Leading Manufacturer of Tube-Bending Machines Incorporates ROMER Portable Measuring Arm as Standard OEM Equipment for Metrology Tasks

When the Dutch subsidiary of Caterpillar was looking to replace its ageing tube-bending equipment used in manufacturing the hydraulic components for its heavy earth-moving equipment, it invited all global players in the tube-bending industry to submit a bid. In the end the decision was made to award the contract to MEWAG, a family-owned company with some 70 employees.

MEWAG hails from an idyllic village in the Emmenthaler Valley in Switzerland, better known for its world-class cheeses than engineering prowess. Yet MEWAG got the contract because of its rock-solid reputation going back for more than 50 years, and the fact that it is the world‘s only builder of fully electric (i.e. non-hydraulic) tube and profile bending machines that can offer machines that cover tube radii from under an inch to nearly 20 cm.

The advantages of going fully electric are manifold. With hydraulic bending machines, the hydraulic oil needs to be kept within a specific temperature range, requiring an intricate heat exchange mechanism in need of constant maintenance. A typical bending machine may hold in excess of 300 liters of hydraulic oil, which can leak and also requires periodic changing. And, bringing mechanical parts into exact position hydraulically is difficult because hydraulic pressure is great at delivering concentrated force but is not particularly easy to dose.

The system MEWAG delivered to Caterpillar is a fully integrated, centrally controlled configuration comprising 4 tube bending machines of  arious capabilities. Importing CAD data, collision avoidance and simulation are fully inter-connected, giving operators full control over all crucial parameters. . . . .