In 2015, Wesbart decided to carry out a full review of all products and manufacturing processes, which involved looking at every aspect of manufacturing to help improve productivity and reduce costs.

One of the main processes which required investment was folding. All aluminium and stainless steel parts were folded at Wesbart using a manual system with an operator. Due to an increase in orders it was necessary to use subcontractors to meet demand.

“Our production runs can range from 150 parts to more than 5000,” says sales executive David Patey. “We carried out some testing of various automation options and found the parts would need to be fed into the cell on a conveyor system. As a result, we contacted a locally based robot integration company [ICS Robotics and Automation] to work with Bystronic and develop a suitable system. We chose to use Kuka robots and the Bystronic Xpert 40 press brake due to their small footprint.”
ICS designed a bespoke space-saving set up using three Kuka robots, one operating each press brake with another feeding components from the conveyors. A camera system was included to identify the parts and confirm their correct placement on the conveyor.

The system arrived in January 2021 and has already shown a great deal of potential. According to Wesbart, the Bystronic press brakes are incredibly quick and reliable, while the user interface is very easy to operate, which helps expedite robot programming for the company’s components.

“With the investment made in the bending cell we hope to remain a market leader based on the quality, price and lead time of our products,” concludes Patey. “We also hope it will allow us to enter new markets.”

For further information
www.bystronic.co.uk