EuroBLECH Bulletin

News from the Organisers

EuroBLECH 2012 - central hub for business on a global scale

With a total of 1,500 exhibitors from 41 countries presenting the latest machines, tools and systems for sheet metal working, EuroBLECH 2012 is again set to be an industry highlight. As the World’s No. 1 exhibition and business barometer for the sheet metal working industry, the show offers its audience a comprehensive idea of the prevailing technological trends and economic situation.

Bigger than the previous event, this year’s EuroBLECH occupies eight halls offering even more space for live demonstrations of innovative machinery and future production trends. The sheet metal working industry is a high-performance industry sector. In order to respond to ever increasing fluctuations in demand, companies have to insure their technological advance through expertise and continued innovation. They have to closely watch industry trends and the market, continuously developing their regional and international networks.

EuroBLECH is the central hub for business on a global scale. From 23–27 October 2012, in Hanover, suppliers of products and services for sheet metal working will come together with trade visitors from all over the world, ready to invest.

http://www.euroblech.com

For Exhibitors: Free promotional material available

To help exhibitors maximise their participation at EuroBLECH 2012, the organisers, Mack Brooks Exhibitions, have a variety of free promotional material on offer: Printed visitor brochures in English, German, Italian, French and Spanish as well as supplementary inserts in further languages; posters in A2 size, and coloured stickers for use on envelopes or letterheads are available for free. Deadline for orders of free printed promotional material is 31st August 2012.

A wide range of free online promotional items are also available for download. Banners, email signatures, area maps, sticker templates, etc. can be instantly personalised with the exhibitor’s details. More information is available from the organisers.

http://www.euroblech.com/english/exhibitor-services/marketing-services/?promo

EuroBLECH Job Board – for vacancies and job seekers

For the first time, EuroBLECH hosts a Job Board for vacancies and job seekers in the sheet metal working industry. Participating in this career market will enable job seekers to reach a worldwide employer base within the sheet metal working technology industry. To make use of this opportunity, candidates can register and upon approval post their details on the EuroBLECH website. For job seekers this service is free of charge.

Exhibitors can post vacancies via their Online Marketing Packages. For more information, please visit the pages of the EuroBLECH Job Board. Here you will find listings of job vacancies and individuals looking for employment.

http://www.euroblech.com/english/job-market/

Technologies

Reliable image processing based on practical experience: Fanuc Robotics

The company's own iRVision image recognition system is available in several 2D and 3D versions and works whilst the unit is on the move ("Snap in Motion"), making it easier to weld unusually large components, for instance. Thus the combination of a robot with a vision system gives a level of flexibility hitherto unknown in mechanical systems. This system works in combination with the R-30iB control unit, which offers new options for the visualisation of welding data, which can be optimised via "Power Optimisation" or "Motion Optimisation"

Image: Image recognition systems and control units make Fanuc robots highly versatile. Photo: Fanuc

http://www.fanucrobotics.com

Georg develops highly efficient levelling solution for hot-rolled blanks in laser quality

The processing of blanks in laser quality with plasticity degrees of up to 80% inside the material to be levelled and high relief of stresses for further processes represent technological challenges which are mastered by Georg's new high performance levelling unit for hot-rolled coil. The solution is an extremely rigid machine frame to achieve the required high degrees of plasticity. Maximum bending of the entire machine frame under greatest load is 0.2 mm. After completion of the unit an experienced service team from Georg UK integrated the new leveller into the existing cut-to-length line at the site of the customer Tata Steel Service Centre UK. In order to achieve maximum flexibility, the leveller was built in GEORG's proven cassette type design with semi-automatic exchange as per customer requirements. Thanks to Georg's smart technology, steel strips with thicknesses of 3 to 6 mm, tensile strengths of up to 600 N/mm and strip widths of 1,000 to 2,000 mm can be cut precisely. A levelling grade of laser quality has been achieved, meaning blanks are almost free from stresses.

Image: GEORG's high-performance leveller for hot-rolled material sets new standards. Photo: Georg

http://www.georg.com

Hypertherm introduces new and improved metal cutting systems

The HyPerformance HPRXD product line features enhanced capabilities, giving end users more options and flexibility for multiple cutting applications. The Powermax105® is another new development and the most powerful unit in the Powermax family. This 105-amp air plasma system for handheld and automated cutting and gouging is designed to comfortably cut 32 mm thick metals and sever metal up to 50 mm thick. The advanced technologies Rapid Part™ and True Hole™ are part of Hypertherm’s Integrated Plasma Cutting Solutions platform - a combination of hardware and CAM nesting software providing revolutionary performance. With Rapid Part technology, Hypertherm products integrate seamlessly to significantly increase productivity, without operator intervention.
The two HyIntensity™ Fiber Laser systems (2.0 kW and 1.0 kW) are also new. These additional systems have a 1.5 kW power source and a fully-integrated fibre laser system designed specifically for cutting applications, including marking and fine-feature cutting.

Image: Shipbuilding places high demands on laser and plasma systems. Photo: Hypertherm

http://www.hypertherm.com

New LVD project management software in CADMAN® suite

With the integrated project management module CADMAN®-Job LVD extend their CADMAN® offline products. CADMAN®-Job helps you classify and plan your fabrication shop workload in the most efficient manner, minimising set-up time and changeovers, and streamlining production.

CADMAN-Job manages the day-to-day relationship between your ERP system, CAM and the production line. The software creates or imports work orders from an ERP system, generates jobs for bending, punching or laser cutting, minimising tool/turret setup, lens/nozzle change. The software system also tracks the progress of each work order, provides estimated and real production time information, and generates lists to launch any re-work necessary.

CADMAN-Job is an extension of LVD’s CADMAN offline software, a PC-based CAD/CAM system that operates on a Windows® platform. CADMAN streamlines the fabricating process through a single, complete offline system for the design, unfolding, punching, laser cutting and bending of sheet metal parts.

CADMAN-Job also complements CADMAN-OEE, an integration module used to examine and measure equipment productivity and performance effectiveness for a variety of sheet metalworking machines.

Image: CADMAN-Job. Photo: LVD

http://www.lvdgroup.com

transfluid cutting technology handles tubes up to 76 mm dia., regardless of wall thickness

transfluid is a globally successful supplier of tube bending and processing equipment, with a focus on chipless tube separation technology, a highly economical process. Ideal applications include the processing of high grade materials from coils, avoiding chips in the production process and separating large numbers of tubes. The systems are extremely powerful and offer an amazing cutting quality, regardless of material and wall thickness. The software is specially programmed for optimised cutting to ensure that almost no waste originates from the process. Chipless cutting equipment can be individually equipped for manual loading with a tube bunker or for cutting from the coil with a straightening line. The systems can handle a max dia. of 30 x 3 mm for stainless tubes and offer a production speed of up to 1,600 cuts per hour. The shortest cutting length is 25 mm without pulling apart and 55 mm with pulling apart, all with a residual length of 110 mm. Parts can be sorted in up to 10 separate containers.

Image: transfluid technology "t cut" for economical chipless tube cutting. Photo: transfluid

http://www.tube-processing-machines.com

6-axis TruLaser Robot 5020 optimised

A programmable, movable collimator lens within the optics automatically adjusts the focus position, allowing a smooth progression from a heat-conducting joint requiring a shallow weld depth to a deep weld with a seam thickness of several millimetres. This means the TruLaser Robot has no difficulty welding components with complex geometries and can apply every kind of weld, including butt welds, lap welds, fillet welds and flange welds.
When it comes to applications that require both precision and very high speeds, remote welding using scanner optics is the solution. In the scanner optics developed by TRUMPF, only the mirrors move, rather than the component or the robot head and thanks to the new 3D-optics, the laser beam can now be easily focused in the z-axis, too. The robot cell is also capable of performing laser deposition welding for component repairs and wear protection. This involves the use of a laser beam to create a molten pool on the component surface, into which a filler material is continually added and melted. Substrate and filler material are combined, producing a melt-metallurgical connection between the layer and the carrier component.

Image: Laser deposition welding with the TruLaser. Photo: TRUMPF Group

http://www.trumpf.com

The new TruLaser 1030 fiber also cuts nonferrous metals

The 2D laser unit is equipped with a TruDisk 2001 solid-state laser and can cut copper up to three millimetres thick or brass up to two millimetres thick. Mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium can be cut at gauges of twelve, six and five millimetres respectively. The laser, a highly flexible tool, can cut virtually every contour. The TruDisk laser offers additional advantages with its low energy costs and its capacity for integration into a network. In the LaserNetwork, for instance, several machines can use the same beam source and act together, optimising its utilisation. The unit’s footprint is very small and the laser can be set up near the machine as required. That means the system will fit in even the smallest shop.

Just like the CO2 version in the series, the TruLaser 1030 fiber is intended especially for businesses with little or no experience in laser cutting. But its modest investment level also makes it suitable as a complementary machine for experienced users.

http://www.trumpf.com

Optical extensometers are ready for new challenges

Ever-smaller specimen dimensions, contact-sensitive specimens, testing at high temperatures - conditions under which contact-type extensometers increasingly reach their limits. However, optical extensometers like Zwick’s laserXtens can provide the answer. It uses the unique structures of the specimen surface to generate virtual gauge marks, eliminating the need for traditional specimen marking - a benefit with high specimen throughput or when used in automated systems. In the high-temperature (HT) range, where gauge marks cannot be used, optical systems are the perfect solution, which, like Zwick's laserXtens, can satisfy the requirements of Accuracy Class 1 of ISO 9513 (Class B2 of ASTM E83). And when biaxial tensile or tensile-torsion loads are an issue, the laser speckle principle enables measurement of these deformations using a single measuring system.

Image: Tensile test on micro specimen. Photo: Zwick

http://www.zwick.de/en.html

News from the Industry

Increased co-operation between Daimler Trucks and Kamaz

In future Mercedes-Benz will supply Axor cabs to Kamaz, which the Russian company will incorporate into its new generation of trucks in 2013. The licensing agreement stipulates that Mercedes-Benz will supply Kamaz with several cabs this year, which the Russian company will install in prototype vehicles. In the following years, Mercedes-Benz will then deliver individual components, which will be assembled at the Kamaz production plant in Chelny in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan. Over time, an increasing share of the components will be produced locally. The partners’ long-term goal is to sell more than 20,000 vehicles equipped with the cab.

Image: The Mercedes-Benz Axor. Photo: Daimler Trucks

http://www.daimler.com

Böhler Edelstahl to invest 16m euros in powder metallurgical plant

A new production hall in Kapfenberg, Austria, is to be built to accommodate a new hot isostatic press as well as to increase melting and atomisation capacity. A hot isostatic press works like a pressure vessel in which the powder materials are compacted at a pressure of 1,000 bar. The production range includes high performance steels, high speed steels and tool steels sold under the brand name BÖHLER MICROCLEAN. The applications for these steel grades are predominantly milling tools as well as tools and moulds for cold forming and punching processes, including stamping, fineblanking, punching etc., whenever conventionally produced materials have reached their performance limits. Böhler Edelstahl is part of the Edelstahl Division of the Voestalpine group.

http://www.bohler-edelstahl.com/index_en.htm

Austria: Major Domestic Appliances show encouraging signs

According to the German market research company GfK Expert, the Austrian MDA industry recorded a stable performance at the start of 2012, increasing by 5 per cent in value terms from January to April when compared with the same period in 2011. All distribution channels witnessed growth during this period. Hoods, cooling devices and hobs demonstrated the highest growth rates, with both sales and average prices experiencing increases. The freezer segment remained the only one to show value declines, although even here the overall segment was boosted by higher average prices.

http://www.gfkrt.com/

Stainless Steel in Figures

For the first time, the Brussels-based International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) has published a range of statistics about the global stainless steel industry. The documentation can be downloaded from the Forum's website and is sub-divided into three sections: 1. History and Competition, 2. Current performance, 3. Potential. The information in the publication has been gathered by ISSF's Economics and Statistics Department and shows how stainless steel has developed in a global context. ISSF intends to update the publication each year.

Image: Development of the sales potential for stainless steel 2002 - 2011.

http://www.worldstainless.org