22/07/2019
Two wire bending worlds put in a nutshell
Schmale has advanced its “Speedmax” metal forming machine tool. New model “L” processes wire and tube up to 12mm diameter and 500mm length. It combines finger bender technology – as known from CNC wire processing machines – with rotary transfer, which serves all stations simultaneously.
Artikelvarianten aus Rohr und Draht, gefertigt mit dem „Speedmax L“. © Schmale
Durch die Kombination von Fingerbiegern und Drehpositionier-Zangen können die Teile gedreht und so in jeder Ebene bearbeitet werden. Die Rüstzeiten sind – typisch für CNC-Fingerbieger – extrem kurz. © Schmale
“Speedmax L” should offer all the advantages that the smaller version already had in 2017. First and foremost, these are a high unit output with an almost unlimited number of different forming processes. At the same time, the rotary transfer line can be converted to different article variants in a matter of minutes.
This is made possible especially in the bending processes by the combination of finger bending machines, as known from CNC wire bending machines, combined with a rotary transfer that serves all stations simultaneously. The concept combines the advantages of two different bending concepts without having to accept their respective disadvantages.
By combining finger bender and rotary positioning pliers, the parts can be turned and thus machined in any plane. The set-up times are – typical for CNC finger benders – extremely short. The exchange of one tool per station is completed in less than 2min; setting up a new, pre-programmed article via the touch panel only takes seconds. The axes move to the positions specified by the program. In this way, a different article variant can be produced within a few minutes.
In the current expansion stage, the system has 20 processing stations. These include four upsetting presses. However, other forming processes are also possible in the processing stations. These can be embossing and punching operations, but there is also room for process modules for feeding and connecting components to assemblies. Thus, the machine concept can serve a wide range of different requirements.
For whom the investment is worthwhile
Due to the high cycle performance, the Speedmax L is suitable for large quantities. Thanks to short set-up times, the production batches for different article variants can also be small. A Speedmax L for three stations alone could also pay off, emphasises the manufacturer. The high cycle performance remains and the investment costs are correspondingly lower due to the smaller number of processing stations.
If parts with more machining steps are required later, the Speedmax can be extended. Due to the modular design of the system, retrofitting with additional machining stations is possible at any time. Sufficient space is available and due to the machine concept, the implementation of additional stations is also no problem from a control point of view.
Schmale Maschinenbau GmbH
Altenaer Strasse 95
58762 Altena/Germany
Contact person is Mr. Joerg Kiesow
Tel.: +49 2352 54864-17
