The new Bending Terminal BT 20E from Rittal Automation Systems can be used for many types of quick and precise bending of copper and aluminium busbars, such as flat, edge or multi-stack bending. This enables busbars up to 20 mm thick and 160 mm wide to be processed automatically with a high bending precision. The bending machine’s electric drive provides significant energy savings and a quiet operation. Another benefit: The combination with Eplan software enables consistent, digital interaction for greater efficiency across the entire value chain in plant engineering, from planning the system to operating the equipment.
Switchgear manufacturers play a key role in the rapid conversion and expansion of energy systems. They find optimisation potential in industrialised work processes, which must be accelerated, made more efficient and standardised. This can only be achieved through digitisation and automation. Rittal Automation Systems now supports the machining of busbars with a new bending machine: the Bending Terminal BT 20E.
From engineering to processing reliability
Bending busbars – either manually or mechanically – is far from trivial. Errors can occur faster than expected, for example, due to inaccurate bending angles or cracks in the material, which results in rejects. Process reliability is only possible with automated production, which has software and digital interfaces for data imported from engineering: This significantly reduces defects, while product quality is improved and speed increased. Furthermore, the machine’s visualisation tools help the machine operator insert the busbars correctly. These requirements were all taken into account when developing the new Bending Terminal.
Data import without problems
The bending machine offers many options for programming the workpieces and nesting production orders. Thanks to networking with a database, time-consuming data transfers between other machines are no longer needed. The machine can be programmed directly at the machine or from the office workstation using the standard “PowerBend” software. This ensures easy, intuitive programming, even of complex workpieces. The machine software also supports data imported from Eplan’s Pro Panel and Rittal’s RiPower, manufacturer-independent DXF formats, and Optimation, Metamation and WiCAM.
Exact and energy-efficient
Using the Bending Terminal, various copper and aluminium workpieces up to 20-mm thick, 160-mm wide and at least 40-mm long can be bent with a precision of 0.2°, regardless of whether they are flat, edge or multi-stack bent. Thanks to an integrated electronic angular measuring system featuring springback compensation, the desired bending angle can be achieved with high precision right from the start. Its electric drive with a maximum force of up to 240 kN makes Bending Terminal BT 20E particularly quite, low-maintenance and efficient. A special connector system on the machine ensures short change times for the bending tools, so ensuring user-friendly and easy tool changes. The automated, CNC-controlled side-stop ensures the precise positioning of the tools.