MechChem Africa November-December 2023

Mechatronic drive solutions for metalworking machines

Bonfiglioli is a longstanding leading manufacturer of mechatronic solutions for the metalworking industry, providing excellence and innovation by staying focused on customers and their manufacturing needs.

T hanks to know-how developed over many years and a long-term com mitment to co-designing customised solutions with key players in the metalworking industry, Bonfiglioli can supply dedicated drive solutions from a wide product portfolio, along with integrating capabilities that combine both industrial and precision gearboxes with motors, servomotors, fre quency inverters and controllers. Today’s cutting, bending and punching machines are highly automated to achieve the precision and productivity required by sheet metal product manufacturers. A bend ing brake, for example, is typically under full electronic control, and might use six axes or more to position, accurately bend and then remove a part. Each requires a motor and a gearbox to drive its axes, and each motor will need to be controlled with respect to position and speed, typically by a frequency inverter such as Bonfiglioli’s Active Cube (ACU). Each axis will have unique space, torque and power requirements, so many combina tions of these three core components will be needed for any integrated mechatronic drive solutions for a metalworking machine. For the main bending axis drive of a press brake, a closed-loop Bonfiglioli ACU inverter can be used with a synchronous BMD reluctance motor to drive one of Bonfiglioli’s 300 series planetary gearboxes, for example.

For the crowning axis, however, which accurately controls the cur vature of the bend itself, the ACU closed loop frequency inverter controls an F-Series parallel shaft gearmotor to deliver the perfect bend shape and finish. Punching, shearing and bending functions can also be combined to form totally automatic and flexible production lines, with no interme diate handling. Bonfiglioli solutions can combine performance and cost effectiveness through the integration of best-fit mechatronic solutions for each of the many axes required for such systems. Drive options for the multiple axes for the

Punching, shearing, and bending functions can be combined to form totally automatic and flexible production lines, with no intermediate handling.

trolling a VF/W worm gearmotor with an IE3 motor; or a closed-loop (ANG) inverter with a precision planetary-based servo gearmotor; or an open-loop inverter with a right-angled A-Series gearmotor. These are adaptable to existing machine designs and are easily incorporated, while saving space in control cabinets due to the high power densities of modern Bonfiglioli inverters. On plate rolling machines Bonfiglioli solu tions are used to help shape and form metal plate of different thicknesses. Gearmotors are used drive one or more pairs of rollers to obtain round or conical shapes through a calculated deformation process. Bonfiglioli supplies a wide range of plan etary hydraulic or electric gearmotors with controls to deliver the torque required for these processes at the highest levels of performance. The company’s 300 series plan-

whole machine might include: A-series servo right-angled gearmotors (BMD); LC-Series precision planetary gearboxes with BMD mo tors; and F-Series parallel shaft gearmotors with IE3 asynchronous motors, each with its own matching ACU frequency drive. Laser tube cutting machines are another example. Now a common manufacturing pro cess throughout the world, laser tube cutting is an advanced technique for cutting shapes and patterns –including holes, complex curves, and profiles – into 3D-formed tubes and formed structures or channels. In terms of axes, these machines typically manipulate the workpiece rotation and posi

tions underneath a laser cutting head, which is angled while operating to accommodate access and edge bevel requirements. Laser tube metalworking ma chines can be fitted with a range

of Bonfiglioli solutions, such as an open-loop inverter (AGL) con

The main bending axis drive of a press brake, for example, can use a closed-loop Bonfiglioli ACU inverter (left) and Bonfiglioli’s 300 series planetary gearmotor (above) with a synchronous BMD reluctance motor.

14 ¦ MechChem Africa • November-December 2023