Product category:
CNC laser cutting and profiling machines
News Release from: Trumpf | Subject: CNC laser cutting and profiling machine
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 June 2007
Laser profiling raises sheet metal work
capacity
A coil processing line eeding turret punch presses were not keeping pace with demand, so a sheet metal subcontractor added on a CNC laser cutting and profiling machine.
Until recently, a UK subcontract sheet metal working manufacturer, Ernest Gill Manufacturing, had met most of its sheet metal working requirements using a CNC coil processing line and turret punch presses This equipment was lately not giving enough flexibility to meet current and predicted demand
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 1 Nov 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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To rectify the situation, the company has bought a Trumpf TruLaser 3530 CNC laser cutting and profiling machine equipped with LiftMaster sheet handling equipment.
"There was an obvious saving to be made by acquiring a laser cutter.
We could improve product design and enjoy other benefits such as reduce cycle times, remove non-value added finishing operations, less noise, less manual lifting and better material utilisation," explained production manager at Ernest Gill Manufacturing, Simon Gill, who is the great grandson of the company's founder.
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The subcontractor investigated a number of laser cutting systems.
The machine that fitted the company's needs was the Trumpf TruLaser 3530.
Gill was impressed with the machine's gantry drives in X and Y, and a highly dynamic additional axis in X (the Xp-axis).
Also notable, the machine caried out all travel and positioning motions considerably more quickly.
These features reduced total machining times, useful when machining thin sheets with many contours.
The TruLaser 3530 was installed in February 2007 and already the benefits are being realised.
"It is significantly quicker than our existing technology," confirmed Gill, "Possibly twice as fast on thicker jobs.
Also, there isn't any dressing or lifting requirements, both of which represent downtime." The Trumpf LiftMaster has eliminated lifting of the metal blanks.
"The LiftMaster gives us extra capacity - the ability to run production 24h/day.
To be honest many would see the laser cutter alone as a significant enough investment, but for us going a step further meant we could be even more competitive," commented Gill.
Ernest Gill has also invested in a a 17-station Swedish manufactured Tivox tower sheet metal store (Tivox Sweden, Tidaholm -
Gill is full of praise for Trumpf 's assistance regarding system integration.
"We've had fantastic support from Trumpf.
Tivox is not their product but they 'bent over backwards' to ensure it was correctly interfaced.
On the day the whole system was commissioned it ran unmanned until just after midnight - I was pretty impressed with that," said Gill.
Ernest Gill processes mild steel, stainless steel and Zintec parts in batches ranging from 100-1000-off.
The company will undertake prototype work for its larger customers, something it can now do more efficiently thanks to the minimal set-up requirements of the TruLaser 3530.
* Material utilisation - Gill estimates that the laser system offers some 20% improved sheet material utilisation over its existing punch presses.
With steel costing in the region of GBP 400/tonne, this represents a saving of GBP 80/tonne of material processed.
"Investment in the latest technology, to improve performance, is key to remaining competitive," concluded Gill.
"Also, we find we often get 'short-listed' for contracts because of the plant we have.
If you have large, flexible and fast machines, it certainly bodes well for securing orders".
* About Ernest Gill manufacturing - formed in 1945 Ernest Gill Manufacturing of Halifax, UK, has grown to become a 100-strong company with two main business streams.
Firstly the family-owned company is a successful subcontract fabricator to the office furniture, heating, lighting and point of display industries.
However, Ernest Gill is also an OEM, manufacturing its own range of office furniture for sister company 'Emergent Crown' that supplies both private and public sector customers. Request a free brochure from Trumpf ...
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