Robotic tube bending system speeds production

The machine combines a high performance multi-axis industrial robot with a compact all-electric tube bending station. It is said to be ideal for companies seeking to streamline their manufacturing operations, or wishing to accelerate small batch size production of specialist parts by minimising tool changeovers. The Twister uses a fully articulated six-axis industrial robot for all tube transport, material feed and rotate functions. The robot arm is equipped with pneumatically powered gripper fingers – which are part-specific and exchangeable under program control – and handles all X, Y and Z axis movement of the tube as it is being bent. All axes are driven by servo motors and capable of precise positioning – tubes can be bent to within 0.05 degrees, with a repeatable feed accuracy of just 0.01mm. Unlike conventional tube benders, the grippers can relinquish their hold and reposition during the bending cycle while the tube is clamped – for example, to hold the other end of the tube – enabling complex shapes to be formed in any desired sequence. The pedestal-mounted bending station can be equipped with up to five bending heads to facilitate uninterrupted production of parts with multiple bend radii, and is capable of right and left bending to any angle up to 210 degrees. Unison says changeover of tools and part programmes is simple and can be accomplished in less than five minutes. Like the robot, the bending heads are driven by energy efficient servo motors, and offer fully programmable speed profiles for optimum control of material flow.