New Powerful Production Unit: CNC Tube Bending Machine RBV 35 for the Production of Two- and Three-Dimensional Bent Parts from Tube or Solid Material

Just in time for the EMO show in Hannover, Germany, WAFIOS AG presents the new CNC tube bending machine RBV 35 for a medium-sized steel tube diameter range up to 35 mm.

Just in time for the EMO show in Hannover, Germany, WAFIOS AG presents the new CNC tube bending machine RBV 35 for a medium-sized steel tube diameter range up to 35 mm. It is characterized by high rigidity and corresponding power reserves. Thus the machine has a sufficient safety margin for all bending tasks and features precision and high quality of parts.

Designed for the production of complicated bent parts made of cut-to-length or end-treated tube or solid material, the standard machine has 8 interpolatable CNC axes. Depending on the equipment and the machine’s degree of automation, an upgrade to more axes is possible. The fully electric tube bending machine is maintenance-friendly and is equipped with established but also innovative components. It is very secure and has a very high availability.

The goal of the new design was to provide users with a production unit with which rotary-draw bending operations as well as free-form bending operations are possible. The RBV 35 can be employed for right-hand and left-hand bending within one cycle.

- Right / left bending option in one cycle
Due to interpolatable linear axes, the newly designed bending head enables a quick change of the bending direction. The positioning of the bending head with respect to the corresponding bending sequence is carried out very efficiently. The change of the bending direction is made by two follow bars and the independently traversable bending head. This solution significantly expands the range of parts that can be produced while tooling times are reduced to a minimum. The costs for the set of tools are considerably lower – just as the machine hour rate. The production of three-dimensional geometries is possible.

- New clamping unit via cams with variable pitch
The compact and relatively simple structure of the patent-pending clamping unit also contributes to the large bending space available. The clamping unit features fast traversing paths while generating great forces. The clamping force, however, can be adjusted to the tools and tube and a low drive power is required. The high functionality is combined with an increased operating convenience (programming is very simple) and very low wear. The operator can use the newly gained degrees of freedom for producing a greater variety of parts and reducing the cycle times.

The possibility to add characteristic curves to the control software for programming tools and to carry out online simulations, ensures highest safety and repeat accuracy in day-to-day production and significantly increases the machine’s availability. Extremely high bending speeds due to interpolatable axes reduce non-productive times. Highly dynamic drives, a parallel set-up over the entire programming mode during production as well as simple and repeatable tool changes all contribute to a very high availability and productivity.

The WAFIOS RBV 35 has very high degrees of freedom for the bending process and is thus able to produce a large variety of parts. For example, it is equipped with tools for mandrel-less bending operations (bend-in-bend contours), combined rotary-draw and free-form bending or the “rapid-exchange clamping gripper system” from Hainbuch with which end-treated tubes can be held.

The new programming software Easyway has been integrated into the machine. In the future, it will be the standard programming system in all new WAFIOS tube bending machines. Special features of the RBV 35 are the user-guided control, simulation options, graphically supported programming, hierarchy-based user levels (programming levels), plain-language programming of lengths / angles / coordinates and interfaces for the periphery.

The RBV 35 is a tube bending center that features highest flexibility and a high degree of automation. Its functional design combines excellent output and quality with perfect machine handling. Application areas are – among others –the automotive industry where seat frames and hydraulic lines can be produced. Other application areas can be found in the furniture industry or in the rehabilitation area.