ENGINEERING.com gets the scoop on the new TruBend Center 5030 unit.
The TruBend Center 5030 unit is one of the newest products in advanced panel bending technology. ENGINEERING.com had the opportunity to speak with Jamie Crandall, sales engineer at TRUMPF about what the new machine has to offer.
Jim Anderton (JA): We’re standing in front of a TruBend Center 5030 unit, a new product for TRUMPF.
Jamie Crandall (JC): Yes. We’ve actually entered into the panel bender market. This machine in particular is a little bit niche. It’s a standard panel bender by looks, but it can also do a lot of intricate stuff you could otherwise only do on a press brake.
JA: Panel bending has historically been an Achilles heel of fabrication, where shops are expected to produce a wide variety of tools and productivity is often throttled by the need to handle very large parts. Now this is heavily automated?
JC: Yes, it’s still a standard semi-automatic panel bender machine, meaning that your operator has to rotate the part, but it does allow users a lot of flexibility. It takes over right after it clamps the material and it takes all the bends from there.
JA: How about gauging? As I’m looking behind me, I’m seeing what looks like standard back gauging. But from what I understand, this must operate at a much more sophisticated level.
JC: It does, yes. We have a 5-axis back gauge back there, so you are allowed to set offsets. But once the back gauging is done the front manipulators take over much of the action.
JA: Trumpf is historically associated with laser products. Why the move into the bending market?
JC: I think it’s a category in the sheet metal world that we weren’t really able to hit. We’re very strong in our press brakes as well, but we did have some applications where we had to say that a panel bender would be better for the application. With this machine we really get the best of both worlds.
JA: What kinds of materials can we expect to bend with this equipment?
JC: It will handle all the materials out there, but it specializes in stainless steel. It does really nice radii with stainless without leaving witness marks that you would traditionally find from a hard tool.
JA: What’s the average end-user profile for equipment like this?
JC: It covers a wide variety of end-users, but I think the “big guys” that would be interested in this machine would be those in appliance manufacturing or anyone that uses aesthetic parts because of the nice finish that you’re going to get in your stainless and aluminum metals. It would also do well with anyone that has unique geometries that are typically hard to handle on a press brake.
For more information on the TruBend Center 5030 unit, visit trumpf-machines.com.