TPT November 2009

T ube M ills and R oll F orming L ines

Enhancements in latest roll forming software

THE latest version of Copra ® RF roll forming software from data M focuses on four major features: a 3D punch hole editor for use with pre-punched material; the automatic meshing of pre-punched material; the cloning of rolls; and re-using/recycling existing roll tools. Copra RF 3D punch-hole editor: Before the meshing of pre-punched material can be performed automatically, it is necessary to define the punched hole shape and punched hole position in the Copra RF design software. With the previous versions this was not possible. The Copra RF software has now been combined with Copra MetalBender 3D, which enables the easy definition of 3D sheet metal parts with any punched hole shape. The punched holes can be defined either in the flat strip, or in the final section. Beneath the integrated library of standard holes, the user can also define punch tool shapes and add them, creating a personal punch tool library. The program also allows the individual stations to be made visible including the punch-holes. Copra FEA RF punch-hole meshing: With all the information about shape and position of punched holes created with the punch hole editor, the mesh can now be created automatically. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to transfer the information about the punch holes into the MSC.Mentat program, delete the elements in the position of the holes, and drag the nodes into the correct position. A mesh preview is now available, illustrating the automatically calculated mesh with or without holes, and any change in the meshing parameters will update the mesh preview automatically. The preview also shows the number of elements, making it easier to find the optimum constellation. Copra RF roll design – cloning rolls: To be able and make a fast and reliable FEA calculation, it is necessary to have the roll tools designed in Copra RF. The previous version of Copra RF introduced the possibility to design rolls only with AutoCAD functions to make the design process easier for those who are not working with Copra RF on a daily basis. In Copra RF 2009 all roll design functions work for ‘free designed’ rolls. This allows an effective combination of using Copra RF and AutoCAD based features. Copra RF 2009 provides a powerful new tool to make design easier: the ability

to clone rolls. Rolls that are identical can be cloned automatically. This can be done for individual rolls, for a station or for the complete project. If one roll is modified, all respective cloned rolls are updated automatically. This makes changes in projects with more identical rolls faster, especially for the rolls used in corrugated or trapezoidal sections. As an added bonus, cloned rolls only need to be dimensioned once: identical rolls will not show up again during automatic dimensioning. In the cutting or material list, the quantity of individual cloned rolls is also shown, so there is no need for this to be updated manually. Copra RF Roll Recycling Database: Many Copra RF customers have a few thousand or even ten thousand rolls that cannot be used any more because the respective section is now obsolete or the roll was removed because of signs of wear. If the mean value of a roll is assumed to be €150 and the number of rolls that cannot be used any more is 10,000 pieces, then the customer has a value of €1.5m in stock that can no longer be used. For this reason, data M designed a Roll Recycling Database. In combination with the Copra RollScanner, the customer can now make use of these rolls. The roll is first scanned, and the scanned contour is directly transferred to the Roll Recycling Database. A rough sketch of

 Punch-hole meshing

the required roll contour needs to be made during roll design. The designer can automatically search for a fitting recycling roll, and the search criteria can be user defined. For the roll retrieval, an oversize in width and diameter can be defined. If a fitting recycling roll is found, it is placed on a layer of its own that can be switched on and off. The respective rolls can be marked with a different line width and/or line colour. The identified recycling roll is linked to the designed roll, and this information is attached to the engineering data, ensuring that the roll already exists and only needs to be reworked. data M Sheet Metal Solutions GmbH – Germany

Fax: +49 8024 640 300 Email: datam@datam.de Website: www.datam.de

 3D punch-holes

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N ovember 2009

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