BLM Group ready for INTUBE, the company’s biennial open house

BLM GROUP will host INTUBE, the company’s biennial open house from September 18 – 30, 2017 in Levico Terme, Italy. Set within the beautiful landscape of the Trentino Alps, the event will allow guests to view BLM GROUP’s entire range of tube processing innovations and its Industry 4.0 concept.

INTUBE XVII “The Future Is Calling”.
The slogan for INTUBE XVII sums up what Industry 4.0 means to the BLM GROUP. The main concepts of this new industrial revolution go far beyond the purely economic aspect of incentives associated to the rapid amortization and constitute a true call to enter the future as main actors rather than spectators. The future is calling us through these topics which pervade the entire event and through the innovations which will be presented.

From the machine to the finished product
Changing the point of view has been a topic the BLM GROUP has been working on for many years. To consider production as a whole, instead of the effect of successive, independent and disconnected processes to shift attention from the individual processes to the finished piece, from the machine to the product. During INTUBE XVII, guests will witness the BLMelements software suite import a three-dimensional model of the finished product and identify the individual processes of laser cutting, bending, cutting, etc., in order to assign them to the various production systems. The programmers may intervene, if they wish; in this case however they will always think of the piece as a whole, without the need to process individual steps or consider what happens upstream or downstream, since BLMelements does it for them.

Integration
One of the key concepts of Industry 4.0 is integration. It is not enough to design with only the finished product in mind, we must integrate the various stages of the production process. It is essential the machines communicate with each other to obtain the best result in as little time as possible. A production management system must broaden the vision to the entire value chain to make the complete production process more efficient and effective. BLM GROUP has been active in this field for some time and will offer many various examples of technological evolution at INTUBE XVII. From cells with machines that always communicate with one another to the applications in the ProTube Enterprise package, an efficient and practical management and control tool for the entire production process of tube machining.

Man-machine Interaction
The systems are also required to allow interaction with operators quickly, in a simple and intuitive fashion. To simplify man-machine interaction means to offer greater work safety and efficiency. The new graphical user interfaces that is found on several of the GROUP’s systems aligns fully with this unstoppable trend.

Smart Systems
It is not often discussed, but the transfer of intelligence within production is an ongoing and inevitable process. Increasingly more advanced functions make the crucial decisions that determine the success of the machining or final quality of the product. This provides an indispensable level of support and reliability to the operator, empowering them to work more effectively and efficiently. From the “Active” functions of laser systems to the B-TOOLS and B-RIGHT functions in bending systems, are just a few examples and the innovations on display at INTUBE XVII.

Innovation
An always present theme with the BLM GROUP. A few of the many the innovations presented at INTUBE XVII:

LT7 is the new Lasertube presented to the public for the first time. The latest addition to the Lasertube family, the LT7 combines the advantages of the LT8.10 and the LT FIBER systems but also brings along something fresh.

4-RUNNER H1 is the new small diameter tube bending system that joins the 4-RUNNER H3 to expand the “from coil” product family.

Automatic loading and unloading systems are available on all product lines, with various automation degrees.

Tool Designer is an online service to obtain construction drawings of the bending equipment. It joins BLM GROUP’s ever-expanding line of customer service solutions.

Many improvements intended to bring increased productivity and efficiency have been applied to the rest of the GROUP’s product line and will be available for demonstrations during the event. In short, “The Future Is Calling” is a call that cannot be ignored. Advanced technology, automation solutions, integrated project visibility and management are the basis for building a solid future with performance, integration, innovation, safety!