TECHNOLOGY NEWS:
New cost-effective wire forming machines
PAVE Automation, UK, has recently celebrated 30 years of success in the international wire, cable and tube industries. To mark this particular occasion, the company has designed a new range of wire forming machines, launched at wire Düsseldorf 2004. These machines are branded Huron and Micro-Mac. All three machines, the single head Huron and the two Micro-Mac twin-head machines (one fed from coil and the other one from straight lengths) are based on new and technologically advanced operating protocols and control systems. The three new machines have been designed to provide faster, more consistently accurate and significantly cost reduced three-dimensional formed parts. Their new production and process control technologies and compactness, offer the wire bender a highly competitive wire forming solution that also delivers more consistent product quality and accurate levels, with much faster cycle times.
The 4-axis Huron bender is fed with wire directly from coil, therefore the wire must be straightened first before it can be formed. The wire drive pulls wire from the de-coiling station, through the straightener into the wire stabiliser. When the correct amount of wire is fed through, measured with a second encoder, the wire is formed into the desired shape by one of the two tools selected, and when fully formed (after several bend operations) a guillotine cuts the finished part from the wire body. Whilst this seems a simple operation, it is not at very high production speeds. The control system consists of a Provit 5000 with an XP embedded operating system with B&R; runtime. Communication to the four axes Acopos is made via Powerlink. The visualisation is based on visual basic and the control has been developed using automation studio. The response of the control system is fast and parts that took 12 seconds to manufacture now take less than 5 seconds.
The two twin-head bending Micro-Mac machines feature two extremely versatile bending heads (left and right hand stations), allowing 3D parts to be formed at both ends, simultaneously. Pre-straightened wire lengths are then presented to the machine via a straightening system, attached to the machines left hand side. Whilst these machines are best suited to high-volume production parts, small, batch production outputs can equally benefit from these machines new production technologies.
Photo: New single head Huron bender
Photo: Twin-head bending Micro-Mac machine
Company: |
Pave Automation Design & Development |
Country: |
UK |
Fax: |
+44 1733 563500 |
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