INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Tosec had clear preference for SafanDarley

Tosec is a Zwolle-based company that specialises entirely in sheet-metal working, including cutting, machining, bending and welding.

“We are known for being able to deliver high-quality products quickly,” explains company manager Ruben Nieboer. “These are generally products in small series or single pieces. Often we don’t know today what we are going to make next month. That’s why SafanDarley’s new H-Brake 320T Ultra suits us perfectly.”

Variety is an important factor at Tosec, asNieboer explains: “We consciously choose to produce small and medium-sized series and single pieces, because this ensures variation in the work,setting up the machine every time and looking at drawings and checking products. It can be big, small, thick or thin. We also work with different types of steel, such as very hard steel, such as Hardox, which is difficult to bend,or high-strength steel, which is very tough.

“That’s why no day is ever the same for the people in the office, our setters and our colleagues in the dispatch department,” he adds.“We make a wide variety of products for machine builders, the trailer and crane industry, the agricultural sector and offshore companies, among others. In total, we have over 500 customers throughout the Netherlands.”

Tosec’s relationship with SafanDarley goes back a long way. Still, the company did not go overnight for its most recent investment, assessingseveral competing brands before making a decision.

“In the end, the decisive factor was the opinion of our people on the shop floor,” says Nieboer.“Based on their experiences with the machines and SafanDarley’s service, we chose the new model.”
For further information www.safandarley.com

Trumpfunveils bending machine for XXL parts

Trumpf’s latest-generation TruBend 8000 series press brake featuresan 880 mm open height and a stroke of 700 mm, offering an efficient way for operators to bend and remove workpieces that require a large box height. The machine also provides numerous optional extras designed to facilitate the bending of heavy parts, including a bending aid that makes operators’ lives easier by automatically positioning the workpiece for bending. As another benefit, this series of machines can also be equipped with a special tool clamp for XXL parts.

With a press force of 400 tonnes, the first in this new generation of machines is an efficient powerhouse that Trumpf says has no trouble processing short, thick pieces of sheet metal. However, thanks to its 4.40 m bending length, the TruBend 8000 is equally at home with longer, thinner parts. The machine is also suitable for bending high-tensile materials such as Hardox or Weldox engineering steels.

Station bending is another option available with the TruBend 8000. By moving workpieces from one station to the next, each equipped with different upper and lower tools, workers can tackle a range of parts and bending operations without having to change the machine set-up for each operation. This makes the TruBend 8000 particularly suitable for companies that bend large parts in small batches, including fabricators in the vehicle manufacturing, mechanical engineering and building-services sectors, as well as general-purpose job shops.

Numerous automation functions make the TruBend 8000 a suitable candidate for use in smart factories. The most advanced version includes features for fully automated operation provided by Trumpf partner Starmatik, such as a six-axis industrial robot that handles loading and unloading.
For further information www.trumpf.com

New integrated CADCAM bending software

Hacois introducing new bending software, HacoBend Pro,which includes both an in-house developed CAD module and CAM software. With the CAD software, users can draw 3D parts for bending or import and modify external files (STEP/IGS) smoothly and accurately. The CAM module automatically generates a bending program and a correct unfolding of the workpiece.

HacoBend Pro is a software package for the offline programming of press brakes. Through a highly visual easy-to-use interface, Haco says that users can create efficient bending programs in a simple and fast way, allowing operation of the machine in a more optimal way. A smart and fast bend sequence calculation with automatically generated back-gauge positions and an optimised tool set-up contribute to faster machine set-up and cycle times.
In addition, a correct unfolding of the sheet takes into account the type of material and tool selection.

With the integrated CAD module, it is possible to create technically correct bent 3D parts, taking into account the correct bending radii and the required corner cut-outs. Thanks to HacoBend Pro, the company says that users can enjoy greatly reduced programming times, minimised set-up times and right-first-time components.

New features in the HacoBend Pro include: an easy-to-use interface; bend sequence determination with automatic back-gauge calculation; optimised tool set-up; suitability for special bends such as Z bends; dynamic simulation; a user-friendly CAD module for both 2D and 3D design; and correct unfolding in DXF.

Throughout the entire process, the operator/setter receives assistance in selecting tooling, calculating an optimal bending sequence and positioning the back-gauge.
For further information www.kingsland.com

Mastercam names Wildest Parts competition winners

Mastercam has announced the 2022 Wildest Parts winners, an annual global competition that encourages student interest and participation in manufacturing. In the Educational Division, the winning team from Vincennes University, Indiana, submitted a working electric skateboard. The project started out as a simple personal project until the instructor approached team members about entering it into the competition. In the Professional Division, David Berry from Southwestern Illinois College submitted a turbocharged impeller. He always wanted to cut an impeller, so he designed a desk piece that featured a 12-blade, large wheel compressor design.
For further information www.bit.ly/3JcVydW

Leader extends zero-point offering with Mate

Following a recent partnership agreement, the full range of high-precision zero-point fixtures from Mate Precision Technologies is now available in the UK exclusively from work-holding and machining efficiency specialist Leader Chuck International.

Being one of the latest players to enter the zero-point fixture market, Mate Precision Technologies was all too aware of the need to bring significant advantages over the competition when it launched its next-generation Dyno range.Consisting of DynoGrip vices, DynoLock base plates and DynoMount tombstones, the ethos behind the range stems from Mate targeting manufacturing efficiencies within its own workshop. With areputation for producing high-quality punch-press and press-brake tooling for manufacturers across the globe, the company employs around 300 highly skilled staff at it manufacturing facility in Minnesota, USA. So the need for machining efficiency gains comes from worldwide competition.

Extensive trials of the previous generation zero-point systems, available from established suppliers, under real life production operations, highlighted a number of limitations that Mate addressed with its new products.

Leader Chuck’s managing director Mark Jones explains: “With Mate’s extensive knowledge of the high-quality tool steels and fine tolerances used to produce its tools for sheet metalworking, it’s only logical that the same materials and processes are used for the Dyno range of fixtures. It’s why the company offers a ‘zero wear out forever’ policy across the range with a 100% unconditional customer satisfaction guarantee.”

Mate DynoGrip self-centring vices, for example, shorten set-up time and reduce process variability. Two zero-point four-stud engagement patterns are available, 52 and 96 mm, which are compatible with other systems or can mount directly to the machine table via toe clamps or bolted through the body.
For further information www.leaderchuck.com