TTM 02 2007 ENG

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Innovation & High Technology

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Magazine

Issue N. 2 - September 2007 - Six-monthly magazine by Tube Tech Machinery

Sheet metal laser cutting and welding Our mission is not simply to supply equipment but also to solve a technological problem. This way our customers will be totally satisfied.

new numerical control has been purposely developed by Italian partners, to improve the laser cutting in terms of speed and performance.

This new numerical control is based on the D.Electron Z32, already in use, and will equip the Tube Tech Machinery systems FL250 3D e TL312 3D.

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All too often when we speak of laser cutting we do not stop to think about the specific software functions which have been developed to obtain the maximum productivity from the machinery and to respond to all the various cutting needs.

These factors are more and more crucial when choosing the system.

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DL deal with iron and steel products, especially tube machining. Recently, an innovative laser cutting system has been installed to make it possible to work on larger diameters, thus making the way for new markets.

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TS 4.20 2D is the abbreviation for the brand new system developed

by Tube Tech Machinery for the cutting and welding of sheet metal.

The system is totally automatic and can trim and weld sheet metal using a special head which both cuts and welds.

This system has been designed and manufactured

by TTM together with Trumpf and Precitec, who have supplied some of the parts.

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he system has been developed for a very important service centre which thanks to this new Tube Tech Machinery machine can improve its production and begin new applica tions with much larger metal sheets to offer to its customers. This new technique has been studied to meet the customers’ specific needs, and, yet again, TTM proves to be a supplier full of new ideas which means new, reliable and technologically advanced machinery.

“We are convinced that it is important not to concentrate only on one kind of system” - says Fiorenzo Castellini, owner of the Castellini Group, to which Tube Tech Machiner y belongs – “since we can provide practical solutions to our clients’ problems by benefit of a long experience

Traction and bending test trials on the welding strips.

in problem solving.

This system is a clear demonstration of this.”

We must remember that the core busi ness of TTM consists in laser cutting equipment for working on large-dimen sional tubes , so, with the TS 4.20 2D, the company has tackled a new kind of production. “In fact, we are not here simply

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to provide a piece of equipment, but also to find a solution to a technological prob lem , for the customer’s total and absolute satisfaction.

tant to note the star ting sizes of the sheets are the maximum possible, so, the machinery has to adapt automatically to different sizes , to a minimum of 1.000 x 2.000 mm.

The objective is metal sheets measuring 4 x 20 m

The production stages

The metal sheets go from a minimum of 1.000 x 2.000 mm to a maximum of 2.050 x 4.100 mm with thicknesses varying from 1 to 8 mm. The machine has an automatic sheet loading system which means a h i g h l e v e l o f automation .. “Actually, the client asked us for a highly automated machine system capable of t r i m m i n g a n d w e l d i n g highly resistant steel sheets of the above –mentioned size t o o b t a i n a f i n i s h e d product measuring 4.000 x 20.000 mm” .

From this came the initials “TS” ( taglio e saldatura- cutting and welding). “4.20” is the size of the final product. It is impor-

The TS 4.20 2D production cycle is quite simple and consists in the following stages: • automatic loading of metal sheet on to a work surface by a vacuum system.

• sheet is lined up and centred on work t a b l e using fixed and mobile clamping devices • metal sheet is moved across under control of CNC; • blocking of side of sheet using a hydraulic system; • edges trimmed using a two- dimensional headed laser cutter.

• positioning of a second metal sheet.

After centring, it is brought to a distance of about 30 mm from the first one and blocked on the first long edge by a

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mobile hydraulically controlled system; • second sheet trimmed by a laser cut • the two edges are perfectly aligned : only one of the sheets is moved; • the two sheets are pointed to avoid heat distortion between them; • continuous laser welding using the same cutting head with the Precitec LWM (Laser Welding Monitor) which operates as a joint runner and also checks and controls the welding • the two clamping devices are opened • the welded sheets are transferred.

At this point the cycle repeats, adding a new sheet to those already welded. When the welding operation is over, obtaining a sheet of the required size, the metal sheet is transferred, either manually or mechanically, to other laser cutters to be trimmed and machined , if necessary.

The welding

Construction design of the TS 4.20 2D: the initials “TS” stand for “taglio e saldatura”, “4.20” is the size of the final product

Naturally the quality of the final product had to be guaranteed. Layers of sheet metal made in sizes unavailable on the m a r k e t f o r u s e o n r a i l w a y l i n e s had to provide the same quality guaranteed and same mechanical characteristics as its components. Here is engineer Castellini’s comment on this : “This was the most difficult part of our work, not so much for its intricacy as for the novelty of what we had to guarantee. On the welding on the base sheets with a thickness of 2, 4, 6 and 8 mm we carried out met allurgic distinction tests from the strips (with tests for hardness) and mechanical

tests for traction and bending (in accordance with the standard EN ISO 1561411) to determine the best parameters and, the relative working limits. Then, by exploiting the LWM of the Precitec we made sure that these limits could not be surpassed while the machinery in function. Thus, w e c o u l d g u a r a n t e e t h e machinery would work smoothly. It was a long job but we loved every minute of itas we always do, when faced with a new challenge. We are also happy because, at the end, our client complimented us on our work.”

Finally it is our duty to say that, as all the machines at TTM, the TS 4.20 2D was also d e s i g n e d w i t h t h e h e l p o f F E M (Finite Elements Method) to ensure technical perfection

The TS 4.20 2D has an automatic sheetloading system, saving on labour costs

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NUMERICAL CONTROL A new numerical control has been studied and devised, by Italians, to speed up the laser cut. The new NC is based on the D.Electron Z32 control system which is already in use and will equip the Tube Tech Machinery FL250 3D and TL312 3D.

The control increases the work done by the laser

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ube Tech Machinery, has many years’ experience in the field of laser cutting machines designed to work on very large tubes and sheet metal. The company has decided to develop a new numeric control system for use on their machinery. This system derives from the collaboration with an Italian firm, the D.Electron in Florence, renowned the world over for both its hardware and software in the construction of numerical controls.

Therefore, the new machines in the FL250 3D series, for the cutting of tubes with a diameter up to 254 mm and in the TL312 3D series, for the cutting of large sized sheet metal (3.200 x 12.000 mm and beyond), will be equipped with the new, but well-tested control system based on the D.Electron Z32. But let’s go back a step and see what motivated such a strategic and significant choice.

WE CHOSE TO START WITH A NUMERIC CONTROL WITH A MODULAR STRUCTURE WHICH CAN BE SCALED FOR EXCELLENT CONFIGURATIONS FOR DIFFERENT USES.

needs. Therefore, the system must be flexible and adaptable to the 3D laser cutting machines.

This is why we chose to start with a numeric control which has a modular structure that can be scaled, just like the Z32 ( PCbased architecture), which gives optimal results. Not only is the hardware excellent ; the software is ready to include special, optional programs developed by the customers themselves.

The “common denominator” of flexibility and research and development has given rise to the collaboration between TTM and D.Electron. This certainly offers excellent market prospects for both companies.

Thanks to the experience of the work team TTM and D.Electron, the customer can reap the benefits of the most up to date machinery.

The open system favours personal design The need for this arose from the special type of market TTM has always been up against, that is the necessity to take its high precision per formances so typical of tube and sheet metal machinery, to laser working on larger and heavier pieces where inertia can have a negative influence on work and production.

It is also necessary to personalize the func tions and applications to satisfy the customers’

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The modular structure, which can be scaled, for excellent configurations for different uses.

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CAD/ CAM 3D

Software: the strategic aspect he well established partnership between Alma, production leader in software CAD/CAM for the working of sheet metal, tubes and metal bars, and Tube Tech Machinery, w o r l d leader in 3D laser cutting, gives us the opportunity to talk about software. In fact, Alma’s flexibility in adapting its software at TTM’s request for their customers shows how strategically important the soft ware is to guarantee the required high level of our products.

We must immediately say that TTM and ALMA are helpful to one another in the field of innovation. For Tube Tech Machinery it is a real strong point to have a partner which develops its software in correspondence to the problems which they are, from time to time, confronte d with. We can widen our markets since we have the possibility of offering software “on request”. On the other hand, the collaboration with Tube Tech Machinery a d d s i m p o r t a n t value to Alma, since TTM gives them opportu nities to develop tools that give more use to the environmental modules Act/, regarding the 3D cutting of tubes and metal bars.

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All too often when speaking about laser cutting we seem to forget the function of the special software developed to make the machinery more productive and to resolve the problem of individual cutting requests, fundamental when choosing the kind of machinery for the job.

The “light answer” The software range Act/, A l m a m e e t s t h e requirements of all machinery produced by Tube Tech Machinery, from production management to the programming of the FL systems for tube and bar cutting with five interpolated axes, thanks to modules like Act/Tubes and Act/Cut3D, or systems for working the metal sheets for cutting, welding and 3D cutting of deep- drawn details with the module Act/Cut Professional.

The custom-made software for Tube Tech Machinery regards all levels of machine pro duction starting from the design, for which a potent instrument for a “light answer” reducing the time needed to calculate and elaborate data in cases where there is a lot of geometry to be done on the same piece, has been developed. “Replica leggera” “Light answer” introduced by TTM enables a sequence of master cuts to be established which is then repeated only in the post processor phase.

This delays the duplication of information of the intersecting tubes and lightens the volume of data to be elaborated. This caused no mean problem to a Russian firm working on the production of pipes for the oil industry. Here we are referring to tubes about 8 meters long on which, using the FL 250 system, 1.200 holes of different shapes and sizes are bored to fil ter the crude oil. This is an isolated case but illustrates, in an excellent way, the concept of customization.

The dedicated interface There are cases in which customized software has gone further. For a Finnish producer of pipes and high pressure manifolds a special interface of DIALOGUE was developed with a Tribon 3m Pipe Modeler, CAD 3D system dedicated to piping, which the company uses to program all the machinery installed in the workshop.

With this interface you can reconstruct in Act/Tubes, using the information from Tribon, the designs of the tubes needed for nesting; Act/Cut 3D automatically converts all the information, especially that needed for chamfers and stoppers(distantial).

Since they are high pressure manifolds, the intersections must be welded with complete metal penetration which calls for jointing and the above-.mentioned stoppers which are used to maintain a fixed distance so the welding is filled properly.

Resource Editor Still on the subject of customized software, it is possible to create a resource editor, in other words a p e r s o n a l i z e d d a t a b a s e including all the technical parameters set for each machine tool. For example, the main parameters of the Tube Tech Machinery machines are defined according to machining, tooling, materials, their quality and thickness to be worked.

The materials and tubes/sections are put into a database which is the same for all the machines and the user can insert sec tions of the most commonly used tubes and code them. For TTM open data files have been installed, IP joists or C and, so the cutting sequences for the module Act/Cut3D have been prepared.

Other functions of Act/Cut3D have been customized to create the optimal schedule for the Tube Tech Machinery machines .

Parameters have been prepared for the FL600, FL400, FL250 and FL200 systems which make automatic calculations allowing also a human intervention, when required, to modify the final program.

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LASER TUBES

The 3D cutting of larg has been added

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or decades, la MDL of Capriano del Colle in the province of Brescia have been concerned with the trading of iron and steel products. The company’s main activity is tube manufacturing. They have the means to perform the following: tapering, boring, trimming, cutting to size and bending. Therefore, the firm focuses on a variety of different client areas: cars manufacturers, plumbing, central heating, fur nishing, components production, curtain accessories. MDL are direct suppliers or work on someone else’s behalf. They man-

The MDL system can use 3D tubes according to the customer’s needs.

ufacture steel, copper, brass and aluminium tubes. When you go round the firm’s premises you are impressed by the quantity of the material there is in the warehousein fact they process about 50.000 t of tubing per year.

“MDL certainly answers the needs of all companies requiring specialized services in the field of iron and steel machining, especially tubing” explains Marcello Zanini, We supply semi- finone of the owners. “W ished tubes to all sectors, our work also includes the welding or the bending of t u b e s and the making of drawn tubes, round, square or rectangular welded tubes with burring/trimming on both sides. We also provide a cleaning service for both the inside and outside of tubes, made-tomeasure boring, machining of round, oval or square tubes or just cutting tubes and metal bars to the required measure.

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MDL are involved in the trading of iron and steel products, especially tube manufacturing. They have recently installed an innovative laser cutting system to increase the diameters they can work on and open up new markets.

Increasing the range of workable thicknesses for market expansion Recently, MDL has installed a new laser cutting system, the FL250 3D of the Tube Tech Machinery with the aim of completing the services they can offer and thus expanding their markets. “By investing in laser technology - says Zanini – today we can approach the market in a different way, expanding into areas previously unknown to us. With the introduction of the laser tube we can approach market areas we had formerly avoided.”

Actually, the general sensation is that there is an increase in work opportunities in the field of commissioned work for other firms, especially in mechanics. New proj ects are replacing rounded sheet metal with tubing sections. It is not just by pure chance they have chosen the FL250 3D system with a 2,700 W CO2 energy source, capable of working on small tubes, used typically in traditional laser technology for the furniture industry, or on larger sections of tubing used in areas where the potential of laser technology is still relatively unknown.

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ge tubes The quantity of tubes in the warehouse is stunning.

MDL process about 50.000 t of tubes per year.

“Our aim was to increase the range of workable thicknesses to open up new markets for us - emphasizes Zanini – and we can progress to larger structures as used in modern construction work for

MDL have installed the tube laser cutting system FL250 3D produced by Tube Tech Machinery.

warehouses and scaffolding.”

One of the FL250 3D‘s main characteristics is the solidity of the entire structure.

3D cutting and added value The FL250 3D installed in MDL has an automatic loading and unloading system which can process tubes and metal bars with a maximum length of 7 m. A fundamental aspect of the machine is its 3D cutting head which means MDL is a “cut The 3D cut above” the rest of the market. “T

It has been devised for the processing of custom- made angled tubes, chamfers and flares from 10 to 254 mm.

“I would almost say - says Zanini – that the FL250 3D shows its maximum poten tial in the cutting of very thick tubes.

Perhaps this is conditioned by the fact that there is no substantial difference from any other system available on the market when it comes to cutting thinner tubes. I am convinced, though, that the thicker and, therefore, heavier, the tube gets, t h e s o l i d i t y a n d r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h e machine becomes more important, even more important than its laser technology ”.

Perhaps this is the reason why TTM has chosen to provide a machine which covers the whole range of thicknesses that MDL wanted to face in the best possible way, even though, in some cases, this was superfluous.

Sections of oval tubing that MDL had to cut and for which Tube Tech Machinery devised and made a special piece of machinery, demonstrating competence and readiness to help understand and give their customers what they really want.

is a kind of added value for our customers that only we can give them, especially when working on large structures, where chamfer and caulking are absolutely vital to the preparation for welding”, Marcello tells us. “ When talking about 3D cutting, we mean various kind of cuts which make jointing, welding and the assembly of the whole structure much easier. The 3D cutter also speeds up operations and conse quently has cost benefits for the cus tomer.”

The 3D laser head cutter can be placed in any direction inside a semi -sphere. The head movements are made by direct-drive motors without any mechanical transmission. The exact distance of the laser point from the surface to be cut is controlled by a sensor which immediately automatically corrects the positioning of the machine axis. The accuracy and integrated cooling system guarantees high precision.

Maximum speed is reached on the FL250 3D using dynamic motors and exceptionally high quality transformers.

The machine is very solid, but it is equally important to remember that the section of the tubes or the metal bars can be auto matically changed: there is absolutely no need to fix any setting of the machine; for example, you can pass from a round tube to a square one without having to change anything. It was a different story in the case of some sections of oval tubing that MDL had to cut; T u b e T e c h M a c h i n e r y devised and made a special piece of machinery for this. This is a demonstration of how TTM, with their competence and readiness to help and understand, give their customers what they really want

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EVENTS

ommitment, passion and willpower have enabled us to complete a whole range of products which were Tube Tech Machinery’s target in the last few years. New ideas have made it possible for us to produce high performance new machinery, flexible in use and made to meet our customers’ individual needs. We have managed to make our standards appreciated so much that other machine constructors have used our ideas.

With three models (the FL250 capable of machining 20 to 254 mm of diameter, the FL400 capable of machining 40 to 406 mm of diameter and our flagship the FL600 for tubes 80 to 610 mm) we think we are the smallest manufacturer in the world offering the largest range of tubes in this sector. All our systems have 3D cutting heads, now essential to guarantee our customers total, unlimited flexibility.

In the field of sheet metal working, the brand new and innovative TL 312 3D has revolutionized the concept of large machinery for sheet metal working with a size of 3.000 x 12.000 mm with a 3D head cutter. With the help of the double gantry we can do things with speed and precision never reached before on such large sheets.

The latest creation, now installed at Göeke in Germany, is the TS4.20 where, after cutting we have ventured into welding. You can find out all about this project in the TTM Magazine.

Our great feeling of satisfaction does not last for long, since we are always trying to satisfy our customers’ demands and keep up with their requests. I am certain that Tube Tech Machinery has consolidated its foundations in becoming an impor tant reference point in laser technology. Laser technology is constantly changing and there is no time to rest on our laurels. This is the reason why TTM will continue in its development and research of new solutions.

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EMO Hannover Hannover 17 - 22 September 2007 Pavilion 15 - Stand D42

SCANDINAVIAN TECHNICAL FAIR Stockholm 16 - 19 October 2007 Stand B05:21

Ambitious aims.

EXPOLASER Piacenza 15 - 17 November 2007 Stand C6-D5

WIRE & TUBE Düsseldorf 31 March - 4 April 2008

FL 250

FL 400

TP 3.12

Tube Tech Machinery S.r.l.

Via Bonfadina, 33 25046 Cazzago San Martino (BS) Italy Tel. +39 030 7256311 Fax +39 030 7256333 info@tubetechmachinery.com www.tubetechmachinery.com

FL 600

TPD 3.12

Associato UCIMU - Sistemi per Produrre

TS 4.20