UK-BASED BAE Systems Submarine Solutions is using an all-electric tube bender to enhance its flexibility when fabricating the complex metal parts needed for the UK’s Astute class nuclear submarines.
The Unison tube bender has both right- and left-handed bending capabilities. Long and complicated tubular part shapes can be produced rapidly and in a single stage.
According to BAE Systems, this makes the machine perfect for the boat building process, which has a demanding production schedule.
The machine also allows the user to make parts from a single length of tubing when fabricating longer tubular shapes. This can eliminate the need to join tube sections, welding, and X-ray and crack-detection testing.
The all-electric tube bender uses programs loaded from the design database. Servomotor movement axes with closed-loop control mechanisms then make precise bends, without needing manual intervention.
The Astute program is the most demanding engineering project currently under way in the UK. The nuclear powered attack submarine has been described as 'more complex than the space shuttle', involving nuclear weapons and stealth technology operating in high-pressure underwater environments.
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