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IMAGINE A MACHINE that grows to meet your increasing requirements. A waterjet cutting system that meets all your current requirements, but which can then be upgraded at the point when your order situation changes: for example, if you expand your field of business activity and suddenly require a machine for large-scale orders or special applications.

This is precisely what the new ByJet Flex from Bystronic allows you to do. It is made possible thanks to a modular system. The ByJet Flex is based on a machine platform that allows the size of the cutting area, additional functions and multi-ple pump systems to be freely selected. Users can even upgrade the machine at a later stage, depend-ing on their requirements. “With the ByJet Flex, we

The new ByJet Flex: the entire range of waterjet cutting functions on one machine platform.

EVERYTHING ON ONE PLATFORM

WITH THE NEW BYJET FLEX, BYSTRONIC UNITES ALL THE IMPORTANT WATERJET CUTTING FUNCTIONS

ON ONE MACHINE PLATFORM. WHAT IS MORE, IN THE FUTURE THE MACHINE WILL ENABLE BOTH 2D

AND 3D APPLICATIONS. BYSTRONICWORLD FINDS OUT HOW THE NEW MACHINE PERFORMS AND

TALKS TO TEST CUSTOMERS.

Text: Oliver Hergt, Photos: Stephan Dürer

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INNOVATION BYJET FLEX

have developed a machine that covers the broad-est possible spectrum of applications and can also be adjusted flexibly according to the requirements of our customers,” explains Bystronic’s Head of Development, Jürgen Hohnhaus.

MODULAR SYSTEM

To take an example: Currently, perhaps you do not yet require your waterjet cutting system to be equipped with a 3D cutting head. However, maybe in as little as a year, this could change because your customers start requesting parts with bevel-cut edges of up to 45 degrees. The waterjet cutting market is changing rapidly, but not every change in the market situation requires you to purchase a new machine. It is much more efficient to adapt your existing machine to the growing needs of your customers: for example by retrofitting a 3D cutting head as the ByJet Flex makes possible.Another example might be that your current pro-duction area has limited space, prompting you to opt for a compact waterjet cutting system with a working area of 2 by 3 meters. But in as little as two years, your business might expand. This is exactly when extending the working area – to 6 by 3 meters, or maybe even 10 by 3 meters – might appeal. This is no problem with the ByJet Flex. You

Dohner AG has been testing a ByJet Flex 8030 since August 2013. Andreas Sauter is the company’s CEO.

Dohner AG

Dohner AG is a company that specializes in waterjet and laser cutting. It is located in the municipality of Andelfingen, in eastern Switzerland. As a job shop, the company processes individual parts for private customers as well as larger series of high-precision components for the aerospace, automobile, and medical technology industries.BystronicWorld: Mr. Sauter, you are using a ByJet Flex with an 8030 format. Why?

Andreas Sauter: The ByJet Flex opens new opportu-nities for us. With a working area of 8 by 3 meters and a pump pressure of up to 5,300 bar, it is our most powerful machine. With it, we can now han-dle orders which we were previously unable to pro-cess economically.B.W.: How intensively do you use the ByJet Flex?A.S.: We have recently fully incorporated the machine into our three-shift operation. The new controls of the ByJet Flex offer all the important functions required to ensure process reliability. The materials we process are generally of a very high value. Miscuts on carbon and titanium sheets with a thickness in excess of 100 millimeters would be equivalent to an economical knockout criterion. The reliability of the machine is convincing.B.W.: What made you decide that a Bystronic machine was your best choice?A.S.: We have worked with Bystronic machines for more than 24 years. We place great value on preci-sion and reliability. With Bystronic, this begins with the machine design. But the service is also convinc-ing. Even the best machine is of no use to us if it is not accompanied by good service. Bystronic is always quickly on-site.www.dohnerag.ch

Bevel-cut edges of up to 45 degrees: The design of the ByJet Flex allows it to be upgraded with up to two 3D cutting heads.

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only have to extend the catching basin and the cable harness for the cutting bridge. The precision the machine delivered on the small working area remains the same for cuts made on the new, large working format. And the machine operation, at which your staff is already expert, does not change at all.

VARIABLE PUMP SYSTEMS

The ByJet Flex now makes both 2D and 3D appli-cations possible. In future, in addition to traditional two-axis cutting, the machine will also support cutting processes with a pivoting 3D cutting head. Users can start off with one or two 2D cutting heads, before upgrading to a 3D cutting head at a later date when the machine’s range of applica-tions needs to be expanded. On 2D cutting heads, the tried and tested PositionPointer, FixMaster and drill spindle are already available as optional addi-

tional functions. These functions allow the ByJet Flex to be configured to fulfill a variety of special applications. Cutting heads can cut with a maxi-mum operating pressure of 5,300 bar. To provide this, there is the choice of either the ByPump Direct (3,600 bar maximum) or the ByPump Ultra (5,300 bar) pump systems. For applications that require two heads cutting simultaneously, there are ver-sions of both pumps available with twice the flow capacity. In all cases, the pumps are directly driven by the ByJet Flex. This ensures the optimum trans-fer of pressure capacity to the cutting process. The results of this are precise pressure buildup, as well as reduced pressure peaks – allowing users to limit operation at maximum pressure to just the amount of time necessary: this, regardless of whether the machine is used to cut fine contours in thin material or corners in thick materials.

INTUITIVE OPERATION

Despite the diversity of functions it offers, opera-tion of the ByJet Flex is user-friendly and intuitive. This is achieved mainly thanks to the assistance functions offered by the ByVision user interface. These include, for example, a database that pro-vides the optimal cutting parameters for more than 20 materials. With it, users can adapt the cutting processes on the ByJet Flex according to the characteristics of a variety of materials. This

Langhof Schneidtechnik

As a typical job shop, the company Langhof Schneidtechnik has specialized in waterjet cutting. From the village of Seeg in southern Germany, the company supplies customers in diverse industrial sectors. The services it offers include custom-produced, individual solutions, as well as large production series.

Christian Langhof is a certified master metalworker and the owner of Langhof Schneidtechnik. He has been testing a ByJet Flex 6030 since July 2013.

BystronicWorld: Christian Langhof, how does the ByJet Flex add to your production facilities?Christian Langhof: The ByJet Flex is our largest machine. We also have a Byjet 3015 and a ByJet Classic L 4030. In the future, we will use the ByJet Flex to add 3D applications to our production facilities.B.W.: What are the key factors for you with regard to waterjet cutting?C.L.: The demands we have for precision are very high. In some cases, we work with a tolerance of +/–0.05 millimeters. When processing large orders with the ByJet Flex, we need high precision across the entire cutting area of 6 by 3 meters because we load material to the very edge of the cutting table.B.W.: What surprised you most about the ByJet Flex?C.L.: The pump ByPump Direct was a complete surprise to me. It sup-plies a constant buildup of pressure, which leads to consistent quality cuts. And compared with other high-pressure pumps, it is very quiet. This makes working with the ByJet Flex pleasant.www.langhof-schneidtechnik.de

“ The ByJet Flex can be adjusted flexibly according to the requirements of our customers.”

Jürgen Hohnhaus, Head of Development, Bystronic

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leads to high-quality cuts. The 21.5-inch touch screen guides even inexperienced users safely through each step of operation: “Nowadays, a machine must make precision achievable in just a few steps,” Jürgen Hohnhaus says, explaining the demands placed on the operating concept of the ByJet Flex. Waterjet cutting sometimes involves processing premium-quality materials. When pro-cessing these, there is virtually no margin for test runs. Bystronic’s Head of Development emphasizes that in such cases, the user must be provided with a fast and simple path to the perfect part: “With the ByVision user interface, we have uncompro-misingly implemented these demands on the ByJet Flex,” he adds.

Genthner SystemTechnologie

Genthner SystemTechnologie is a manufacturer of precision mechanical subassemblies for which, in addition to diverse milled and turned parts, waterjet parts are also produced. Amongst others, the com-pany supplies customers in the aerospace industry.BystronicWorld: Mr. Retzlaff, what benefits does the ByJet Flex offer you?Ronny Retzlaff: A major benefit of the ByJet Flex lies in the new process control. Thanks to this, we simply achieve an even more precise cutting quality

Ronny Retzlaff is the production manager for waterjet cutting at Genthner. He has been testing a Bystronic ByJet Flex since October 2013.

than previously, particularly when processing fine contours. The cutting head’s traverse paths are far more sensitive than those we are used to with our other cutting systems.B.W.: How intensively do you use the machine?R.R.: We work in one and a half shifts, during which the ByJet Flex simply runs. Currently we are process-ing small series and prototypes on the machine. But in future we also intend to transfer our large series to the ByJet Flex.B.W.: What surprised you most about the ByJet Flex?R.R.: What surprised us most is the high Z-axis. This allows us to process tall parts. We often process housing components in which openings sub-sequently have to be cut. Such parts can easily be as much as 200 millimeters in height.B.W.: Were there other surprises?R.R.: What is also very impressive is that we no longer have to carry out reference runs. This simpli-fies our processes and saves time. Until now, with extremely accurate inserts, we were sometimes forced to carry out reference runs. Now, with the ByJet Flex we can simply cut without interruptions.www.genthner.com

ByVision machine control: intuitive operation using a 21.5-inch touch screen.