Pressing engagement with new technology
There is never enough time to fulfil every idea or demand for a new Evotech Performance product – and even less of this precious resource to update a proven EP accessory. Sometimes we have to ‘make time’ to achieve all that we want and need to do by prioritising. In extreme cases we will power-drink by rushing down our mugs of Yorkshire tea to net a few seconds additional work time.
More often than not we pour over production schedules, and search for improvements in production process no matter how minute they are – but obviously not if it’s detrimental to product quality that we continually strive for. And while we are all time served engineers here at Evotech Performance, there’s a limit to what can be achieved in and beyond normal working hours.
Technology, though, is a different matter.
New and updated tech is brilliant, maybe not so much in a new smartphone or the latest 8K television because, when all you want to do is press a button, there’s a zillion other subfolders worth of tech to faff with. However, in engineering, new tech can deliver the same result faster and with the same – if not greater – precision. There is another equally important reason why we consider internal investment in new technology an absolute must and that is to maximise our contribution to greatly reducing carbon footprint. Our latest meteorite of new technology manages to fulfil all three requirements.
In the world of sheet steel or aluminium fabrication, a press brake is vital for accurate forming of a work piece i.e. bending a section of sheet metal/alloy to the required angle or indeed multiple angles. The latest range of hydraulic press brakes have, over the years become physically smaller but gained in terms of physical force, accuracy, operation speed and reliability. To put it another way, modern hydraulic press brakes are more compact, powerful precise, faster, cleaner, quieter and much more to achieve greater workloads for the same, if not less, time.
The recent delivery and install of a new Bystronic Xpert 80 Pressbrake got us all excited here in the Evotech Performance factory. This ‘Compact Speed Machine’ is physically smaller than the press brake it was bought to replace but has greater press force – like 80t tonnage bending force! Incredibly, power consumption for this new press brake has been reduced by up to 30%, which is a huge help to us on our mission to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
Because of its small dimensions, the Bystronic Xpert 80 slotted easily within the other hydraulic machines. Taking its ‘compactness’ one stage further is the fact it is virtually self-contained; all measuring and form changing tools are kept safe within inbuilt cabinets, and control and monitor panels are bulk-less. Such is the mechanical and electronic beauty of the Bystronic press brake, every operator treats it like a new car; polishing and stroking the paintwork; looking at it with pride and emotion; using it with care… and so on. Ok, we admit it: we are engineering geeks. But by being so, we have increased work throughput with reductions in key areas such as electricity, downtime, physical space and our carbon footprint. Equally important, we’ve eased up having to speed drink our EP mugs of Yorkshire tea. For the time being.