New Innovations for 2023

New Innovations for 2023: The ASC-Control and Stand-alone Gantry

SafanDarley is releasing two new innovations that will make huge positive impacts for our customers in 2023: an updated automated systems controller (ASC) and a stand-alone gantry that can be paired with any SafanDarley press brake. 

Both the ASC and gantry options will enable our customers to maximize productivity and ROI from their capital investments. Here’s what you need to know about these new SafanDarley innovations.

The New ASC-Control
In the spirit of our continued pursuit of technical innovation and usability, SafanDarley has developed a new automated cell controller software for our automated press brake systems. The design goals for the new ASC-Control and software include:

• Simplified user interface to maximize operator efficiency
• Improved flexibility, functionality, and reliability
• Greater remote support functionality

On the usability front, we wanted to flatten the learning curve for new operators. The ASC-Control has the same feel as our E-Control, but it comes with a new look and a focus on improving our customers’ production processes. We made the software to be more intuitive and user-friendly than any previous version. Our goal is for programming to be as quick and easy as possible, and the new ASC is a big step in the right direction.

The ASC-Control’s increased flexibility and functionality are all about ROI. We revisited the control’s design, with the intention of helping our customers find new ways to program operations for “lights-out” manufacturing. We wanted to make it easier than ever to program a new fully automated shift ahead of time so facilities can be productive 24/7 if desired.

We also focused heavily on reliability. The new software is even more reliable than its predecessor, which was the industry benchmark. Servicing and updating the new ASC will be simpler than ever before. 

Stand-alone Gantry
We created SafanDarley’s new stand-alone gantry with flexibility and modularity in mind. The equipment most press brake OEMs produce is either an automated cell or set up for manual operation, with no flexibility between the configurations. We don’t think that’s a reasonable proposition for sheet metal fabricators, which have ever-evolving customer needs.

The new gantry is designed to be paired with a SafanDarley press brake (E-Brake, hydraulic, or hybrid) to give fabricators the option of switching to automated production at any time. This innovation gives fabricators the ability to set up and use a larger, more powerful press brake in the same way an R-Brake would be used, with the benefit of being able to switch back to manual whenever needed. 

The best part is that our offline bending software, RoboBend, has also been updated to accommodate this configuration. RoboBend now includes a cell configurator that allows customers to add elements to their cells and program those elements graphically. For example, they could add a spot welder into the cell if they desired.

This novel configuration would be ideal for fabricators that want the option of adding an automated operation, or for any of our customers who purchased a manual SafanDarley press brake in 2022 or later.

New Options, Same Quality and Customer Service
The new ASC-Control and gantry options are unique in the press brake industry, and they demonstrate SafanDarley’s flexible approach to maximizing our customers’ success and ROI. 

We’re offering these upgrades to enable our customers to do more with their major capital investments — because we don’t think fabricators should have to choose between automation and manual production. 

With our approach, automation is always within reach of nearly any budget, and we look forward to seeing our customers increase their productivity and profitability as they continue to automate their operations.

Contact us if you have questions about the ASC-Control or if you have a manual press brake and are interested in automation. We would love to discuss the various options with you, and we will work with you all the way through implementation to make sure your equipment is up and running as smoothly as possible.