“There is probably no industry in the world better equipped than the Formula 1 world to provide an applied scenario where fabrication software must perform to extreme efficiency"

Australia/NZ distributor of JETCAM sheetmetal software, Maxitec Pty Ltd, has pointed to one of the world’s most time conscious and material savvy industries to highlight the intricate competitive advantages this software can bring.

In the super-fast world of Formula 1 racing, Red Bull Technology Ltd in Europe recently based its manufacturing on JETCAM to gain numerous advantages. And this was mainly to produce parts from composite ply rather than mainstream sheetmetal.

First of all, at Red Bull the system paid for itself within three months. It is also considered more user-friendly than other systems used by programmers, has reduced machine cycle time reduced by up to 42%, gained live recording data for immediate visibility of material costs on the shopfloor, and saw its staff trained to use it in just one day.

JETCAM also returned the lowest scrap and highest efficiency on any material, with nests at least 16% more efficient than current nests.

Managing Director of Maxitec, Mr Andrew Bentrup, says his company has overseen the installation of JETCAM in a growing number of businesses in Australia and New Zealand, and the uptake has been for good reason.

“There is probably no industry in the world better equipped than the Formula 1 world to provide an applied scenario where fabrication software must perform to extreme efficiency,” said Mr Bentrup.

“The sheer speed of delivery that is nearly always required means that every second counts for so much.

“When you consider an organisation like the Red Bull racing team is often under pressure to re-engineer and manufacture body panels on the eve of a race, it is a test like no other.

“Add into the equation that the company also works with very expensive special composites and you have an industry where every square millimetre of blank sheet is worth a sizeable amount of money.

“All these factors – speed, accuracy and physical efficiency – were taken into account when Red Bull Technology’s management field tested various software options and saw that JETCAM was right for its needs.

“It is not surprising that a growing list of sheetmetal fabricators in Australia and new Zealand, which may have started on proprietary software, have turned to the more dynamic JETCAM to meet their business needs and pare back the wastage and costs.”

Once the fabrication system went live with JETCAM at Red Bull Technology, the company saw a number of benefits. The most notable of which was the nesting efficiency. Supplies of composite materials can be limited and lead times to obtain it can be lengthy, so Red Bull is under extreme pressure to maximise its material efficiency.

On one particular day, there was a challenge to make some new parts, but staff could not get additional blank material and had to make do with existing, and very limited, in-house stock.

On previous nests, this particular job was running at 300mm short of the technical requirement. But when its operator ran the plies through JETCAM’s high-performance nester it saved 305mm, enough to complete the order.

If they can’t make multiples of a specific part it can leave the team in jeopardy if enough spares are not on hand.

The team outsourced the cutting of another order as it had no time to cut in-house. The supplier was telling them it needed 327 linear metres to complete the job; however, when the Red Bull team ran it through JETCAM it was done in just 287 lineal metres which, at more than £100 per square metre equates to a £4000 saving, and this is on a nest run two or three times.

In addition to material savings, Red Bull Technology also saw an increase in throughput on the machine due to features such as common line cutting, which allows plies to be separated using a single cut rather than leaving a skeleton.

Its previous system could not always rotate parts at all available angles, and it also could not perform common cuts. Previously one particular nest of a wishbone would take three hours to cut, but with JETCAM it can be done in 1¾ hours.

Loading orders remotely is also achieved through JETCAM Orders Controller (JOC).

Previously, it was often quicker to cut a ply by hand than to re-nest. Now the team just loads a complete part or individual ply order into JOC and all required plies are immediately ready to nest. All the jobs can be queued and orders combined and then nested together.

JETCAM has extensive reporting capabilities, providing instant nesting efficiency and runtime statistics, which Red Bull Technology loads onto its works orders. This provides the accounts department with immediate visibility of where material costs are on the shop floor.

RCR Laser, a division of RCR Tomlinson Ltd (ASX code: RCR), is using the InspecVision Planar 65.50 Component Measurement Machine to measure the components it makes and repairs using laser cutters, to ensure integrity and continuity of manufacture.

The investment is part of the company’s quality assurance policy and the InspecVision unit is calibrated to measure components to an accuracy of 0.02mm.

Many applications for the equipment exist in the RCR laser business primarily for ‘first off’ and ‘in process’ control checks.

But other features of the unit allow components to be quickly reverse engineered from customer samples resulting in faster turn around of customer requests, more accurate components and ultimately lower instances of non-conformance.

The high accuracy of the unit also means calibrating lasers and drive tuning maintenance can be far more accurately controlled.

RCR Laser believes accuracy is the main reason customers need laser cut components, Implementation of world class measurement tools to aid this means the organisation can better meet the high standards industry demands.

InspecVision’s patented technology offers many distinct advantages over other imaging systems.

• Speed – complete component measurement at speeds of 100 to 7000 (or more) times faster than competing systems.
• Cost – 1/2 to 1/3 the price of the lowest priced competing systems.
• Reliability – No moving parts to recalibrate, less to wear out, unlike competing system which have expensive and sensitive scanning lasers or moving cameras.
• Accuracy – No moving parts means near perfect repeatability and better accuracy.
• Robustness – Unlike competing systems the InspecVision system is extremely tolerant of vibration, dirt and scratches on the glass measurement surface.

Developed by European company InspecVision Ltd, the product has several standard sizes but can easily be configured to dimensions that suit client needs.

RCR Laser is based in Mansfield, Queensland, and was recently accredited with ISO 9001-2000 certification.

RCR Tomlinson Ltd has its head office in Perth and is a leading multi-disciplinary engineering company specialising in the design, manufacture and maintenance of heavy equipment and industrial boiler systems and site maintenance and construction, employing some 700 staff and contractors.

Its core areas of expertise include engineering, repair and maintenance, equipment manufacture, heat treatment, heat transfer as well as site maintenance and construction.

The entity also has operations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

About the role

In this role you as a Service Technician, you will provide repair and service to specialised sheet metal manufacturing equipment. Working autonomously but in a team of technicians, you will be required to travel from site to site delivering onsite solutions to customers.

Located in Sydney, you will be provided with a company car that will allow you to travel to and from clients. The role will also require travel interstate and occasionally internationally for training or servicing of customers in New Zealand.

What’s in it for YOU?

Competitive remuneration

Vehicle

Laptop / Mobile phone

Flexibility

Working with a small team

Job Security and Development

Opportunity to work on world leading technologies

Permanent Role

What we want from you?

Motivated Team Player

Electrical/Mechanical/ Hydraulics experience a must (unless applying as a trainee)

Ability to work autonomously

Good problem solving skills

Strong work ethic

Reliable and well presented

Customer service experience and skills

Longevity

PRIMA POWER FAST BEND IN ACTION

Rapid advancements in the technology used to bend metal panels in the fabrication sector sometimes causes a dilemma to those wanting to identify pros and cons between press brake technology and the fully automated panel bender.

A multi axis robot can be integrated with the CNC press brake to eliminate operator handling, but this does not officially address the tooling set up from one part to the next.

In the right application, the panel bender changes all this. The bending process can be fully automated – automatic tool set up, automatic part loading, complete part manipulation, and unloading. It produces positive and negative bends quickly and accurately without a requirement for blank flipping.

The part stays flat in the machine table as only the flange is bent. Now, like the blanking machine, the bending machine controls parts quality and, on some jobs, forms in seconds what would take a press brake a few minutes to do.

But bear in mind this is only with some parts. Panel benders can’t handle everything a stand-alone or robotised press brake can, but then again it can do many profiles that are either very difficult or impossible to do in a press brake. In fact, bending automation has always been more complex. Aside from using punch form tools, blanking deals mainly with just two dimensions. In bending, you have all three dimensions to take into account.

Choosing which bending technology is ideal involves balancing maximum throughput with expected return on investment. The business needs to know the setup times the parts require; the downtime between jobs; the percentage of time operators are handling the parts; the scrap rate, including scrap produced during setup (tryout parts) and rejected pieces produced during the run; and the average daily output of each machine.

Technology basics
Press brakes are common for one reason – they are inexpensive and versatile. But the brake has drawbacks that have given headaches to many a metal manufacturer. Plus, the basic premise of brake bending has remained the same for decades. The brake applies pressure to the blank in three places: the two die shoulders on the bottom and the punch tip on the top.

A panel bender is different. The material is not bent with pressure applied on both sides of the metal. Instead, the sheet is positioned under a hold-down tool and a flange is bent in the positive or negative direction. A bottom blade moves up to bend positively; a top blade moves down to bend negatively.

The upper hold-down tool segments and stationery bottom hold-down tool clamp the blank in place, but they don’t directly form the metal. The only forming pressure applied comes from those upper or lower blades. The sheet metal is formed with just one pressure point from the blade on one side of the sheet – a lot less complicated than the press brake’s three points of pressure.

Panel bending advantages
Automated panel benders thrive on large work pieces with both positive and negative flanges that are difficult to handle in the press brake. Also, material variation and springback can be less significant on a panel bender because the bending method generally puts less stress on the work piece.

In a panel bender, the angle is determined not by the tooling but by the motion of the top and bottom bending blades. It is the hold-down tool segments that must be changed out the various part widths. Many panel bender models change out these upper tools automatically, often within a few seconds.

Panel bending limits
Some may wonder why all the press brakes in the world are not replaced by panel benders. In reality, there are optimum applications for each technology; it just requires an experienced professional to identify which needs require what technology.

Sure, the panel bender is more expensive than the press brake, but a panel bender’s productivity is so much greater in some applications. So it is not just about the price tag. It is really because a panel bender can’t handle everything a press brake can.

Most benders work best with stock thickness up to 11-gauge mild steel, whereas a press brake becomes more suitable beyond this gauge. Also, automated panel benders work with parts that are not so small, generally these need to more than 150mm wide, otherwise a press brake becomes more applicable at smaller dimensions.

Panel benders are best at forming flanges about 200mm and less. Measurements above this are normally more suited for flange forming in a press brake.

Press brakes are often better at handling production of interior flanges, regardless of their height.

It’s really down to finding the best balance between panel bender and press brake according to the requirements of each individual fabrication shop.

Ideally, an experienced supplier dealing in both technologies can provide objective analysis on what solutions can deliver the most profitable and timely outcomes.

SUITED TO SMALL FABRICATION SHOPS WANTING TO INTRODUCE SOME LEVEL OF AUTOMATION

Even though it is considered to be an entry-level into automation of sheet metal machinery technology, the Prima Power (Finn-Power) E5 Compact Express is now being viewed by SME fabricators in Australia and NZ as a breakthrough world-class technology that is within their budgets and footprint constraints.

Apart from its compact nature and energy efficient operation, the new E5 Compact Express has a diverse excellence in sheet handling ability.

In effect, it provides smaller businesses with affordable yet sophisticated loading and handling capabilities together with a compact, high-performance servo electric turret punch press with fully automated material handling capabilities.

All up, the Australian SME fabricator can now affordably be armed with a multi-purpose machine for bending, forming, tapping and marking. With fully programmable punching and upforming stroke (NC-axis), the unit is available with 20 ton and 30 ton punching force.

During sheet loading, raw material sheets are loaded using pneumatic suction cups in a gripper. Gripper movements, horizontal and vertical, are actuated by electrical motors with brake and inverter drive.

This eliminates manual handling to provide fast and accurate sheet loading for all purposes. The loading table has 300mm movement out of its position to provide easier positioning of sheet stacks.

Sheet separation is ensured by using a three-way method. Magnets in a loading table separate sheets on the stack, a corner lifter in a gripper removes double sheets, and air blow secures separating function.

Double sheets are detected in every loading cycle to ensure uninterrupted loading cycle and machine function.

Every sheet is squared to ensure optimal sheet position and loading accuracy. Sheets can be used from edge to edge and quality of all production is excellent.

When the sheet has been processed, it is placed on a moving machine table. The moving table delivers the sheet, skeleton and parts to the top of the unloading table. Parts and skeletons are pushed to an unloading table, while the moving table returns to its normal position.

The E5 Compact Express has an unloading table with scissor movement to provide optimal unloading height for all parts and skeletons.

Automatic loading and unloading makes it possible to use several combinations of automatic and manual loading and unloading cycles. Its manual loading table is free for use for manual loading and unloading.

SHORTEN CYCLE TIMES WITH THE COMPACT EXPRESS

For economic operation, the E5 has low electric connection (connection power is 15kVA (3 x 20A), consumption (average power consumption of 5kW) and maintenance costs. Extremely compact size and small foot print make it easy to place in every facility.

The machine is most suited to small fabrication shops wanting to introduce some level of automation. It can be easily worked in manual mode just like any conventional turret press.

Ease of manual loading is greatly enhanced by the availability of 4 positioning pins ensuring optimal operator ergonomics.  Unloading of processed components is semi-automatic: the machine places the components in a freely programmable position on the table thus making the operator’s work much easier.

During automatic operation, sheets are loaded from a loading table to the clamps of the turret punch press.

Ready sheets are unloaded using a moving table and is carried out simultaneously while the loader is loading the next sheet.

Processed sheets can be stacked on an unloading table, which is located below the moving table and is adjusted automatically as the sheet stack grows. Raw material can be added and unloaded sheets removed while the machine continues to operate.

Material flow to and from the machine is from one direction, its loading table works at optimal operating height, it has large loading sheet stack capacity of 350mm stack height and 3,000kg stack weight.

With integrated unloading in the machine table, a scissor table is provided for optimal height for unloaded sheets, large unloading capacity is at 400mm and 3,000kg, there is uninterrupted machine run during material changes, several combinations of manual and automatic operations are available, while one machine side is always available for temporary manual loading and unloading.

Raw material sheets are loaded by using pneumatic suction cups in gripper. Gripper movements, horizontal and vertical, are actuated by electrical motors with brake and inverter drive.

This provides fast and accurate sheet loading for all purposes. The loading table has 300 mm movement out of its position to provide easier positioning of sheet stacks.

The unloading table with scissor movement provides optimal unloading height for all parts and skeletons.

Placing of the automatic loading and unloading unit makes it possible to use several combinations of automatic and manual loading and unloading cycles. The manual loading table is free for use for manual loading and unloading.

The E5 Compact Express has the capability or long-term unmanned production cycles so it can be used for a ‘lights out’ operation or to allow redeployment of personnel to other duties during this automated process.

For these companies the addition of an automated third shift means more orders can be accepted and produced through present production systems, alleviating growing pressures and remain competitive.

Andrew Bentrup, MD of automation specialist Maxitec, the most immediate advantages of automated manufacturing is the ability to plan production more effectively, and further in advance. The other, he says, is securing larger and more competitive contracts.

“Automated lights out manufacturing gives companies greater scope to bid for bigger and more demanding contracts, as well as the confidence to not only win these contracts but also deliver well on time and on budget,” Bentrup said.

He says any company that takes steps towards becoming an automated lights out manufacturer, considered to be at the top level of world’s best practice, is more likely to be held in high esteem among industry. This he adds will place them in a better position to qualify for major local and international contracts.

However such prestige does not come without costs. “No investment of this type is ever going to be cheap,” Bentrup advises.

Thorough planning, including getting as complete costs analysis, will help manufacturers monitor costs and keep it under control. Most importantly it will provide a clear indication of capital outlay needed to equip the plant with the technology, the costs required to operate and the expected return on investment in full automation.

Multi-stage installation

"Automated lights out manufacturing gives companies greater scope to bid for bigger and more demanding contracts"

Air conditioning manufacturer Temperzone is in the initial phase of a multi-stage technology upgrade to become a completely automated lights out manufacturing plant.

The company is consolidating its growth strategy on automated Prima Power (Finn-Power) technology; a move which management expects will swell its employee base and dispel any manufacturing myths that high-tech software driven fabrication machinery results in downsizing.

“Shop floor staff are finding that with almost all the labour component taken out of the equation, they can concentrate on core activities, return far better productivity and enjoy much safer workspace,” said Bentrup, whose company did the Temperzone installation.

The Prima Power (Finn-Power) setup, with the Night Train FMS automated handling system visualised to be at the hub, is said to ensure Temperzone will eventually process sheet metal in more economical coiled form rather than individual sheets.

The adoption has so far yielded positive results; the company is now moving into larger premises to expand its work intake and maximise its investment in machinery and personnel.

Bentrup says the key to successful lights out manufacturing is vision.

“Business owners need to be innovative and forwarding thinking in their use and adoption of new technology.

“Business owners have to learn to let go of long-standing labour-intensive processes and understand a lot of trust has to be placed in modern technology and the power it delivers to the industry,” he said.

“The owner has to see the company in a position where it, if the opportunity arises, can supply not only its own national market but also step into the international fold,” Bentrup said.

VALUE GRINDING SYSTEM FOR PUNCHES & DIES

The maintenance of punches and dies is one of the most overlooked areas in sheetmetal machinery maintenance.

This is partly because it traditionally has taken a considerable amount of time and effort to grind and sharpen tooling. But just as likely it is purely down to the operators who don’t think about this important aspect of maintenance until the worn tool becomes a production setback.

With such strong need for a new and simple solution, Sheetmetal machinery specialist Maxitec has an affordable new system available to ensure all types of tooling is kept in its best operating condition at all times.

The Mate ValuGrind is a tool grinding system that regrinds punches and dies to maintain optimum condition for the highest quality punch press fabrication.

Apart from being compact in size, ValuGrind has a sturdy construction to stop it from moving or tipping when in use.

Its grinding wheel has minimal exposure, it comes with a safety-stop button, tinted polycarbonate safety shield and diffuser-lined tub walls keep coolant splatter to a minimum.

ValuGrind accommodates thick turret A-E station, MultiTool and Trumpf-style Size 1 and 2 tooling, plus it is customised to specific requirements as the user can select the required model based on fixtures, style and electrical wiring needs.

What the machine does is provide a superior grinding finish on ground surface flatness with its belt drive that ensures optimum wheel rpm, a large diamond grinding wheel with inner-cooled cup style design that keeps coolant exactly where it’s required to prevent burning or discoloration; plus it has a rigid and robust design for Australian industry.

The reason it can rapidly and accurately grind larger tools is that it comes with a large motor that can accommodate up to thick Turret E-station dies and a large grinding wheel (165mm).

The overall size is 820 mm length, 520mm width and 675 mm high. With simple and safe operation, it provides superior finishes on ground surfaces, has low maintenance and operating costs, and allows easy tool set-up and installation.

There is no need to make any wiring changes before use. Electrical configurations are available to fit local needs in Australia so it is ready to plug in and begin grinding.

Portable tabletop design can be used virtually anywhere, even if space is limited. It is also preconfigured to grind all of Mate’s Thick Turret or Trumpf style tools. By simply obtaining other available fixture sets, the ValuGrind is easy to expand tools style grinding capability. All the user simply needs to do is unpack it, add coolant, plug it in and grind.

ValuGrind uses diamond grinding wheels that do not need to be dressed, is manufactured with quality components such as Siemens electric motors, plus it has coolant screens that greatly reduce the amount of grinding swarth and allows for easy cleaning.

Managing Director of Maxitec Pty Ltd, Mr Andrew Bentrup, says the company has already made a significant impact on the Australia and NZ fabrication markets representing Finn-Power and associated brands for many years.

Now, with the added power of the new Prima Industrie Group, the foundations are set for an even more comprehensive supply/partnership arrangements with local fabricators that are moving away from costly manual processes and into the more cost quantifiable domain of automated fabrication.

“It has been a long education process, but companies in this world region – large and small – are turning to automated sheetmetal processing to maintain competitiveness as the global market increasingly impacts on its business,” said Mr Bentrup.

“In general, fabricators in Australia and NZ are now over the initial fears of automation and genuinely recognise that eliminating as much manual processing as possible is not just cost effective, it is the imperative way forward.

“It is a clear gain not only in efficiencies, but the added value of being able to re-deploy existing staff into more productive roles not just for the business but also for the career of the individual.

“Make no mistake, equipment in the Prima Power stable is state-of-the-art and highly technical, but it does not exclude the business that requires entry-level solutions.

“we cover absolutely every size of business, we do thorough cost analyses before you invest, and we highlight exactly how staff can rise from arduous and potentially injurious physical work into more technical roles that give them heightened job satisfaction.”

At the recent Stuttgart Blechexpo, Mr. Gianfranco Carbonato, Chairman and Group CEO of the Prima Industrie Group, commented on the first public exhibition of the new banner.

“Here we have two great industrial traditions converged into one,” said Mr Carbonato.

“During the past three years we discovered that the people who form our organisation have much in common, something which can be described briefly through some shared values.

“These values are why trust has been placed in us by thousands of customers in more than 60 countries in the course of decades.  We are confident that this trust will continue.

“Advanced technology is fascinating, and we are proud of how users can benefit from it. Solutions advance through innovations, which we are committed to continue creating.”

FABRICATOR VERY GLAD TO BE OPERATING AT ONLY HALF CAPACITY

If the owner of a sheetmetal fabrication plant is over the moon because work demands dropped from full- to half-capacity overnight, you would normally associate the reaction as a sign of madness.

But not at Servgas Sheet Metal. The Sydney based company couldn’t be any happier. This is because work hasn’t dropped off at all, management just found a smarter way to handle production.

“It was all down to a straight out machinery upgrade,” said Managing Director of the company, Mr Adam Veitch.

“We replaced our longstanding Prima Power (Finn Power) TP 2000 punching machine with a new Prima Power (Finn Power) E5x and immediately our existing work schedules began taking just half the time.

“I never thought I would be happy about having a machine sitting around idle for half the time, but the reality is our E5x is so efficient and fast it has opened up far more opportunities to take on new work across the industry spectrum.”

“We had always run about 600 small/niche jobs a month through the plant at full capacity but now, incredibly, we have room for at least another 300 more sheets per month!”

As a contract manufacturer of production housing for electrical components such as alarm systems, hot water heaters (instantaneous ones) and other general work, Servgas Sheet Metal has scope to absorb orders across a wide range of industrial sectors.

The company’s new E5x is a compact, high-performance servo electric turret punch press, rather than a hydraulic powered machine.

Servgas Sheet Metal’s E5x provides fully automated material handling capabilities that arm this small/medium sized sheetmetal fabricator with a multi-purpose machine for bending, forming, tapping and marking.

Manufactured by leading global developer Finn Power, the E5x eliminates the bulk, noise and vibration issues of hydraulics by using servo-electric punching technology that arms the user with programmable punch modes, stepless adjustment of speed and position and accurate forming.

It also returns low energy consumption and low maintenance costs – both which are quantifiable by Maxitec’s user-specific ROI analysis.

Providing a compact 1250mm x 2500mm working area that requires no repositioning of the job piece – the E5x provides Servgas Sheet Metal with high accuracy and productivity while operating in a tight workspace footprint.

“We find it has integrated seamlessly into our job demands and already we use it for a lot of different work,” said Mr Veitch.

“It is very quick and very accurate with forming and there is a versatility with all the indexing. The previous machine was quite slow at with indexing by modern standards, but this E5x unit is a fixed station design that goes very fast and punches any angles.

“It is particularly good when punching stainless steel whereas the machine we had before caused us many jamming problems.

“The software is very easy to use and it takes care of most of the work. We don’t have to change tools a lot because of the standard tool arrangements on this new equipment. It is also a lot quieter.

“We haven’t used the scribe tool yet but we can etch and engrave for high-level design work as it comes on board.

“We needed versatility for an affordable price and we got it with the Finn Power E5x. We are a jobbing shop and we do a lot of work for joinery shops.

We also manufacture about 60 hot water heaters per month (the company’s own brand – Servgas) as well as alarm system housings, housings for intricate cabling and can do mining industry work (such as brackets), items required by the railways industry, and have also done a lot of work for defibrillation unit housings.

“Ideally, we work with sheets ranging between 0.7mm – 3mm performing all the punching, folding, pressing, any etching and grading that might be required, and also the powder coating in house.

“E5x is an ideal and physically compact unit to meet these varied demands and, unlike the last machine we began to experience breakdowns as modern turnarounds pushed for faster output, this one I can’t see it breaking down for a very long time.”

Prima Power (Finn Power)’s E5x has a single water-cooled servo motor operating on a ball screw for its linear movement and a pneumatic RAM return movement. A pull movement provides strokeless wearing for the mechanics.

With fast punching speed, fully adjustable in both directions, the Prima Power (Finn Power) E5x has a position above the sheet that is fully adjustable (S value) and a position under the sheet that is fully adjustable (P value).

A one-sided wedge system, with high static force in forming, facilitates low tonnage load for mechanics and has 17 or 23 ton punching force available. Closed-circuit water cooling means it is prepared for high ambient temperatures.

Pneumatic clamps with central locking and sheet security monitoring centres provide a safe production and fast setup with optional PCS and 3rd clamp with ‘move’.

With brush tables, the system handles a maximum sheet weight of 200 kg and maximum sheet thickness of 8 mm, therefore a silent, scratch-free sheet motion with best sheet support is gained. Optional lifting brushes provide an extra safety for sensitive materials.

Optional vertically moving sheet supports make it easy to move heavy sheets on the table surface during loading. Overall, it combines best features of ball and brush tables.

A metal sheet support at table edge facilitates loading of heavy or large sheets. Plastic brush table segments are provided around the turret.

Sheet loading is assisted by a 5-position moving table; therefore simplified loading for all sheet sizes, affording higher productivity through fast operations.

The E5x has a turret with a total of 20 stations offering customisation. Fixed or indexed, as well as Multi-Tools®, can be chosen. The total number of tools can be increased to more than 100 by adding Multi-Tool stations. Indexable Multi-Tools are available as an option.

Easy touch screen operations, standard Windows functions, USB port and 100Mbs ethernet for data transfer are standard.

According to the Australian distributor, the Mate Easy Mark for component identification is important in today’s manufacturing where processes frequently take place in multiple locations. As components need to be marked before they move on to the next step so they can be easily identified.

The company says traditional marking removes material or can damage the piece part during machine processes. The EasyMark is a 5-in-1 tool, based upon Mate’s InkMarker part marking tool.

The EasyMarks InkMarker is said to allow users to write on sheet metal using a special marker which does not dry out for two weeks or more. While its Sheetmarker creates or etches sheet metal surfaces using one of two (120 or 150 degree) diamond inserts.