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Leading supplier of machine tool, tooling, consumables, services and accessories supplier to the metalworking and related engineering industries, the Retecon Group, which includes Retecon and Puma Machine Tools, has highlighted a number of new products recently released by the companies that they represent in South Africa. Some were launched at the EuroBLECH 2026 exhibition held in Hannover, Germany in October 2026 and IMTS 2026 held in Chicago, USA in September 2026.
The Retecon Group has serviced all the metal forming and cutting disciplines including milling, turning, gear cutting, boring, grinding, tube and wire, EDM, pressing, punching, laser cutting, bending and measuring for 56 years by importing quality well-known brands from all over the world.
Trumpf’s TruPunch 5000, a new generation punching machine
Retecon Group’s various products range from vertical and horizontal machining, turning lathes, multi-spindle lathes, universal milling and boring, tool and cutter grinding, laser cutting systems, bending systems, punching and forming machines, automatic sawing equipment, roll forming, wire and tube cutting and bending machinery, measuring equipment, fixtures and fittings, manufacturing lines and much more.
The Retecon Group represents a number of well-known international manufacturers including Trumpf, United Grinding (Studer), DN Solutions, Heller, United Machining Solutions, Chevalier, Citizen Machinery, Cosen, CSM, IEMCA, JFY, Parkson, Visionwide, Kasto, Ficep, Kapp Niles, Hexagon Metrology Group, Weber, Haimer, Renishaw, Haeusler, Alpha Laser and ENRX (previously EFD Induction).
Trumpf
At EuroBLECH 2026 Trumpf presented the new generation of its most productive punching machine, the TruPunch 5000. The high-tech company has focused in particular on improving the machine’s reliability, productivity, and user-friendliness.
Michael Steimle, product manager at Trumpf, said: “We are seeing a growing demand for punched sheet metal parts, particularly in the energy and electronics industries, which are currently among the fastest-growing sectors. With the new TruPunch 5000, we’re helping our customers produce high volumes cost-effectively and automatically.”
The new machine control system – the integrated Vision Equipment Pro camera system – and a second monitor ensure greater transparency in production. The new machine control system transmits the machine’s process and status data to Trumpf’s Smart View digital service. Machine operators can view this information on a dashboard from any location and take early corrective action to prevent impending downtime. In addition, up to 10 integrated cameras capture the machine’s work area.
The new TruPunch 5000 punching machine is specifically designed for use in the smart factory
Production staff can access these images at any time and from any location, for example at the setup station. Furthermore, a second screen can display production-related information, such as camera images of the machines or data from Trumpf’s Oseon software. In the future, machine updates can also be installed without a service technician on site. Looking ahead, Trumpf plans to offer the Remote Operation Support service for the TruPunch 5000 as well. This will allow Trumpf to troubleshoot the machine remotely at the customer’s site.
“This enables our customers, for example, to run production overnight without the need for on-site personnel,” said Steimle.
With the new machine control system, Trumpf is laying the foundation for highly flexible and future-proof automation in the TruPunch 5000. At EuroBLECH, for the first time, the company showcased an AI-supported solution for the automated sorting of small parts. The intelligent cameras detect the position of the parts, allowing a robot to pick them up and sort them without any programming effort. This reduces downtime and increases manufacturing productivity.
With the new TruPunch 5000, Trumpf has significantly simplified operation. An improved safety concept shortens the operator’s walking distances and reduces downtime. They have also made tool setup more user-friendly. The new ToolMaster Linear tool changer features an additional display located directly at the setup station. Operators can view all necessary tool information there and set up tools more quickly and safely.
Trumpf has launched the new generation laser cutting machine the TruLaser 5000
With 22 metric tons of punching force, the machine processes sheet metal up to 8mm thick at a rate of up to 1 600 strokes per minute. In addition to punching, it also performs complex forming operations such as embossing and drawing. The open machine frame allows for high flexibility with different component sizes and ensures easy access to the machine – even in highly automated systems.
Furthermore, the active die on the TruPunch 5000 enables high-quality, low-scratch surfaces, greater forming heights, and higher process reliability for demanding punching and forming applications. The TruPunch 5000 is suitable for both small-batch manufacturers and high-volume producers. Typical applications range from control cabinet construction and components for data centres to intricate trim and functional parts.
Trumpf enhances transparency and efficiency in laser cutting with TruLaser 5000
Trumpf also launched the new generation of its most productive laser cutting machine series, the TruLaser 5000. The machine makes sheet metal processing operations more transparent than ever before. Integrated cameras, sensors, and continuous status monitoring provide users with a comprehensive overview of the machining process at all times. This allows companies to see at a glance when and where productive time is being lost and to take targeted measures to increase their efficiency.
Active Speed Control monitors the cutting process in real time, detects quality deviations even during machining, and automatically adjusts the feed rate
Proven assistance systems for greater process reliability
For maximum process reliability, Trumpf relies on proven assistance systems for laser cutting in the new TruLaser 5000. Active Speed Control monitors the cutting process in real time, detects quality deviations even during machining, and automatically adjusts the feed rate. A new feature introduced at EuroBLECH is that the system monitors the condition of the nozzle during cutting and initiates a check cycle if contamination is detected. This allows the machine to take corrective action early on, before scrap is produced. With the Smart Rerun function, the machine automatically detects interrupted cuts and resumes the cutting process at the correct point. In combination with Active Speed Control, the TruLaser 5000 can continue production even in the event of faulty cuts, without operator intervention. This reduces downtime and increases productivity.
High-performance machine for demanding applications
With up to 24kW of laser power, it is suitable for all common materials used in sheet metal fabrication. Depending on the format, it processes sheets ranging in size from 3m x 1.5m to 6m x 2m. Users can economically manufacture both delicate precision parts and large-format components. Typical applications include mechanical engineering, agricultural machinery, commercial vehicle manufacturing, and contract manufacturing.
Accelerating part production with Trumpf’s AI-powered laser welding cell
At EuroBLECH 2026, Trumpf introduced the new TruLaser Weld 3000, a compact robotic laser welding cell that can be programmed significantly faster thanks to AI while requiring very little space. Compact welding optics reach even hard-to-access areas within the component, ideal for companies with a wide variety of part variants and limited space.
A newly developed welding optic, approximately 40 per cent smaller, expands the TruLaser Weld 3000’s range of applications. This makes it particularly well- suited for manufacturing deep components such as control cabinets
“The TruLaser Weld 3000 provides competitive advantages, particularly for companies that manufacture high-quality sheet metal assemblies and housings in small batches with a wide variety of variants. It enables stable processes, short cycle times, and thus a high degree of flexibility in production,” says Moritz Berger, product manager at Trumpf.
With a laser power of 3kW or 4kW, the TruLaser Weld 3000 welds stainless steel and structural steel up to 8mm of material thickness, as well as aluminium up to 6mm. Typical applications include equipment and plant engineering, sheet metal components for data centres, medical technology, and the kitchen and food industries.
DN Solutions’ AM2CNC cell turns metal additive preforms into finished parts in one workflow
At IMTS 2026 the company’s center-piece was its AM2CNC cell, which integrates one of its five-axis DVF 5000 machines with a new, cost-effective pallet system and a DLX 450 additive machine. The AM2CNC platform seamlessly integrates additive manufacturing and CNC machining in a single workflow. DN Solutions ran a metal additive preform straight through to a finished, ready-to-use part on a single connected platform, demonstrated live with the DLX 450 metal additive system and the DVF 5000 2nd Gen 5-axis machining center with an automatic workpiece changer (AWC).
The DVF 5000 is a compact 5-axis VMC engineered for lights-out automation and intricate workpiece geometries. Spindles up to 20 000 rpm deliver up to 230Nm of torque for demanding applications, and the AWC keeps the machine cutting through unmanned, continuous operation-finishing preforms around the clock.
DN Solutions and HELLER co-exhibited at IMTS 2026, the largest machine tool exhibition in the Americas and AMB 2026, one of Europe’s premier metalworking exhibitions
The DLX 450 builds the preform. Palletised automation delivers the stored parts directly to the DVF 5000, where the 5-axis mill performs the high-precision finishing and tapping that turn a raw preform into a finished part. The workpiece never leaves the workflow.
Hexagon
Hexagon’s portable metrology division has introduced HYPERSCAN SR, a fully wireless optical tracking 3D scanner that makes professional optical tracking more accessible. By combining a fully wireless workflow, simple operation, and dynamic tracking in a portable solution, it can be used directly on the shop floor, at supplier sites, or in the field.
Industrial engineering teams increasingly inspect parts where they sit, on the production line, across multiple sites, and in service, rather than carrying them to a measurement room. Optical tracking holds a measurement steady when the part or its surroundings move, but it has typically needed cabling, careful setup, and a metrology specialist to operate. The HYPERSCAN system eliminates that setup burden with dynamic optical tracking – a technology that unifies the scanner and the part together in one coordinate system so that the scan remains stable even when the part moves or the setup vibrates.
Hexagon’s portable metrology division has introduced HYPERSCAN SR, a fully wireless optical tracking 3D scanner
Agie Charmilles’ new CUT E 600 PRIME, is a limited-time edition in the CUT E Wire EDM Series
HYPERSCAN SR is a fully wireless system, with WiFi 6 connectivity and swappable batteries built into the scanner and tracker, so no tethered wireless accessory is required and there is no cabling to route. It deploys with minimal preparation and is straightforward for non-specialist operators to run. When scanning, its dynamic tracking follows the part and the scanner together, so movement and vibration do not break the scan.
Target-free wide area scanning helps operators improve their productivity across small and medium parts such as welded machine frames, cast housings, tooling and fixtures, and vehicle interiors, with multiple scanning modes up to 4 million points per second, hole flash capture and edge detection. The scanner weighs only 1.3kg (excluding battery) with on-device controls and intelligent voice assistant operator support. Finished point clouds can be exported to STL and common file formats, with one-click data transfer to Geomagic or PolyWorks.
HYPERSCAN SR is the new entry point to the HYPERSCAN series, joining HYPERSCAN Ultra, the versatile production workhorse, and HYPERSCAN Super, which provides additional range for the largest parts and automated inspection cells. HYPERSCAN SR is suitable for on-site and in-field inspection, supplier and incoming-goods quality, field service, maintenance and overhaul, tooling and fixtures, and decentralised quality control, in sectors such as automotive, rail, energy, construction, general manufacturing, industrial equipment, and consumer products.
Agie Charmilles’ new FORM F 450 die sinking machine
United Machining (Agie Charmilles)
United Machining (Agie Charmilles), known for remarkably accurate and versatile EDM machines, showcased a trio of new arrivals at IMTS 2026. The first, the CUT E 600 PRIME, is a limited-time edition in the CUT E Wire EDM Series, ready to bring rapid return on investment to world-class and budget-aware EDM shops.
The FORM F 450 made its debut as well, bringing the die sinking repeatability and performance United Machining (Agie Charmilles) customers demand, plus any-application flexibility. Its scalable platform is designed specifically for shops whose needs will evolve over time.
Finally, the new CUT P 600 was also at the United Machining Solutions booth, a head-turning and premium addition to the wire EDM roster at United Machining (Agie Charmilles). The machine boasts remarkable control, incredible detail and repeatable results for demanding micro-machining applications that were previously thought to be impossible to accomplish.
Ficep
Ficep’s software division Steel Projects has introduced Easy Check, an augmented reality solution that makes quality control faster, simpler, and more reliable. Using a standard iPad Pro, Easy Check lets you overlay your CAD models directly onto physical steel assemblies. In seconds, you can see whether what you built matches what you designed and identify deviations directly on the assemblies.
Ficep also introduced VALIANT, a CNC beam drilling machine built to process beams up to 2 000mm.
With MA.KE, FICEP introduces a new vision for industrial machines: A circular approach where every phase – from design to production, from operation to remanufacturing – becomes part of a continuous value loop.
From hip prostheses to dental instruments Studer’s cylindrical grinding machines make a decisive contribution to medical technology
United Grinding (Studer)
From hip prostheses to dental instruments – cylindrical grinding machines make a decisive contribution to medical technology with their high precision, reliability, and innovative grinding technology, strengthening the competitiveness of manufacturing companies worldwide.
Medical technology also places the highest demands on precision, surface quality, and cleanliness when it comes to the materials being machined. Studer’s cylindrical grinding machines S121 and S131 are machines for internal cylindrical grinding to produce hip joint balls and hip sockets. These are key components of modern hip prostheses that enable patients to move pain-free again after osteoarthritis or severe injuries.
Today, Studer is no longer just a leading manufacturer of grinding machines, but also a technology company. In-house developed software such as StuderWIN, StuderPictogramming, StuderSIM, and integrated tools for profiling, measuring, or generating contours make even the most complex grinding tasks easy to execute.
Additionally, Studer cylindrical grinding machines now feature state-of-the-art sensor technology and C.O.R.E., the revolutionary hardware and software architecture from United Grinding.
Ficep has introduced VALIANT, a CNC beam drilling machine built to process beams up to 2 000mm
JFY (a member of the Trumpf Group)
On display at EuroBLECH 2026 JFY (a member of the Trumpf Group) had a TPM+L bending machine, a BFC+ NXT fiber laser cutting machine, their JFY PLUS offline programming software and a MT+ 300E turret punching machine
The JFY MT+ 300E turret punching machine is a high-performance punching machine with high stability and low investment costs. The MT300E is among the leading turret punching machines in China with a market share of more than 20%.
The JFY MT+ 300E turret punching machine
The machine has a punching force of 30 ton, the main driving type is a single servo motor a maximum sheet processing size (with one-time repositioning) of 1250mm by 5000mm and is able to process sheet (mild steel) thickness between 3.2mm and 6.35mm.
For further details contact Retecon, part of the Retecon Group, on TEL: 011 976 8600 or visit www.retecon.co.za
