Finn-Power International, Inc., Schaumburg, IL, recently introduced a new generation of its Shear Genius flexible manufacturing cell. The cell combines the punching, forming, and tapping versatility of a turret punch press with high-quality shearing for separating the components. Unlike laser cutting, only electricity and compressed air are required, while edge quality is more than sufficient for the vast majority of manufacturing tasks, according to company officials. There are very few components that cannot be economically fabricated with a right-angle shear. The Shear Genius reportedly can bring savings to 10 percent in material consumption compared with traditional fabricating methods. Other characteristics of integrated shearing include high capacity and low maintenance requirements. Simple programming enables process flexibility and short setup times.
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