German tube-bending machine manufacturer Schwarze-Robitec recently delivered several cold-bending machines to South Africa, Schwarze-Robitec plant manager Jürgen Korte informs Engineering News.

He says the company has further developed its free-form bending concept for use on all-electric tube-bending machines.

“The global requirements for free-form bent tubes and profiles are becoming increasingly complex, with bending paths and the reshaping of new, higher-strength materials demanding improved bending machines and software concepts,” he explains, adding that he believes that, for these reasons, South African auto- motive manufacturers should invest in this type of machinery.

Korte says the current renaissance in hydroforming is also reinforcing this trend.

To equip the tube- and profile-processing industries in the best way possible for current and future market requirements, Schwarze-Robitec has improved the free-form bending concept for its all-electric tube-bending machines, which, he points out

, can be used by automotive manufacturers to bend tubes and profiles into specifically required shapes and sizes.

Korte says this technology allows for the precise creation of large bending radii and variable radius paths on tubes and profiles, while a high level of repeat accuracy is achieved, even with new higher-strength materials.

“Schwarze-Robitec delivered an all-electric tube-bending machine, using this new technology, in 2012 to one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers in Mexico,” he points out.

The machine is fully automatic and includes a loading unit for machine feed, a measuring system and a handling robot for onward transport of the bent parts. It ensures fully automated processes and, therefore, enables fast and economic bending processes.

Moreover, Korte says manu- facturing large bending radii of size 6xD is considerably more precise with this technology.

“Simultaneously, the production process is accelerated by up to five times, or even ten times, in individual cases.

“This is because the revised concept allows higher bending speeds and the setup times previously required are appreciably reduced, owing to the increased precision,” he explains.