Unison Ltd Launches FLEX Flat Bar Former for Precision Metal Shaping

Unison Ltd, the inventor of ultra-precise all-electric tube manipulation, has introduced the Unison FLEX Flat Bar Former, a machine that streamlines the production of stairlift railings, architectural fixtures, street furniture and other flat bar applications.

The FLEX Flat Bar Former can seamlessly produce flat bar, toothed and pocketed profiles, as well as tubular shapes. It precision-forms intricate designs, including freeform and sculptured shapes, in minutes. When paired with Unison’s Opt2Sim Suite of tube simulation software, design-for-manufacturing becomes straightforward.

“Typically, the flat bar shapes that are used in stairlifts, architecture and other applications are manually fabricated – a process that is particularly labor-intensive for all but the simplest of straight rail installations,” said Alan Pickering, joint managing director of Unison Ltd. “Our new FLEX model, however, changes all that. In effect, we have created an all-electric machine and software package that can take a CAD model of a continuously changing 3D shape with a reference surface, then decode it so the shape can be faithfully recreated by continuous 3D roll-forming.”

Unison’s purpose-developed software allows flat bar shapes to be calibrated for bend and twist, enabling the production of right-first-time parts within the typical constraints of metal tolerance and behavior. The 3D file import system contained in Unison’s Opt2Sim tube simulation software suite enables users to drag and drop STEP files into the software application and access bending data instantly. Alternatively, parts can be drawn by entering XYZ coordinates or YBC data then viewed in 3D.

For precise calibration and verification, the FLEX Flat Bar Former can be equipped with Unison’s Opt2Sim Scan, a portable tube and bar measurement system that uses a Creaform3D handheld scanner. “Possibly the most advanced hand-held tube measurement system on the market, Opt2Sim Scan incorporates a Creaform3D handheld scanner for precise, portable 3D scanning of the component the user wishes to replicate or measure,” Pickering said. “With considerable scan points, the system’s constant reference geometry ensures accurate results without need of a skilled operator. Scanned dimensions are easily compared to master file data, with corrections sent directly to the bar bending machine.”

“We really have done everything possible to make creating complex flat bar metal shapes incredibly straightforward,” Pickering added, “even to the degree of allowing for real-world material dimensions and calibrating around such characteristics. Our new Unison FLEX Flat Bar Former really is bringing new levels of control, precision and time-saving to the manipulation of flat bar materials and is already generating considerable interest and orders from stairlift manufacturers in particular.”