Two electric/robotic press brakes headline AMADA bending
Two of AMADA America’s new flagship products are the embodiment of sustainable manufacturing as well as advancement in robotics and automation. The EGB 6013 ARce is a compact bending cell that incorporates a 7-axis robot rated at 10 kg. The other press brake setup is the EGB 1303 ARse, which will be shown with several important automation capabilities, including Smart Loading.
We will explore each of these bending automation systems and the context in which they will be seen at FABTECH.
The EGB 6013 ARce
AMADA’s new EGB 6013 ARce press brake (see Figure 1) is a compact, fully electric (servo-based) bending machine that offers high speed and high precision. It is rated at 60 tons of pressure and has a table 1.3 m long.
Unlike most press brakes, this one is equipped with a robot up front to automatically set the punches and dies, and to handle the bending process. The robot is rated at 10kg, including the weight of the gripper. It is a 6-axis articulated robot plus one traveling axis (laterally along the length of the table), giving it 7-axis motion.
The tooling flexibility is unprecedented and you can use 27 types of tools—a gain of 35% capacity over conventional models. The large capacity tool stocker has three stages (levels), three rows from front to back, and three types of tools in a row. Because of the increased capacity, the operator has more options like installing both coining and air-bend tools or installing a Z-bend tool and a partial hemming tool.
The robot features automatic gripper change; it can use up to eight grippers depending on the material and its characteristics such as shape and cutout areas. It can handle materials from .5 mm to 2 mm. If a punch needs to be reversed before it is installed, there is a reversing tool to enable the robot to accomplish this task. As a result, the robot uses most of the bed, much more than the previous model. And because of the tool reverser, that length if the tools are reversed or not.
There is help during the bend too. The new Bi-S II sensor uses probes to get highly accurate angle readings on a part being bent. You can either continue to use the Bi-S II on all the bends or get a definitive reading from the first bend and use the data to control every successive bend. The new Bi-S II is faster in two ways: the physical probe shape changed, and the angle calculation algorithms are improved. Separately from the Bi-S II, a sensor checks the Z-axis, ensuring perfect alignment as the part goes into the bend.
This setup features a tablet-based human machine interface (HMI) in addition to the controller.
Loading innovations
Mobile loading carts and a loading system take away all the work of loading parts, blanks, or materials. Three carts fit into corresponding loading areas. Each can handle materials with a minimum size of 30 mm x 80 mm and a maximum size of 400 mm x 400 mm. They can be stacked as high as 300 mm. If parts are less than 200 mm wide (with a length of 400 mm or less), each can be put on the left or right half of the cart. This gives the loading system six positions instead of three.
Using the loading system, a vacuum device attaches onto the top piece in a stack on the loading cart. The vacuum device lifts slightly and tilts the material, using magnets to hold the material in place. A thickness detector judges whether only one part is picked by measuring the thickness of the load. A vacuum regripping device then switches the grip from the vacuum pad to a clamp system.
A two-stage, pass-through conveyor system is also available and will be seen at FABTECH.
The EGB 1303 ARse
The new EGB 1303 ARse press brake (see Figure 2) from AMADA is a 130-ton, 3-meter machine designed for medium loads, high speed, high precision, and time-saving automation. It too is an electric servo drive-based machine, and has the electric crowning system.
The new system has an expanded tool capacity thanks to the large Automatic Tool Changing (ATC) system—the same as the one on the larger HG 2204 ATC model. The EGB 1303 ARse model also employs the AMADA Smart Loading LD Device (more below).
Like its cousin press brake, the EGB 6013 ARce, the EGB 1303 ARse features a robot as part of the solution. There are two main differences between the robot implementations, however: job expectations and size. First, the robot employed on the EGB 6013 ARce has only one job: part handling. Setups are already done by the ATC. The robot can handle 20kg including the gripper. The gripper features automatic changing and up to nine grippers can be used. Because ATC loads the tooling, some time is saved in the setup because ATC is faster than a single robot.
New loading approach
The EGB 1303 ARse features the AMADA Smart LD Device, created to efficiently supply pallet-loaded parts to the bending robot. A configuration is shown in Figure 3.
The entire process from blank to bend is automated. Blanks are delivered and placed on the loader. Two load cameras get an exact position of the part. The system automatically checks for double parts. If there is a redundant blank or sheet, measured by the thickness of what is being transported, this is offloaded into a drop zone without interrupting the bending schedule, contributing to efficient, unmanned operation.
A new side gauge with a potentiometer that confirms a good connection makes it simple to align parts. Additionally, this model comes with the new Bi-S II which can correct bend angles on the fly.
When it comes to offloading the part, you have three choices: conveyor, pallet stacker, or pallet stacker plus conveyor.
Two tablets bring the human-machine interface (HMI) to the human; when using the entire automation system, an HMI can be employed for CAD drawings of the desired part, as well as for an entry point into the AMNC 4ie for bend angle (through the Bi-S II) and camera information.
These two new robotic press brakes and their surrounding systems are perfect examples of a new way of thinking about bending: automation in loading, bending, and offloading bring time savings and consistent results to every aspect of using a press brake.