The Freedman Seating Co has invested in a Unison twin-head all-electric CNC bending machine for its plant in Chicago, where it manufactures bus, rail, marine, delivery truck, specialty and commercial-vehicle seating.

The company’s search for a new tube-bending machine was driven mainly by the nature of its seat products, including formed seat frames; it needed a machine that would reduce set-up times, increase reliability and repeatability, and boost pro-
ductivity.

The all-electric Unison (www.unisonltd.com) machine provides significant benefits: a rapid and repeatable software-based set-up, lower energy consumption and reduced noise compared with traditional hydraulically powered bending machinery.

The twin-head bender software allows Freedman to design complex tube shapes without generating cut-off waste. The automatic material loading and seam detection sensors also reduce material handling.

Despite their popularity, twin-head bending machines are only produced by a handful of manufacturers, and most are large hydraulically-powered systems.

Unison takes a different design approach, with its twin-head bending machines having an all-electric’ architecture and with all motion axes controlled by servomotors.

The standard machine configuration comprises two separate bending heads supported on independent ballscrew-driven linear carriages.

A fifth axis controls a compact and fast actuating tube ‘centre grip and rotate’ unit, which can be mounted in a fixed position between the two heads or removed from the machine.