INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Stroj acquires second Haco press brake

Stroj d.o.o. from Slovenia recently acquired a second Haco press brake via Fingal, Haco’s partner in the country. The company had already bought a Euromaster press brake but opted for expansion with the new HDSY 40600 press brake.

With over 70 years of experience in assembling, welding and processing complex steel components, Stroj delivers high-quality structures to leading manufacturers across Europe and beyond. The company exports nearly 90% of its production to western Europe.

A Stroj representative says: “We are very satisfied with the performance of our previous machine, which works accurately and reliably. That’s why it was logical to choose Haco again.”

Due to the acquisition of the HDSY 40600, Stroj has increased its production capacity, with the press brake capable of bending lengths up to 4 m and processing materials up to 18 mm thickness. The improved quality of work and precision, which the company already knew from Haco, were additional benefits of the investment.

Fingal has sold over 300 Haco machines in the Slovenian and Croatian markets. With its own sales and service team, Fingal also provides excellent service for Haco machines.

“We chose Haco because of the excellent quality of their machines, continuous development and good price-to-quality ratio, and especially because of the European origin of the machines,” explains Sergej Brandl of Fingal.

The sales and installation process went smoothly, according to both Stroj and Fingal, confirming their confidence in the sustainable collaboration with Haco.

For further information www.haco.com

Sharpe Products invests in electric tube bender

Wisconsin-based Sharpe Products, a North American specialist in custom tube and pipe bending and tube laser cutting, has invested in an all-electric Unison Breeze CNC tube bending machine: a 100 mm single-stack model. It will be the ninth Unison Breeze tube bender purchased by Sharpe Products since 2003, providing additional capacity when bending tubular components for the company’s customer base.

Sharpe Products and UK-based tube bending machinery manufacturer Unison Ltd have a long and proud history of working together. Sharpe’s president and CEO, Paul Krickeberg, was an early convert to the idea of all-electric tube bending and bought one of the very first British-built Unison Breeze machines in the United States.

“This latest Unison Breeze tube bending machine will help to support our ability to offer short lead times and consistent results; attributes that are essential to our customers,” he says. “We’ve worked with Unison for numerous years and look forward to leveraging the advantages of this next-generation machine at our plant.”

Stuart Singleton, VP of Unison Tube LLC, adds: “Equipped with the latest version of our Unibend control system, the new Breeze machine will deliver cycle time improvements in the region of 25% compared with earlier versions. It also incorporates innovative new teach routines and simulation features.”

Just like all Unison Breeze tube bending machines, the latest model offers rapid set-up, fast tooling changes, high power, rigid mechanical design and all-electric control for right-first-time repeat subcontract work, or immediately after producing a single trial part.

Other single-stack Unison Breeze machines operated by Sharpe Products include 80 mm and 100 mm variants. Sharpe also has 76, 80 and 130 mm multi-stack Breeze machines.

For further information www.unisonltd.com

LVD launches new line of panel benders

LVD has added panel benders to its portfolio of flexible solutions for sheet metal processing. The new product line encompasses a range of models, including high-speed panel bending systems. LVD launched the new line at the Blechexpo exhibition towards the end of 2023, with the unveiling of the PB 21/12 automatic panel bending machine.

The new panel benders expand LVD’s scope as a solutions provider, offering users a broad array of metal fabricating products from a single source. Panel bending machines can process large and complex geometries quickly and efficiently in medium to high volumes. For certain applications, panel bending is faster and more efficient than traditional die bending.

LVD says it panel benders are engineered as cost-effective machines that it can customise to help users expand capacity and performance. The servo-driven design requires minimal service and is nearly maintenance-free. A universal set of folding blades permits processes a wide range of profiles and bends. Users can form most profiles using a single set of tooling. LVD says the panel benders boast an output capacity that is two to three times that of comparable systems.

Panel bending technology is suitable for producing large electrical cabinets, panels and cabinet components, shelving, clean rooms, steel furniture, architectural building panels, photovoltaic components, trailer side panels, lighting, and other industrial equipment panels featuring complex geometries with radius bends, short side lengths and narrow profiles.

LVD will initially offer three panel bender models: PB 21/12, PB 25/12 and PB 32/12 to handle panel sizes up to 3200 x 1250 mm.

For further information www.lvdgroup.com

Extremely hard grade for brake disc machining

Cutting tool manufacturer Horn is launching a new product range for the economic machining of brake discs. The range includes solid CBN ISO inserts, mainly for cast iron machining, and CBN-tipped full-radius and shaped inserts. The grade has no metallic bonding phase and therefore offers the highest hot hardness of all cutting materials. Stable tool carriers also feature in the offering.

For machining applications on a brake disc, Horn provides a solid CBN ISO S insert with eight cutting edges. In conjunction with the tool holder, the system is suitable for roughing and finishing. The neutral design of the inserts fully utilises the number of cutting edges. It means that eight cutting edges per ISO insert are available for most turning operations.

Cutting speeds of well over 1000 m/min, depths of cut of several millimetres and feed rates up to 0.7 mm/rev are typical when machining cast iron brake discs using a solid CBN insert. The tool system must be able to maintain high cutting performance and, above all, exhibit long tool life due to the cost per cutting edge of CBN. Depending on the operation and metal removal rate, it is possible to machine well over 1000 cast iron brake discs per insert corner.

Horn offers two different tool solutions for machining the heat dissipation grooves in the disc. The CBN-tipped S117 profile grooving insert is suitable for large batch production in terms of speed and tool longevity. During the process, each groove is produced in just under two seconds in a single operation. For greater flexibility, Horn’s S229 tipped, full-radius inserts offer the option of copy turning the grooves in around four seconds. Regrinding and re-tipping are possible with both types.For further information www.horn-group.com/uk

New Seco tools help optimise part processing

To overcome various machining challenges and boost productivity, Seco has introduced new extra-long solid-carbide drills,PCBN inserts, round carbide inserts and tool holders. These products are aimed at applications ranging from general ISO turning to high-volume hard turning and deep-hole drilling.

Manufacturers that drill holes at depths from 40xD to 60xD want to lengthen tool life and reduce tooling costs. Here, Seco says that its new X-tra Long solid-carbide drills provide more than 15% more tool life than other available solutions. Innovative tool geometry and coating technology eliminate chipping and sudden breakage, while minimising flank and centre wear.

According to Seco, the company’s two new PCBN insert grades offer optimal performance in the high-volume production of automotive and other industry components. With a substrate grade and proprietary Seco nano-laminate PVD coating,CH1050meets high surface quality requirements, while CH2581 achieves greater process stability and reduced tool breakage with a versatile, forgiving grade for semi-interrupted cuts.

Many round turning inserts suffer from poor chip control, but Seco’s MF2 chipbreaker on RCGT/RCMT inserts maintains favourable chip control at higher speeds and feeds, especially with dynamic turning. One series of stable, durable carbide round insert grades handles a wide range of turning operations from roughing to finish turning.

Seco has also utilised its proprietary 3D-printed coolant clamp to deliver Jetstream Tooling high-pressure cutting fluid directly to the cutting edge. With a range of single-screw coolant clamp options for specific applications and depths of cut, Seco-Capto MTM JETI toolholders for general ISO turningprovide fast set-up and indexing, making chip control less of a challenge on 45° B-axis multi-tasking machines. 
For further information www.secotools.com