Eastman Machine Co.

Joe Summers, Commercial Director of Airborne said “Partnering with Eastman adds major value for our customers in North America. Eastman shares Airborne’s ambitions to make the cutting room more efficient, with the ply cutter at the centre of turning materials into cut shapes with the highest possible efficiency of materials and labour. We’re excited to see how this collaboration will bring even more advanced services to customers in North America”.

Eastman Machine Company is a fifth-generation, family-operated manufacturer of cutting machines and material handling solutions. Working in tandem with industry engineers, Eastman designs and builds composite cutting machinery that is reliable, accurate, and versatile. Eastman is committed to manufacturing industrial solutions proven to be simpler to operate, less expensive to maintain, and customized specific to cutting and handling fiberglass, carbon, aramid reinforcement fibers, and other engineered fabrics.

“We are excited about our joint partnership with Airborne,” says Amy Denning, VP of North American Sales at Eastman. “It is a massive step forward for American manufacturers looking to maximize operational efficiency in the cutting room.”

Automated Kitting solutions

Airborne’s Automated Kitting solutions reduce production cost of composite manufacturing by maximising material yield (through optimised material nesting), and solve the challenge of sorting and sequencing plies from a complex nest into kits ready for laminating, with minimal operator involvement. Systems can be “stand-alone” where multiple ply cutters can feed a single system, or “integrated” with the novel capability to pick directly from the bed of the ply cutter. The systems are “plug and play” without the need for specialised programming. Airborne’s software generates the robot code directly using information from the nest data, enabling regular or dynamic nesting with the Kitting solution adapting “on the fly”.

https://www.eastmancuts.com/news/eastman-machine-company-appointed-airborne-preferred-reselling-par

The OPC UA server creates a framework for industrial interoperability. It communicates with cutPRO to provide analytics and to synchronize equipment through remote procedure calls (RPC). Users can monitor and export real-time data regarding tool usage, job runtime, motor position and accuracy, material usage, program uptime, and even the status of various IO nodes on the Eastman.

The separate software application creates a common language among equipment and provides full-scale automation to the cutting room. Over 60 machine processes can be automated through the OPC UA server; including move, cut, pause, and next. As an important instrument for the implementation of Industry 4.0, the OPC UA server is an ideal choice for manufacturers working with technical material in industries like aerospace, fashion, infrastructure, glass laminates, and automotive.

Eastman has been manufacturing manually-operated cutting machines, automated CNC cutting systems, CAD/CAM software programs, and material handling equipment in Buffalo, NY since 1888. The company is committed to manufacturing industrial solutions proven to be simpler to operate, less expensive to maintain, and built custom to customers’ needs. For more information, visit www.eastmancuts.com.

https://www.eastmancuts.com/news/implement-industrial-communication-with-eastmans-opc-ua-server/

ACG Nyström, part of ACG Gruppen, is now an exclusive supplier of Eastman’s automated line and will act as a hub for imported equipment, parts, and consumables. The updated alliance will result in a shorter lead time and direct delivery within the European Union.

“Our unique partnership with ACG Nyström was established many years ago and I am proud to see continued growth and cooperation,” says Robert Stevenson, Eastman CEO. “Combined, we have over 200 years of experience in the textile industry, calling for a powerful partnership. I look forward to seeing the added capabilities our collaboration creates.”

The relationship between Eastman Machine and ACG began over 100 years ago when Carl Axel Gustafsson sourced manual Eastman cutting equipment for his brand-new agency, A C Gustafsson AB, in Stockholm, Sweden. The Stockholm area was booming with textile manufacturers during the 1920s and ACG quickly solidified its position as an elite supplier of textile machinery. In September of 1961, Reimar Westerlind took over the company and has been leading ACG Nyström for the past 60 years. The executive team of ACG Nyström consists of Reimar Westerlind, Owner, Thomas Arvidsson, CEO, and Per-Martin Dahlqvist, Vice President.

For the past 20 years, ACG Nyström exclusively sold, installed, and serviced Gerber Cutting Technology equipment. With the recent acquisition by Lectra, ACG Nyström decided to cut ties with Gerber and strengthen its partnership with the American-based Eastman Machine Company. “We are happy to have signed a new long-term agreement with Eastman,” says Thomas Arvidsson.

Being family-owned businesses, excellence is at the forefront of both Eastman and ACG Nyström. Combined, the duo has installed over 3,000 automated cutting systems worldwide and distributed hundreds of thousands of manual cutting machines.

“Eastman’s broad product range will create new opportunities for us at ACG Nyström,” says Per-Martin Dahlqvist. “Together, we have extensive knowledge and experience.”

Eastman Machine Co. and ACG Nyström will be co-exhibitors at Texprocess in Frankfurt, Germany during June 21-24, 2022. They will demonstrate multi-ply cutting on the Talon, and other material handling equipment, in hall 8 stand E52.

About ACG Nyström:

ACG Nyström is the market-leading full-service provider to the textile industry, providing equipment and service as well as software solutions and consultancies in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Ukraine, and the Baltic states. Since 1921, ACG Nyström has been supporting and innovating within the textile industry, making it the given partner for the entire textile value chain.

https://www.eastmancuts.com/news/eastman-machine-co-and-acg-nystrom-strengthen-exclusive-strategic-