Page 13 - Machines Italia Vol. XIII Next Generation Manufacturing

After an intuitive setup, a Nova Sidera Eureka machine automatically forms a part.
gram and set up easily.” Along the same line, Pirastu said it’s a good idea for larger shops with big presses to also have a spinning lathe so they’re flexible enough to deal with short run jobs.
Nova Sidera offers a range of machines that go up to a disk diam- eter of 157 inches. And one of their larger machines, the Vega, handles up to 1⁄4 inch of stainless steel, though “as usual, it’s the skill of the metal spinner that allows you to do even more, ” Pirastu added. They can also include a torch to heat the metal during the spinning process, which Pirastu said is proving to be more important in America than Europe. “We see now that some particular alloys require a constant temperature to work efficiently,” he added. “You can tell the CNC to keep a certain temperature and the arm with the torch adjusts to keep
the part exactly in that range.” It’s also much safer than heating the part by hand, which, unfortunately, he sees many companies do.
Besides safety, there is a bit of extra style with a Nova Sidera ma- chine: the logo and usually a door or another key panel are a distinc- tive magenta. Company founder Silvano Tasso was tired of always seeing the same colors inside machine shops around Europe, and he wanted a shade immediately identifiable with his unique company and products. Another melding of art and automation.
Laser-beaming into the future
For most of its 122-year history, Philadelphia-based metal fabrica- tor Frank B. Clayton’s Sons Inc. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, www.fbclaytons.com) served as the “middle man. Contractors and manufacturers would use us to pop out the parts, then put their name on it and send it out,” said vice president Tim Hofmann. It specializes in ornamental and architectural pieces, but have delivered parts for a dizzying array of applications, including the Mercury spacecraft of the early 1960s to today’s Space-X rockets, plus Tesla, the Blue Jays’ stadium in Toronto, and “the face of every high rise and interior of every elevator in Philadelphia. Our big claim to fame is that you can call me today and have a part by tomorrow,” said Hofmann.
Another key is an absolutely premium cut quality in their fabri- cation process. As part of its effort to make a name for itself and broaden its markets, while retaining its ability to respond quickly with high quality, company owner Hofmann and his father (5th and 6th generation owners) looked into laser cutting.
Given its inherent danger, laser cutting in an industrial setting is al- ways automated. So no matter which system Hofmann chose, they’d be positioning themselves to better endure conditions that forced them to reduce staff.
Beyond that, Hofmann explained that CYLaser (Schio, Italy; US HQ Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA, www.cy-laser.com/) emerged as the superior choice from all the big players. For one thing, Hof- mann explained, “They’re one of the very few solid-state fiber optic
Note the edge quality achieved by the CYLaser at Frank B. Clayton on stainless steel, brass, and aluminum.
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