Early to recognize the advantages of CNC bending, Northern Tube, pinconning, MI, a Tier-Two supplier of tubular products for light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, also saw the benefits of robotic laser cutting over traditional mechanical drill/piece equipment in hydroform applications, including increased quality and productivity. Northern Tube recently replaced its original robotic laser cell, installed in 1995, with two new cells featuring Fanuc robots mated with Trumpf lasers, supplied by the Trumpf Laser Technology Center, Plymouth, MI.The system consists of two identical cells, each featuring two laser-cutting robots and a ferris-wheel-type part-indexing device. It also incorporates two material-handling robots, incoming conveyor, flush booth, operator console and main power panes. A key improvement of the system is its ability to verify the presence of the holes cut during the process versus the post-process probe method of the previous system. Beam-switching capability allows the supplier to fix process, providing very high uptime.
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