Issue n. 3 - April 2005Download pdf - BLM GROUP

INSPIRED FOR TUBE
No. 3 - 4/2005
UK
THE TUBE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

Contents
INSPIRED FOR TUBE
Contents
Also available in pdf format on:
www.blmgroup.com
INSPIRED FOR TUBE
4
Bending and endforming - Contract Manufacturing
The ability to provide
unique solutions
6
Lasertube - Furniture
Creating laser work programmes
8
Bending and endforming - Automotive
To win against the odds!
10
Lasertube - Construction
Flexibility and Personalised
Manufacture
12
Cut-off and end machining - Sub-Contracting
Being competitive without sacrificing
added value
14
Traning - Event
Real co-operation between the
academic world and industry
INSPIRED FOR TUBE
2
Edited by:
BLM GROUP
Communication
Emanuela Colombo
Antonio Farese
Cristina Guzzetti
e-mail: pr@blm.it
tel. +39 031 7070 200
Produced by:
BLM GROUP
Via Selvaregina 30
22063 Cantù (CO) Italy
www.blmgroup.com
Number
INSPIRED FOR TUBE
Nr. 3 - 04/2005
Graphic Design
Studio Grafico Page
Vincenzo De Rosa
Fabrizio Santini
Printed by:
arti grafiche maspero
fontana & c. spa
Cermenate (CO)
Photography:
Aeffe
Weland
Reproduction of all or part of
articles or illustrations published
in this edition cannot
be used without prior authorisation.

Opinion
At the beginning of the 1900’s, FORD rose to be
the market leader in vehicle production because it
became the most efficient and the quickest in its
methods, thanks to an organisation based on a rigid
hierarchy, specialised working functions and sub
division of its manufacturing operations. Its success
is not only demonstrated in its sales figures but also
by the fact that, today, it is still the dominant operational
model for everyone else. Ask anyone in the
automotive industry who worked then and they
would say: the most important elements
of manufacturing are production
capability and purchasing.
This response indicated contemporary
feelings about functionality and
hierarchy.
This organisational model worked
well in the climate of little change and
little complexity that existed in the
Twenties: FORD produced 2 million
Model T’s a year, almost all of them
identical. Today that’s not possible
– supply, in general, is geared to demand
and has had to satisfy nearly
every specific requirement in a much
more concise fashion than before
and with a considerable growth in the variety of options.
In the United States today, with production
volumes many times greater than those of the Twenties,
the most-sold model does not sell more than
300,000 per annum in tens of different versions.
The spread of international market competition into
very different and large geographical regions has
brought considerable change and diffusion of technologies
unthinkable only 50 years ago. Television
has taken 40 years to spread across the eastern
world, the cellular phone less than ten.
In this context, the only companies that survive
are those who rapidly adapt to their customers
needs and can react to the changes necessary the
quickest. It is extremely important for the successful
manufacturer to understand fully their clients’ objectives
and businesses in order to generate the
maximum value for their clients products. This is
horizontal value flow, from purchasing to production
to delivery; a traditional company, on the other
hand, has a vertical structure with a clear separation
between its diverse operations.
For example, the creation of a product like the wireless
telephone occurs when someone realises their
own specific task, often for a fee, and then passes
the idea on to the next stage. No-one is responsible
overall from beginning to end of the process;
no-one can guarantee the coherence of the prior
choices made during this process and no-one has
the complexity of vision necessary
to properly realise the value of the
product.
Process management revolutionises
this approach and gives
more initial consideration to the
process of value generation and to
the final result for the client, not to the
performance of an isolated operation.
This generation becomes the
company fulcrum; because it adds
value while the individual operations
support one or more of the processes,
it means that the resources and
competency necessary to improve
the product still further can be made
available. Quality certification such as Vision 2000
has adopted this approach but many companies
have simply changed some parameters without
changing their organisation thus limiting their performance.
True process management requires
the institution of new roles for production responsibility
and the modification of others such as operation
responsibility. These changes will take time
and will be exhausting as operational changes
knock down barriers and create improvement. The
elimination of these barriers to progress, a more integrated
functional dependence and attention
to the value added process for their clients will
be the winning model for our companies in their
fight to be truly competitive.
Alberto Portioli Staudacher
Department of Engineering Management
Milan Polytechnic
INSPIRED FOR TUBE
Alberto Portioli Staudacher is Professor of Operational
Management, Logistics and Production Systems at Milan
Polytechnic. From 1995 to 2002 he was President of the Association
of Production Management Graduates, and from
2000 he has also been a Member of the Board of Engineering
Management.
From 2001 he has been Director of the SMART Laboratory
in Operations and Supply Chain Management and from 2003
a Member of the teaching staff for the Doctorate in Production
Management. He is the author of three books and over
60 scientific articles for conferences and national and international
magazines. He has given advice and been involved
in training and consultative activities for many Italian
and European companies in organisation and process
allocation techniques. He has been involved and assisted
BLM GROUP for many years.
3

R-MAN, Sweden, celebrate their 25th
Anniversary this Year
INSPIRED FOR TUBE Contract Manufacturing
The ability to provide
unique solutions
Boris Bergkvist is celebrating the 25th anniversary
of R-MAN this year. The company has its
headquarters in Värnamo in Sweden and specialises
in contract manufacturing for tubular components.
It has developed considerable experience
in tube applications and has an unusual
capacity for solving the problems of tube forming,
however complex.
Tube working is in Mr Bergvist’s DNA; he began
his career in 1963 by working for a company producing
equipment for tube bending and endforming.
This experience forms the bedrock of R-
MAN’s activities as he has accumulated the
know-how in dealing with tube forming problems
from the inside.
ness is in the automotive industry which accounts
for some 60% of our turnover (Volvo Trucks and
Scania) ; we also supply copper components for
wall mounted heater boilers and steel parts for refrigerators,
medical equipment and mobility products
for the handicapped.”
The Swede is a major force in the market place
in which R-MAN has become an important player
and an ideal partner when tube working is required.
The company is now involved from the initial
development phase right through to product
prototyping. “ Our experience always enables us
to find the proper balance between technical solutions,
ideal production methods and economic
costing,” he continues.
An ideal partner for tube
“ R-MAN is a tube working contractor and necessarily
gets involved with many different industrial
sectors” states Mr Bergkvist. “Our core busi-
Fixed and variable radii bending
A look inside the R-MAN factory shows eleven
tube bending machines, several end forming systems
with high degrees of automation and diverse
4

numbers of robotic welding cells. Near each machine
are bent tubes of differing shapes, sizes
and complexity, which amply demonstrate the variety,
and depth of the tube working solutions on
offer.
“In the last few years, we have purchased a number
of BLM tube bending machines which have enabled
us to develop an increasing number of unique
engineering solutions, “ states Mr Bergkvist.
Today there are two BLM PLANET bending, endforming
, cutting and punching machines with
material fed directly from coil (for boiler heater applications);
a BLM SWING CNC bending machine
with left and right hand bend capability
up to 32mm diameter and the BLM Dynamic 4
with similar right and left bend flexibility but with
a larger capacity of up to 42mm diameter.
“ The capability of being able to use fixed and
variable radii bending in the same work cycle without
any limitation on the complexity of the piece,
“ concludes Mr Bergkvist, “ This has enabled us
to compete in new markets and develop new
products which continue to be both competitive
and innovative – for example, in the medical equipment
sector which employs many elements with
complex curves.
The new tube working technologies have given
fresh impetus to our creativity in being able to offer
unique answers to production problems.”
Number 3 - april 2005 INSPIRED FOR TUBE Contract Manufacturing
5

Laser tube cutting technology gives major benefits in the manufacture
of furniture and accessories for the music and home entertainment industry.
Creating laser work programmes
INSPIRED FOR TUBE Furniture
TAM srl from Recanati are a manufacturer strongly
geared to exports with over 95% of their production
going abroad. The two main product lines
are furniture for home entertainment systems (audio
and visual) and musical instrument accessories
(stands, studio-desking etc). Every detail of their
product is made in their factory, complying with the
“Made in Italy” design requirements. They use top
quality materials and innovative technology such
as, laser-tube cutting and high-definition paint plant.
These technologies guarantee total-productioncontrol
and a high standard of finish, particularly for
their Home Theater range, where the product appearance
is of paramount importance.
80% of the tube is processed by laser
Laser technology clearly defines TAM production
programmes for cutting tube; they currently use
three ADIGE Lasertube systems.
“The first system, “states Sergio Graciotti”, was purchased
in 1998/99, and in the last 5 years two further
Adige Tube Laser systems have been added.
Now, over 80% of all the tube processed monthly
(150 tonnes) is machined by laser.”
Once the increases in production and process improvements
became so clear on the first Adige
Laser it became a very straightforward decision for
the next two to be purchased. For example, on the
Home Theatre production line, the quality and flexibility
achieved by the laser has provided considerable
benefits with a subsequent increase in the
number of parts produced rising from 1000 parts
per annum to 60,000.
A bigger contribution
The laser’s massive contribution has been felt by
TAM in design flexibility and working practices, safety
and, above all, in the quality of product. The laser
systems produce a finished product in a fraction of
the former time and without the 5 or 6 traditional
machining processes they previously carried out
i.e. sawing, drilling, notching, milling, punching, deburring
etc.
“Machining our tube is now consistent and to the
highest degree of repeatable quality, “ underlines
Graciotti, “ the components are more accurate enabling
us to introduce robotic welding cells alongside
the ADIGE systems. The repeatable accuracy
of the laser with the robot welding process
ensures the most precise fit-up of the tubular assembly,
which magnifies the overall aesthetic of the
final product. The use of the lasers has also helped
us to achieve much more precise matching and
jointing of parts which has simplified or in some cases
eliminated welding jigs and fixtures.”
The complete item in 10 minutes
TAM has also eliminated the entire pressing, punching,
and shearing operations previously carried out,
significantly improving aspects of safety and reducing
manning levels.
The laser system has, in fact, made the cycle of a
product’s development much leaner - “ Today, it’s
possible to have a newly designed part completed
and in your hand, 10 minutes after initialising the
laser programme, “confirms Mr Pirchio, the Vice
President of the company. “ Before, there were a
6

considerable number of technological limitations to
the traditional methods we adopted. Today, not only
is it possible to complete the product more quickly,
but we are able to do it without needing several
dedicated machines and associated special tooling.
We have completely transformed our original
mentality and are beginning to realise the magnitude
of the benefits we can enjoy with the laser in
terms of the design, functionality, manufacture and
overall aesthetics of our products; experimenting
with the ADIGE systems has without doubt acted
as a spur to the development of new products.”
“ The designer,” adds Mario Malizia, the President
of TAM, “can deliver his creative designs, without
the restrictions of traditional machining processes,
which in turn can be further improved using our own
know-how, gained from our experience with the
laser tube and the tube benders.”
In the factory today, elliptical and semi oval tube are
the starting point for virtually all new products, this
change has led to a new product range, which combines
laser tube cutting technology and variable
radius tube bending technology, enabling us to
reach heights of functionality and beauty in our products,
hitherto impossible.
Concludes Pirchio, “ there has been constant
product improvement in both design and functionality,
which has led to a considerable reduction
in manufacturing time – this has opened up
the development of a sub-contracting laser tube
cutting service, which brings in a very welcome
additional income.”
Number 3 - april 2005 INSPIRED FOR TUBE Arredamento
7

Relem, Spain, the automotive component specialist, meets zero defect
requirements demanded by quality standards
To win against the odds!
INSPIRED FOR TUBE Automotive
Challenges in the automotive sector for RELEM
S.L. from Granollers in the Spanish region of Catalonia
are always pressing and particularly so in
the highly competitive tube-working environment
in which they operate. The automotive component
specialists have developed production technologies
which have enabled them to face the
stringent requirements of the quality standards
needed to meet the need for “zero defects” which
are experienced by all automotive product manufacturers
and their sub contractors.
RELEM are a member of the PAVER Group and
are a medium sized company employing 110 personnel
with a turnover of 12.5 million in 2004. They
manufacture tubular components for windscreens
(40%), air conditioning units (20%) and car seating
(30%). A number of other components make
up the remaining 10%. The current division in
product manufacture has shifted from the more
traditional markets of structural tubular components
and fluid line parts. Principal clients are
among the most noted names in the industry and
include Robert Bosch, Dayco, and Ensa in many
different global locations such as Portugal, Germany,
Mexico and Brazil as well as their own domestic
market in Spain.
8

From 500 to 300,000 parts per annum
“All the tube working machines purchased by
RELEM have been supplied by BLM. There have
been very rapid technical variations in our manufacturing
programme and the machines have
enabled us to adapt to the changes required and
still remain competitive” stated Andrés Palau, the
company’s joint owner. He added, “The production
technology available from BLM has integrated
totally with the characteristics of our manufacturing
systems”.
“We produce support tubing for windscreens on
the BLM DYNAM0 and BLM NC832 tube bending
machines; these parts look simple to produce
but require high degrees of accuracy and repeatability.
On the BLM Planet CNC tube bender
we manufacture, in aluminium tube, components
for automotive air conditioning units. Working
directly from coil stock (which provides significant
material scrap reductions), then combining –
straightening, end-forming, bending, final cut-off
and unloading of the finished component – on
one machine, in a fully automated and continuous
process, achieves the lowest possible costper-component.
Production batches...
The needs of the automotive sector have a huge
influence on production programmes and RELEM
have always looked for the best possible solutions;
very strict tolerances, high value materials
(stainless steel and aluminium), an ability to work
with pre-assembled tube and total quality control
over all the parts being worked.
“An important element, in our constant search for
efficiency in technology and the production
process, is our collaboration with the BLM Group,
who have a global vision of the automotive market
and can supply advanced technologies for
tube working processes as well as the support of
properly qualified personnel all the time.”
To win against the odds
“The availability and reliability of the machines
is paramount,” Andrés Palau continues,” in a situation
where our clients can give us an order at
8.00 a.m. by internet and expect it to leave the
factory by 11.00 a.m. the same morning. Not all
our customers are this demanding, obviously –
but it’s upon the most difficult requests that we
measure our performance.”
“We have a high level of competence and experience
in our factory which helps us to confront
the requests which pose particular problems. We
are able to manufacture our own tooling and ensure
they are as perfect as possible. This is equally
important for the automation and control of the
production processes.”
“Once we’ve got over these particular problems,
we have to start all over again with another request.
It’s this environment that stimulates us and
helps us win against all odds.”
Number 3 - april 2005 INSPIRED FOR TUBE Automotive
9

Weland, Sweden, production is based exclusively on laser technology
and cutting process automation
INSPIRED FOR TUBE Construction
Flexibility and Personalised
Manufacture
When Mr Welansson founded Weland AB in Smalandsstenar,
Sweden in 1947, it was immediately
successful and now the company has grown into
a group of 25 different companies employing 800
people with a turnover of 170 million last year. This
growth and marketing success has been realised
by developing products tailored to customers’ needs
and delivering them in as quickly as possible and
at a competitive cost. There are three main production
lines: staircases for both internal and external
use, metal railings, and ramps for use inside
and outdoors. The group’s main markets are in central
and northern Europe and in North America.
There has also been a significant growth in subcontract
work separate from their normal product
range in the tubular furniture, automotive and security
sectors.
product costing are a fact of their commercial life.
This is further complicated by the fact that, although
Weland are a large company operating in an industrialised
country like Sweden, there are few opportunities
for sales in their native land.
These apparently conflicting factors have actually
come together and enabled Weland to improve and
grow by using new technology with their production
now based exclusively on laser technology and
automation of the cutting process.
They currently use five ADIGE LASERTUBE cutting
systems and two combined units for sheet and tube
supplied by ADIGE SYSTEMS to achieve the match
of the necessary flexibility and tailored product that
their overall strategic plan demands.
Seven BLM Group laser systems
Weland products, by their very nature and use in
houses, apartments, urban furniture and industrial
fabrication, are hardly ever standard. Giving personalised
services, fast deliveries and economic
Standard and customer designed products
Lars Bredenfeldt, Weland’s Purchasing Director
and Rune Berndtsson, the Production Director
both confirm that the maximum time available to
them from placing the order to despatch is four
10

weeks. They develop and plan the design and
the machining program by CAD and then send it
all to the shop floor. In order to retain flexibility they
plan some components in advance which are relatively
standard and put them into stock ( e.g. the
treads in a spiral staircase) and also have to manufacture
some items made to measure (overall
height, dimensions of the balustrades etc) In the
case of an external staircase, these can vary up
to 250m in height.
The tubular components present in these structures
carry the weight and there are many of them in a
single staircase, slotting together just like Lego® -
Weland actually supply their products in kit form for
construction at the building site or in the home.
A decisive choice
Flexibility in design and production and speed of
execution are fundamentals and the decision to buy
five LASERTUBEs from ADIGE was decisive in being
able to guarantee the repeatability and rapidity
the company requires and also to look at manufacturing
options not available to them before. Lars
Bredenfeldt and Rune Berndtsson express considerable
satisfaction in the purchasing choices
they made and for the results obtained every day
for five years, three shifts per day. “ The ADIGE systems
are affordable, simple to use, don’t require a
lot of set-up or changeover time and are supported
by easy and quick-to-programme CAD/CAM
software. Equally valid is the comprehensive initial
training we received from ADIGE.”
Time to diversify
Weland AB have now further improved their production
and have developed a fine understanding
of the techniques used on the LASERTUBE machines.
They are now able to offer sub-contracting
services with the additional time saved from this
knowledge and this is extremely important to them.
For example, they cut 100mm x 100mm x5mm
tubes for Scania, the well known truck manufacturer
with a high degree of consistency and quality that
they were not able to do with traditional methods
(drilling, milling, mitre-cutting, deburring etc).
Number 3 - april 2005 INSPIRED FOR TUBE Construction
11

UNI-MECC, Italy, consistently achieves optimum performance and maintains
competitiveness with their ADIGE CM502 Sawing and Machining Centres
INSPIRED FOR TUBE Sub-Contracting
Being competitive without sacrificing
added value
The mechanical engineering company, UNI-
MECC srl, from Villanova near Turin, began in
1990because its founders Roberto Bruneri and
Venanzio Peinetti believed that there was a
healthy demand for the production of quality
bushes for shock absorbers, anti vibration
mountings and spacing collars for the automotive
sector, earthmoving equipment and industrial
vehicles.
Today the company has become a benchmark
in the industry for the production of bushes and
spacers in steel and other metals; they produce
1.4 million components a month with 50% exported
to Germany (and some to the USA)
where they go to complete finished components
for the well known German marques: Audi, Mercedes
and VW.
From 2 hours down to 45 minutes
With ever increasing production demands, one
of the prime objectives for UNI-MECC was to
rationalise its operations to ensure it maintained
its competitive edge without sacrificing added
value.
“The ADIGE CM502 machining centres, “ states
Fabio Rui who is responsible for the production
and quality levels of the company,” have helped
us maximise our output with increases in production,
quality and a decrease in downtime
during product changeovers. The first CM502
was installed in 2003, the second arrived in 2004
and we immediately began double shift production.
The most important benefits are in production
changeovers that have been reduced by 200%;
12

down from 2∏ hours to 45 minutes. Other benefits
include the cutting speed for thick-wall tube
which, thanks to the ADIGE CNC control system
determining the cutting parameters automatically,
gives lower cycle times.”
To achieve one’s expectations
“ Also from a quality point of view,” Rui goes on,
“ we have increased our levels of performance
and expectancy; with in-line monitoring and
control of all the parts produced, we have a
guarantee of consistency within the design tolerances.
This control is equally important for the
internal integrity of thin wall tubes. Equally beneficial
is that the components come off finishmachined
and clean, needing no further operations.
UNI-MECC’s clients are extremely demanding
and ask for total quality control down to tolerances
of ±0.025mm. For this reason, the company
rigorously employ the in-line inspection
system incorporated in the ADIGE CM502 machining
centres and for some parts (the thin wall
tubes) inspect the internal component quality
once again as an in-line process.
Rui, who is responsible for quality control, emphasised
with pride “ We have ISO 9001 –2000
certification and we keep to the highest attainable
limits of the standard for our very demanding
customers. Our production decisions
reinforce this logic. We are known for our quality,
attention to specification and delivery times,
which our customers really appreciate.”
Number 3 - april 2005 INSPIRED FOR TUBE Sub-Contracting
13

ADIGE, together with six other Trento companies, have participated
in an experimental education programme
Real co-operation between the
academic world and industry
INSPIRED FOR TUBE Event
Integration between the teaching profession and
industry has always been one of the ambitions of
the BLM GROUP. When ADIGE, the Trento based
member of the group, had the chance to carry out
such a project, they didn’t let the opportunity slip.
ADIGE, together with six other Trento companies,
have participated in an experimental education programme
devised by the Trento Provincial Council
Training and Education Service in conjunction with
ENAIP , the Trento -Villazzano Professional Training
Centre.
This project, which is ongoing, is open to students
at the end of their usual three year degree course
at the Professional Centre and consists of a further
year of specialisation with truly innovative features:
all the training activity for the scholastic year
has been developed by the ENAIP Centre in consultation
with the firms involved with a constant rotation
of ideas between the academics and the commercial
companies. This has had profound effects
upon the company students and they have now
become accustomed to this method of teaching.
Industrial Maintenance
The planning of the project began in June 2003
when, after a proposal from the Provincial Council,
all involved agreed on a definition of the profile
needed: an INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE TECH-
NICAN who would be a professional figure who was
specialised in the maintenance of industrial automation
equipment encompassing electrics, electronics,
pneumatics and hydraulics.
This was envisaged as a combined mechanical
and electronics engineering engineer, a “Mecca-
14

tronico” figure who possessed a clear understanding
and interest in the maintenance sector and specifically
for the activities of Technical Assistance, Assembly,
Installation and Testing which are its predominant
features.
The “college in the company”
ADIGE embraced this initiative with enthusiasm correctly
understanding that it would be a good investment
in training specialised personnel with multi-discipline
characteristics. Because of this, the
company has collaborated actively to find competent
professionals to develop, and at the same time,
to be involved with the content of the pilot scheme.
They participated directly, together with the ENAIP
lecturers, in the selection of candidates and personally
introduced two students who, at the start of
the scheme, had little idea that they would now,today,
be working in the company as fellow employees.
ADIGE believe strongly that the rotation of ideas
and opinions between the academic world and their
own is fundamental and they are very conscious of
the fact that experiences of this type produce positive
results which have a “trickle down” effect: for
the students , first of all, who can more properly understand
in practice what they have learned in theory,
and also for the colleges who see the real value
of their work.
This really is a “college in a company” where both
commercial concern and academic college are
“arm in arm” Opinions on the success of the initiative
are very positive, both from the lecturing staff at
the Professional Training Centre and from the companies
taking part in the scheme. The real significance
of the programme and its initial success is
that the scholastic/working year has now not only
inaugurated a second course for the industrial maintenance
technician scheme but has announced
two new courses for technician courses geared
to electronics and electrics. What more needs to
be said? Compliments to all concerned!
Number 3 - april 2005 INSPIRED FOR TUBE Event
15

INSPIRED FOR TUBE
TUBE BENDERS
TUBE END FORMERS
CUTTING DEBURRING AND WASHING
CUTTING AND END MACHINING
LASERTUBE CUTTING SYSTEMS
LASER CUTTING FOR SHEET AND SHEET&TUBE COMBINED
MATERIALS HANDLING SYSTEMS
3D MEASURING AND INSPECTION
PRODUCTION CELLS
NON CONTACT MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
PROCESS CONTROL SOFTWARE
Also available in pdf format on:
www.blmgroup.com
16
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