Page 8 - Metallforming Magazine December 2020

Tech Update
Portable CMM For Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Faro Technologies, Inc., Lake Mary, FL, recently
released its Faro Gage, a portable CMM for small
and medium-sized businesses performing high-
accuracy tasks. The intuitive, ergonomic and
versatile articulated portable FaroArm enables shops
to quickly and efficiently perform their most demanding 3D inspections. The all-in-one-solution also minimizes calibration costs and minimizes clutter, say company officials, replacing traditional hand tools such as calipers, micrometers and height gauges, while providing 20-percent more reach than the previ- ous-generation Gage arm.
Lightweight and portable but with the precision of a lab instrument and the ruggedness of a shop-floor device, the Gage reportedly sets up in seconds, reduces inspection time and delivers quality results.
Says Michael Carris, Faro vice president of product marketing: “Too often, shops rely on expensive and hard-to-use fixed CMMs that take up valuable floor space, or a multitude of hand tools that slow down the process. The Gage eliminates these inefficiencies. As a result, inspection bottlenecks are greatly reduced, measurement accuracy is improved and operator variability is significantly minimized.”
Among the new portable CMM’s features is a universal quick mount,
which ensures compatibility with a variety of mounting options that allow it to be
set up anywhere, including on-machine. A simple two-button design, six-point articulation and built-in counterbalance deliver ease of use and fatigue-free operation.
Faro Technologies: www.faro.com
Bilsing Debuts Servo-Driven Carbon-Fiber T-Beam for High-Speed Tandem Presses
Bilsing Automation, Attendorn, Germany (with U.S. headquarters in Roseville, MI), has introduced servo-controlled carbon-fiber (CF) T-beams designed for high-speed tandem presses. Offering interchangeable tooling, the T-beams meet the dimensional specifications and requirements of General Motors World Tooling Standards and are adaptable to any robotic application.
Bilsing notes that the CF T-beams are approximately 70-percent lighter than steel tooling (with 3.5 times the stiffness) and 25-percent lighter than aluminum T-beams, while also being dimensionally smaller. Additionally, the high elastic stiff- ness of the CF T-beams reportedly can significantly reduce vibration and deflection, to settle more rapidly and provide higher
precision as compared to other mate- rials. This allows for a smaller press opening during stamping, while improv- ing production rates, minimizing wear
and tear on machine parts, and reduc- ing capital-equipment investment through use of smaller robots and servo drives.
Bilsing Automation: www.bilsing- automation.com/carbon-fiber-t-beam
Robotic End-
Effector Material- Removal Tool
ATI Industrial Automation introduces the RCE-710 radially compliant, electric material-removal tool, the company’s first all-in-one, electrically powered such tool. The RCE-710 features large bearings, a shaft designed for demanding robotic use and a variable-speed motor with a range of 0 to 13,000 rpm. It is built to handle an array of robotic material-removal tasks, such as rust and weld-spatter removal, blending, polishing and light grinding.
The new electric tool features built-in compliance to simplify and streamline programming, and to compensate for part and fixturing misalignments. The motor rotates clockwise and counterclockwise, and produces continuous torque on the workpiece.
Available as a complete end-effector package, the RCE-710 includes the debur- ring tool, power and signal cables and connectors, and a simple-to-use controller. It can perform a variety of tasks with car- bide burrs, brushes, flap wheels, unitized wheels, and other cutting, grinding and polishing media.
ATI Industrial Automation: www.ati-ia.com/rce
6 MetalForming/December 2020
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