By introducing the TruBend Center Series 5000, TRUMPF is making its debut in the market for panel bending technology
In production, panel bending has established itself alongside the traditional die bending as an additional ideal bending technique. TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG has recently entered this field, with its own panel benders, the TruBend Center Series 5000. It is expanding its portfolio by adding panel benders with extremely high productivity and quick tool setup. They are semi-automatic by design and are distinguished by their high speed, great flexibility and superb economy, especially for small lot sizes. In addition, they can process a wide variety of components needed in many different industries. Virtually everything is possible: small or large, formed or notched, narrow or negative bends – as well as repeated radius bending without setups.
The economical manufacture of short production run
The panel bending machines in the TruBend Center Series 5000 made by TRUMPF are semi-automatic machines. This means that the machines automatically carry out all the bending steps for each bending edge. The operator only needs to insert, rotate and remove the blanks. Everything else is done by the 2-axis part manipulator, working automatically in conjunction with the bending tools.
Each bending method has its own advantages. To select the perfect technology, it is important to know what the customer produces. In the past, the decisive criteria were primarily the production quantity and thickness of the material. Now, however, the manufacturing trend is moving toward small lot sizes.
Since the machines in TruBend Center Series 5000 work economically even when producing short runs, they are virtually predestined for this purpose. Their advantage, as semi-automatic machines, is that they can be run in more quickly than fully automatic machines. This is relevant especially for small lot sizes. In these semi-automatic units, the blank holders are changed automatically. While the operator is preparing for the next component or starting the program, the TruBend Center Series 5000 automatically changes the blank holders.
Using a single tool to achieve different bending radii
The speed of panel bending is also remarkable. It is two to three times faster than die bending. In the past, incorporating differing radii in a single component was often avoided since such items could not be manufactured economically, and the component therefore had to be made by putting two separate parts together.
This technology puts an end to all that. Panel bending lets you generate differing radii in a single workpiece very quickly, and without extra tool setups. This raises productivity and is a convincing argument when it comes to deciding on a panel bending machine. In this way, designers can realize their wish for larger rounded areas in trim panels and satisfy requirements for exceptional geometries. The panel bending machines from TRUMPF can cope with the trend toward cost-effective manufacturing with ever smaller lot sizes, and can be handled with great flexibility.
Enormous applications spectrum – from small to large sheet metal components
Among the materials typically processed with the TruBend Center Series 5000 are mild steel up to 3 mm thick, stainless steel up to 2.2 mm, and aluminum up to 3 mm. Galvanized and painted sheet metal can also be processed. The machines in the TruBend Center Series 5000 can not only bend large parts, but are especially good at bending small components, too. The minimum component depth (that is, profile width) can be as little as 40 mm. Here the machines once again capitalize on the benefits of the semi-automatic design, since the narrowest profile width for fully automatic machinery is about 120 mm.
The machines in the TruBend Center Series 5000 make it possible to manufacture a broad range of parts.
Narrow bends and the ability to process smaller parts are also, quite clearly, assets offered by the TRUMPF panel bending machines. They make it possible to cover a broad range of applications. While in the past certain parts had to be manufactured on other machines, they can now be bent economically. Examples include door frames, small sheet metal components for agricultural use, and electronic equipment casings. It is also possible to process sheet metal components for household appliances, for workshop or retail fittings, commercial kitchens, automobiles, building facades, all kinds of automatic equipment, and much, much more. The machines’ great flexibility makes it possible to produce small and large components, narrow and broad bent sections, and a variety of radii without having to change tools. That expands the operating range tremendously and, in turn, boosts the utilization rate of these machines.
High precision manufacturing – Productivity advantages for short runs
Finished material and polished or brushed stainless steel, in particular, have proved to be very sensitive to scratches. Here the TRUMPF panel bending machines set benchmarks since they are very precise and use bending tools which are robust and mechanically stable. This means they can process with a minimum of tool marks. This is just one of the machines’ quality features. Another is the accuracy of repetition for these bending machines, which are precise to the hundredths of a millimeter. The bending quality is so high that laser welding can be carried out immediately afterward. One of the reasons for the high quality is an integrated video camera, functioning as an angle assistant. This makes it possible for the operator to compare the actual and specified bending angles and to make corrections as needed. This also makes for enhanced quality for the following bends since the operator can use the first bend as the basis for a very exact angle comparison. The reject rate is significantly reduced, as well. This is already apparent in the run-in for the part, because even the very first part meets specifications. This is true especially for short production runs. If just five parts are to be made, for example, then it is hardly economical to waste additional material in the run-in. This makes for noticeable productivity benefits thanks to the optical angle assistant, especially when producing small lots.
The height adjustment feature of the 2-axis part manipulator enables negative bends and much more
A further unique selling point of the TruBend Center Series 5000 is the fact that – thanks to the height-adjustable 2-axis part manipulator – a component can be bent in a number of different ways, at different edges. Here even negative bends are possible, and this feature is totally unrivalled.
In fully automatic machines, a sheet must always lay flat to accommodate rotation through 90 degrees. This means that sheets with upward and downward bends can be processed only on semi-automatic units like those offered by TRUMPF. The height-adjustable 2-axis part manipulator also offers further advantages. Different gripper modules – including mechanical clamps, magnetic holders and vacuum grippers – can be mounted. Since the height can be adjusted, even smaller components can be secured on an edge which has already been bent. The result, as previously mentioned, is that the machines can bend narrow profiles, right down to 40 mm.
The panel bending technology shows its benefits whenever the blanks to be bent have raised areas or recesses. Here, too, the TruBend Center Series 5000 is very flexible in manipulating the parts. In contrast, fully automatic units could encounter problems gripping parts if they have punched openings in the middle. These are the fundamental reasons that make the panel bending technology built by TRUMPF so extremely flexible and economical.
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