Solutions
With the Flex Cell bending automation system from TRUMPF, the TruBend 7050 becomes a bending cell in no time at all. "We haven't yet disconnected our two Flex Cells during operation, but just knowing that we could continue to use the systems manually gives us peace of mind," says Gerhard Steinhuber and his brother Ferdinand adds: "We disconnected the bending automation once during the training. The effort was minimal. In just 25 minutes it was disconnected, moved, reconnected and recalibrated. This maximum flexibility, the high productivity and the processing quality have convinced Ferdinand and Gerhard Steinhuber. "For us, the Flex Cell is an ideal solution in terms of cost-benefit ratio," summarizes Gerhard Steinhuber
Implementation
In the first step, the brothers equip an existing TruBend 7050 bending machine with a Flex Cell. "This allowed us to start production just two weeks after the training," says Gerhard Steinhuber and adds. "The processing quality was perfect and although we haven't yet exhausted everything, productivity has increased noticeably. This naturally has a positive effect on our delivery times." This convinced the Steinhubers, and after a few weeks they ordered another TruBend 7050, including Flex Cell.
"The programming was challenging at first," admits Gerhard Steinhuber. "But we have a great team who, above all, enjoyed trying out something new. They quickly got the hang of it." One hour is now enough to program simple parts. For more complex parts, it can take a little longer for the machine to be ready for use, but when it's running, it runs - in the meantime, more and more often unmanned at night.
Today, Steinhuber bends over 50 different parts automatically - and the trend is rising. "You do need more qualified staff to operate them," says Ferdinand Steinhuber. "But to achieve more output, fewer skilled workers are needed. We can now put them to good use elsewhere."
With the Flex Cell, Steinhuber has made the entry into automated bending flexible, simple and fast. "Thanks to the connection and disconnection option, I can use the automation flexibly and relieve employees of monotonous work. Even smaller, recurring series can be produced efficiently - the set-up effort is low," says Gerhard Steinhuber, summarizing the advantages of the solution, and Ferdinand Steinhuber adds: "I'm impressed by the machining quality. The robot grips each part in exactly the same way and strikes it precisely. This is particularly important for asymmetrical components."
