- Joined
- Dec 21, 2018
- Messages
- 2,136
Annual open house @ TMCO in Lincoln, NE. This is a metal fabrication plant that was started 50 years ago as a one man machine shop. Taken over by his kids now. I used to have parts made there when I had my business and it was always interesting to see how it was done. Now I go to see what's new. This is the place that gave me my cold saw.
They are currently setting up another site to move some of the Claus combine part making and security work.
This year: A new Messer plasma cutter, 8' x 30' w/45° tilting/swivel head. Capacity 3" in steel, 2" in AL. Sample parts looked close to machined! But they were just 1" thick steel & cut on a 45°. Next was a new press brake, TRU Bend 8800. 23', 35" clearance, .500 steel bending @ 90°. Looked serious, Side frames were about 8" slabs of steel about 8' deep and two stories tall. Machine sat in a 6' deep pit so the bending dies could be at waist level. About $2,000,000. From Germany. TMCO must like that brand because they have a lot of them.
A TRU Bend 5320 fully automated break served by a handling robotic system on a rail system capable of sorting and fed by a STOPA retrieval system with racking 17' high for 60 x 120 sheets, total capacity 1271 tons. It covers a pretty big area.
TRU Punch 5000. 60 x 144 x 8mm CNC punching machines. Two of them back to back. 1350 strokes per minute. .003" accuracy, 20+1 punch & die sets with a tool change time of 0.3 seconds, 25 ton. One of the machines is equipped with an auto load/unload and sort system. They sound like machine guns when running.
Other: TRU Laser5030, TRU Bend 5170, 5085, 750 (2 of these), 736, V2300S. A robotic grinding cell, lots of assorted welding processes. Powder coating, Tube bending and laser cutting, Hexagon Global DC241 measuring system in a clean room. 35 x 78" (They have 2 clean rooms for measuring) MACH 500 4060XD Water jet, 156 x 240" with a 12" maximum cut thickness in steel. 5 Axis. Assorted tubing benders and laser cutting stuff. Automated powder coating line, A big oven for over sized powder coating.
An entire area building 40' shipping containers that house 6 carbon fiber cylinders (3600 psi. ), valving and fire control systems for natural gas.
They have areas closed off due to government contract work that they have just recently started.
The oldest part of the plant has about a dozen CNC machining centers and a big automated line using 4 & 6 sided pallets to carry the work through the processes. The amount of tooling in this place is staggering.
Lunch was served, Brats in a bun, hot potato salad, chips, green salad , drinks, cake, and their trusty bar tending robot serving tap beer.
A fleet of electric, sort of golf cart, things to take people to and from the parking areas. A fun time.
They are currently setting up another site to move some of the Claus combine part making and security work.
This year: A new Messer plasma cutter, 8' x 30' w/45° tilting/swivel head. Capacity 3" in steel, 2" in AL. Sample parts looked close to machined! But they were just 1" thick steel & cut on a 45°. Next was a new press brake, TRU Bend 8800. 23', 35" clearance, .500 steel bending @ 90°. Looked serious, Side frames were about 8" slabs of steel about 8' deep and two stories tall. Machine sat in a 6' deep pit so the bending dies could be at waist level. About $2,000,000. From Germany. TMCO must like that brand because they have a lot of them.
A TRU Bend 5320 fully automated break served by a handling robotic system on a rail system capable of sorting and fed by a STOPA retrieval system with racking 17' high for 60 x 120 sheets, total capacity 1271 tons. It covers a pretty big area.
TRU Punch 5000. 60 x 144 x 8mm CNC punching machines. Two of them back to back. 1350 strokes per minute. .003" accuracy, 20+1 punch & die sets with a tool change time of 0.3 seconds, 25 ton. One of the machines is equipped with an auto load/unload and sort system. They sound like machine guns when running.
Other: TRU Laser5030, TRU Bend 5170, 5085, 750 (2 of these), 736, V2300S. A robotic grinding cell, lots of assorted welding processes. Powder coating, Tube bending and laser cutting, Hexagon Global DC241 measuring system in a clean room. 35 x 78" (They have 2 clean rooms for measuring) MACH 500 4060XD Water jet, 156 x 240" with a 12" maximum cut thickness in steel. 5 Axis. Assorted tubing benders and laser cutting stuff. Automated powder coating line, A big oven for over sized powder coating.
An entire area building 40' shipping containers that house 6 carbon fiber cylinders (3600 psi. ), valving and fire control systems for natural gas.
They have areas closed off due to government contract work that they have just recently started.
The oldest part of the plant has about a dozen CNC machining centers and a big automated line using 4 & 6 sided pallets to carry the work through the processes. The amount of tooling in this place is staggering.
Lunch was served, Brats in a bun, hot potato salad, chips, green salad , drinks, cake, and their trusty bar tending robot serving tap beer.
A fleet of electric, sort of golf cart, things to take people to and from the parking areas. A fun time.
