Versatile bidirectional tube bender will help Stauff to serve growing UK business

Stauff acquired the Unison machine to replace an old hydraulically-actuated bender. Flexibility of use, and savings in both energy consumption and scrap were key factors in securing the order. The machine that Stauff chose is a Breeze 16 tube bender with bidirectional servomotor-driven bending axes, capable of shaping tubes of up to 16 mm in diameter.

The bidirectional capability allows workpieces to be transferred automatically between left and right hand bending heads as many times as required, providing the means to fabricate extremely complex shapes in a single automatic operation.

Stauff appreciates the operational cost savings that the all-electric bender will bring. Electricity running costs will decrease by a very large margin because the machine only consumes a significant amount of energy when a bend is being formed - as opposed to continuously keeping the hydraulic machine pressurised. Scrap will also be reduced for reasons including the Breeze 16's ability to accurately replicate bending set-ups on demand, and graphically simulate bending programs for complex shapes to foresee collision problems. Stauff also liked the simplicity of the machine's graphical user interface, which will make it easy to train operators.

In addition to supporting the company's large-scale engineering project work in sectors such as railway equipment, mobile machinery and coach building, the processing industry is a major target for the new machine. The company has just launched a new range of high pressure, high integrity, twin-ferrule stainless steel compression couplings. The combination of its tube bending capability and this new product range will place Stauff's Sheffield factory in a strong position to service oil, gas and other processing industry applications. It will allow them to fabricate, assemble and supply complete rigid tubular instrumentation subsystems to OEMs. This subsystem manufacturing capability can also take advantage of Stauff's wider range - including valves and tube clamps - providing a valuable system building service for the many OEMs in oil, gas and other processing sectors that operate from the UK.

Commenting on the order, Unison's Jim Saynor said: Stauff's request for bidirectional bending capability makes this an unusual machine, and it's one of the most flexible benders we have ever built. The diverse range of work that Stauff handles from its Sheffield factory will be a real showcase for the versatility of all-electric tube bending.

The flexibility of the new tube bender is aided by a datalink with a coordinate measuring machine, providing Stauff with an automated means of replicating any tubular part. The sophisticated new tube bending capability is the latest in a long line of investments that Stauff UK has made, to establish it as one of the principal players in the UK's fluid power and related markets. Other major capital equipment investments at its purpose-built SAP-controlled factory in Sheffield include automated storage and retrieval systems, automated handling and cutting of hose and tube, a well-equipped test house with computer controlled rigs, and computer-aided design tools for hydraulic and tubular systems.