In the world of tube machining, efficiency is measured when you have to quickly budget a complex assembly and when you need to know how many parts have been produced correctly, which ones have been rejected, and put the wrong ones back into the process without wasting time.
Yet, in many workshops, these steps still take place in a disorganised manner: Excel sheets, voice communication, disconnected data flows between the technical department and production.
Libellula.JOBSHOP TUBE was created to bring digital continuity to the entire tubular processing cycle, from initial quotation to real-time production data return, via CAD/CAM programming and intelligent job queue management on the shop floor.
All this is possible thanks to a modular suite designed to adapt to different production realities, where tube cutting is an integral part of the production process and where that phase deserves the same digital attention as flat cutting or bending.
Libellula elaborated the 4-step flow for the digital management of tubulars from quotation to real-time progress management:
STEP 1 - Estimating Tubulars and Assemblies
STEP 2 - Digital management of the pipe order
STEP 3 - CAD/CAM programming for tube cutting
STEP 4 - On-machine real-time progress management system
STEP 1 - Estimating Tubulars and Assemblies
The production flow for the tube begins with the need to calculate the cost of the work to be done, often before we even have the final files, starting from 3D models or customer requirements that are still evolving.
The result is an economic estimate built on the actual data of their plants: the starting point for quickly responding to the customer with a correct calculation of margins.
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STEP 2 - Digital management of the pipe order
Once the order is confirmed, work enters the order management phase. It is here that the first losses of efficiency often occur: untracked parts, verbally transmitted information, lack of visibility on progress.
Within Libellula.TUBE, the order module transforms the management of each machining operation into a digital and structured process, collecting and organising all tubular parts to be cut in a single interface.
In addition, Libellula.TUBE can dialogue directly with your corporate ERP with mod.BRIDGE: data are synchronised in real time, eliminating the need to enter them manually twice and ensuring a consistently accurate flow of information.
Operators may:
- Organising production through dedicated filters
- Monitor the progress of individual parts to be produced or manufactured in real time thanks to the interconnection with the Libellula.VISIO system installed on the machine.
The order thus becomes the thread running through the entire process: all information from the customer to the delivery date and quantity travels throughout the production cycle.
STEP 3 - CAD/CAM programming for tube cutting
With the order organised, we move on to the most technical phase: the programming of the tube cutting equipment.
Libellula.TUBE is Libellula's CAD/CAM specifically dedicated to the programming of laser tube cutting systems, available for both round and closed section tubes.
The integrated parametric CAD allows the creation of tube parts without the need for advanced 3D design skills according to Libellula's Zero Training philosophy, for immediate use even by non-expert operators.
To complete the solution, a series of modules are available to cover the most advanced requirements:
- mod.BEAM: for parametric CAD design and programming of open sections (L, U, C, IPE, UNP)
- mod.6th AXIS TUBE: for handling machines with tilting tilting head, for performing bevel and chipping cuts
- Mod.DSTV for Libellula.TUBE: for importing 3D DSTV files in .nc and .nc1 format
At the technology application stage, the mod.NESTING TUBE which allows the creation of automatic or semi-automatic nesting on tubular bars, with 3D cutting simulation and automatic creation of the machine programme (OSR).
STEP 4 - On-board system: real-time management of work progress
Having generated the machine programmes and built the work queue, the process moves to the workshop. And it is here that the difference between a connected and an integrated system becomes most obvious.
Libellula.VISIO is Libellula's on-board MES system, designed to provide real-time production control.
With Libellula.VISIO, operators can:
- View and manage the job queue directly from the plant
- Estimating processing times and monitoring their progress
- Real-time communication with the technical department
- Declare faulty parts during production, stating the reason for them
- Printing labels and production reports
The connection with the plant CNC is via the mod.LiveSync, which supports the most advanced communication standards: text files (.xml, .csv), WebService, OPC/UA, IPC/IP and SQL databases.
This means that every event on the shop floor - start of work, end of machining, rejected part - is immediately visible to the technical department, closing the information circle between programming and production.
In this way, when an operator declares a defective part via Libellula.VISIO, the information is automatically transmitted to the order module in CAD/CAM, which processes it and arranges for the discarded part to be re-cut without the need for manual re-entry of data, risk of errors or loss of time.
A complete production flow, even for tubulars
Libellula.JOBSHOP TUBE brings to tube cutting the same level of digital integration that Libellula has developed for flatbed cutting: a consistent, traceable, connected flow from the engineering department to the machine.
Concrete benefits for your company:
- Accurate and fast quotation: estimation of pipe cutting costs based on the actual technology tables of the plant.
- Structured job managementall tubular parts organised, tracked and linked to their production progress.
- Advanced CAD/CAM programmingfrom single tubular to complex assemblies, with automatic nesting and cutting path optimisation
- Visibility on CNC in the workshopreal-time visibility of every job, with immediate feedback and declaration of non-conforming parts.
- Automatic data returnRejected parts re-enter the system without manual re-insertion, eliminating errors and inefficiencies.
Libellula.Jobshop Tube is modular and scalable: each company can adopt the components best suited to its reality and evolve the solution over time, progressively integrating new functionalities.
And if you already use Libellula.CUT for flat cutting or Libellula.BEND for bending, Libellula.TUBE integrates seamlessly into the Libellula.JOBSHOP ecosystem: a single platform to manage the entire production flow, from sheet metal to tubing, from quotation to final part unloading.
Do you want to know how to digitise the tube cutting process in your company? Tomorrow's production starts with a digitally connected flow. Start today.