Retecon has a number of long-standing relationships with international machine tool manufacturers and many of them have European roots. The association with German company Trumpf dates back to 1981 with 1985 marking the year the first Trumpf laser machine was sold, a TC180LK punch/laser combination, that generated all of 750 Watts. As sole agent of Trumpf in South Africa, Retecon has installed numerous laser cutting machines as well as punching and bending machines for the company.

Trumpf opens dedicated showroom in South Africa
In 2019 the family-owned company the Trumpf Group, with its head office in Ditzingen near Stuttgart, Germany and one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of machine tools, showed its commitment to Retecon when it opened a dedicated showroom at the premises of its long-term South African representative.

“Ultimately, we regard the showroom as a technology centre for Trumpf products and processes. A customer is able to run tests on the machines as well as have one-on-one discussions to formulate a solution to suit the customer’s needs,” said Graham Rome of Retecon Machine Tools.

Trumpf launched the new TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition fiber laser at EuroBLECH 2024

“Despite the showroom we have continued to visit the Trumpf facilities in Europe, both Retecon staff and our customers, for training and to learn about the new developments in the industry. Equally important is our attendance of the EoroBLECH exhibition every second year where Trumpf is one of the largest exhibitors. Clients are always amazed at what they see on Trumpf’s stand and most of the equipment is set up in an operational environment so you can see first-hand its capabilities.”

The TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition
Trumpf launched a new laser cutting machine at EuroBLECH, which took place in Hannover, Germany from 22 to 25 October 2024. The machine is aimed at customers with smaller production volumes that are looking for a reliable machine with low investment and operating costs. The TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition offers the same quality standard as Trumpf’s high-end models but is significantly more affordable.

Trumpf product manager Patrick Schüle said: “With the new TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition, we are offering companies a technologically superior and robust alternative to the low-priced models from abroad. This is how Trumpf lives up to its claim of offering every customer a suitable solution.”

The TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition is especially easy to operate. This helps companies cope with the shortage of skilled workers and reduces errors

With this new Lean Edition, Trumpf has adapted the range of functions of its TruLaser Series 1000 but omitted various functions that are more relevant for users with high throughput.

Flexibility and independence
He continued: “When companies have a low production volume, it is often not worthwhile to have their own sheet metal processing unit, because they cannot use conventional machines to full capacity. With the new TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition, these kinds of users will be able to produce the parts they need themselves in the future. This provides flexibility and independence.”

The new machine retains the proven universal cutting unit with reversible collision protection. This means that if the cutting unit collides with a component that has been cut free, it deflects and the operator can then simply push it back into the holder by hand. To prevent collisions from happening in the first place, the TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition also features the nano-joint technology developed by Trumpf, in which the components are fixed with the smallest of holding points and are therefore particularly easy to remove after cutting.

The machine already has the appropriate cutting parameters for all the common materials and sheet thicknesses

“With the TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition, companies also have access to Trumpf’s proven service. We have an outstanding presence in Europe. This means that a service engineer who speaks the local language and can provide expert assistance is quickly available to our customers,” explained Schüle.

Furthermore, the TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition is especially easy to operate. This helps companies cope with the shortage of skilled workers and reduces errors. For example, the machine already has the appropriate cutting parameters for all the common materials and sheet thicknesses.

The production worker simply has to select the cutting programme for the job on the user interface. Parameters for cutting with compressed air are, among other things, also stored in the machine. This not just lowers initial investment, but also minimises running costs. The cutting unit of the TruLaser Series 1000 Lean Edition is also equipped with an online monitoring function.

This checks the condition of the protective glass on the cutting unit and informs the operator at an early stage if it becomes dirty. If unexpected cutting problems arise, the “Cutting Guide” function supports the operator and guides them step-by-step through the process of identifying the cause and solving the problem.

Trumpf achieves breakthrough in automated sorting
At EuroBLECH 2024, Trumpf also presented a completely new solution for the automated sorting of 2D laser-cut parts. With the SortMaster Station and the SortMaster Vision, customers will be able to sort parts particularly reliably and without any programming effort. The key to this is that the SortMaster Station removes the parts from the sheet metal in the first step, regardless of their geometry. The machine operator then sorts the separated parts manually or has them removed and palletised fully automatically by the SortMaster Vision. Meanwhile, the laser cutting machine is already processing the next sheet.

Trumpf also presented a completely new solution for the automated sorting of 2D laser-cut parts

“The automated sorting of parts is one of the biggest challenges in the sheet metal world. Conventional methods are particularly suitable for simple components with medium sheet thicknesses of up to 12mm. For many companies, their common automation solutions are too inflexible and time-consuming to programme, so they have their parts sorted by hand. With the SortMaster Station and the SortMaster Vision, Trumpf enables automated sorting of any sheet metal parts and once again demonstrates its technological leadership,” said Trumpf CTO for Machine Tools Thomas Schneider.

Trumpf offers its customers the new solution in a 3-metre format for the laser cutting machines of the 3000 and 5000 series.

With the SortMaster Station and the SortMaster Vision, customers will be able to sort parts particularly reliably and without any programming effort

Reliable and fully automated removal
The solution uses the LiftMaster Compact loading and unloading automation system from Trumpf. It removes the cut sheet from the pallet changer of the cutting machine and transfers it to the SortMaster station. This separates the components from the scrap skeleton in just a few seconds. The separated parts are then conveyed to the sorting area.

“With our solution, we have decoupled the cutting, separating and sorting processes from each other for the first time. This allows users to better utilise the laser machine and increase their throughput. A third pallet station also enables parallel manual sorting, for example for special formats,” explained Schneider.

The solution uses the LiftMaster Compact loading and unloading automation system from Trumpf

Sorting with cameras and intelligent software
“The SortMaster Vision is used for automated sorting. Partnering for several years with Intrinsic, a leading AI and robotics software company in the Alphabet Group, we have introduced adaptive robotics capabilities to SortMaster Vision, including automated perception and robot path planning. This enables a robot to autonomously recognise the separated parts using AI-supported image recognition,” said Schneider.

“The software autonomously calculates the robot’s motion plan including the gripping points. The SortMaster Vision independently obtains all the part information from the cutting programme. It uses this to simulate various removals in advance and selects the most suitable one at runtime. This eliminates the need for any programming of the sorting process. In addition, the process creates maximum flexibility with regard to the range of parts and batch sizes. Thanks to this innovative process and partnership with Intrinsic, customers can now automatically sort parts that could not be removed using conventional solutions, even with a batch size of one,” said Schneider.

The software autonomously calculates the robot’s motion plan including the gripping points. The SortMaster Vision independently obtains all the part information from the cutting programme. It uses this to simulate various removals in advance and selects the most suitable one at runtime

“These include, in particular, small or complex parts that are prone to tipping over or tilting in the scrap skeleton. But even thicker parts can be separated out and automatically sorted by the sorting process. This fully automatic solution for separating and sorting is a real game changer. The two sorting modules can also be retrofitted at a later date, which reduces the initial investment and allows the degree of automation to be increased step by step,” said Schneider.

For more information contact Retecon Machine Tools on TEL: 011 976 8600 or visit www.retecon.co.za