Stauff, a global manufacturer and supplier of precision fluid power products for a wide range of industries, has purchased two new Unison Breeze 35mm pipe bending machines. One machine has been installed at Stauff’s manufacturing site in Sheffield and the other in Sydney, Australia.

This latest purchase follows on from the company’s recently signed five-year strategic partnership with Scarborough-based Unison Ltd, an agreement providing all Stauff operations around the world with dedicated in-country support, assistance with product development and other benefits. Once both new Breeze models are operational, there will be no fewer than 15 Unison tube and pipe bending machines at Stauff’s manufacturing centres worldwide.

Steve Chambers, Unison Ltd’s global account manager for Stauff, said: “It has been an honour to supply Stauff with so many of our all-electric tube and pipe bending machines over recent years.”

“Stauff’s latest purchase of two 35mm Breeze CNC machines, however, is particularly significant. Not only does it further underpin Stauff’s appreciation of the uncompromising levels of accuracy and repeatability that our clean, all-electric tube and pipe manipulation technologies provide, but it also marks the purchase of the first new Unison machines under the strategic partnership agreement.”

Ken Cleal, head of production at Stauff UK and Stauff global production manager for tube and tube manipulation, said: “We have worked with Unison for more than ten years, and throughout that time, we have received nothing short of the highest levels of service and support from them, whether that be assistance with product development, operator training, or machine tool maintenance.

Unison machines consistently provide the uncompromising levels of accuracy and repeatably that are essential to our operations. Additionally, Unison’s Unibend operating system is exceptionally intuitive and user-friendly, making it extremely popular with our teams.”

Stauff’s new 35mm Unison Breeze left- and right-hand machines will be used for the manufacture of small run complex components, such as hydraulic lines for braking systems. Materials bent will include aluminium, corrosion-resistant steel and exotic alloys.

With the ability to bend in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, the machines are ideal for parts of complex geometry and will provide Stauff with exceptional flexibility. Equipped with Opt2Sim, Unison’s sophisticated ‘Design for Manufacture’ CAD tube bending simulation software, both machines will also streamline the production of complex, high-value components.

Other Unison tube and pipe bending machines in use by Stauff include 50 and 100mm multi-stack Breeze machines, 16 and 35mm left- and right-hand pipe bending machines, 50mm ‘pinball style’ pipe bending machines and Unison EV Bend 1000 16mm OD manual CNC benders.

Applications include components and systems for construction, agriculture, arboriculture, oil and gas extraction and processing, food and chemical processing, mining, marine and the rail industry.

All Unison Breeze machines offer rapid set-up, fast tooling changes, exceptional power, rigid mechanical design and all-electric control for right-first-time repeat sub-contract work, or immediately after producing a single trial part.

These are attributes that Unison Ltd believes make its Breeze models the ultimate tube manipulation machines for businesses specialising in small-batch production runs. Unison’s recently upgraded Unibend software has equipped its Breeze machines with cycle time speed improvements in the region of 25% compared to earlier versions.

Available as a retrofit option for Unison Breeze machines that are equipped with the company’s latest Unibend control system, the software also incorporates new teach routine and simulation features.