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TTM

Innovation & High Technology Magazine

Number three - March 2008 - six-monthly journal produced by Tube Tech Machinery

The 3D head cuts articulated arms TL 3.12 3D SPEED is the abbreviation identifying the flat laser cutting machine developed by Tube Tech Machinery for three-dimensional laser cutting of large dimension metal sheets, by which the company asserts, with full rights, its problem solving vocation. ww.tubetechmachinery.com

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is the completely renewed company site, made it easier and intuitive as it is in the logic of Tube Tech Machinery machines, large and able to do difficult things with unexpected agility, simplicity and malleability.

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hile FL250 is itself an enlargement of the most common processing dimensions and FL600 remains the only machine in the world which processes diameters up to just over 600 mm, the FL400 decidedly differentiates from the usual measures and manages tubes with diameters from 40 mm up to a maximum of 406 mm; a particularly versatile 16".

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ince the start, exploring and applying new ideas in the field of the laser machine tool, Tube Tech Machinery has diversified in comparison to its competitors, by proposing conceptually new solutions, both for the technical aspect of the machines and for the sizes of the processed pieces.

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The 3D head cuts articulated arms

Designed to meet the CIFA Steel Works requirements, a company of the CIFA Group and a worldwide leader in the manufacture of plants and vehicles for handling and transporting concrete, TL 3.12 3D SPEED cuts and bevels high tensile steel sheets, avoiding the necessity to re-process the metal sheet with machine tools. The considerable dimensions of the operational area represent the continuity element with what, from the start, represented the core business of Tube Tech Machinery.

n fact, TL 3.12 3D SPEED inherits and updates the planning conceptions of reliability and quality, originating from an expertise developed in realising 3D laser cutting systems for profiles and tubes with considerable diameters. All this is demonstrated also by the manufacture of this machine in a normalised arcwelded structure, being designed by using the finite element method (FEM) technique which optimises the shape and size and determines the flexional and torsional rigidity in relation to the state of stresses.

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Quick cut and large sizes With TL 3.12 3D SPEED, Tube Tech Machinery has transferred the concept of quick laser cutting on a machine designed to process large dimension metal sheets. This prototype installed at CIFA Steel Works plant in Zanica, in Bergamo province, has been realised in synergy with the

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customer who, having a previous experience with another laser cutting system, immediately pointed out the salient characteristics that the machine should have and that TTM should be able to offer him. The system is able to process and make caulking cuts on high tensile steel sheets with a surface of 12500 x 3200 mm. The considerable length of the area depends on the

necessity of cutting the details of the vehicles telescopic arms, while the possibility to carry out inclined cuts makes assembly easy, avoids re-processing on a machine tool and increases solidity.

With the three-dimensional cut head, the laser beam can be directed on every spot inside a hemisphere, making therefore possible said in-

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clined cuts and countersunk holes, whereas the movement along five interpolated axes with linear motors, ensures excellent dynamics and high performances. Laser technology, combined with the rigidity of the structure, enables reaching high speeds while keeping unaltered the very high precision throughout the whole working area. The machine is equipped with a high frequency laser source with a power of 5000 W allowing high speeds of processing even on high thickness metal sheets. In addition, TL 3.12 3D SPEED is equipped with an automatic pallet change allowing loading and unloading the metal sheet outside the working area and therefore reducing downtime between manufacturing cycles and thereby resulting into increased productivity.

accelerations required by the customer. The second portal, which follows the first with an elastic movement, is connected to it by means of pressurised bellows and carries the laser source allowing to reach the whole working area and perform processing with a continuous quality and accuracy and above all in very fast times.

The effectiveness of this solution set up by Tube Tech Machinery is shown by the displacement speed of 100m/min which can be reached on the X axis representing more than three times with respect to the speed obtained with traditional laser machines for large dimension metal sheets carrying head and source on just one carriage.

TL 3.12 3D SPEED combines the highest productivity levels in the field of large dimension metal sheet cutting to the real improvement of

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the working environment quality thanks to the laser technology and a mobile hopper suction system which, by following the cutting head during operation, ensures complete elimination of smoke and dust from the cutting operation. The system is completely automated and managed in full autonomy by a CNC centre, while the intuitive and easy to use CAD/CAM software completes this laser cutting system, unique on the market.

TL 3.12 3D SPEED is equipped with automatic pallet change for loading and unloading large dimension metal sheets outside the working field, while the machine is running, with a considerable increase in productivity.

Double “elastic� portal The main feature of the machine is the double portal where the three-dimensional cutting head and laser source are located. The first portal, very light, carries the cutting head and can move very fast to perform all the processing with high

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www.tubetechmachinery.com is the completely renewed company site, made it easier and intuitive as it is in the logic of Tube Tech Machinery machines, large and able to do difficult things with unexpected agility, simplicity and malleability.

Our wish was to have a site from which it is shown with immediacy what we are talking about: once the product is selected, it is represented by a video making clear the results that can be obtained; once its potentialities are understood its performances can be examined closely by running through the relevant specifications; having decided that this is the product that can contribute to the development and radical change of your company, our headquarter or our agents can be contacted directly.

www.tubetechmachinery.com

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FL250, FL400 and FL600; three abbreviations for three machine models, all equipped with 3D head, with which Tube Tech Machinery covers the cutting and laser processing of tubes, from 20 mm to 610 mm diameters. These are tree typologies of successful systems working today in Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Russia and Australia.

TAGLIO 3D

Here is the system for 16”

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hile FL250 is itself an enlargement of the most common processing dimensions and FL600 remains the only machine in the world which processes diameters up to just over 600 mm, the FL400 decidedly differentiates from the usual measures and manages tubes with diameters from 40 mm up to a maximum of 406 mm; a particularly versatile 16".

The four independent mandrels

The four mandrels enable passing operations of the tube from the first load and processing couple to the second processing and unloading couple

FL400 has already its own history, full of experiences on the field in which it was distinguished for its operational capacities: the possibility to load open or convex sections long up to 14000 mm, with chain or tubes with diameters up to 10" from bundle, max weight 160 kg/m. Even the unloading possibility is wide and diversified: on chains with lengths from 800 to 14000 mm or on belt for segments up to 1200 mm.

The machine has at its disposal four mandrels, an element which differentiates it fundamentally from any other competitor and enables processing which otherwise would be impossible: the two end mandrels fix tightly and hold the tube, while the two central have the grip unit ensuring axial centring, and leaves the translation to be controlled by the end mandrels. The four mandrels are independently controlled, but they can also work together: this allows passing operations of the tube from the first couple, for loading and processing, to the second, for processing and unloading, in addition to the complete processing of the whole tube length. Thanks to its four controlled mandrels, the machine can have the laser head continuously at work: while the tube to be processed will be held by a couple of mandrels, the other couple is unloading or loading another tube.

It may happen that the pipe is twisted; in which case the end mandrels become floating, holding the tube, but allowing “rear lateral” movements without mechanical stress on any element of the machine; notwithstanding this situation, processing remains accurate since the tube is held by the central mandrels for each side of the processing zone. The two end mandrels are equipped with smoke suction systems.

The dynamic performances of the mandrels and cutting head have very high qualitative standards; the cutting head can move along X, Y and Z axes with a speed of 100 m/min and 1g acceleration thanks to the use of fast and precise linear motors. These area utterly considerable performances for a machine that weighs 95000 kg; solid but not redundant, thanks

to its design carried out with a customised structural calculation of finished elements, developed in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Brescia. The considerable weight, common to all TTM tube cutting machines, is precisely another feature that cannot be found easily on the market, for the benefit of reduced wear and tear and long operating life of the various components.

A machine with no processing limits FL 400 3D is an extremely versatile machine, so much so that it can be considered as without operating limits, with the 3D CAD/CAM management even more easier and accessible. For example, on some applications in the structural tube field, steel is more than ever replacing cement, and in this field processing times with FL400 3D, compared with those of traditional systems, are unequalled, without penalising the qualitative and aesthetic aspects which are excellent and indispensable for structures at sight. Not less important is also the use of FL400 3D in the “traditional” sectors, where the possibility to “re-design” the piece, even by complicating the processing on the machine, allows time saving in the following processing phases, at full benefit of overall times and quality of the result.

If we consider that on the mandrels the tube can translate along the X axis and can rotate, on the FL400 3D we actually have 7 axes potentially available for any required processing; a redundancy of possibilities which allows the “brain” of the machine to optimize processing times by deciding which are the more suitable axes to be used for a specific work among those available.

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HAVING second thoughts about cutting an By definition, “innovator” is the person who proposes new solutions or custom revisions, even radical. Therefore, by its nature, Tube Tech Machinery exemplifies in the best possible way this concept by virtue of its capacity to assert itself on the market by proposing a new approach to laser cutting for tubes and large dimension metal sheets. ince the start – says Fiorenzo Castellini, one of the directors of the homonymous Group of which Tube Tech Machinery makes integral part – exploring and applying new ideas to the field of the laser tool machine, we have proposed conceptually new solutions both for the technical aspect of the machines and for the sizes of the pieces processed.

Our approach to the market wants to meet the requirements of those who deal with uncommon details, and we achieve this through the customization of the proposed solutions. A bold strategic choice, but which however enabled us to attain excellent results. Our products are the result of experience, first as users and then as suppliers of machines able to do exactly what the user expects them to do, in the required times

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and ways. It is not simply a slogan, but the fervent will to grant to the customer the technological solution which better meets his requirements.

This means being able to understand his problems and investigating with him every manufacturing aspect; every time we ask ourselves questions from new points of view. For us it is therefore essential to have succeeded in creating a team of qualified persons, motivated and proud to be part of a team whose task is to positively meet the customer’s requests.

The results give us positive proof from the considerable economical and human efforts invested in the Tube Tech Machinery project since the first day, allowing us to look ahead positively, sure of the great satisfaction shown by our customers”.

Revolutionising the technological course of a company Whether it concerns large diameter tubes or large dimension metal sheets the Tube Tech Machinery machines work in 3D, enabling the customers’ technical departments to start thin-

king three-dimensionally, in this way revolutionising many planning concepts applied up to now.

This allows broadening personal interest in “new” fields and sectors, excluded from the traditional commercial outlets.

“The products manufactured with our machines are not sold by the hour or by their weight” asserts Castellini. “I like to think that our machines contribute to revolutionise the technological course of a company. With a TTM machine a status of relations and a partnership of ideas is acquired, which is our exclusive added value. For this reason, we are always available to visits by customers interested in our proposals: by so doing, they investigate the characteristics of our machines, perceive the philosophical planning and construction gap of our solutions compared to those of our competitors, see the materials and quality of the components and check the meaning of our software proposals. They often come to us with the drawings of the pieces they wish to be manufactured and see them,

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Novelties FL250 has reached .....up to 300.

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L250 is the TTM 3D laser cutting product for tubes which, considering the range of diameters that can be processed, from a minimum of 20 mm to a maximum of 10” equal to 254 mm, is the most suitable for customization.

Given its intrinsic strength and the requests that we received, we have now available a kit allowing the process of tubes with external diameters up to 300 mm.

A moment during the visit of Swiss company Kägi, which brought to Italy its entire skilled workers to see their FL400 3D during assembly

and laser welding first transformed into machine instructions, and then into the finished product”.

A 40-day “open doors”

Whether large diameter tubes or large dimension metal sheets, Tube Tech Machinery systems work in 3D.

“From last mid October to early December – tells Castellini – we had such a sequence of visits to consider them as a near 40-day “open doors”.

During this period we organised visits allowing to touch with one’s own hand the whole range of our products; some new machines just before being delivered and others at our customers premises, who offered their availability and so proud to show their machinery in operation .

Among the several visits that we received, I like to remember the visit of Swiss Kägi, which brought to Italy all its skilled workers for a special tour of knowledge of the products which shortly they would have used daily: in fact, they visited our plants and saw their FL400, already operating. In less than two months we have met arab, italian, german, swedish, swiss, russian and spanish companies. We are absolutely convinced that every meeting strengthens the relationships among people and we consider this as the second ring of the very short manufacturing chain in TTM: knowing the operational and development requirements of the customer company, knowing the people in charge of the various decisional aspects of the company, sharing with them the different possibilities of solution customization, manufacturing the machine”.

Tube Tech Machinery is fully owned by the Castellini family, and so it is for Castellini Officine Meccaniche and other trade marks belonging to the group.

It concerns a presence on the market of over 60 years, handed over successfully to the second generation. And just on the tenth anniversary of the decease of its founder Mr. Giuseppe Castellini, passed away in 1997, the family organised in his memory two high quality cultural events. Just before Christmas, laying of a large altar piece, a work of art dating back to the XVIIIth century, after a conservative restoration carried out according to the indications of the Brescia Monuments and Fine Arts Office, and a concert by the Bergamo and Brescia International Piano Festival orchestra, open to the company skilled workers, their families and fellow town dwellers. This proved to be a moment of great prominence that charmed the several persons who attended and now being considered by the town dwellers, after other similar appointments in his memory, as an important event in the end of year cultural calendar.

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EVENTI

n a period of a few years T.T.M. has become an undisputed reference in the panorama of machines and plants using laser for cutting tubes and large dimension metal sheets.

Several competitors chase us closely by copying ideas and machine sizes; this flatters us since the value of our intuitions is being recognised.

We are sure that it will not be easy to reach our standard, since it is not enough to copy a machine to understand the spirit or philosophy which led us to take specific choices. Exploring and covering new paths is exacting and risky, but true research and innovation, our only weapon for the “global� challenge, is a compulsory path for those who, like us, set for themselves ambitious goals.

Obviously, this receipt has many ingredients: the two main are the entrepreneurial spirit which should act as a propellant and a team of collaborators who love and share this mission, with the ambition to obtain results not to be missed.

I believe that the inexhaustible enthusiasm which moves this company, fed by the achieved satisfactions and successes, is an extraordinary mixture which always incites to excellence and to new challenges.

For us, 2008 promises to be yet another very positive year where new integrated and intelligent systems will come to light in the handling of the processed pieces.

We shall have source applications from 5000 and 6000 Watts with three-dimensional cut and we shall present a new concept of tube cutting machine, for which we cannot add anything more since it has not been publicised yet.

Special thanks to those of our customers who ordered the second machine, which shows how the quality of our plants is known and appreciated.

This, for a young company, is the true and sought-after award rewarding our realdaily efforts.

Finally, I invite everyone to visit our www.tubetechmachinery.com site, rich with film clips and information, as is the T.T.M. style, and which we hope that you can enjoy.

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Wire & Tube Dusseldorf 31 marzo- 4 aprile

Finn tec Helsinki 15-18 aprile

Lamiera Bologna 14-17 maggio

Schweissen & Schneiden Mosca 27-30 maggio

Tekniske Messen Oslo 22-25 settembre

Euroblech Hannover 21-25 ottobre

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

Associato UCIMU - Sistemi per Produrre