The Tube Waste Eliminated

Schwarze-Robitec Develops Tool Innovation

Especially in tube production and tube shaping, waste is synonymous with high costs. This is particularly true if large batches of short tube components are produced. Often, after bending, every individual component is cut to the desired length by means of an external separator. As a result, large quantities of material are literally “swept under the table”. With a new separator integrated directly into the bending tool, Schwarze-Robitec puts an end to this cost driver. Bending and separating in one stage – with this innovation, the tube waste can be reduced by up to 90 percent depending on the bending shape.

COLOGNE. High quality materials have found their way into all areas of automotive production. Tubes are no exception here: manifold tubes in the engine compartment, axle components or tube components in the exhaust system are manufactured from cost intensive primary materials in huge quantities. To allow any bending of the frequently very short components, the parts to be bent are generally artificially extended with span and supporting lengths. After bending, the additional lengths must be separated again from the bent part in separate operations and they accumulate as waste. “This practice drives up the manufacturing costs for a component. We have therefore produced a solution, which not only reduces the required material quantity; it also shortens the production time,” explains Schwarze-Robitec Managing Director Bert Zorn.

Bend – Separate – Bend

Here, the approach of the bending specialist from Cologne is as obvious as it is effective: a separator has been integrated into the new bending tool. Significantly longer tube rods – even entire commercial lengths – are now used to bend the components. After bending the first part, the separator is used to separate the finished component from the straight remainder. The remaining, straight part of the tube is transported further into the bending machine, bent anew, then cut off again using the integrated device. In each case, only a narrow shaving is created here, which is cleanly taken away. As such, the entire material is processed very quickly and highly efficiently into finished tube components. “Only at the front and rear ends of the tube does waste occur that cannot be used, which is conveyed out of the machine,” adds Hartmut Stöhr, who is also a Managing Director at Schwarze-Robitec. “Overall with the integrated system, up to 90 percent of the tube waste incurred with other production solutions can be avoided.” Whereas up to 100 millimetres of waste has previously been accrued per tube in the production of manifold tubes depending on the bending system, this cost driver falls to only one tenth with the Schwarze-Robitec solution, e.g. if ten tubes are coupled and separated directly in the machine – a great cost advantage. Additionally, users can omit an external separator here, which reduces operating costs in the form of depreciation. At the same time, the companies benefit from a noticeable increase in productivity due to reduced cycle times per component.

In Use on the CNC 100 E TB MR

The innovation has been developed for the fully electric CNC 100 E TB MR and CNC 80 E TB MR tube bending machines from Schwarze-Robitec. However, in future, it will be possible to integrate it into almost any bending tool. Indeed, the CNC 100 E TB MR in particular is used for large-volume production processes with short tubes, which is when the bending and separating solution optimally displays its cost advantages. Another plus for the user is the great flexibility of the CNC tube bending machine: tube components diameters between 25 and 114.3 millimetres can be processed. Here, it is equipped with a loosely mounted bend former and with the tried and tested Schwarze-Robitec replenishment and multi-radius technology, which allow automated bending on several levels. Moreover, it has a bending tool for mandrel bending with integrated bend-in-bend clamp jaws and a tube separator. Even tight radii and short intermediate lengths can therefore be produced on one tube in only one process.

Information Box

CNC 100 E TB MR Technical Specifications

Max. tube diameter (normal steel):	114.3 x 3 mm
Min. tube diameter:	25 mm
Tube length:	3,000 mm
Bending direction:	Right

Schwarze-Robitec GmbH – The Company

Having been founded in 1903, Schwarze-Robitec is among the international leading experts in the area of tube bending machines. Since 2011, the company has been run by Managing Directors Dipl.-Ing. Bert Zorn and Dipl. BA Hartmut Stöhr. At the head office in Cologne, the cold-bending machine specialist currently employs 120 staff. The company is represented worldwide through long-standing partners. As early as in 1977, Schwarze-Robitec produced the world’s first CNC-controlled tube bending machine. Over 2,300 machines have been sold to date, many of which have been in unrestricted use in production for over 30 years. In addition to tube bending machines and bending tools, the range supplied by Schwarze-Robitec also includes tube perforating machines, measuring systems and solutions in special engineering. Without exception, the Schwarze-Robitec list of references includes all of the prestigious manufacturers from the automotive industry, energy sector and shipbuilding. Furthermore, the company’s solutions are used in aerospace and many other industries. More information about Schwarze-Robitec can be found online at www.schwarze-robitec.com.

Company Contact

Dipl.-Ing. Bert Zorn • Schwarze-Robitec GmbH
Olpener Straße 460–474 • 51109 Cologne • Germany
Phone: +49 (0)221 89008-0 • Fax: +49 (0)221 89008-91
E-Mail: sales@schwarze-robitec.com • Internet: www.schwarze-robitec.com

Press Contact

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Susanne Unmack • additiv pr GmbH & Co. KG
Herzog-Adolf-Straße 3 • 56410 Montabaur • Germany
Phone: +49 (0)2602 95099-12 • Fax: +49 (0)2602 95099-17
E-Mail: su@additiv-pr.de • Internet: www.additiv-pr.de

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Kristina Kobertz • MSH AND MORE Werbeagentur GmbH
Widdersdorfer Straße 188 • 50825 Köln • Germany
Phone: +49 (0)221 973133-0 • Fax: +49 (0)221 973133-33
E-Mail: k.kobertz@msh.net • www.msh.net