October is an exciting time for Orbitform. Each year, in preparation for exhibiting at The Assembly Show at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, we set up our tradeshow booth on our plant floor and host several community events. This year events included a luncheon for the Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan (AIAM), plant tours with high school students for Manufacturing Day, a Girl Scout event to help earn their STEM badges, a special VIP night, and our annual Open House for manufacturers as well as Orbitform’s Employees, Families, and Friends.
As these events wrap up, our sight now shifts towards The Assembly Show taking place on October 22nd, 23rd, and 24th in Rosemont, Illinois. Orbitform began exhibiting at The Assembly Show in 2013, with a rule imposed by the owner, Mike Shirkey, that we could only exhibit if we have new products to showcase. This requirement has pushed our thinking to the limits and generated 36 new and/or greatly enhanced standard products since the first year of the show. These products have provided valuable solutions to manufacturers across many industries.
New for 2019
2019 is no exception when it comes to designing new products for The Assembly Show. The new products being unveiled this year are designed to provide higher quality, quicker changeovers, and improved ROI when assembling multiple parts. Be sure to stop by Orbitform’s booth #505 at The Assembly Show to be one of the first manufacturers to see our new products. There is still time to register and schedule your in-booth appointment with your Regional Sales Manager. Contact us for free registration and to reserve your appointment.
Product Highlights from Previous Years
The M-840 is the highest capacity pneumatic powerhead on the market offering 12,500 pounds of forming force at 100 psi. Prior to the design of the M-840, if an application required more than 7,510 pounds of force, an M-1000 hydraulic powerhead would be needed. This was overkill for those applications, offering up to 18,000 pounds of force. The M-840 now offers a pneumatic option that fills this gap and provides a more cost-effective solution.
Orbitform’s pneumatic safety probe was designed for use with long stroke impact riveters and orbital powerheads. This safety probe is gravity driven and utilizes a double-guided rod, offering additional stability. The air flow controls can restrict the amount of air coming into the cylinder to control how quickly the safety probe drops. The pneumatic safety probe also uses redundant safety rated switches. This provides a higher level of safety to the equipment, as well as a solution for orbital and long stroke impact riveters.
While the roller forming process has been around for about 13 years, we received many requests from manufacturers for additional options for feedback on the process . This led us to develop Process Monitoring for an Articulating Roller Head. With this new design, we can monitor the distance travelled and force applied on the crimping motion, as well as the thrust of the powerhead. This allows for more feedback and higher quality control when flaring, forming lips, or forming grooves in cylindrical parts.