Forming and, more particularly, bending metals is an essential step in the production of mechanical assemblies made from sheet metal. As well as the demand for increased precision, bending accuracy and the integrity of the metal surfaces, this procedure requires plenty of physical effort and, until now, frequent manual intervention.
These various tasks have an extensive impact on operator safety and speed of execution and they end up impacting the productivity and profitability of a business. Amada incorporates these process-based factors into its research and development. At EuroBlech 2016, you can see how Amada focuses on all these ‘dimensions’ in its bending solutions. European legislation imposes safety conditions on the operation of machines, which stipulates a reduction in the speed of moving parts that put the operator at risk. Amada has tackled this point to develop a solution to remove the risk factors linked to these moving parts while retaining maximum productivity rates that exploit top machine speeds. The solution drastically cuts down the loss of time between bends, when the operator has to wait for the positioning stops to move into place. We have recorded time savings of around 12% on a ‘fast’ machine, based on the production of one piece with seven-folds.
There is even an impressive 36% time-saving to be had compared to another commercially available model processing a comparable part. The “trick” that makes this happen has a name: FAST (Finger with Active Security Technology). These new stop fingers that can be fitted onto Amada bending machines have an active safety device built in that limit risk to operators if they come into contact with moving parts, even at full speed. This safety feature and “productivity provider” will be introduced and explained at EuroBlech 2016 on the HFE 3i 1003 machine exhibited on the stand. This machine will be equipped with the new generation of AFH tools and of course, will be connected to the relevant software VPSS3i BEND, which both contribute to the productivity of this solution pack.
