The TruBend Center 7030 automatic bending cell orients the parts automatically, freeing up the operator and increasing productivity. The usual benefits of Trumpf panel bending are retained: short side lengths and small profiles, as well as the potential to bend parts with formed sections, recesses, diverse radii or multiple negative bends. In addition, the laser-based ACB angle measurement system enables operators to work with greater precision and, in conjunction with Trumpf TecZone Fold (offline programming tool), more efficiently than ever.
Using the newly developed rotary part manipulator, the TruBend Center 7030 can bend parts fully automatically. The manipulator secures the sheet and rotates it as needed into the required position. Here, axis speeds of 3,000 mm/s make it possible to achieve significantly increased productivity compared with the semi-automatic TruBend Center 5030 panel bender.
When it comes to positioning smaller parts, the patented 2-axis part manipulator also comes into play. The synchronised interaction of rotary and 2-axis part manipulator allows what is for fully automatic panel bending an unusually large degree of freedom to shape components. With its TruBend Center 7030, Trumpf says it is alone in the industry in offering a fully automatic panel bending machine with an additional vertical axis for the 2-axis part manipulator. This concept means that gripper modules can fasten on to parts in a variety of positions, making it possible, for example, to secure narrow profiles on their edge or grip them with clamps before bending. Without this additional feature, many parts would be impossible to manufacture, says Trumpf. The vertical axis also ensures that the operator can easily remove parts with downward edges.
The TruBend Center 7030 is designed to allow for a wide range of shapes and formats, including sheets of aluminium up to 4 mm thick, mild steel up to 3 mm, and stainless steel up to 2.2 mm. A single tool can be used to achieve different bending radii very quickly. As the machine operates with high precision (the accuracy of repetition is precise to within hundredths of a millimetre) and uses bending tools that are mechanically stable, it can process with a minimum of tool marks – which is an advantage in the case of stainless steel and painted sheet metal.
Precise angles are essential for bending. The main threats to achieving this precision come from variations in material characteristics such as strength, spring-back and fluctuations in material thickness. To ensure precise angle measurement, the TruBend Center 7030 is fitted with Trumpf’s Automatically Controlled Bending (ACB) solution, making it the first fully automatic panel bending machine to have an angle measurement system, says the company. The two ACB laser modules for negative and positive bends are placed with the additional bending tools, automatically moving into position for the measurement process. Then, the laser projects a line on to the sheet, the position of which is detected by a camera, before the part angle is calculated in real time.
Another special feature of the TruBend Center 7030 is the Trumpf programming software TecZone Fold. According to Trumpf, TecZone Fold is the fastest programming tool on the market; it creates bending programs in a few seconds – as well as 3D-simulations complete with collision monitoring. This operator-friendly software is included in the base model, and it can run on the control unit as well as the office PC (as an offline version).
