Hobbs Precision Engineering, a subcontract machining business that primarily manufactures components for Hobbs Valve, has recently invested in an Optima 320 twin head waterjet machine from Kerf Developments.

Revealing why the company opted for a waterjet machine, Hobbs Precision Engineering’s machine shop manager Craig Llywellyn says: “We identified that we could produce over 1500 clamp-ring parts in-house every year, something that would reduce our subcontract reliance, valve unit costs and improve overall production scheduling and lead-times – and waterjet was the only feasible option. Laser or plasma cutting would introduce heat, which would impact the properties and conformity of our parts. We investigated the options and the Kerf Optima 320 had the best build quality, software, productivity performance and value for our business.”
The clamp-ring components are manufactured from aluminium bronze and a range of stainless steels that vary from 316 to super duplex, with dimensions from 50 to 1200 mm diameter, in thicknesses from 4 to 12 mm.
“By bringing the production of clamp-ring parts in-house, we have reduced our subcontracting costs by over £30,000 per year,” says Llywellyn. “Furthermore, we have gained greater control over our processes and quality, while reducing the lead-time for these parts from four weeks to just one day. Triple offset butterfly valves are bespoke products that are not volume manufactured, so the ability to stock material and produce clamp rings when required gives us the flexibility and reaction time required for components which are produced in volumes from 1 to 10-off.”
Hobbs Precision Engineering has also applied the machine to the production of end plates for the butterfly valves, a move which has reduced subcontracting costs by an additional £20,000 per annum.
For further information www.kerfdevelopments.com

Yamazaki Mazak took five laser cutting machines and two automation solutions to the recent EuroBLECH 2018 exhibition in Hanover, Germany. The standout machine was a new model of the Optiplex 3015 6 kW DDL (Direct Diode Laser) laser profiling machine. Mazak says that the resonator enables fast cutting of stainless steel and aluminium, and is up to 15% faster than its 6kW fibre equivalent. Most importantly, the DDL machine delivers stable cutting for both thin and thick material due to the use of ‘Beam Diameter Control’ technology, along with intelligent monitoring andset-up functions.

Alongside the DDL was the FG-220 DDL 4kW, a new DDL version of the company’s tube and pipe cutting machines. The machine is designed for maximum productivity utilising high-speed approach piercing to improve cutting speeds on both thin and medium-thick material by up to 20% compared with CO2 lasers.

Also, on the stand were 10 and 8kW versions of the Optiplex Fiber III laser. Of note, the 8 kW version was equipped with a Mazak Smart Cell automation system, developed to complement machines in the Mazak laser portfolio.

The Smart Cell system has a compact layout along with an ergonomic design for improved access and ease of operation. The automation cell can be programmed offline and, when in operation, offers detailed reporting of production status and operation, automatic parts separation detection and dynamic kinetics to calculate weight and optimise speed.Most importantly, Smart Cell offers an Industry 4.0-ready solution for laser users.

The final machine on the stand was a 6kW Optiplex Nexus 3015 Fiber, equipped with a Fasani CST automation system.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

Significantly greater productivity, ranging from 20-40% depending on the specific application, as well as improved quality, are among the advantages reported by early adopters of GF Machining Solutions’ latest generation of GF Laser Workstation Software.
Furthermore, initial results indicate that customers using the optional software suite supplied with Smartpatch technology, can increase texturing speeds by up to 30%.

These improvements in efficiency and quality are a direct result of the process intelligence that has been engineered into GF Laser Workstation Software 1.8.0’s Smartpatch technology, a patching solution that will enable laser texturing to become a more widely-used manufacturing process.

Laser texturing can be used to apply a myriad of different decorative and functional textures to workpieces by using a laser beam to remove workpiece material layer by layer via a non-polluting, and non-contact process.

The technology is proven to be a sustainable way of applying high quality textures, including complex geometries, to high repeatability, because the process is fully digital. This means that virtually any design, in a digital format, can easily be applied to a 3D workpiece surface.
Furthermore, since the cutting tool used in texturing is a laser beam, issues such as tool wear and breakage are avoided, and mean that laser texturing is a reliable, cost-effective and secure process.

However, challenges do exist with the technology and it is these that GF Machining Solutions has sought to address with its Smartpatch Technology.
For further information www.gfms.com/uk

To help realise its ambitions of being the UK’s leading independent profiling and processing company, the PP Group has consolidated its business interests by bringing its three manufacturing facilities in Salford, Gorton and St Helens, under one roof – a new 110,000sqft facility in Oldham. Moving to its new factory in 2017, the £9m investment included a 36m oxy-fuel and plasma cutting cell from Kerf Developments.

To emphasise how central the Kerf RUM4500g oxy-fuel and RUM4500p high-definition plasma cutting cell has become to the company’s strategy for continued growth, over 400 tonnes of steel is now being processed each month, a figure that equates to almost 40% of the material that passes through the doors of the 100-employee company.

With plasma and flame cutting being central to business activities, selecting the most suitable machine was critical. The bespoke production cell configuration chosen by the PP Group features a 12 x 3.5m bed with an RUM4500p single gantry 400 A Lincoln Electric plasma cutting head (with Ultrasharp cut technology) and a 24 x 3.5m table featuring two RUM4500g gantries, each with four oxy-fuel flame cutting heads – all on a single platform. This single bed configuration has streamlined workflow and improved throughput while the eight oxy-fuel heads have improved productivity by more than 35%.

“Since we installed the Kerf RUM4500 system, the cell has been operating 24 hours a day and 6 days a week,” says managing director Peter McCabe.“If it’s not burning it’s not earning. Our business has grown by 10% in the year since we moved to the new factory and the Kerf cutting cell is a major contributor to this growth.”
For further information www.kerfdevelopments.com

Esab Welding & Cutting Products has optimised the consumables on its iSeries plasma systems for bevelling applications. The new design, distinguished by a more pointed nozzle and shield cap, narrows the torch profile to enable tilting at greater angles, moving the torch closer to the plate to maintain optimum arc lengths without collisions.

The two-piece iSeries tip gets cooled all the way to the orifice, while XtremeLife electrodes feature multiple hafnium inserts for longer life in high current applications. According to Esab, iSeries consumables can save as much as 35% when cutting mild steel and up to 70% on stainless.

To cut a full range of weld preparations, connect the iSeries to the DMX automated plasma beveller. Esab says that the DMX eliminates the need for breakaway crash protection, delivers responsive, accurate positioning and can detect a torch crash without any added components. Moreover, the device automatically resets itself after a collision.
Esab CutCloud, a connected digital system, is now powered by Microsoft Azure IoT. Azure allows for a reliable and secure architecture that sends data from an Esab CutCloud-enabled system directly to the cloud, eliminating the need for an on-site server or large IT infrastructure to gain the benefits of data management.
For further information www.esab.co.uk