Laser cutters help Redhill reach new heights

Redditch-based access equipment maker, Redhill Manufacturing, has purchased two fibre laser cutting machines from Nukon Lasers UK, helping to meet increased demand for the company’s products.

The first of the new fibre lasers, a Nukon ECO 315 4kW flat sheet model, was installed at Redhill’s newly acquired facility in December 2022. The second laser, a Nukon NKT-125 2kW 3D tube cutting model will arrive later in 2023 complete with a fully automatic Nukon 8 m loading and unloading system.

Following a fire at the company’s previous manufacturing site, Redhill wasn’t simply faced with finding new premises. The business also needed quality CNC machine tools to maintain its standing as the only UK manufacturer of ‘kitemarked’ British Standard mobile safety steps.

“As I didn’t really know the Nukon brand, the companytook me to a customer in Sheffield that had been using a Nukon flat sheet metal laser for around a year; all so I could see the machine in action and chat to the operators about their experience of using it,” says Redhill Manufacturing’s managing director Andy Colley.

Hearing glowing reports of how the Nukon flat sheet metal laser had streamlined the process of cutting complex precision components at the Sheffield business, Colley then travelled to Nukon’s European manufacturing facility to see a Nukon tube laser machine in action.

“The tube laser machine was just as impressive as the machine I’d seen in Sheffield,” he says. “The build quality was very good. Both machines were competitively priced, and the features include nLIGHT fibre lasers with adaptive beam optimisation and Lantek Expert nesting software.”
For further information www.nukonlasers.co.uk

TOOLMAKER MAKES IT MARK WITH MITSUBISHI EDM

With four generations of toolmakers in the family, Denmark Products has been manufacturing injection mould tools since its inception in 1993. Started by father and son team Dennis and Mark Rowlands with a £15,000 investment that stretched to the purchase of a mill, spark-erosion machine and surface grinder, the company has come a long way since the 1990s. Testament to the journey travelled is the recent investment in a high-end Mitsubishi spark erosion machine from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

The small start-up that operated out of a 900sqft unit has moved to a 4500sqft facility in Donnington on the outskirts of Telford, where it manufactures precision injection mould tools for the automotive, medical and white goods industries. With considerable business growth, the company has added both a Mitsubishi wire EDM and a spark erosion machine to its plant list in a little over 12 months. As a company with everything from three- to five-axis machining centres, milling machines and lathes through to surface grinders, spark erosion machines and more, the interest in Mitsubishi machines started just over a year ago.

The seven-employee company was using an external supplier for its wire EDM requirements. This was not an ideal situation with costs and process control surrendered to the subcontract supplier.

Recalling the situation, company co-founder and managing director Mark Rowlands says: “With the demise of so many companies through the pandemic, we had an opportunity to buy a used Mitsubishi MV1200S wire-erosion machine. As the UK supplier of Mitsubishi machines, we went straight to ETG for installation and commissioning support. In the 12 months since the machine arrived, we’ve eliminated our subcontract wire EDM costs and the lead times associated with a subcontractor turning work around, and have complete process control. Additionally, when it comes to wire EDM, we 100% know if we want a loose or interference fit between our components.An external supplier would not know this, so our quality and surface finishes have improved too.”

With next-generation technology such as precision automatic wire rethreading, IoT capability, the latest drive systems and a user-friendly control system, the high-performance Mitsubishi MV1200S has reduced lead times and improved throughput for Denmark Products. Furthermore, the acquisition exposed the subcontract manufacturer to the high service levels provided by ETG.

With customers in the high-end automotive and medical industries ramping-up production post-Covid, Denmark Products needed to invest in a larger capacity spark-erosion machine. Three ageing spark-erosion machines were already on site, so the company needed a machine with a larger bed and tank capacity for processing the increasingly larger dimensions of automotive interior trim parts and large white goods injection mould tools. Despite having spark-erosion machines from several different vendors on-site, the service provided by ETG with the MV1200S was a major factor in why the company invested in a second Mitsubishi machine.

As Rowlands continues: “We did our due diligence and looked at spark-erosion machines from a few leading suppliers. Once we identified our capacity needs, it was the technology, capability, reputation for quality and impeccable service levels from ETG that were the main factors in our decision to buy a Mitsubishi EA28V Advance.”

The Mitsubishi EA28V Advance can accommodate maximum workpiece dimensions up to 1350 x 850 x 450mm in its 390-litre capacity tank that utilises an automatic elevation method. Capable of accommodating electrodes up to 200kg and workpieces up to 2000kg, the Mitsubishi EA28V is a powerful workhorse with technology that delivers finesse for the productive processing of components.

Discussing this spacious work area, Rowlands says: “We’ve been increasingly receiving requests for larger components that had to be producedexternally as our spark-erosion machines were not big enough. This resulted in external subcontract costs that were a drain on our business and extended lead times. With the arrival of the Mitsubishi EA28V we’ve brought all of this work in-house, reducing both our costs and lead times.”

However, the Mitsubishi EA28V Advance has given Denmark Products so much more.

“The extra capacity not only allows us to process larger parts, it also enables us to put two or three different smaller jobs on the bed and run them consecutively,” explains Rowlands.“This means we can undertake lights-out machining and, in many instances, we can set the machine up on a Friday night to run all weekend unmanned. This is a huge saving for our business. The ability to run up to three different components on the machine consecutively is a credit to the 20-electrode tool-change facility and intuitive programming technology on the Mitsubishi EA28V.”

He continues: “Our existing spark-erosion machines only have single-electrode capacity, which means that we would continually change electrodes for every operation and part. With the Mitsubishi EA28V, we can set up to 20 electrodes and program several parts, and the machine will run for a couple of days unmanned. From a productivity perspective, the technology in the Mitsubishi EA28V means that we can adjust our settings to erode components at higher speeds and feeds, or we can similarly slow the speeds to extend the life of electrodes or improve surface finishes. Regardless of the multitude of settings, the machine can process parts far faster and to a higher level of quality and precision than any of our other spark-erosion machines.”

All of this is reducing energy consumption and costs for Denmark Products while simultaneously lowering consumable costs. Another advantage for the small business is the reduction in hand polishing.

“Our existing spark-erosion machines are typically generating a surface finish in the region of 1.6Ra, which often requires considerable post-machining hand polishing,” says Rowlands.“This is particularly the case for injection mould tools for interior vehicle trim components and medical mould tools. With the new Mitsubishi EA28V, we’re easily achieving surface finishes of 0.4Ra, which has drastically reduced our hand finishing. On some parts such as ribs and cavities, the high level of surface quality has eliminated hand finishing, which is a necessity for sensitive features. Overall, bench finishing has massively reduced, freeing up hours for our machinists every week.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Like a brand new machine after 21 years

“Quality never goes out of style,” they say. Well for Water Jet Sweden cutting machines quality never goes out of performance either! The recent refurbishment of a 21-year-old waterjet cutting machine to almost-new condition by the in-house team recently demonstrated this perfectly, making it ready for many more years of quality cutting.

In 2001, Water Jet Sweden sold the machine to a Norwegian waterjet contract cutter. After 21 years of cutting, the customer decided to upgrade its workshop by investing in a new machine. Like many other well-maintained machines from Water Jet Sweden, the performance was still good, and a general ‘facelift’ could be worth the investment. The customer service team at Water Jet Sweden seized the opportunity and bought the old machine.

“We’ve supported the customer since the machine was delivered in 2001, and have good knowledge of both operating hours and service history,” says Ronny Martinsson, customer service manager at Water Jet Sweden.

Looking at the refurbished machine, it is difficult to imagine that it has been in production for 21 years. Although it looked a little more run-down than when purchased, after a thorough clean, the potential was clearly visible. Every renovation project is different: this time the frame was repainted, new table grids installed, hoses replaced and, most importantly, the electrical system replaced with a new Fanuc CNC system. The system change included everything from cables, motors and electrical cabinets to a modern PanelOne operator panel.

The refurbished machine is now ready for delivery to a new customer in Germany, a forging company that will use the machine as a workstation in its workshop. It cost about 60% of what an equivalent new machine would cost.
For further information www.waterjetsweden.co.uk

DNE Global range extended with LC4 model

TheEngineering Technology Group (ETG) says that the success of DNE Global fibre laser cutting technology has been phenomenal since its introduction to the UK last year. Now, ETG is extending the line-up with the arrival of the LC4. The latest high-quality cost-effective fibre laser cutting machine has a larger capacity and a host of features that reach beyond the smaller LC3 variant.

The new LC4 machine is suitable for a wide range of applications, from thin to thick sheets of steel, stainless steel, aluminium and non-ferrous metals. Delivering greater profit per part with its low investment level, comparatively low operating costs and low maintenance requirements, the LC4 is available in four variants: the LC4 2000, 3000, 4000 and 6000 with each of the four models signifying the respective laser power from 2 to 6 kW.

The LC4 can accommodate sheets up to 4 x 2 m with a cutting area of 4120 x 2110 x 100mm, and a maximum workpiece weight up to 1300kg. Depending upon the selected model and material in-cut, the LC4 can cut sheets from 5 to 20 mm thick at high speed and with a changeover time of just 27 seconds. The maximum positional speed in parallel axis X/Y is 100m/min with a maximum positional speed of 140m/min.

When it comes to precision, the new LC4 has a bilateral repeatability positioning of one axis (R) of 0.5mm,offering an average bilateral deviation of one axis (M) of 0.1mm with an edge detection precision level of ±0.5mm. Regarding footprint, the compact machine has a floor area of 13.1 x 6.4m with a height of 2.74m.
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Andy Haldane joins AMRC

Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane will chair the industrial board at University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) for the next three years. He brings a wealth of experience that will help shape and set the strategy for the AMRC and its 120 industrial members on where to put its horsepower and innovation to help grow the UK manufacturing sector. Haldane says that taking the post was a “coming together of topics” that have been at the centre of his career. He currently holds the post of chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
For further information www.amrc.co.uk