Page 9 - MetalForming May 2010

a 25-percent cost savings and at the same time provide a lower-weight finished part. A German manufacturer, for exam- ple, uses tailored coils to stamp a lon- gitudinal chassis beam, which reduces vehicle weight by 2.0 lb. And, one recent design study shows a 25-kG weight sav- ings by using tailor-welded coils to opti- mize 33 progressive-die parts for mate- rial grade and thickness.
The coil-welding systems used to manufacture tailor-welded coils actual- ly evolved from blank-welding machines— slit coils are fed into TWB Co.’s contin- uous welding machines. The welded coils then are recoiled for customer use. Typical automotive parts that run in a pro- gressive die and benefit from a tailor-weld- ed steel coil include roof bows, B-pillar inners, sills and rails. Nonautomotive appliance brackets and construction supports also have also been identified and planned for future implementation. TWB Company LLC: 734/289-6471, www.twbcompany.com
Long-Reach Heavy-
Lifting Robots Ready
for the Pressroom
Motoman, Inc., Dayton, OH, intro- duces a trio of robots that combine power, reach and speed, allowing their use in a variety of applications including
workpiece handling, welding and cut- ting. The long reach of the MH50 model (81 in.) and the extended reach of the MH50-35 (100 in.) and MH50-20 (122 in.) robots make them ideal for processing large parts. In many cell layouts, these extended-reach models can eliminate the need for an external track, minimiz- ing system cost and sim- plifying programming. Internally routed cables and hoses optimize reliability, min- imize interference and ease programming.
Payload ranges from 44 to 110 lb.
Wide work envelopes with small inter- ference zones allow the MH-series robots to be placed in close proximity to work- pieces and equipment, reducing floor- space requirements. The robots have brakes on all axes and can be floor-, wall- or ceiling-mounted for layout flexibility.
The MH50, MH50-35 and MH50-20 robots use Motoman’s dynamic, next-gen-
eration DX100 controller that includes patented multiple-robot control technology to easily handle multiple tasks and control as many as eight robots (72 axes), I/O devices and communication protocols. The DX100 uses a Windows CE program- ming pendant with color touchscreen. Motoman: 937/847-6200; www.motoman.com
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