When Sheffield-based Gripple UK – a specialist in wire-joining, wire-tensioning and wire-suspension systems – wanted a suitable means of manufacturing a new product, the company turned to Trumpf, its establish supplier of sheet-metal processing machinery. Duly acquiring a TruPunch 3000 to complement an existing TruPunch 1000 model installed three years ago, the machine has been set to work producing Fast Trak, Gripple’s new series of rapid trapeze brackets that are considered a breakthrough in pre-fabricated containment supports.

“Although the TruPunch 3000 is essentially dedicated to one product, it’s great to have a machine that is easy to configure as it means we can adapt to any design iterations that arise,” explains the company’s production manager David Grant. “On top of flexibility, we were also drawn to the machine’s productivity levels.”
The machine has been set to work producing parts for the 11 different sizes of the Fast Trak range. Components are punched from 2 mm thick mild steel and measure up to 1200 mm in length. Essentially, Fast Trak is a simple U-channel in shape, although some of its parts require the generation of complex forms.
“Trumpf showed us the optimum way of producing the forms using their tooling and TruTops Punch software,” states Grant.
“If we hit the anticipated sales volumes we will in all likelihood require another TruPunch 3000 to meet demand,” he adds. “As with all of our in-house manufacturing strategies, we only want to work with the best technology, as this means we get the best cycle times and the best savings.”
For further information www.uk.trumpf.com