Fabrication: Vol 1, Issue 2 - Zycon Newsletter

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Swagelok Releases New Functionality, Accessories for the M200 Power Supply		SMARTTCP Announces New Laser Seam Tracking Capability for More Precise and Efficient Robotic Welding
Solon, Ohio - Combining form and function, Swagelok Company released new software for its Swagelok welding system M200 power supply to deliver increased performance in an updated graphical interface. The M200 offers ease of use, portability, and 200 amp capability for orbital welding at a weight of less than 50 lbs (23 kg). A high-resolution, 12.1 in. (30.7 cm) color industrial touch screen gives users a simple, intuitive pathway to enter weld programs. The streamlined display includes an improved weld head graphic, which presents weld progress in greater detail to help operators better evaluate the weld. The graphic shows progression, performance levels, and stop/start for each level of the weld in real-time. If the weld deviates from the selected weld schedule, those points are marked on the graphic with an indicator so that the operator can evaluate after the weld is complete.		Farmington Hills, Michigan - SmartTCP a leading supplier of automatic welding solutions for small batch production, announced it now offers the SmartTCP welding solution with laser seam tracking capability. The new product offering consists of hardware and software that includes off-the-shelf components, easy-to-use programming and integrated laser seam tracking. SmartTCP has customized a laser vision system from Meta Vision of the UK, and integrated it into its automatic offline programming software for small batch production. “Many small batch fabricators produce parts made of thinner material that distorts during welding and with joint requirements such as corner-to-corner or butt joint welding that are not best served by “through-the-arc” seam tracking systems. So in order to enhance our robotic solution to accommodate most joint types and material thicknesses while maintaining the system’s high standard of welding reliability and precision, we integrated a laser vision system into the SmartTCP solution,” said Efi Lebel, founder and CEO of SmartTCP.
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ESAB Introduces New Hand-held Oxyfuel Cutting Outfit		LVD Offers New Compact Material Storage and Retrieval Tower for Select Laser Cutting Systems
Florence, SC - ESAB introduces the PUROX Metal Master GT II hand-held oxyfuel cutting outfit. This top-of-the-line outfit contains rugged components built for medium- and heavy-duty performance in a wide range of industrial, construction, maintenance and other metalworking applications. The heavy-duty toolbox houses a superior combination of components, featuring three PUROX cutting tips and one heating head. The kit offers a cutting range up to four inches (100 mm) and a heating range up to 30 cfh acetylene (44,000 Btu/hr). With optional heads and nozzles, these ranges can be extended to up to eight inches (203 mm) and up to 200 cft (294,000 Btu/hr). The kit features ESAB’s R-72 regulators with solid brass bodies and built-in regulator burnout (RBO) protection. ESAB regulators incorporate a patented internal baffle design to prevent injury from cylinder-based fires. The regulators also feature color-coded gauges for easy gas identification. Brass body construction ensures long service life. These regulators are built for years of trouble-free performance with minimum maintenance. The Metal Master GT II kit comes with a lifetime warranty on the torches and regulators.		Gullegem, Belgium - LVD Company n.v. introduces a cost-effective compact material storage and retrieval tower for select models of its CO2 laser cutting systems. Designed as affordable mid-level automation, the space-saving system provides increased productivity by allowing optimal material flow and unattended operation with uninterrupted processing of high-quality laser cut parts. The CT- tower system provides full capabilities for loading, unloading, and storage of raw material and finished parts, thus enabling automated production from stored raw material to stacked finished parts, as well as providing increased storage capacity. The unit facilitates unmanned, “lights out” production in a compact cell environment. LVD’s compact tower is offered in four configurations: 4-pallet, 6-pallet and 10-pallet units. The system handles workpieces as large as 3050 x 1525 mm and material thicknesses up to 20 mm with a maximum load/unload pallet storage capacity of 3000 kg.
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Amada Introduces New Improvements to its Astro 100NT Robotic Bending System		Toyokoki HYB Series Achieves Ultimate Accuracy and Repeatability
Buena Park, CA - Building on a twenty-year bending robot history and an installed base of 900+ units worldwide, Amada has introduced automation products to improve the performance of its ASTRO 100NT robotic bending system. The goal of these improvements is to extend the system’s lights-out capabilities by enhancing the automation of its tool-changing, gripper-changing and hand-changing functions. The ASTRO 100NT robotic bending system is capable of totally unmanned operation, capabilities that have made it especially attractive in terms of productivity and profitability. According to Amada’s Leo Wegner, ASTRO product manager, "This capacity for lights-out operation pays off for companies in several ways. It can cut labor costs, but it can also allow a company to better utilize key operators in functions where their skills can be put to optimum use. In addition, the precision and reliability of the automated system, make it the ideal solution for just about any bending task, in lots of 10 to 10,000.		Wood Dale, IL - Toyokoki has been a pioneer in press brake design for over 50 years. The Toyokoki HYB, or ‘hybrid’ series was developed by combining the best aspects of a conventional hydraulic brake with Toyokoki’s AC servo brakes. Although the HYB uses hydraulic pressure to move the ram, the oil is delivered by an AC servo motor pump which does not rely on valve operation for precision control nor subject to variations in oil temperature and pressure. In standard hydraulic brakes, the refined hydraulic circuit allows users to easily change the ram speed and pressure. Immense power and high speed can be generated with the input of only a small amount of energy. In AC servo brakes, a ball screw drive and AC servo motor is a standard combination used for precision control, enabling extremely high repeatability and a stop accuracy to the micron level. The HYB Series is so accurate it achieves repeatability of 5 microns (0.0002”). Lower bed crowning on the HYB is controlled by a unique double wedge system that is adjustable across the entire bed.
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Hobart Bros. New XLNT-6 Welding Wire Offers High Impact Strength at Low Temperatures		New Triton Series Press from Wabash MPI
Troy, Ohio - As a complement to its premier Fabshield XLR-8 all-position welding wire, Hobart Brothers now offers the Fabshield XLNT-6 self-shielded flux-cored wire for flat and horizontal welding applications that require impact toughness properties. Designed for use on structural steel weldments and bridge construction, the XLNT-6 wire (AWS classification E70T-6) also provides outstanding welding performance on heavy equipment repair applications, as well as ship and barge construction. Due to its high deposition rates and excellent arc stability, XLNT-6 wire can also help contractors on these jobs improve their productivity, especially compared to using stick electrodes. Like the Fabshield XLR-8 wire, the new XLNT-6 wire offers excellent impact strength at low temperatures (25 ft/lbs at -20°F) to help resist cracking in applications subject to severe weather. The wire also features a fast-freezing, easy-to-remove slag to prevent slag entrapment that could result in costly and time-consuming rework.		Wabash, IN - Wabash MPI offers the new Triton Series Press with high end controls for pressure and temperature ramping and featuring a clamping force range from 2.8 tons to 28 tons and 15” x 15” platen size. The PLC controller offers program storage for up to ten programs and a 3” touchscreen. The operator controls include two clamp close buttons, clamp open, emergency stop and power on/off controls. Guards on the new Triton include a manual hinged front with magnetic safety switch interlock, sheet metal wrap for easy removal for maintenance access and expanded metal windows. Many options usually quoted separately for other presses come standard on the Triton Press.
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Wilson Tool’s New Urethane Products Reduce or Eliminate Sheet Marking During Bending Operations		Rankin Automation Introduces Two-Axis Automated Welding/MIG Carbide Machine
WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN - New urethane products from Wilson Tool help press brake operators reduce or even eliminate sheet marking during bending operations. Wilson’s mark free bending solutions, including urethane dies, holders, pads and rolls, save operators time by eliminating the need to clean up unwanted marks on sheets after bending. Available in Wilson Tool’s American Precision and European style dies, urethane dies greatly reduce and in some cases completely eliminate sheet marking on the press brake. Wilson Tool’s urethane holders are manufactured using 6061-T6 aluminum and hold a pad of urethane for mark free and radius bending. Two pad hardness options are available: Blue/90A, the most commonly used or Red/80A, which helps reduce tonnage in the application by approximately 20 percent. Available in two styles, urethane rolls provide a protective layer across the top of standard dies to prevent sheet marking. Wilson’s standard roll of urethane is available in thickness of .015- or .030-inch, depending on the application.		CHICAGO, IL - A new solution for increasing machinery partlife and slashing operating downtime, the Two-Axis Automated Welding/MIG Carbide Machine, debuted at the AWS FABTECH show in Chicago. The Two-Axis Automated Welding/MIG Carbide Machine offers a range of processes to apply hardfacing and weld materials to extend part service life on new and worn heavy machinery such as wearplate, and those used in mining, construction, agriculture, and processing industries. “Controlling costs using effective maintenance strategies is undeniably important in this economic climate,” says Lee Baker, Director of Sales and a member of Rankin Industries’ hardfacing and welding experts team. “Increasing productivity, decreasing downtime and extending part life are key strategies for operators across industries.” Rankin Automation offers equipment that automates what may now be manual MIG Carbide processes and offers a wide-range of application options, including several automatic weld position features and programmable automatic stepover and start/stop weld points.
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Tregaskiss’ QUICK LOAD Liners Reduce Replacement Time and Cost		ROFIN Develops a New Laser Beam Source for TFT Cutting
Windsor, Ontario - To minimize downtime and cost for MIG gun liner replacement, Tregaskiss offers QUICK LOAD Liners for its semi-automatic and robotic MIG guns. The QUICK LOAD Liner requires less than half the time and effort for replacement when compared to conventional MIG gun liners, and allows for more regular and easier routine maintenance. The QUICK LOAD Liner consists of a two-piece system with a retainer that installs in the power pin on the first use. The liner portion of the QUICK LOAD Liner then feeds through the front end of the gooseneck while the MIG gun remains attached to the wire feeder. There is no need to cut the wire in the MIG gun either. The welding operator simply removes the front-end consumables (nozzle, retaining head and contact tips) and slides the liner over the wire, using it as a guide. On robotic applications, the QUICK LOAD Liner minimizes downtime by eliminating the trouble of maneuvering around tooling or transferring systems to remove the MIG gun from the wire feeder. It also allows for liner changeover from a safe-zone outside the work cell during routine pauses in production.		Hamburg - Whether only a few centimetres big or screen sizes of over 50 inches - hardly any electronic device can do without an LCD display these days. In the vast majority of cases, TFT technology makes sure that every pixel is activated. The columns and rows of the pixel matrix are activated using transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive paths. For efficient production of TFT displays, a conductive connection must be established between the columns and rows of the matrix - an intentional short circuit, as it were. In a later stage of the production, this step must be carefully undone. A laser is the best tool for this. Leading screen manufacturers demand a processing speed of at least 400 mm/sec. Each group of conductive paths, only a few µm wide, has to be cut accurately and absolutely reliably with a line width of 35 ± 5 µm. Gabriele Fischer, Manager of the semiconductor industry segment at ROFIN, knows of these requirements and passes them on to the application laboratory in Guending. Speed is important, but so is the ability to integrate, since the laser beam sources will be moved by motor over great distances in at least one direction.
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IPG Photonics’ New Line of Fiber Lasers with High Pulse Energy to Replace Flash Lamp-Pumped YAG		New GS Drill for High Performance Drilling from Sumitomo
OXFORD, MA - IPG Photonics Corporation, the world leader in high-power fiber lasers, announced four new fiber lasers designed to replace flash lamp-pumped long pulse YAG lasers. IPG’s four new quasi continuous wave (QCW) fiber lasers feature peak pulse powers of 750 watts, 1,500 watts, 3,000 watts and 5,000 watts and energies from 7.5 joules to 50 joules per pulse. These aircooled, compact units are substantially more cost-effective than conventional YAG lasers because of wall plug efficiencies greater than 30% and maintenance-free operation, in that there are no components that require replacement during ordinary operation over its useful life. IPG has begun shipments of the 750 watt and 1,500 watt peak power units with first shipments of the 3,000 watt and 5,000 watt units scheduled for the first quarter of 2010. The YLR-X/Y-QCW-AC lasers offer outstanding pulse power and energy stability over the complete laser power dynamic range. IPG’s new QCW fiber lasers also have exceptional beam quality with various options for the output fiber size available and BPP as low as 0.35 mm x mrad (single-mode version) up to 2 mm x mrad.		Mount Prospect, IL - Sumitomo introduces the solid carbide GS Drill Series – the new “Global Standard” in solid carbide drilling. With an advanced carbide substrate and highly wear resistant DEX coating, the GS Drill Series allows for increased feed rates and running speed. The DEX coating has alternately stacked AlCr and SiNi coating layers that not only provide high heat resistance, but also exceptional chipping resistance. Another feature of the GS Drill is wider flutes to accommodate for excellent chip evacuation when machining steels, stainless steels, cast irons, super alloys, and non-ferrous materials. Also with its newly configured point geometry, the GS Drill reduces cutting forces and promotes stable drilling. The GS Drill Series is available in external coolant and coolant-through styles. External coolant drills are available in 2XD and 4XD lengths, while coolant-through drills are offered in 3XD, 5XD and 8XD lengths.
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Milwaukee Tools: Industry Leader in Heavy Duty Portable Electric Power Tools

Since its founding in 1924, Milwaukee has focused on a single vision: To produce the best heavy-duty electric power tools and accessories available to the professional user. Today, the Milwaukee name stands for the highest quality, durable and reliable professional tools money can buy. Milwaukee currently employs approximately 1,000 people globally. The company continues to set industry standards, targeting professional tool users of all types with a product line that includes more than 500 tools and over 3,500 accessories. Throughout its history Milwaukee’s commitment to quality remains steadfast, although the way that quality is ensured has changed drastically. Quality is designed in, using state-of-the-art technologies and sophisticated manufacturing techniques. The people at Milwaukee are as much a part of the success as the tools themselves. All of Milwaukee’s tool and accessory manufacturing operations have been arranged in manufacturing cells consisting of teams of motivated and empowered employees. Cellular manufacturing methods help Milwaukee employees focus on customer needs; allow for quick response to market demands; and increase employee productivity and product quality.

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