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Metalworking machinery showcase

Glass isn’t much use without something to hold it. Here’s the latest in advanced metalworking equipment for aluminum and light steel fabrication.

Two-button safety
int-machinery.com
The Yilmaz ACK 550 up-cut saw is designed for straight- and miter-cutting large-size extrusions such as curtainwall profiles. The machine carries a 550-millimeter saw blade that is fed upwards by means of a hydropneumatic cylinder and driven by a powerful 5.5 horsepower motor. After the profile is clamped and the hood closed, the operator holds the two push buttons to raise the the blade up until the cut is completed. As soon as one or both buttons are released the blade returns back to its original position. The table can be rotated for mitre angles with pre-set location points at 75, 60, 45, 30, 22.5, 15 and zero degrees on both the left and right sides. It also has a pivoting range from minus 75 degrees left to plus 75 degrees right that is infinitely adjustable and can be locked in position by a mechanical brake. The safety hood is operated pneumatically with a push button. The ACK 550 comes standard with a 550-millimeter saw blade and features an easy front access for blade replacement. Other standard items include a spray mist saw blade lubrication system; two vertical and one horizontal clamps; an air gun; adjustable saw blade feeding speed; and interior LED lighting. The Yilmaz ACK 550 is covered by a two-year factory warranty.

Clean workspaces
int-machinery.com
The iVision iV2 3.5 horsepower industrial chip suction unit is the medium-sized single-port model of iVision industrial chip collectors and is recommended for use with single- or double-head saws generating a medium level of aluminum dust and chips. iV2 industrial vacuums are commonly used with cutting and fabrication equipment for residential or commercial windows, storefront and curtainwall. This unit features a structure made entirely of steel. The high-flow centrifugal fan features a flow rate up to 824 CFM. It includes a visual filling indicator, anti-scuff wheels with lock-in-place brakes, a quick-release container with a capacity of 26 gallons, a pneumatic shaker for easy filter cleaning and a silencer to reduce noise levels. An optional cleaning kit can be added to facilitate cleaning in and around the cutting machines for proper day-to day preventive maintenance.

Efficient processing
jsamachinerie.com
The Orion four-axis CNC machining centre from LGF Alu processes aluminum profiles at angles from zero to 180 degrees. It includes four controlled axes and four pneumatic standard clamps with automatic and controlled positioning. The 7.5 horsepower spindle has an ISO 30 cone and runs up to 12,000 RPM. Stroke is 4,000 by 1,000 by 500 millimeters, with an option for 7,000 millimeters on the X axis. Profiles longer than the machine may be worked. Speeds are up to 70 meters per minute. The Windows-based control runs proprietary LGF software. A five-position toolchanger is standard. Options include a bar code reader, an 18,000 RPM spindle, extra clamps, a UPS power supply and a 10-position toolchanger. Tolerances down to 0.2 millimeters may be achieved.

One or two work zones
mubeasystems.com
The Profile-Flex from Mubea Systems is a five-axis machine equipped with a high-speed spindle motor that can mill, drill, tap and saw tubes, profiles and extrusions in aluminium, steel, wood, vinyl and composites. The Profile-Flex is an ideal machine for finishing heavy aluminium and steel profiles nested over a full bar length. The Profile-Flex is a C-frame machining centre with a five-axis milling motor rated at 18 kilowatts with a tool turret with 36 places. It accepts a large profile section up to 550 millimeters by 370 millimeters high, with capability to measure, drill, tap, mill and saw. The result of the measuring probe is automatically compensated in the NC program. Clamps (eight or up to 16) are placed with the column of the machine or motorized by themselves. The Profile-Flex accepts workpieces up to 1,190 millimeters long. Motion is 80 meters per minute on the X axis and 60 meters per minute on the Y and Z axes.  All models are delivered standard with safety fences on the left, right and back side of the machine. The front side is protected with a CE-certified LED safety curtain to protect the working area. As an option all models can be equipped as two working zones with a CE safety scanner. The great advantage of scanners is that there are no barriers in the middle of the machine, which makes loading and unloading a lot easier when switching from two zones to one large working area.

Powerful panel processing
axyz.com
The new PanelBuilder system from AXYZ is designed specifically for aluminum composite, metal composite, high-pressure laminate and fibre cement board. By combining an advanced, easy-to-use software solution with custom machine design, the PanelBuilder system makes it possible to process ACM materials faster, more consistently and at a lower cost. It incorporates a complete CAD/CAM solution with all the functionality needed for one-off or high-volume panel production. Alternatively, thanks to its open architecture design, it can be used in conjunction with existing CAD systems to provide powerful and flexible nesting, automation and machine programming functionality. Users choose from manual, quick-release, high-power and high-speed spindles for optimum processing of rigid sheet materials. A rigid, welded steel frame, fitted with an aluminum deck, creates a strong structure to support the most demanding processes. Standard or helical racks are available for a choice of productivity and precision. All Z axes feature a precision ballscrew drive as standard. AXYZ machines have machined aluminum vacuum decks to maximize material hold-down for quality cutting and reduced waste. The vacuum zones can be switched with manual valves or automatically by the machine controller. The SmartConsole puts full machine control at the operator’s fingertips for fast and easy machine setup in an intuitive and compact package. An automatic tool length sensor ensures accurate and consistent cut depths. A range of high-power pumps or blowers is available to suit machine size and application requirements.

Slick interface
int-machinery.com
The Falcon is Mecal’s top of the line in its family of four-axis compact CNC working centres to machine aluminum extrusions. Its interface features an exceptionally user-friendly 3D graphics software that allows the operator to learn how to program and run the machine in just few hours. 3D design files such as IGES or STEP can also be imported by the optional CadLink software package that automatically recognizes machining, assigns tools and generates ready-to-go programs. Falcon comes with five standard MMI clamps. Each clamp is equipped with its own motor and can simultaneously and autonomously position in a matter of few seconds. The MAM function allows the operator to change clamp orientation automatically during the machining cycle without an additional programming step or manual intervention. The 10-position standard tool magazine is expandable to 16 places that can hold angle heads and saw blades up to 200 millimeters in diameter. Falcon features a 150 meters-per-minute X rapid speed that cuts down the cycle time. The servo-driven machine bed rotates plus.minus 125 degrees to allow working on the side faces of a profile. Choose between six-kilowatt ISO 30 and 8.5 kilowatt HSK 63F spindles, both available with an encoder for rigid tapping.

Ergonomic controls
u-r-b-a-n.com
The Onix 3300 3 Axis is a three-axis CNC machining centre specially designed for milling and drilling aluminium, PVC, light alloys in general and steel profiles up to three millimeters thick.
The machine has a 3,300-millimeter useful working capacity. It is provided with an automatic toolchanger and five-position tool rack with a position for one angle machining head for working on all three sides of profiles and a side-milling cutter for end-milling. The machine is fully enclosed. The steel head supports a four-kilowatt spindle running up to 18,000 RPM. The flexible and ergonomic operator console on the right side keeps the operator in control of the machine during setup.

Easy programming
windowmachinery.com
The C3S from Ameri-Can is a numerically controlled vertical router for aluminum, PVC, fiberglass and steel. Capable of working on three sides of the profile the pneumatic tilting working table orients at plus 90 degrees, zero degrees and minus 90 degrees. Intermediate angles are obtained by mechanical stops. Spindle speed adjustment from 3,000 to 15,000 RPM is controlled by a frequency inverter. X and Y axes are numerically controlled with all axes driven by brushless motors. The unit comes complete with four pnuematic double-acting clamps for material fixturing. The C3S includes software-compensated tool diameter correction and  left and right profile zero stops. Milling capacity is 3,000 by 150 by 150 millimeters. Perimeter protection for safety is optional. The TS7005 touchscreen control allows for remote assistance and importation of DXF files for ease of programming. Options include two zero setting points pneumatic setting, a CNC-controlled automatic toolchanger system with six tools, full cabin guarding, Microsoft Windows-based interface and communication service for remote control by Ethernet or WiFi.

High RPM
jrcmachinery.com
The Emmegi Comet T6 is a four-axis CNC machining centre that can machine five faces of aluminum or steel profiles using two bevel gears and a disk mill that can be part of the eight tools included in its inventory. It has two modes of operation. The single-part mode has a single machining area for bars up to 7.7 meters long. The pendulum mode has two autonomous machining zones in masked time. The machine comes standard with eight-vice automatic positioning with up to 12 vices optional. The fourth CNC axis allows the electrospindle to rotate from zero to 180  degrees continuously. The eight-place tool magazine is installed on the X-axis carriage. The control includes a 15-inch touch screen with USB connections. Travels are 7,700 by 470 by 420 millimeters. The eight-kilowatt spindle runs up to 24,000 RPM and uses an HSK 63F tooling cone. The Comet T6 includes a mobile table for easy loading and unloading of parts.

Cool crimping
int-machinery.com
Presta-Eisele’s Pressta 5000 is a flexible corner crimper for aluminum frames and windows. The process is purely a mechanical deformation principle: the aluminum extrusions are cut mitre and an aluminum corner cleat is entered at the end of both cut profiles. Due to the design of the corner cleat, the knives activated by the crimper deform in specific points the walls of the profiles, preventing the corner from re-opening. The flexibility of Pressta 5000 comes from its adjustable punching heads that are horizontally split. This helps offset the knives when the complexity of the window profile requires more than one corner cleat and the crimping points between the two cleats are not aligned together. Pressta 5000 is ideal when working with cleat grooves between 25 to 60 millimeters from the edge of the corner and a maximum profile height of 160 millimeters. The machine is equipped with a V-stop and pushing heads with a scale; a counter support with a 120 millimeter V-block in two independently adjustable blocks;  two vertical pneumatic clamps; and eccentric discs for proper profile positioning. Cycle activation is by foot pedal control. To guarantee a synchronous motion of the punching heads, the Pressta 5000 uses hydropneumatic pressing operation.