Page 29 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian

Special Section
FABRICATION
Today’s fabricating technology promises the ability to produce high-quality components job after job, in a variety of applications. And, in each issue, MetalForming is committed to informing you on how fabrication equipment delivers.
This month, we’ll explore the positive-stop feature in CNC tooling, which allows accurate, repeatable heights when embossing, coining, lancing—in any operation requiring the slight raising of material. Just be sure to mind the unique challenges in sharpening these tools.
Also, learn how retrofitting a robot, including controls, can add years to its working life while saving money over buying new. Keeping up with scheduled maintenance is a big life extender, too.
26 MetalForming/March 2023 www.metalformingmagazine.com
FABRICATION
CONTENTS
26 News&Technology
NEWS & TECHNOLOGY
Courses on Press-Brake Operations Added to PMA’s METALFORM EDU Online Training Platform
The Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) has added new courses to its online training platform, METALFORM EDU, designed to train press-brake operators in the metal forming and fabricating industry. PMA partnered with subject-matter experts to review and update its existing press-brake training materials. The newly created Press Brake Operation module contains 12 courses with topics covering tooling, gauging, safe- guarding, proper operation, measuring devices and more.
“PMA is excited to roll out the new press brake courses for the metal forming industry,” says Connie King, PMA workforce development director. “We look forward to continuing to expand the METALFORM EDU library with additional modules for key industry jobs and skill sets.”
Industry-specific courses on the topics of die protection and advanced press operations are in the development stages and will be introduced later this year.
High-Speed Bending Machine Produces Parts With Side Lengths to 13.8 In.
New from Trumpf: a fully automatic panel-bending machine for the North Amer- ican market. Designed to process complex parts quickly and efficiently, the TruBend Center 7020 can bend parts with side lengths to 13.8 in. and handle
material thicknesses to 0.15 in. in aluminum, 0.12 in. in steel and 0.08 in. in stainless steel, extending over the entire bend- ing length. The machine can process parts to 6.6 ft. long, and is ideal for large- and small- batch production.
Compared to a manual press
brake, the new machine works
at speeds to 80 percent faster,
depending on the specific part
and bending operations
involved, according to company
officials, who note that panel bending tech- nology is particularly suitable for fabricating complex parts with radius bends, short side lengths and narrow profiles—producing these types of parts more efficiently and at a higher quality level than traditional die bending.
The TruBend Center 7020, with a com- pact footprint of less than 19.7 by 19.7 ft., owes its short cycle time to a new rotary part manipulator, which can move the part very close to the bending line. In many
cases, this reduces the cycle time by elim- inating the need to reposition the grippers during processing. Company engineers also designed the machine to be as open and accessible as possible. Workers can
28 CNC Punching: Positive Stop
a Positive Advantage
30 Robot Retrofits: When is it Time?
load and unload the machine from the side without having to lean into the interior, a time-saving, ergonomic capability. Like its predecessor, the TruBend Center 7020 uses the ToolMaster system to ensure that blankholder tools are matched correctly to each workpiece, thereby reducing setup time. Programming reportedly is rapid and simple—with TecZone Fold software, users can create the bending program on the computer in just a few clicks.
Trumpf Inc.: www.trumpf.com