Ar530 it’s the name of the world biggest section bending machine. it is already on site and it’s working upon order. a technological magnificence “Made in Italy”.
The world biggest section bending machine is now at destination. This is the latest news among the industry insiders. Of the section bending machine AR 530, this is the machine name, built by MG SRL, sited in Fossano (CN), leader in the construction of plate and section bending machines, we have already been talking some months ago on specialized magazines. Moreover, the same machine has been the subject of a news program on the National Italian Network Television. In a few days the machine was all over the world cashing lots of interest in the technical field thanks to its unique and innovative features. The end user is Tromba Maurizio snc in Verona, a leading company specialized in the manufacturing of imposing supporting frames in the field of structural engineering. Who can be interested in the machine technical properties, the immediate reply is on YouTube, just dialing the phrase “section bending machine” it’s possible to see in the first places of the hit parade the interesting videos of the assembling phase by MG and by Tromba Maurizio. Now AR 530 is not only on site, it is already working upon order. If you visit the Verona Company, this 8mt height, of which 5 underground, giant cannot go unnoticed. The feeling you have in seeing it is simply amazement. «While waiting for it – says Maurizio Tromba, co-owner of the Company, with Andrea, Nicola Tromba and Nicoletta Binato – we have enlarged our factory and have made a 12 mt diameter pit and special supports for the motorized turntable on which the machine is positioned, to bear its 340 ton weight.» The innovative solution lets the machine turn on its axes during the working of very large radii, avoiding that the bars crash against walls or pillars. «They waited this machine for about two years – states Massimo Roccia, co-owner of MG SRL with Francesco Barca and Giorgio Giraudo – from the project to the first test in our plant in Fossano. A deal that has involved our two companies with mutual passion for this ambitious project. Tromba are our Customers since a long time, their experience as users and ours as manufacturers has made all this possible.» The destination assembling was accurately planned in all its logistics aspects and has been carried out smoothly; thanks to the modulate design, studied by MG Technical Department, the first starting up has been made in only three weeks.
The switch on
The switching on moment has been very exciting. Not only for the two Companies owners, but for everybody working on this project, this moment has been lived with great emotion. All the people involved, with their own professionalism and capabilities, have lived the growing up of this machine with a pathos that is hard to describe in a few lines. In that very moment manufacturer and end user are the same team, in a perfect symbiosis, together waiting that this monumental project gets to life. The “start” moment of tombstone silence has been followed by an applause and choir of relief voices. «With the switching on – comment Roccia and Tromba with satisfaction – we said to ourselves: it’s done!» A few simple words for a great achievement. To MG the switching on of the AR 530 it’s the realization of a technological development that now can be written on catalogues. For Tromba it’s the awareness to have a machine whose capacity is unique.
First piece
After a few days for the check up and testing, AR 530 has started its production. The final result – it cannot be kept hidden anymore – is a record. The machine is making pipes for a bearing structure of a roller coaster that will go to China. Each tube in Fe S355 is 12 mt long, 609 mm diameter, with a thickness of 25 mm. This is the track main frame. Once assembled, the various pieces will compose the typical roller coaster with its vertical drops and loops. The bending of each tube is tridimensional. This working is unique, it has never been performed. Till now such bending was made using press machines that do not bend, but only generate polygonal shapes. To have the 3D effect, the pieces were cut into very small portions and then welded together and given the curved form. With AR 530 you can bend a tube in 3D immediately, with a quality achievement ever reached until today. The core of the tubular pipe is preserved, and you save lots of time and money. «I was amazed – Maurizio Tromba goes on – of the positive final result we saw on the first worked pieces. This huge machine, with its 1900 tons torque, bends such pipes, and bends 1000mm HEM bars without any strain. The requested geometrical tolerances on such machine are really tough and one could not make mistakes, 4-tenths of a millimeter for each curved portion meter! I would dare to say this is the hardest and most ambitious projects I have ever seen! The machine has perfectly executed the job and, with its dimensions, it’s like a jackpot!» This giant is, however, very adaptable and can perform lots of applications. The three motorized double pre- bend rolls can be assembled with dies of a diameter up to 1100 mm, spliced on 540 mm diameter shafts. The machine is unique in its software, as well, because its CNC is in fact a double control unit. The MG unique CNC Control Touch Command Evo is in this case made of two units, the first is positioned on the electrical box, the second one on the control console. The two are wi-fi connected. All over the world this is the first system ever applied on section bending machines. This system has been created by Delsy SRL, a software company which is part of MG and is led by Daniele Albenga. «It’s a fantastic solution! – states Andrea Tromba passionately – because, as you have seen, with this wi-fi system the operator is free to move all around the machine to control the bending cycle without obstructions of cables and wires. I have seen moreover that the Touch Command Evo is extremely user friendly and intuitive, in programming, in generating shapes, and because the Touch Screen is definitely large.» On the top of the machine a 42» monitor, visible from the three main sides, shows the same page you see on the CNC control. This way everybody being in the nearby can see what is happening and check, for instance, the bending parameters in real time. This makes the working cycle even easier and more secure. Of this roller coaster other workings will be done till the final product is reached. Other tubes will be welded to these frame ones, smaller diameter tubes that, parallel in between each other, will form the track, of course in 3D way. The final customer name is top secret. Maybe because this job is of great strategic and economic importance. However, from a non-official source, it seems the project has been made in Italy. Who knows if so much secret is due to the fact that this roller coaster aims to be larger than the famous Steel Dragon 2000® in Japan? Till now the most advanced one, and the name is certainly right if you consider the vast amount of steel used for it. Or maybe, who knows if this future roller coaster can be faster than the Formula Rossa® in Abu Dhabi that is now, with its 240 Km/h, the most rapid one? Nevertheless, by the Verona Company we have seen the material ready for the next jobs, as well, a big bearing frame for a 2015 Milan Expo building. The pipes to be bent are 609 mm with a 40 mm thickness. After that, this huge MG machine will work bars and tubes whose features are near its capacity limit. It will be the macrostructure of a large European bridge. There, 914 mm tubes with a 50 mm thickness will be bent.
Enthusiasm
Among all feelings it’s the best because it is the most stimulating one. Enthusiasm is a soul motion that generates joy, and it is catching. It has been this way. After one day by Tromba you can only return feeling the same as all the people there. This has happened to salesmen, suppliers, customers and potential clients, who, in between skepticism and amazement, have seen this marvel and what it can do. «I feel the same – goes on Roccia – it’s with this feeling that all MG people have worked on this order, with their care and passion. And it is with this feeling that my technicians have been constantly present here checking the machine starting up in all its steps, controlling that no problem may arise during the first productivity phase and seeing the way to optimize the system together with Tromba operators. We think this cooperation, that has always distinguished our two companies, can only bring mutual benefit.» «It’s true. We are thrilled – conclude Andrea and Maurizio Tromba – because the result is rewarding us of the choice made two years ago, on an investment that makes us competitive on a new market and makes us go on where the others stop, with an extraordinary improvement. MG is the only company capable of realizing what till now has been our dream.» There will be results for sure, in fact, MG and Tromba are receiving lots of inquiries from all over the world and this is the confirmation that who can feel enthusiasm in a period of crisis can walk into the future and can go everywhere.
