CASE STUDY · BESPOKE ENGINEERING
Hydraulic engineering, electrical integration and bespoke controls brought together to turn a new-build spiral bender into an operational machine.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Active Hydraulics helped develop a new-build spiral bending machine, bringing its hydraulic, electrical and control systems together as one operational machine.
The team collaborated on the main structure’s design, with manufacture undertaken externally. Active Hydraulics’ scope covered hydraulic system design, drive-component specification and supply, power-pack construction, electrical installation, software development and system integration.
THE BRIEF
The spiral bender needed coordinated drive components, hydraulic actuation, machine wiring and controls. The task was to connect these systems, integrate radar-based exclusion monitoring and verify the assembled machine’s operation through commissioning and testing.
HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
Active Hydraulics designed the hydraulic system and specified and supplied the main drive gearbox, motors and hydraulic cylinders. A purpose-built hydraulic power pack incorporated proportional control valves.
Installed rigid pipework and hoses connected the power pack to the machine’s hydraulic functions. The project photographs show the routing, clamping and cylinder connections that brought those components together.
ELECTRICAL & CONTROLS
The electrical installation included machine wiring and a new control panel. Following mechanical and system assembly, Active Hydraulics developed the software and integrated the controls to link the machine’s electrical and hydraulic functions.
The power-pack and cabinet photographs show two key parts of that integration: the hydraulic power assembly and the electrical components and wiring used to control the machine.
RADAR SAFETY INTEGRATION
An Inxpect radar safety exclusion system was integrated with the spiral bender’s safety controls to monitor designated hazardous areas around the machine.
Inxpect’s technology supports access detection and presence monitoring, helping prevent restart while a person remains in a monitored area. These are general product capabilities; the safety functions and coverage depend on the installed equipment and configuration.
COMMISSIONING & COMPLETION
After assembly and software development, Active Hydraulics commissioned and tested the machine, checking the hydraulic functions and integrated controls to verify that the spiral bender performed as intended.
The completed machine was then prepared for transport, bringing the project from design collaboration and component supply through to an operational new-build system.
THE RESULT
The project brought together structural design collaboration, hydraulic engineering, drive components, electrical installation and bespoke controls, supported by commissioning and functional testing.
PLANNING A NEW MACHINE?
Talk to Active Hydraulics about hydraulic system design, power packs, machine controls and integration for your application.