TPT July 2010

I nspection & T esting

Automatic correction on free-form bending machines

DEMAND for free-form tubes is generated from all areas of industry, rather than primarily from the furniture business as in the past. As a result, more tube benders need measuring systems that take into account the particularities of complex free- form tubing. Aicon’sTubeInspectopticalmeasurement system carries out very precise testing of free-form tube geometries with the help of high-resolution digital cameras. Aicon now also offers an additional interface that connects TubeInspect directly with the free-form bending machine. This results in automatic correction values being identified for the formed tubes and transmitted to the bending machine, and reduces set- up time. Close cooperation with bending machine manufacturer Wafios made this new development possible. Peter Seidel, sales manager of the Tube business unit at Wafios AG, explained how the cooperation came about: “It’s really important to us that our customers not only get the most innovative bending technology but, parallel to this, get reliable testing methods to carry out their quality assurance. That’s why, when Aicon approached us about working together, we immediately agreed to being a development partner for a direct interface between free-form bending machines and TubeInspect – even though this means giving a very intimate insight into our company’s own bending technology and software.” In contrast to tubes manufactured conventionally by draw bending, which consist of calculated lines and bends and feature constant radii, free-form tubes manufactured by push bending have a completely different set of parameters. In a CAD system they are often shown as a

spline, a tube geometry in which, theoretically, at any point a different radius can exist. When correction takes place on a conventional bending machine, only the LRA values at the individual bending points have to be corrected. In comparison to this, to achieve the desired tube geometry using free-form

Aicon’s TubeInspect

bending, a multitude of different settings on the bending machine have to be adjusted and the bend radii optimised until the exact tube form has been bent. This set-up has – to date – been a very time-consuming process with high material usage, so both automation and shortening of the process were the two main aims. TubeInspect’s newly developed interface enables smooth communication between the bending machine and the measurement system. Dr-Ing Werner Bösemann, managing director of Aicon 3D Systems GmbH, explained why the demand for free-form bent tubes has increased dramatically, especially from the automotive industry: “Design demands or technical necessities call for tube forms, which often can no longer be manufactured on conventional machines. “Maximising efficiency, however, is another reason why many companies are migrating from conventional bending processes to free-form bending. One of our customers is currently testing the possibility of manufacturing its brake lines using push bending, a form of free-form bending. Their calculations show that employing this method would achieve significant cost- reduction, as the bending time per tube is lower.” The TubeInspect system

A TubeInspect screenshot

can, thanks to Aicon’s new development, connect directly to the Wafios B10 tube bending machine or the BMZ series, to reduce set-up and cycle time. Aicon 3D Systems GmbH – Germany Fax: +49 531 58 000 60

Email: info@aicon.de Website: www.aicon.de Wafios AG – Germany Fax: +49 71 2149 1209 Website: www.wafios.de

TUBETECH CORPORATION LIMITED TUBETECH WUHU MANUFACTURING CO.,LTD

Free-form tube placed in the TubeInspect measuring cell

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J uly 2010

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