Page 24 - MetalForming February 2016

Celebrating manufacturing’s strength and innovation, FABTECH 2015, held in Chicago this past November, boasted 43,836 attendees from more than 90 countries visiting 1700-plus exhibitors in more than 730,000 sq. ft. of space. These record-setting numbers cemented FABTECH 2015 as North America’s largest collaboration of technology,
Small Bend Center Includes Robotic Loading
The MiniBendCenter on display at the RAS booth seemed perfectly outfitted for folding small, complex parts. As the tools of the upper and lower beam clamp the workpiece, an arc- ing movement of the upper or lower folding beam bends the part to the programmed angle. The machine takes on blanks as small as 1.5 by 2 in., and as large as 23.6 in. square, with max- imum thickness of 11-gauge mild steel. Blanks are automatically loaded, squared, measured and folded. A manipulator moves and rotates the parts from folding station to folding station (one setup could have multiple stations). The machine checks the exact position of the blank in the manipulator when starting the folding sequence—no gauges or mechanical stops are used, leading to quick folding sequences, high throughput and short cycle times.
2015— It’s a
Wrap
With North America’s premier forming, fabricating and welding event in the books, MetalForming shares some of the new technologies and products spied on the show floor.
BY BRAD KUVIN, EDITOR, AND LOUIS A. KREN, SR. EDITOR
equipment and knowledge in the metalforming, fabricating, welding and finishing industries.
MetalForming surveyed the aisles at FABTECH looking for technologies and products to help metalformers and fabri- cators succeed. We present some of these below, and we’ll present more in future issues.
The beauty of the robotic loading system: It uses a camera
and scanner to automatically detect the location of the blanks in the bulk box, enabling the robot to reach into the box and pick up the top blank in the stack. www.ras-systems.com
22 MetalForming/February 2016 www.metalformingmagazine.com