD with experience bending steel, stainless steel, aluminium, copper, and other materials. With the use of all-electric tube benders, quality bent products are produced and delivered to customers in a cost effective and time efficient manner. Sharpe’s fibre optic tube laser has unique cutting capabilities and increased production speed versus traditional CO 2 tube lasers. This 3,000 watt fibre optic tube laser can cut highly reflective materials which include copper, brass, bronze, galvanised pipe, and aluminium along with the traditional steel and

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J anuary 2014