Trumpf Werkzeugmaschinen has announced it will showcase a latest-generation punching machine, the TruPunch 1000, at Gulf Industry Fair 2008.

The target group for the TruPunch 1000 is mainly small and medium-sized sheet metal processing companies that are looking for a machine model with excellent price/performance ratio, said export manager Eberhard Hoelzgen.
“One of the main features of the TruPunch 1000 is the single tool adapter which can quickly rotate all tools up to 360 degrees. This feature means a minimised number of tools and, subsequently, reduced setup costs as well as a higher processing speed,” he said.
“Besides, the TruPunch 1000 offers a lot of other innovative features typical for Trumpf, for example, presetting of tools in seconds and special functions like tapping, engraving, MultiBend for bending work and the most comfortable and simplest programming software.”
In the Gulf, Trumpf sheet metal machines are particularly bought by companies in industries such as energy, telecom, aircon, elevators, industrial kitchens, building decoration, steel doors and furniture, but the number of job shop customers is growing as well, says Hoelzgen
  Top sellers in the region are punching machines of the TruPunch Series 1000 to 5000, but also laser machines of the latest generation like the TruLaser 5030 with laser power up to 6000 Watt, or the TruMatic 6000 combination machine, where two technologies (punching/laser) are combined in one machine body. This machine is well appreciated especially by customers in the switchboard industry.
“The demand of machines with a high degree of automation is also increasing. Mainly customers in Saudi Arabia would like to utilise their machines round the clock, 24 hours. Several FMS (flexible manufacturing systems) have been successfully installed in the kingdom,” says Hoelzgen.
The company invested in numerous new products. Annual expenditure for this has risen by 13 per cent to $177 million. This means that the research and development quota was 7 per cent, double the industry average.

Among the innovations of the past two years are:
New flatbed laser machine: The highlight of the TruLaser 5030 is the single cutting head strategy. Thanks to newly designed beam guide and cutting head interface, all sheet thickness can now be processed using the same cutting head: The machine automatically changes the laser beam depending on the material to be processed – no need to switch the head. That’s especially helpful for automated operation with various materials. Even without automation the one cutting head strategy reduces downtime. And with the optional nozzle exchanger there is no need to manually exchange the nozzle. Trumpf Laserflatbed machines are available from 2,000 up 6,000 watt laser power.
‘Most productive punching machine in the world’: Thanks to a faster workstation that comes standard, Hoelzgen says the new TruPunch 5000 is the ‘most productive punching machine’ in the world, says Hoelzgen. Trumpf engineers have added an important item to the record punching times of the TruPunch 5000 by reducing the non-productive time. The new TruPunch 5000 is up to 15 per cent more productive and is now a real alternative to laser cutting for thin sheet metal. It only needs 2.8 seconds to switch tools and only 0.3 seconds for the MultiTool. In addition, the level of convenience for the operator is higher. The control goes up more quickly, the computing times are faster, and the larger desktop color screen provides greater clarity for operations.
New 3-D laser machine: With the new TruLaser Cell Series 7000, Trumpf is setting new standards in 3-D laser processing. The modular laser cells represent flexibility in all areas of application. “From aluminum to ultra-high-strength steel, in 2-D or 3-D, the TruLaser Cell Series 7000 can weld, cut, and process surfaces economically. The machine produces extraordinarily dynamic performance by means of high travel speeds and axis accelerations up to 1 g,” Hoelzgen says.
Various new automation modules for loading and unloading have been developed and are available for almost all machines.
BendMaster: The Trumpf BendMaster automates bending. High accuracy, process safety, maximum flexibility and short machining times have been successfully combined. For long production cycles, the operator in front of the bending machine is replaced by the automatic handling system.
Hoelzgen says an important topic for the future will be lightweight construction, for example in automotive engineering and mechanical engineering. Trumpf offers a variety of possibilities for improving construction by implementing modern sheet metal processing. “For example, many milled parts can also be manufactured from sheet metal, tubes and profiles. But that’s not all. Lasers can often be used to supplement milling and turning and can open up completely new processing possibilities. Ingenious designs lower costs and weight and sometimes eliminate entire production steps,” he explains.
Trumpf products have been used by several companies in their projects.
The machines used by Krones AG’s plants to seal the bottles have to be fast. Mounted on a turning plate, the sealers cannot weigh much or they will not be able to rotate rapidly. Trumpf technology helped considerably to reduce the weight of the sealers. Several turned and milled parts were replaced by a single sheet metal part that is laser cut and then bent. The consequence was 38 per cent less weight and much simpler milling and drilling.
A laser-cut and laser-brazed hydraulic control block from Voith Turbo H+L Hydraulic GmbH & Co. KG, which was manufactured using the multilayer technique, is much smaller than its milled counterpart. The new design enables compact hydraulic solutions that optimise flow. The machine’s capacity increased by 25 per cent.
To produce exercise bike frames, the company Heinz Kettler processes tunnel profiles with the 3D laser cutting machine TruLaser Tube. Not only does the end result look good, it saves about 40 per cent of the tool cost compared to earlier methods.
And there’s the BMW Group’s manufacturing of axle differentials. The parts previously used screws, but today they are laser welded. As a result, there are no more projecting screws or flanges. Because the individual parts are smaller due to the laser-based design, 7 per cent of the installation space is freed up, which is quite a lot when every millimeter counts. And besides, the differential gear is lighter than before.
Over the last 20 years, Trumpf had an average growth of more than 15 per cent.
Turnover of the last fiscal year 2006/07  (June 30, 2007) has been more than $2.5 billion. By achieving this recent turnover, Trumpf has grown up to the biggest machine tool manufacturer in the world.
The group is forecasting further sales increases of about 10 per cent to 2.1 billion euros for the 2007/08 fiscal year.
The company’s representatives in the Gulf are:

Alruqee Machine Tools Co. Ltd, P.O.Box 3657, AlKhobar 31952, Saudi Arabia. Tel: +966 3 8470664; Fax: +966 3 8474992. Email: mailbox2@alruqee.com and Web: www.alruqee. net.

ATAD International General Trading LLC, PO Box 19212, Dubai, UAE.  Tel: +971-4-3413881. Fax: +971-4-3413880. Email: hfahmi@atad.ae.