Fabtech brought a wealth of innovation and technology solutions to Chicago recently, where more than 48,000 attendees and over 1,700 exhibiting companies gathered once again to celebrate metal manufacturing at its best.

The event also provided educational sessions and expert-led presentations covering the latest trends and technology in the metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing industries.
Visitors to the Salvagnini stand found a fully working smart factory run by the company’s OPS software, comprising the L5 high dynamics fibre laser with its newly developed 6 kW fibre source, the P2lean panel bender, and the B3.AU-TO press brake featuring the latest automatic tool change technology.
The third generation P2lean adaptive compact panel bender natively combines productivity and flexibility, guaranteeing precision, repeatability and quality of the finished product, says Salvagnini. Also on the stand, the B3.AU-TO press brake features the latest automatic tool change, the solid expression of a new automated and scalable bending concept that is said to provide greater certainties in terms of processing times, as well as costs and budgets.
Salvagnini’s L5 high dynamics fibre laser features the newly developed, dedicated 6kW source, which is said to perfect its performance. The latest trajectory planner, the new SVS option, and the novel nesting algorithms are claimed to guarantee even higher efficiency.
For further information www.salvagninigroup.com

Environmental and lifestyle changes within the drinks industry have brought fresh challenges and increased business to Preston-based beer pump and cooler specialist, K Coolers.

For instance, the company has had to manage two major changes within the drinks industry, the first being environmental, with the phasing out of certain refrigerants, while the second is the rise in popularity of ‘ice-cold’ beers and lagers. Both changes needed modifications to the stainless steel coils within the cooler, which in turn placed greater demands on K Coolers’ existing tube-bending capacity.
“The new R290 refrigerant required different tubes, so all of these required replacing as a smaller bore was needed for the new gas to be effective,” says Lee Worden, managing director. “Our standard 3.8 to 4.8 m long coils used for standard beers and lagers also needed to increase to 10 m in length to create ice-cold beer delivery; the knock on benefit being the elimination of under-counter chillers in pubs.”
To meet rising demand, the decision was taken to invest in a BLM 4-Runner tube-bending system fitted with motorised coil feed functionality.
“Without investing in the BLM 4-Runner we would struggle to maintain throughput,” says Worden. “The assistance we got, and continue to receive, from BLM both in the UK and in Italy, has been superb, which meant that we were bending tube within a couple of days of the machine being put on the floor. The BLM 4-Runner is being used to produce evaporator coils and other pipework for the refrigeration system on the new coolers, handling the increased demand with ease.”
For further information www.blmgroup.com