Author: a.manzo

The winner of the 19th edition is Mantella S.r.l. from Italy which is awarded for the company’s innovative Stratosphere 3.0 rear tipping semi-trailer, which delivers outstanding performance that goes far beyond current offerings on the market. 

Stratosphere 3.0 rear tipping semi-trailer offers customers a chassis with the same weight as an aluminum frame, but with superior mechanical properties. It has excellent wear resistance, a greater fatigue life, and a weight reduction of approximately 30 percent when compared to previous trailer chassis. 

End-users of the Stratosphere 3.0 point out that with the same workload as previous models, they can achieve a greater payload, more on-road stability with a full load, and a significant reduction in fuel and tire consumption.

“Mantella has come up with a unique design that represents an entirely new generation in tipper and body solutions. Skilled design work, smart production methods and fully utilizing the advantages of high-strength and wear-resistant steel made it possible,” says Eva Petursson, Chair of the Swedish Steel Prize jury and Head of SSAB’s Strategic R&D.

The other finalists, CTE S.p.A. from Italy, JAK-Metalli Oy from Finland and Trufab Global from Australia, were runners-up in the Swedish Steel Prize 2018.

Hexagon AB, a leading global provider of information technology solutions, announced today the acquisition of NEXTSENSE, a leading innovator in non-contact profile measurement and surface inspection. NEXTSENSE specialises in solutions that enhance product quality with speed and efficiency at micrometre accuracy in the automotive, railway, steel and aerospace industries.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Graz, Austria, NEXTSENSE employs more than 80 people worldwide. Its advanced manual, inline and automated solutions are backed by patented CALIPRI technology. The CALIPRI measurement principle automatically compensates for tilts and rotations during scanning, providing the ability to address profile deviations and surface defects immediately with highly-accurate measurement values that are free of operator influence.

“The cutting-edge technology and algorithms from NEXTSENSE provide the necessary analytics to introduce corrective measures sooner. This nicely complements our approach to enabling the smart factory, which is founded on unleashing the full potential of quality data,” said Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén. “Additionally, the acquisition extends our breadth of capabilities in automotive fit and finish – the analysis of how well the parts of a car fit together, which impacts perceived quality at the point of purchase – as well as in industries such as rail and steel where we have a comparatively small footprint today. Together, the combination of sensors, software, and advanced analytics from both portfolios will bring added value to all customers while extending the global reach of NEXTSENSE solutions to new markets and regions.”

NEXTSENSE will be fully consolidated as of today, operating within Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division. The company’s turnover for 2017 amounted to 12 MEUR.

The first pipe must be suitable

Perfect cooperation: Bending, measuring, software

Independently of food, beverage or pharmaceutical industries, chemicals, bio-technique or air conditioning, at the shipyard, on a power plant construction site or in hydraulic systems: for many applications tubes and pipes – at a high standard of quality, exactly formed and machined – are key products for successful market presence. Manufacturing
of sophisticated customer-specific pipework in large quantities at
competitive prizes on the quality level of standard products represents a serious challenge. Thus, for a superior and economic fabrication of complex tube and pipe geometries intelligent manufacturing solutions are required: the modular extensible manufacturing system from the PIPE BENDING SYSTEMS (PBS) division TRACTO-TECHNIK supports the workflow of tubes and pipes in an efficient and flexible manner. The modules of the system – bending machine, measuring technique and software – cooperate in a unique way.

Dr. Christan Gerlach, head of business area of PBS, explains: „Numerous excellent examples of the implantation of our efficient system can be seen in the field of high-prized, high quality tube production for machines for special applications. Rarely a tube geometry appears twice, most of them are unique – finally one-of-a-kind products. Today one of the most important manufacturers of food processing lines worldwide produces the tubes for the daily assembly of his apparatuses nearly just in time (during the year, in one single plant several hundred kilometres of tubes are installed). Of course each bend or elbow must be suitable.”

The workflow of the system is managed by a software module named PIPEFAB: beginning at the supply of the pipe from the high-rack, followed by the machining operations – marking, sawing, bending, deburring, welding – up to the finished part. „If the customer owns several plants, PIPEFAB is able to propose the actually most efficient site for the production of each part on the whole globe. Already now we of TRACTO-TECHNIK create the basis for global applications of digital engineering and manufacturing of piping network within the meaning of Industry 4.0. Our system applies independently of installing connecting pipes or manufacturing manually or automatically in the workshop” resumes Dr. Gerlach.

TRACTO-TECHNIK 

PIPE BENDING SYSTEMS

Since more than 50 years we develop and manufacture sustainable and innovative machines, precise measuring systems and intelligent software solutions for the manufacturing of tubes and pipes. Thus, in the course of time a unique system for efficient tube production has been created. PIPE BENDING SYSTEMS offers the best solution if it comes to individual parts and small series production with high product variance. Here you can also figure out our core competence: Thinking about solutions in the area of tube manufacturing.