Press Brakes – IndMacDig | Industrial Machinery Digest

TRUMPF Launches Easy-to-use Press Brake in U.S. and Canadian Markets

Industrial Machinery Digest — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:11:50 +0000

TRUMPF Inc. has introduced a new and attractively priced press brake for U.S. and Canadian companies entering the metal bending market. Featuring the new Right Angle (RA) control system, the TruBend 1000 is extremely easy to program. Operation is similarly straightforward – thanks to the user-friendly interface. The TruBend 1000 is available with press forces ranging from 66 to 353 tons and bending edges from 6.6 to 13.1 feet. It can be used to produce a broad spectrum of bending parts. The favorably priced model offers an attractive alternative for manufacturers.

“Like all new entry-level machines from TRUMPF, the TruBend 1000 is precisely tailored to the needs of companies looking to break into metal bending,” says TRUMPF Inc. TruBend Product Manager Chris Wargo. “The machines are every bit as robust and reliable as our high-end models, but at a much lower price tag. We can now provide even more solutions to help companies grow and manufacture competitively.”

Easy entry into metal bending

TruBend 1000 Series customers benefit from the latest digital technology and TRUMPF services. If any questions or issues arise, TRUMPF technicians can connect with the machine online and provide customers with remote support. The TruBend 1000 has features designed to meet the needs of companies getting started in metal bending. The press brake comes with the proven TRUMPF tooling clamp and is compatible with TRUMPF bending tools. In addition, users have access to a demo version of TRUMPF’s offline programming software TecZone Bend. This means the machine can be programmed from the office while in full operation, to increase productivity even more.

Perfect for simple parts and medium-to-large workpieces

The TruBend 1000 is suitable for all companies who manufacture simple and semi-complex parts in small to medium batch sizes. This model comes with the TRUMPF tool system and is suitable for small batch sizes, as tool changes can be done quickly. The press brake is attractive for smaller companies or contract manufacturers operating in single shifts. The first machine available in the series has a capacity of 165 tons and 10.17 feet of bending length. Further machine sizes and bending lengths will follow.

About TRUMPF

TRUMPF is a high-tech company offering manufacturing solutions in the fields of machine tools and laser technology. It drives digital connectivity in manufacturing through consulting, platform products and software. TRUMPF is one of the technology and market leaders in highly versatile machine tools for sheet metal processing and in the field of industrial lasers. In 2023/24, TRUMPF employed approximately 19,000 people and generated sales of about $5.58 billion USD. With about 90 companies, the TRUMPF Group is represented in nearly every European country as well as in North America, South America and Asia. The company has production facilities in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United States, Mexico and China.

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Industrial Machinery Digest

Mobile Bending Cell Xpert 40

Industrial Machinery Digest — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 17:33:26 +0000

With the Mobile Bending Cell, Bystronic takes the next evolutionary step in the field of bending: a mobile automation module for the ByBend Star 40 press brake. The result is a compact solution for automated as well as manual bending.

A NEW design and a new drive system ensure energy-efficient and dynamic bending processes. ByMotion drive control guarantees a finely tuned interplay between speed, precision, and power. This bending system is unique and it provides users with high application versatility. Users can process large lots with the automated bending cell and bend small lots or individual parts manually when necessary. Just plug in and start bending.

For many users, bending still means producing small to medium-sized parts on press brakes that are too large. This limits them because processing bending parts on presses that are too large cost time, space, and sometimes also quality. For parts of up to about 4.92 feet bending length and a maximum thickness of 0.79 inch, these users do not need a large-scale bending station, but rather a small and versatile powerhouse.

The BySoft CAM Robot software enables simple programming in combination with the bending software BySoft Cell Control Bend. Whether it’s manual or automated – the intuitive operation makes bending convenient on your press brake.

Programming is also possible offline. Users can create all bending orders offline using the BySoft CAM software.

The robotic system on the Mobile Bending Cell can be set up in just a few minutes. Just roll the automation unit in front of the press brake. With a few simple steps, the robotic system at the center of the Mobile Bending Cell automatically aligns itself with the press brake. This popular setup also offers flexible tool selection and integrated tool storage and is movable to where it is needed when it is needed.

Customer Benefits

Control is seamlessly integrated into the press brake user interface.
Manual bending of small lot sizes and individual parts by day.
Automated bending of large lot sizes by night.
High-speed 6-axis back gauge control and multi-axis ram control.
Automatic tool clamping, interference checking, and tool overload protection.
Intuitive ByVision Bending interface with 22 in.HD touch screen
Convenient and adaptable ergonomic workspace is adjustable and retractable as needed.
Set up and operate in virtually any environment in just a few minutes.
Mobile Bending Cell automatically aligns itself with the press brake. Just plug in and start bending.

During FABTECH, stop by our Booth A1326 for ongoing demonstrations of the Mobile Bending Cell 40.

Bystronic. Your best choice.

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Industrial Machinery Digest

Introducing ByCut ECO 6kW fiber laser

Industrial Machinery Digest — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 15:49:16 +0000

The Bystronic ByCut Eco 3015 robust laser cutting system for successful sheet metal processing offers you everything for getting started with laser cutting sheet metal:

Simplicity
High performance
Quality and consistency
Potential for automation
An attractive price

A top-quality laser cutting system with an attractive price-performance ratio, ByCut Eco 3015 is designed for functionality and is easy to operate. ByCut Eco offers outstanding cutting performance for a broad range of material types and thicknesses at an advantageous price. This enables you to take smart first steps in fiber laser cutting with complete ease.

Clever software. Intuitive operation.

The ByCut Eco 3015 uses BySoft Cell Control Cut software for programming. Among other things, this helps with arranging the shapes for parts to be cut, in order to minimize material consumption. This software offers you support when creating cutting plans and setting parameters. ByCut Eco 3015 operates on a 21.5-inch touchscreen as easily as your smartphone.

High Laser Power: A high laser power increases productivity, improves cutting quality, and allows even thicker sheet metal to be machined economically. An essential component for high-power cutting is the right cutting head.

Intelligent Cutting Process: Increase your productivity. The cutting process is stable thanks to comprehensive process monitoring.

Precision & Speed: Using the Bystronic cutting head, you can machine thin and thick materials with the highest quality. The integrated changing system also allows fast maintenance of the protective glass.

MixGas: With a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, we combine the benefits of each cutting method: excellent cutting quality with pure oxygen and the high cutting speeds of pure nitrogen.

The ByCut Eco represents simplicity: Both long-time and less-experienced users find their way immediately. A high degree of operating comfort and intuitive process control enables a quick start in laser cutting sheet metal.

We maintain and repair your Bystronic systems. Optionally, you can obtain upgrades to retrofit your system or accessories to fine-tune your fiber laser machines.

Stop by our Booth A1326 during FABTECH for ongoing demonstrations of the NEW ByCut Eco and other press brakes in the Bystronic product line.

Bystronic. Your best choice.

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Industrial Machinery Digest

High Productivity ByBend Smart 160 Press Brake

Industrial Machinery Digest — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 15:36:40 +0000

ByBend Smart from Bystronic offers innovative bending technology and numerous new “smart” functions at an affordable price. This is its recipe for success. From the very onset, Bystronic designed this press brake to offer a performance package with intelligent functions that enable users to produce parts of high quality and at low cost.

Enjoy more flexibility

One of ByBend Smart’s flexibility-enhancing features is the “Daylight and Stroke Expansion”. This feature, which is available with the purchase of a new machine, extends the daylight and stroke from 18.9 to 22.9 inches. The additional 3.94 inches boosts the ByBend Smart’s flexibility by as much as 30 percent because this means that it can use taller tools, enabling users to produce parts with taller bending sides. This is particularly useful when bending boxes and drawers.

Efficiency Booster and Energy Saver options

The “Efficiency Booster” option increases not only the bending speed but also the ram retract speed by up to 20 percent over conventional ram retract speeds. “Energy Saver” option: The machine’s main drive is only active when the machine is actually in operation, reducing energy consumption by 40 percent.

“Fast Bend M” option

The “Fast Bend M Safety System” option consists of a laser safety system that allows the upper beam to move almost all the way to the part that is being processed at rapid movement speed. The high-precision laser sensor allows the ByBend Smart’s control to reduce the upper beam’s speed from up to 7.0 inches per second (rapid movement speed) to 0.74 inches per second (bending speed) just before reaching the metal sheet. The laser safety system functions like an intelligent brake assistant that permits the machine to move at a higher speed for longer. This offers users a speed advantage of up to 30 percent.

“Electric Lifting Aid” option

During the bending process, the “Electric Lifting Aid” option increases material handling flexibility and operator ergonomics for large parts up to 220 lbs per unit. The control synchronizes the movement of the lifting aids with the actual bending process and the vertical movement of the upper beam.

Intelligent “ByVision Bending” control for simple operation

When it comes to bending technology, simple operation is a key factor for many users. Load the bending plan, set up the machine, and start bending – this is precisely what the ByBend Smart and the “ByVision Bending” user interface offer. ByVision Bending is included in ByBend Smart’s basic version. Operators launch all the bending processes with just a few swipes of the finger on a 22-inch touch screen. ByVision Bending has an extensive database that includes the parameters for all the common types of sheet metal and bending tools. Depending on the material thickness and bending angle, the user interface determines the ideal bending process and suggests suitable tools.

“Active Hydraulic Crowning” feature

The “Active Hydraulic Crowning” feature ensures high-precision air bending results. This unique function is only available in this form with press brakes from Bystronic. Thanks to extremely accurate pressure sensors and ByBend Smart’s control system, the ByVision Bending recognizes the parts’ length and position as well as other material properties. ByVision Bending control enables the ByBend Smart to automatically ensure the ideal distribution of the bending force across the entire bending length without requiring the operator to deal with complicated details. This results in precise and consistent angles across the entire bending length.

Stop by our Booth A1326 for ongoing demos of the new ByCut Smart press brake and other press brakes in the Bystronic product line.

Bystronic. Your best choice.

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Industrial Machinery Digest

THE STORY OF AMERICAN MADE

Industrial Machinery Digest — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 06:30:00 +0000

Glen Betenbender began his career as a blacksmith in Coggon, Iowa in the 1930s. During WWII, he ran a small fabrication and repair shop. In 1948 he and his wife moved their growing business into their current location as a repair and manufacturing facility. Their son, Max, joined the company in 1967 after serving in the United States Army.

In 1972, Glen or “Pete” as he was known to his friends, ran a construction company as well as a farm with livestock. He was having to build chutes that load cattle into the back of pickups. As part of his process to get the material sheared for the chutes, he would travel to Cedar Rapids or Marion. These were the closest locations that had equipment to shear his metal. On one of the trips he studied the shear and decided he could make one himself. After gathering some old farm implements, some hydraulic cylinders, a used log splitter valve, and a pump that was lying around, he began welding. He made the first “A” shear for their family’s own use. In the small town of Coggon though, word traveled quickly about a farmer that was doing something which was faster than everyone else could. Then he got a request to build one locally for someone that needed it. Shear #2 was out in production, and further demand from other local businesses for their shear prompted the Betenbenders to begin producing shears for nationwide and international resale.

Matt Enos, Plant Manager at the single Betenbender manufacturing facility in Coggon, Iowa says, “I’ve actually worked on Shear #2. It’s still operational today,” with a lot of pride in his voice, “and they tell me that the first one is still operational, but I don’t know where it is. But I know that Shear #2 is sitting in Wadena, Iowa, and it’s still being used nearly every day.”

Pete’s son Max joined the business after he’d been serving his country in the US military for a short while. Says Enos, “He was really good with design. He was good at making improvements to the machines.” Both men stood for American ingenuity and commitment to delivering value with every unit. In 2009, at 86, Pete passed. 10 years later in 2019, at the age of 73, Max passed away.

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

Matt Enos will be celebrating 29 years with Betenbender Manufacturing, Inc. in October of this year. He counts himself as one of the average lifers that are there. “There are I think 5 people here that have been here longer than I have.” I asked him how he would characterize the culture at Betenbender. “It’s good. It’s somewhat laid back. We don’t have people screaming at one another or anything like that. It’s a positive culture.” Certainly this culture must have been passed down through the generations. Strong-willed companies that survive countless economic cycles, changes in economic policies, advances in manufacturing, changes from just-in-time to six sigma to lean manufacturing philosophies, and global pandemics don’t just happen overnight. “The wife of Max (Donna) and his daughter (Teresa) are active owners. They come in from time to time. Teresa is here about three days a week, while Donna stops in briefly every day. There’s also a cousin, Gene Betenbender. He’s been here for about 28 years.”

Provided by Betenbender customer Stafford-Smith Inc.

Culture has remained consistent over time and so has the recipe for building machines. Grit, determination, tried-and-true approaches are all part of the combination to build the most durable press brake on the market. While getting their start in shears, Betenbender has a broad offering of press brakes. Enos answers a leading question I ask him which is “Do you use any special sensors? Do you have anything on the digital front that you see is changing how you’ve approached the market over the last few years?” His response is pretty straightforward, confirming my theory. “We’ve stayed pretty steady over the years for that, in the gauging process of our press breaks. We offer the very basic back gauge, which is just a hand wheel on the back gauge that moves back and forth. You have a little readout that’s our very basic back gauge and we also have all the way up to a full CNC. We use Automec out of Waltham, Massachusetts for our CNCs and that offers 150-300 jobs, 10 bends per job, and that allows you to complete multiple bends. So make a part that has multiple bends and it keeps repeating over and over.”

Press Brakes get their name from “press” which happens after a pressing force is applied when the sheet of metal is attached between a top and bottom die. Brake comes from an old English word meaning “to break” or “broken”. For metal, the flatness is broken through the bend that occurs. Hence press brake.

Enos took me through an example of the press brake and educated me on the 550 ton units to the “smaller” 190 ton and 50 ton units. For me the numbers sound a bit staggering. “What’s an example of where I would see a 550 ton press brake?” Enos says “CVA, Cryogenic Vessels out of Baytown, Texas. They build big tanks that hold liquid oxygen or liquid nitrogen. They bought an inch and ¼ shear, and I believe they bought a 550 ton press brake.” Having gotten a bit of explanation on the machines and knowing they are using a metal sheet, I go on to ask him to explain to me what they are doing with that piece of metal in general.

He explains, “For their shear, they’re just trim cutting, or squaring it up so they can run it through their roller system. They’ve got a very large roll so they can roll the metal around and then they can weld it up using a robotic welder. Other companies that have our large press brakes they’re either just forming V’s, or some of them are using them to punch. A lot of times we team with places like UniPunch where we will set up a whole series of hole punches in our press brake to form parts. These other companies like UniPunch will set up a series of their unitized punches. We did one for Winnebago Industries, probably 15 or 20 years ago.” He was now talking RVs, something to which I could relate, having owned one for a minute. I knew Monaco and I had looked at Winnebago coaches as well. “At Winnebago, a very large manufacturer of RVs, they had a lot of aluminum parts on their coaches that were 16 feet long. We built two eight foot press brakes, put them side by side so they come down at the same time and they punch holes in that aluminum piece, a whole series of different holes so they can put their rivets or fixtures in there,” said Enos.

Betenbender has such a large range of offerings from large tonnage, to the workhorse 190 ton, to even the smaller 50 ton. Matthew explained when the smaller ones would be needed. “Let’s say someone calls and tells us they need a press brake that will bend ten feet of ¼” material. That’s a common one. We have a tonnage chart, but I’ve been here long enough to know that it takes 15.4 tons per foot to bend ¼” milled steel over a 2 inch V-Die. I’ll do that math to come up with 10x 15.4, which would be 154 tons. We could provide a 160 ton press brake for this job. But generally it’s best to stay at around 80% of the capacity of the unit, so we would sell the 190 ton press brake for this job.” Staying in the 80% capacity range is to compensate for a batch of steel that may be harder one day due to any number of material properties specific to that batch. And as the gauge thickness of the steel changes, of course the tonnage per foot of bending changes. Also, the machines can be designed for specific widths of material as well. Enos said the smallest press brake was a 4’ by 50 ton.

After learning about the press brake capabilities, I asked Enos about change.. “Something has to have changed in the design. What’s changed? Has it continued to be the same for the last 10-15 years?” I asked.

“We’re building a very similar product to what we were building 28 years ago. We’ve added a few things and improved a great deal. We’ve gotten better controls and better hydraulic setups. We’ve switched flow dividers, probably 15-20 years ago, so our machines are even more accurate. We switched to ball screws back in the late 90s for our back gauges, so that added much more accuracy on the back gauge. But really, if you had a machine that was from 1998, and you sat it next to one that was built today, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. You wouldn’t be able to tell me which one was the new one. It’s pretty much the same.”

Shear Perfection

Enos went on to tell me about the shear and how it uses a type of guillotine action for the cut. There are a lot of options that can be modified on the shear, including blade distance, angle of cut and others. The blades, made of high carbon high chrome alloy, come down more like scissors than a guillotine, and they run across each other without touching. Generally there is a three to twenty thousandths of an inch gap depending on the type of material being sheared.

“Especially over the last 15 years,” said Enos, “the only thing we’ve done differently with the shear of substance, is we’ve gotten the go-to controller. Now we’ve added a touch screen controller for the back gauge, but really it’s the same hydraulic system. Our thought on that is that it works. Why do we need to change it? The customers like it, our team is used to building them that way. Let’s keep doing it.”

The Rest is History

Make no mistake though, Betenbender has maintained a strong market position and focused on seizing opportunities – and that includes timely acquisitions. In 2012, the company purchased Hydraulic Machines, Incorporated which was a family owned business as well. The company owners of Hydraulic Machines were friends with the Betenbenders (who actually had a couple of their machines in the Coggon facility) and approached them about a sale. Now Betenbender has a product line called Hydraulic Machines of Iowa to provide C-Frame presses or punches.

From the C-Frame presses, to the shears, to the press brakes, to the hydraulic punches, Betenbender is made in the USA and has withstood the test of time with standard offerings. That doesn’t mean the need for customizing for a client requirement doesn’t happen. “Back when Max was alive, he’d go out on to the floor and he literally would grab a piece of chalk and start chalking out customizations on the floor, how he wanted to redesign something, or he would take a piece of steel and draw it out on that plate and say, ‘Here, cut this,’ and we’d cut it and off we would go with the customization.”

To this day, they keep the same view. Build strong, durable equipment that completes the customer’s job, and treat every call for support and every issue as one that needs solving now. Says Jason Stayton, General Manager for Stafford-Smith’s Arlington Texas location, a Betenbender customer since 2021, “After reviewing the machines personally, we knew they were a great fit for our fabrication industry. The CNC controls and back gauge make it user friendly. The shear and press brakes we have make precise cuts and bends to form our custom stainless steel kitchen equipment.” Somewhere Max and Pete are smiling. Another happy customer. Another precision job well done.

Max Betenbender, President of Betenbender, passed away in 2019. He valued all of his employees and customers, as evidenced by his words on the website, “If you’re not already a customer of Betenbender Manufacturing, Inc., we welcome you as a future owner of an American made Betenbender Hydraulic Shear, Hydraulic Press Brake, or C-Frame Press. If you’ve purchased one before, we welcome you back. We are very proud that our customers come back again and again, as they grow and need more equipment.” Today, there are over 3,900 Betenbender machines in use with very few on the secondary markets. The mantra has always been the same. “If it says Betenbender on the nameplate, you’ve got a machine that will do the job.”

Powerful, automated, and sustainable: new TRUMPF bending machine for large and high tonnage parts now available in North America

Industrial Machinery Digest — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 20:10:34 +0000

High-tech company TRUMPF is bringing the latest generation of its TruBend 8000 Series to the North American market. With a 34-inch open height and a stroke of 27 inches, the TruBend 8000 bending machine offers a highly efficient way to bend very large parts, allowing workers to easily bend and remove workpieces that require a large box height. The press brake is available with numerous optional extras designed to facilitate the bending of heavy parts. These features include a bending aid that makes operators’ lives easier by automatically positioning the workpiece for bending. TruBend 8000 Series machines can also be equipped with a special tool clamp for high tonnage applications.

“The new TruBend 8000 Series is the perfect addition to our bending solution portfolio,” says TRUMPF Inc. product manager for standalone TruBend machines, Chris Wargo. “Whatever their bending application, companies can rely on TRUMPF to have the press brake technology they need.”

The best way to bend high-tensile steels

Starting with a press force of 440 tons and going all the way to 1,100 tons, this new generation of machines is an efficient powerhouse that has no trouble processing long, thick pieces of sheet metal. The machine is also suitable for bending high-tensile materials such as Hardox or Weldox engineering steels. Station bending is another option available with the TruBend 8000. By moving workpieces from one station to the next, each equipped with different upper and lower tools, workers can tackle a range of parts and bending operations without having to change the machine setup for each operation. This makes the TruBend 8000 particularly suitable for companies that bend large parts in small batches, including fabricators in the vehicle manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and building-services sectors. This model is also a great choice for general-purpose work in job shops.

Software and sustainability

The TruBend 8000 Series comes with TRUMPF’s tried-and-tested Boost and TecZone Bend bending software for offline programming. The machine operator simply uploads a 2D or 3D model of their part into the program. Then, the software independently creates a 3D simulation including collision monitoring, which the operator can then adopt for the bending process, either in its entirety or with minor manual changes. TruBend 8000 machines are also designed to facilitate the trend toward greater sustainability in manufacturing. Users can choose to equip their machine with an on-demand drive, which automatically adjusts the motor’s revolution speed to the movement of the press beam. As well as limiting noise generation, this feature can also reduce energy consumption by up to 26 percent.

[alert-succuss]More information on the TruBend 8000 series press brakes can be found at TruBend Series 8000 | TRUMPF.[/alert-succuss]

About TRUMPF

TRUMPF is a high-tech company offering manufacturing solutions in the fields of machine tools and laser technology. The company drives digital connectivity in the manufacturing through consulting, platform products and software. TRUMPF is a technology and market leader in highly versatile machine tools for sheet metal processing and in the field of industrial lasers. In 2021/22, the company employed some 16,500 people and generated sales of about 4.2 billion euros. With more than 80 subsidiaries, the TRUMPF Group is represented in nearly every European country as well as in North America, South America and Asia. The company has production facilities in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United States, Mexico and China. [alert-succuss]Find out more about TRUMPF at www.trumpf.com[/alert-succuss]

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Industrial Machinery Digest

Press Brakes Hidden Danger Zone

Industrial Machinery Digest — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 14:00:39 +0000

When a local supplier of pre-cut and formed steel and aluminum materials accepted a request from a customer to form a few pieces of sheet metal with a reverse flange, no one in the supply chain gave it a second thought. Even the operator who set up the press brake, loaded the forming tools and programmed the simple operation to meet the promised delivery, hadn’t considered the potential danger of what was to come.

Press brakes are one of the most versatile machines on the manufacturing scene today. When properly loaded with punches and dies they can assist operators in bending and forming almost any sheet metal shape. Their downward movements resemble that of a guillotine and as such they can be just as dangerous. But their true hidden nature lies in how the sheet metal folds back into the brake and where an operator might be holding the part during this stage of the operation. Statistically 83% of the reported injuries occur in areas of the press brake that are not protected by existing safety product designs.

Traditionally a machine of this nature has been thought of as being most dangerous when the tooling is closing. Safety systems and protection devices focused on that area of the brake successfully eliminate injuries; however, when the material folds upward into the ram, if fingers or hands are misplaced, they can be pinched by the part edge and likely result in loss of limb or worse. The operator experienced as he was gazing on the punch contacting the sheet into the bottom die, not noticing that his hand was between the sheet edge and the hard-flat surface of the ram face. The pinch occurred so rapidly due to the unwarded swinging of the previously formed edge, yet stopping just in time to leave enough room that it only punctured the skin, drew blood and was felt for several days afterward. The doctors sent him home on very light duty.

As the operator healed, the company considered how it would respond to such an injury. If no action were taken, an injury of this nature could possibly occur again. Soon a plan developed to canvas the next trade show where it might be more likely to find a solution that could be applied to the existing brake. Eventually the search revealed that there was a safety company combining a laser system to guard the tooling area with an adjustable ram face “crush zone” scanning system for poor finger placement during reverse flange forming. Crush Zone was an industry first and the design was being awarded a patent to overcome this exact problem. By combining point of operation guarding and scanning of a crush zone, these technologies combine into a retrofittable product of universal design that could be applied as an upgrade to press brakes from many different manufacturers.

Crush Zone

The operation of the Crush Zone protection prohibits closing movement of the ram when detecting an obstruction within the detectable Crush Zone area.

Once the ram has reached the position in which the primary Safety application has muted, the Crush Zone application allows movement after an obstruction stoppage by releasing and re-pressing the foot pedal a third time.

Any obstruction within the Crush Zone area will prohibit closing movement of the Ram if the press control is not programmed with the proper Mute Positioning in regards to the Primary Safety application.

Any obstruction within the Crush Zone area will be indicated by the solid illuminated Amber lamp located on the front of the Ram, just above the Crush Zone area!

Any forcible movement with an obstruction within the Crush Zone area will be indicated by a flashing Amber lamp located on the front of the Ram, just above the Crush Zone area!

Scotchman Industries Leading The Way From Rural South Dakota

Loyd McIntosh — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 14:51:28 +0000

My how proud they were of that first ironworker. Pictured are Mike Johnson, Ed Formanek, Olin Flatt, Art Kroetch, and Bob Bowman. 1968

Nearly 60 years ago, Arthur Kroetch, an industrious entrepreneur from the small town of Philip, South Dakota, launched what would eventually become the nation’s leading manufacturer of hydraulic ironworkers. Now under the leadership of Kroetch’s son, Jerry, Scotchman Industries continues to bring innovative products to market, currently producing 13 models of hydraulic ironworkers, ranging from 45 to 150 tons in capacity all manufactured in this small South Dakota town – population 779.

“I’m physically in Philip and I have to drive 85 miles either east or west to find the nearest stoplight,” says Jerry Kroetch, President of Scotchman Industries. “If you went north or south, you’d have to drive over 100 miles to find a stoplight. So we are in rural South Dakota.”

Art Kroetch left school after the eighth grade to work on the family ranch before striking out on his own as a young man by starting his own haying business for other ranchers in the area. Before long, Kroetch started manufacturing a cattle oiler under the name Wick-O-Matic Automatic Oiler Company. Developed to keep insects away from cattle, Kroetch was forced to pivot away from the successful cattle oiler business once the EPA banned the device’s insecticide in the early 1960s. He then began making metal gates, chutes, and panels for the livestock industry, the door that eventually led him to the world of ironworker manufacturing.

Scotchman Industries

“He purchased an ironworker from a gentleman out of Minnesota who invented the first hydraulic ironworker in the world,” says Jerry Kroetch. At that point, Ironworkers had been around for more than 100 plus years, “but they were all the big flywheel mechanical type machines,” says Kroetch. “The machine Kroetch purchased was one of the first hydraulic ironworkers in the world and, during the next few years, Kroetch kept in touch with the machine’s inventor. In 1967, he bought the patent for a small 35-ton hydraulic ironworker, changed the name of the company to Little Scotchman Industries, and started manufacturing machines from a shop in Philip, South Dakota. “So he went from Art’s salvage to Wick-O-Matic Automatic Oiler Company, to Little Scotchman Industries,” says Kroetch. “In the late 70s, we felt we outgrew the “Little” portion of Little Scotchman, and just stayed Scotchman Industries. Today, we are America’s largest hydraulic ironworker manufacturer located in, Phillip, South Dakota.”

Since the 1960s, the basic functionality and exceptional quality of the Scotchman hydraulic ironworkers haven’t changed very much. However, Kroetch and the Scotchman team have made several innovations over the years that have made their ironworkers vastly more efficient and customizable. For instance, the original machines had an inboard punching station, which limited the size of the piece of steel that could be inserted into the punching station. Over time, the machine has been redesigned with an outboard punch. “With the punch station being on the outside of the machine users can punch very large pieces of the plate with the only limitation being the throat depth,” explains Kroetch.

Jerry and Karen Kroetch (CEO & CFO)

Over the years we also went from a single operator machine to a dual operator machine, which allows two people to run the machine simultaneously,” he adds. “Our machine gives you a variety of two different functions that can be done at the same time. For example, One user can be punching a piece of plate, while at the same time, another user can be taking a piece of flatiron and shearing it off to lengths,” Kroetch says. “So in a nutshell, you can be shearing or notching plates, and have another user punching holes without interruption or loss of power,” Kroetch says. “Not only can you just punch or shear simultaneously, but I can also be shearing angle iron while somebody else is notching angle iron at the same time. Our machines can be operated by two users doing different functions at the same time.”

As the largest – and one of the few remaining – hydraulic ironworker manufacturers in the U.S., Kroetch says Scotchman’s chief competitors are international manufacturers, especially companies from Taiwan and Spain. While the team has taken some cues from their European and Asian counterparts, particularly in the look of their machines, Kroetch says Scotchman ironworkers offer far more efficiency, versatility, and customization that sets this team of South Dakotans apart. “We all do the same thing. We punch, shear, notch, and bend, but again, the design of the machines are totally different.”

For instance, Kroetch says Scotchman ironworkers offer more versatility than their competitors, in the U.S. and abroad, thanks to an innovative tool table area in which the optional tools, such as the angle shear, channel shears, press brakes, and rod shears, sit on the tool table and the machine’s upper beam actually makes the tool go up and down. An innovation that can save a Scotchman customer loads of time and lead to greater productivity.

“I can change tools faster than any of my European competitors because most of their optional tools have to be installed in the punch station. Having to totally disassemble the punch station in order to put in a press brake might take 30 to 40 minutes for one of my European competitors to change a tool, where I can do it on my tool table in two or three minutes,” says Kroetch. “That gives us a huge advantage due to our versatility.”

Another advantage Scotchman Industries has over its competitors is the ability to manufacture custom-design machines or modify existing ones. Kroetch says the Scotchman team of 69 people – many of them long-term employees – can create anything the customer can dream up. Most of the company’s customization requests, says Kroetch, are from customers needing a machine that can punch holes in the angle iron. Kroetch explains: “They want a machine that can process 22–24 foot sticks of two-inch to six-inch angle iron with the programming ability to punch x number of holes x number of inches apart.’

“They push ‘go’ and the feed system is going to push that piece of angle iron to whatever dimension you might need and the machine’s going to cycle punch the hole,” he adds. “It’s going to punch and push that piece of material to the next length and punch a hole.”

Ironworkers aren’t the only machines manufactured by Scotchman Industries. The company also manufactures a complete line of circular cold saws and distributes a line of programmable measuring systems, pipe notchers, and hydraulic presses, all from the Scotchman plant in the tiny town of Philip, South Dakota.

To learn more about Scotchman Industries, visit www.scotchman.com

MC Machinery Offering Demos of New ASTES4 High Speed ADVANCED Modular Sorting System with Integrated Tool Changer

Industrial Machinery Digest — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 17:02:52 +0000

MC Machinery Systems is offering on-site demos of the new ASTES4 High Speed ADVANCED, a modular sorting system that can cut sort times in half, reduce labor costs, improve throughput and eliminate bottlenecks.

The new system is a solution for fabricators facing worker shortages and bottlenecks resulting from the increased productivity of higher-volume fiber lasers. The high-speed modular sorting solution significantly maximizes the productivity and efficiency of downstream operations.

The ASTES4 High Speed ADVANCED can be integrated with the SmartFlex RAPID automated sheet loader and a Mitsubishi fiber or CO2 laser.

The ASTES4 High Speed ADVANCED features:

A patented, integrated tool-changer head with six programmable tools
Four sorting heads with a capacity of up to 220 pounds per head
Mitsubishi Drive components that allow seamless communication between the control, servos and drive system
Multiple customizable configurations
Tighter proximity between picking heads

Benefits of the new laser automation system include:

Can reduce sorting time by half
Elimination of manual tool changing
Increased worker safety
The ability to run unattended
Lower labor costs
Reduced setup time
High-speed precision, with a high success rate of picks even at high speeds
Reliability

The ASTES4 High Speed ADVANCED features multiple tools on each head, including:

Single suction cup tool
Magnet tool (featuring two sizes)
Multi-suction cup tool
Dual-oval suction cup tool
Out-of-center tool for small or heavy parts that require two lifting points

“The ASTES4 High Speed ADVANCED can solve problems faced by just about every fabricator, including worker shortages, high labor costs, production bottlenecks and more,” said MC Machinery North American Sales Manager for Fabrication Shane Herendeen. “The patented tool-changer head with programmable tools makes it the most adaptable and customizable sort system available.”

ASTES4 SA is a Swiss-based company acquired by Mitsubishi Electric in 2018. MC Machinery Systems, headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Ill., is a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corp. and a Mitsubishi Electric automated solutions partner.

To arrange an in-person demo of the ASTES4 High Speed ADVANCED at MC Machinery’s Chicago-area headquarters, visit https://www.mcmachinery.com/astes-hs-advanced.

About MC Machinery

A subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corp. and headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Ill., MC Machinery Systems is a premier North American supplier and servicer of fabrication and milling equipment, including Mitsubishi lasers, press brakes, EDMs and automation systems. Serving industries including aerospace, mold and die, job shops, medical and energy, MC Machinery offers a large, regionalized service network, an experienced application support team and multiple technology and training centers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Visit www.mcmachinery.com for more information.

Made in the USA: Shears & Press Brakes

Industrial Machinery Digest — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 14:37:45 +0000

Hydraulic Shears: 1/8” (10GA), 3/16”, 1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2”, 5/8”, 3/4”, 1” and 1-1/4”

Hydraulic Press Brakes: 50-Ton to 550-Ton

C-Frame Presses: 40-Ton to 200-Ton

Custom Designs for Custom Applications

Retrofit Backgauges: for Shears and Press Brakes. Made to fit most machines with minimum modifications

Precision Knife Sharpening

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Betenbender Manufacturing, Inc. | Phone: 319-435-2378 | Fax: 319-435-2262
sales@betenbender.com | www.betenbender.com