A major £400,000 investment in a new ERP system is set to help an engineering services and supplies specialist capitalise on growth across its business. James Lister & Sons, which is nearing its 150th birthday in 2024, has completed an 18-month project that has seen it embed the K8 Kerridge Commercial System in its fluid power, consumable supplies and tube manipulation divisions.

The new technology will allow it to bring together the wide variety of processes it undertakes across its headquarters in Smethwick and six branches in the West Midlands and South Wales, giving the company real-time information, transparency and improved order tracking, as well as enhanced merchant, trade counter and production planning operations.

Peter Davies, chief executive at Lister, says: “This has been a massive transformation project for our business, completed throughout the pandemic and in time for us to make the most of the bounce back we’re now seeing. The K8 Kerridge Commercial System will offer a host of operational and efficiency improvements due to improved planning capabilities and we now have a fully supported, disaster recovery safe system in place, giving our 5000-strong customer base complete peace of mind.”

The biggest growth area following the easing of lockdown has been Lister’s tube manipulation business, which is able to bend tube in sizes ranging from 4 up to 75 mm, in metals such as steel, copper and aluminium. The company has witnessed a 30% increase in orders over the past 12 months, delivering a 7.5% rise on pre-pandemic levels.

Investment in a Unison Breeze tube-bending machine has also paid dividends, providing the company with ‘left and right hand’ capacity to make components that cannot be produced via traditional bending.

For further information
www.lister.co.uk

According to BLM Adige, the main advantages of an all-electric tube bending machine include production flexibility, repeatability, production rate, quality, the absence of transition periods and lower energy consumption.

In terms of production flexibility, an all-electric tube bending machine eliminates the manual adjustments usually necessary on other types of tube bending machines, such as adjustment of the clamp die, pressure die and mandrel position, or of the clamp die pressure on the tube.

For the manufacturer, the most important factor in tube bending is repeatability; that is the degree of consistency among the measurements of the part across the entire batch. An electric tube bending machine can record the axis co-ordinates and tube bending parameters, recalling them at any moment.

Another benefit is speed. An all-electric tube bending machine’s movement is controlled by a CNC axis, tapping into the full potential of the machine’s programming software. As a result, the release movements from the tube can be smoother and faster.
With regard to quality, an all-electric tube bender can modulate the force exerted by the various electrical axes in-process depending on the tube being bent. Both for thin or thick tubes, ductile or hard material, this type of tube bending machine can properly manage the force exerted, modifying it as needed in-process to improve quality.

Furthermore, electric tube bending machines do not have hydraulic oil to heat up and their electric drivers have the same behaviour regardless of temperature or thermal shocks. So, there are no ‘transition periods’, defined as time intervals in which the machine working conditions change.

Last but not least, to save operational costs, electric bending machines only consume energy when needed, resulting in considerable savings for the manufacturer.

For further information
www.blmgroup.com

Selmach’s range of Morgan Rushworth horizontal bending press machinery (HBM) comes in a wide range of tonnage, from 10 to 100 tonnes. With their compact size and simple controls, these machines are capable of performing a variety of bending applications. In fact, with specialist tooling they can be adapted to a wide range of tasks.

As the name implies, the first and foremost usage of HBM is for bending and forming brackets and cleats. The standard tooling on the machine allows for a wide variety of angles. Selmach can supply an assortment of different radius punches, Vs and multi-Vs to suit requirements.

Beyond bending and forming, HBM can perform a number of other useful roles. For instance, many times a fabrication shop will need to straighten material, such as when a workpiece bows after punching holes on a steelworker. With the stroke and return set correctly, users can rectify any bowing and get the workpiece back to a usable condition. It is possible to use standard tooling options or a separate bar straightening tool if bowing is a regular occurrence.

Another tooling option available is a pipe bending attachment. While not a substitute for a dedicated tube bending machine, if shops have the occasional need for bending pipe, this attachment could be perfect. It does not use extra floor space that another machine would consume, and is much cheaper.

Given the versatility of these machines, specialist and one-off tooling can be manufactured if a shop has a particular need. Whether it is for forming a complex part, prototyping, or replacing an existing manual process, Selmach may be able to help.

For further information
www.selmach.com

Electric mobility is on the rise – and the effects of this are also evident in the supply chain. The key trends in tube bending include lightweight construction, customised machine configuration and automation.

For instance, tube bending machine manufacturer Schwarze-Robitec is witnessing a substantial increase in orders that go beyond the bending of typical round tubes. Instead, lightweight construction increasingly requires complex, asymmetrical shapes with diverse cross sections. And the differences do not end there.

With the shift towards electric mobility, the traditional standard tube bending machine with predefined performance parameters is increasingly giving way to product-specific special machines that can be customised according to client needs. Bending performance, geometric measurements such as bending radius and tube length, tool installation space and software can increasingly be aligned with client and product requirements.

Manufacturers of tube bending machines need to respond to the challenges of their target industries by supplying high-performance machines that are tailored precisely to customer needs. To achieve this, Schwarze-Robitec is relying on multi-level technology. Used in combination with customisable multi-radius bending tools, this technology facilitates simple and precise bending with only short lengths of tube between individual bends. The effect is clearest to see when different radii, bend-in-bend systems or complex tube systems are being manufactured, as even a few seconds saved per component can have a huge positive impact on production efficiency.

In view of the shift toward alternative powertrains, the frequently used buzzword ‘automation’ is more relevant than ever. Manufacturers of tube bending machines need to focus on extensive automation and increasingly integrate work processes that go beyond bending. This is not just the case for tube bending processes in large-scale series production, but increasingly for very low-volume batch work.

For further information
www.schwarze-robitec.com

When Daniel Twigden got the call to create his own class at the Manteca Adult School in Manteca, California, he organised one of the few chopper building classes in the country to his knowledge.

“We teach you how to build rigid frame choppers, like a 1948 Panhead, and other traditional style motorcycle frames,” says Twigden.

A passionate metalworker, Twigden says that passing along his knowledge gives him true fulfilment in his industry. And the skills he shares provides his students with a chance to learn a metalworking craft that brings both joy and potentially income down the road.

In the shop at Manteca, visitors will see a range of Baileigh Industrial machines contributing to the learning environment.
“As a class, Baileigh tools enables us to expedite the process,” says Twigden. “You can do all of these same tasks by hand with hand tools or tools that aren’t set up for volume manufacturing. So, having these big tools just enables me to teach what would take weeks, in days, and what would take months, in weeks. Really, it’s invaluable as a teacher to have these tools.
Specifically, Twigden calls his Baileigh RDB-175 tube bender the backbone of the chopper class, with its ability to cut all of the tube bending down from a week or so to just a few lessons.

The Manteca shops also feature an SH-12010 sheet metal shear, SR-5016 slip roll, HSP-66M-HD hydraulic press, and an BB-9610H heavy-duty hydraulic box and pan (finger) brake.

“Across all the campuses here at Manteca Unified School District, we’ve found Baileigh is one of the most reliable tools out there,” concludes Twigden.

For further information
www.baileigh.com