Recol Engineering Ltd (www.recolltd.com), a sub-contract sheet-metal and steel fabricator, has become the UK’s first user of an Amada HG ARs automated press brake system (www.amada.co.uk).

The adoption of robot-tended bending operations is not only reducing labour costs for this manufacturer but also cutting set-up times — from 45min to just 90sec in some instances — thanks to the machine’s integral automatic tool changer.

Privately owned and with 85 employees, Northampton-based Recol is currently enjoying a period of significant growth. Indeed, the company’s 36,000sq ft fabrication facility has recently been supplemented by a 12,000sq ft machining unit.

Moreover, its programme of on-going investment in the latest manufacturing technologies has never been healthier, as evidenced by its commitment to automating its press braking operations.

Recol director Ben Guntrip, son of the company’s founder Rhid, said: “Labour is the biggest cost to businesses like ours, and we knew that introducing automation into our bending operations would deliver significant gains.”

Since it was established nearly 40 years ago, Recol has been a user of Amada technology. Today, the company’s array of Amada machines includes an LC3015F1 CNC profiling centre with material tower and an ACIES CNC punch/laser combination machine with load/unload automation.

Mr Guntrip says: “We had automated other aspects of our process chain with great success, so bending seemed a natural progression. Amada has never given us a reason to look elsewhere, so when we heard about the HG ARs while at EuroBlech 2014, we were keen to learn more.”

The HG ARs is a fully integrated robotic press brake system with a six-axis robot, automatic gripper changer (AGC) and automatic tool changer (ATC) with patented Amada tooling.

Each stage of the bending process, including tool loading, gripper exchange and robotic bending, is performed at high speed to maintain high levels of unmanned production. The robot can accommodate workpieces up to 1,000 x 800mm and weighing a maximum of 20kg.

Challenging the prototype

Recol’s trip to EuroBlech was followed by a visit to Amada’s European Robot Technical Centre in Italy, which had a working prototype of an HG ARs. Mr Guntrip took along a few jobs, and the automated press brake system performed extremely well, considering the short amount of time available.

The order for the system was signed in July 2015, when the Recol team was invited to Amada Japan. Here, the sub-contractor challenged the machine with some of its most complex jobs.

“Not only did the automated system perform really well, but we were taken to see one of the first users in Japan,” says Mr Guntrip. “Interestingly, this company had migrated from the previous Amada automated press brake system — the Astro — preferring the new HG ARs.”

Installed in February 2016, the machine has since been producing a wide range of components — some extremely complex — for industries that include telecommunications, construction, food and pharmaceuticals.

“With the HG ARs, the operator simply pushes the button and walks away to start doing other things, such as programming new jobs,” says Mr Guntrip.

“We have already started using the machine unattended overnight. It has changed the way we do things, as well as the way we quote. Taking labour out of the equation through automation is key to competitiveness.”

The six-axis robot offers a wide range of motion capabilities, allowing it to undertake all part loading, bending and unloading operations. Furthermore, during bending, a potentiometer back-gauge system with additional side gauge compensates for any deviation when the workpiece is placed in the die. This ensures that parts are produced consistently and with maximum accuracy.

High level of flexibility

With batch sizes at Recol typically from 10 to 1,000-off, the machine had to offer a high level of flexibility in terms of minimising set-up times when changing from one job to another. Mr Guntrip says: “With the ATC, we can change jobs really quickly.

For instance, setting up one of our manual press brakes for a complex bending job can take 45min, but that is cut to around 90sec using the HG ARs. Differences of such magnitude are game-changers.”

Amada’s ATC ensures that tools are loaded quickly and precisely. Four tool manipulators load tooling from 15 ‘punch stockers’ and 18 ‘die stockers’. Each stocker can hold 800mm of tooling, giving the ATC a tool capacity of over 26.2m.

Further process flexibility is provided by the machine’s 8m rail (the first of its type in Europe), which allows Recol to access more loading stations, and hence have more jobs in progress.

“It is certainly a hungry machine. Indeed, we are now actively seeking more work to help fill its capacity. If we can achieve this, we will shorten our ROI and look at investing in another machine — possibly the smaller version.”

In conclusion, Mr Guntrip says: “Customers today want more than simply a good price, they want a package that comprises a right-first-time, on-time and good-quality product — and the same next time.

They want a partnership based on added-value solutions, which is where we excel. We work with our customers to help develop parts that are suited to the manufacturing technologies available, passing on any resulting savings.

“This stance has helped us retain some customers for over 30 years; and with regard to our HG ARs, we’ve had customers come in to see what jobs they have that might be suitable for it. For us, this signifies that we have made the right decision.”