Stargroup for Chart VRV
VRV is a historic company specialized in the production of storage systems and tanks for technical gases.
With approximately 350 employees at its production plant in Ornago (MB), it has been part of the American group Chart Industries since 2020 and operates in three main areas: HLNG, for the production of tanks for liquefied methane storage for the automotive market; Distribution & Storage, for the production of cryogenic tanks for storing technical gases in liquid form; Energy & Chemical, for the production of heat exchangers and reactors for petrochemical, nuclear, and other industrial plants.
Production needs
In 2022, to improve its production of piping for cryogenic tanks, VRV asked us for a more efficient tube bending machine — one with higher quality, capacity, and more advanced operating principles. Specifically, the customer needed to:
- bend stainless steel pipes (mainly 304, 304L, and 316 steel);
- bend pipes with diameters from 33 to 73 mm and wall thicknesses up to 3 mm;
- handle multiple diameters simultaneously to reduce setup times;
- enable automatic bending programming via CAM software;
- ensure network connectivity for data and performance transmission.
The Stargroup solution: a custom HeavyBend 900 tube bender for VRV
After analyzing VRV’s requirements, we identified the solution within the HeavyBend line by Star Technology.
In this configuration, the bending head moves while the tube remains stationary, allowing for easy machine servicing both during tube loading and finished part unloading. The system is flexible enough to accommodate multi-radius and multi-level tooling, maintaining precision even in the most complex bends thanks to its structural rigidity.
We delivered a custom hybrid HeavyBend 900, in which all pipe movements and bending arm rotation are electrically driven and CNC-controlled, while the auxiliary services are hydraulic. The configuration was customized based on VRV’s needs, opting for a three-level setup capable of holding multiple tools simultaneously for different pipe diameters. This allowed for a significant reduction in setup times, one of the customer’s top priorities from the outset!
We also integrated perimeter laser scanners to define the operating area and ensure safety. The machine was delivered with full implementation support and direct assistance to the customer.
