Unison Tube Bending Blog: Barcode tooling and when it should be used

What do we mean when we say Bar Code Tooling and when should you use it?

Blog by Alan Pickering.

If you are just running a production part you can stop reading now 😊 – if however you are doing short-run production and struggling with skilled resource, this may help you, especially if you are bending expensive material or have a very lean production process.

Just to tackle the Skilled Resource issue, you really must consider the All Electric Bending Technology first, if not you are guilty of falling into the ‘Penny Wise, Pound Foolish’ trap.

With Unison’s All Electric technology and control system you really can achieve Right First Time of a part you have made before, freeing up skilled resources to do the difficult setting up of a new project.

Assuming you have made the right technology choice lets move onto the topic of this blog.

Obviously not all controls are the same and Unibend has many features other manufacturers don’t have the flexibility to create, including Laser Springback and Correction,

However competitors are always playing catch up, so its important to ask “what extra features can you offer my production process to help eliminate mistakes ?”

As we all strive for a paperless, no mistake world, using Barcodes or QR Codes seems a logical progression.

If your Job Card or Tube already has a Bar Code on it, why not take it a step further and have barcodes on all your tooling, best to be embedded and resin protected, but a sticker will do to get you started.

In Unibend, once you have scanned the Job Card, if the tooling is different to the previous job, a screen will automatically pop up asking you to confirm the tooling is correct, the operator then has to individually scan each of the tools to make sure they match the database.

If the wrong item is on the machine that tool will be highlighted Red, requiring replacement and preventing production.

These types of mistakes are easily made, especially with inexperienced members of staff or someone that might get distracted, resulting in either damaged tooling, scrap or parts made to the wrong radii for example.

For a relatively small investment it would seem like another safety net that we all could do with.