Established in 2010 by Dave Mawer and Mike Barratt, D&M Design & Fabrication has seen dramatic progression since the joint owners started running the business from the former’s bedroom and the latter’s garage.

At the time, neither thought that seven years later they would buy one of the most advanced fibre laser cutting centres on the market, a Bystronic 10 kW ByStar Fiber with automated sheet handling.
Installed at one of the firm’s factory units in Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, the machine is capable of processing 3 x 1.5 m sheet and employs the highest power fibre laser currently available on a cutting machine. According to Barratt, it is about 10 times faster at processing 10 mm thick material than D&M’s previous Bystronic 3.3 kW CO2 fibre laser machine bought five years earlier. A sheet can be completed typically in less than 40 minutes, rather than six hours.
“We were previously struggling to keep up with laser profiling our material, despite running the CO2 machine around the clock, six days a week,” says Barratt. “With the speed of fibre technology, we are easily processing more material per day in a single shift and now only work five days a week. The fibre machine stands idle for some of the time at present, as it finishes all the work going through the shop so quickly.”
Mawer adds: “With an eye to the future, we specified the machine with an inline ByTrans Extended handling system to automate the supply of material to the machine and the return of laser-cut sheets. We have proved the cell’s reliability during lights-out running a few times. It is not needed at the moment, but will be invaluable as volumes build in the future.”
For further information www.bystronic.co.uk

Gratnells Engineering has recently invested in a new BLM LT Fiber machine, allowing the Harlow-based company to expand its capabilities and ensure clients benefit from even faster turnaround times.

This brand-new machine sits next to the existing LT5, a laser tube-cutting machine designed to cut from small-to-medium diameters and thicknesses of metal tubular sections. Gratnells’ new LT Fiber allows tubes of any shape to be cut, as well as the processing of special sections and even open shapes – without any additional special equipment required.
The laser-cutting range boasts an automated unloading and support system for pre-cut lengths up to 6100 mm, automatic weld seam detection, and a module that maintains the cleanliness of the internal tube surface when machining. Anti-crush technology makes the machine capable of processing even the lightest of tubes without deforming the walls.
BLM’s LT Fiber machine is already helping to increase factory efficiency by allowing unloading to various positions, with finished parts from one machine being unloaded while production continues uninterrupted on the other. The need to manually separate parts from different orders has also now been eliminated.
Loic Jones, operations director, says: “Gratnells Engineering decided to invest in state-of-the-art laser technology to enable us to offer fast production runs with the best quality finish. This substantial investment will allow us to continually support the ever-demanding needs of modern manufacturing clients”.
The Gratnells Engineering factory can turn around tube laser-cutting jobs within 3-5 days from receipt of order and, using sophisticated software, can process parts from a variety of media.
For further information www.gratnellslasercutting.com

Electrical engineering specialist LCA Group is looking ahead to a sparkling future after the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Economy Ken Skates joined staff and management to open its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in North Wales.

Skates cut the ribbon at the new building on the Hawarden Industrial Park, which is named ‘Gibson House’ in tribute to the famous Dambusters pilot and the many Lancaster bombers built close to the site, near Hawarden Airport, during WWII.
LCA managing director Alan Sheppard and David Williams, who chairs the LCA Group board, spoke about the firm’s future and its commitment to North Wales business at the event, which was also attended by Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami, as well as regional business leaders.
The launch event was rounded off with a chance for the invited guests to view LCA’s new £500,000 ‘UK first’ 3D laser machining centre from Rittal. As the only one of its type in the UK and one of only seven similar machines in the world, the laser machining centre will enable LCA Group to dramatically boost production of its stainless steel control panels.
Traditionally made manually by experienced electrical engineers, who have all been retained as part of the move to Hawarden, the manufacture of LCA’s control panels is essential in a range of industries, including nuclear, food manufacturing, power generation, water and utilities, oil and gas, and pharmaceutical.
The relocation will mean the consolidation of the two existing LCA Group sites – in Runcorn and Ewloe – under one roof, enabling the company to significantly expand its service offer to customers around the globe.
For further information www.lcacontrols.co.uk