SHEAR-FORM MACHINE TOOLS RECEIVED ORDER FOR ROBOT HAEGER INSERTION PRESS CELL
25 October 2006 - Metalforming Machinery Makers' Association

Shear-Form Machine Tools Ltd, the Coventry based sheet metal and plate working machinery supplier and Haeger’s sole representative in the UK has received an order from Dundee based, Texol Technical Solutions plc for a robotic insertion press cell, comprising a Haeger 824 ‘OneTouch’ insertion press with a 50kg. Motorman UP50N 6-axis industrial robot and NX100 control system. Texol is a technical solutions service and manufacturing company offering a range of engineering and manufacturing services, including Metal Fabrication, Electronics, Mechanical Assembly, Box Build and Design Services.

This order is part of the Company’s ongoing investment in technology and has been purchased to handle and apply studs to a range of mild steel sheets, the largest of which is 2m x 1m and 1.5mm thick. The finished sheets are used to fabricate control cabinet casings. The robot cell is loaded, unloaded and operated by one person. The robot picks up a sheet using adjustable grippers, automatically aligned to meet individual sheet sizes. Each sheet is then passed through sensors to determine the material thickness and placed on a reference table. Correctly aligned the robot takes up the sheet and depending on the sheet size and material thickness, up to 56 x 6mm studs of varying lengths are inserted using a Haeger 824 ‘OneTouch’ Insertion Press. Upon completion the sheet is stacked ready for onward production.

The Insertion Press is equipped with Haeger’s Insertion Logic Software and with its fast RAM speed it has the ability to install four different fastener types in one part handling, 63 kN (98 tons) of ram force and 600 mm (24”) throat depth allows it to handle large panels. It is also fully hydraulic with PLC controls and has 4 Modular Autofeed System feeding units, automatic 4-station upper and lower tool indexing system, Positive Stop Cylinder, Tooling Protection System, Batch Counter and Dwell Timer. The InsertionLogic software, with on board program storage, built in menu structure and help functions, allows the operator to select the fastener he/she requires by type, manufacturer and size as well as the material being used. With this information the software sets the ram force automatically. Help screens provide the operator with diagnostics on all the systems functions and an operator’s manual built into the software makes problem and fault solving easy. Other features include electronic pressure transducer instead of a pressure switch. The ‘824 OneTouch’ has a dual Modular Autofeed System and a four station automatic upper and lower tool change system for one-time handling of components with multiple types of fastener.

The ability to quickly and easily switch from one fastener to another improves productivity and in this scenario reduces part handling to one operation. The cell is very compact requiring an area 7m x 6m. It is completely enclosed and is CE marked Clive Meir, Director at Shear-Form said: “Texol was only formed in 1998 and over a very short period of time they have expanded their business considerably, partly through investment in technology. The company has been have problems making these large panels, mainly because it was painstakingly slow as they are so large that it takes two persons just to lift them into place.

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