Solutions
With Flex Cell bending automation from TRUMPF, the TruBend 7050 can be converted into a bending cell in next to no time. "Although we have not yet decoupled our two Flex Cells in operation, the mere knowledge that we could continue to use the systems manually provides security," says Gerhard Steinhuber, while his brother Ferdinand adds: "During training, we disconnected the bending automation once. It was a simple process. In just 25 minutes, it was disconnected, moved, reconnected and recalibrated. Ferdinand and Gerhard Steinhuber were won over by the maximum flexibility, high productivity and processing quality. "From a cost-benefit perspective, Flex Cell is the ideal solution for us", Gerhard Steinhuber concludes
Implementation
As the first step, the brothers equip an existing TruBend 7050 bending machine with a Flex Cell. "This allowed us to start production two weeks after the training," says Gerhard Steinhuber. "The machining quality was perfect and although we have not yet exhausted all the options, productivity has increased noticeably. Of course, this has a positive effect on our delivery times." This convinces the Steinhubers, and after a few weeks they order another TruBend 7050, including Flex Cell.
"Programming was challenging at first," admits Gerhard Steinhuber. "But we have a great team who really enjoyed trying something new. They quickly got the hang of it." Now, it takes just one hour to program simple parts. For more complex parts, it can also take a little longer for the machine to be ready for use, but when it is running, it runs – in the meantime, an is increasingly unmanned at night.
Today, Steinhuber bends over 50 different parts automatically – and the numbers are growing. "You do need more qualified staff to operate it," says Ferdinand Steinhuber. "But this requires more output and fewer skilled workers. We can put them to good use elsewhere now."
The Flex Cell has enabled Steinhuber to get started with automated bending flexibly, easily and quickly. "Thanks to the coupling and uncoupling options, I can use automation flexibly and relieve employees of monotonous work. Even smaller, recurring series can be produced efficiently – the setup effort is minimal," says Gerhard Steinhuber, summarising the advantages of the solution. Ferdinand Steinhuber adds: "I am impressed by the processing quality. The robot picks up each part in exactly the same way and positions it precisely. This is particularly important for asymmetric components."
