Enhancing sheet metal operations in Asia

OEMs and large job shops are key driving forces behind innovations and new trends in the market. These users face particularly strong cost pressure in their sheet metal processing operations. Therefore, the latest generation of the BySmart Fiber laser cutting system is certainly an interesting innovation for Bystronic’s customers in Asia, shared Norbert Seo, Bystronic Senior Vice President Market Division Asia and Australia with International Metalworking News for Asia.

The new BySmart Fiber is a versatile cutting system with up to 6 kilowatts of laser power, which is designed to connect to a variety of automation solutions. It is the ideal solution for users in growth markets who rely on the full potential of fiber laser technology.

For users who in addition to sheet processing want to expand their production range with solutions for tube and profile cutting, Norbert, said, “We presented Bystronic’s new portfolio in this field of technology at EuroBLECH. In this field, we offer solutions for the laser-assisted processing of tubes in diameters from 12 to 815 millimetres and tube and profile lengths up to 18 meters. This broad spectrum of solutions is unique on the market.”

“In addition, we also presented two important bending products at EuroBLECH. The Mobile Bending Cell, our compact bending automation solution for fast changeovers between manual and automated bending. And the new Xpert Pro. This high-end bending system supports demanding users with the highest degree of flexibility and performance. The Xpert Pro is available in various editions for a wide range of bending applications,” Mr. Seo stated.

When asked what has been the impact of the trend towards energy and resource-efficiency on the sheet metal processing industry, Norbert explained, “A clear consequence of this trend is the transition from CO₂ laser technology to fiber laser technology. For users, the main benefits of this cutting technology are higher productivity and improved energy efficiency. In the field of bending, for example, we are seeing our customers’ demand for intelligent drive controls. For this reason, upon request, Bystronic equips its bending machines with an optional automatic start-stop system (Energy Saver). This function enables users to reduce their energy consumption by up to 60 percent, because it ensures that the press brake drive is only in operation when bending is in progress.

Converting challenges to opportunities

Mr. Seo revealed their customers are faced with the challenge of aligning their technology as flexibly as possible to order situations and market conditions that are changing rapidly and are difficult to predict. These framework conditions are further accentuated by the increasing demands placed on costs, quality, and delivery times. And increasingly, our customers are experiencing a shortage of specialist staff, which is hampering their growth.

“We help our customers to successfully master all these challenges. For example with flexible cutting and bending solutions that make both possible: speed and variety. This enables customers to produce small series or individual products at conditions similar to standardised high-volume series. Another focus lies on digital networking and automation. Both of these help users to achieve the highest possible level of productivity for their sheet metal processing systems and to design their processes to generate as much added value as possible. The modularity of the integrated manufacturing solutions is an important aspect in all this. Thanks to Bystronic’s technologies, our customers can grow step by step and thus flexibly adapt to their specific market situations,” he added.

Norbert disclosed, “Wherever our customers face a shortage of qualified specialists, our training courses allow us to build up know-how on the operation of our cutting, bending, and automation systems in a targeted manner. Our customers value the range of training we offer in our Competence Centres around the world. Naturally, upon request, we also carry out training courses on site in our customers’ own production environment. But even with suitable automation solutions, we can create additional capacity if required.”

Sustainability innovation

The key question here is how can users optimise their manufacturing processes from the incoming order right through to the shipping of the finished sheet metal products? Software is a core component for achieving this. And so are machines that are digitally networked. In the future, these machines will communicate with each other and optimise themselves. “We are already now using software to control processes to ensure that we make the best possible use of the resources of the integrated machines,” he explained.

Norbert mentioned other factors, such as preventive maintenance, remote maintenance, or monitoring. “These allow us to improve our customers’ process quality. And this, in turn, minimises breakdowns and downtimes,” he added.

Mr. Seo expressed software also an important starting point here. “With our BySoft 7 software, users can already now create intelligent laser cutting plans. This helps them make optimum use of raw materials and perform cutting processes quickly and reliably. The end result are high-quality sheet metal products,” he justified.

“In the future, we will incorporate artificial intelligence into the controls of our cutting and bending systems. This is currently one of the most promising development trends. In future, our systems will be able to optimise themselves, make processes even more reliable, decrease cycle times, and provide users with even better support,” Norbert expounded.