CNC laser offers high cutting speed and

Subcontract fabricator has found a CNC laser cutting machine that is not only able to handle the wide-ranging job specifications, but also offers speed, reliability and the highest cutting quality.

Young and Wood of Harlow, Essex, UK, makes a diverse range of components for architectural fittings, commercial buses and the banking industry The company recently installed a Syncrono laser cutting machine from Prima Industrie to keep production costs down and remain competitive
Young and Wood director, John O'Rourke, said that versatility is a key requirement as in the morning the company could be producing bus components, and in the afternoon, banking trolleys.

He explained: "It was vital we invested in a machine that was not only able to handle the wide-ranging job specifications, but also offered speed, reliability and the highest cutting quality".

Young and Wood works in a range of materials between 1mm and 15mm thick, including mild steels, stainless and aluminium The company sought machine that could cut heavy and light gauge material to the standards required. Six years ago the company added a Platino laser cutter from Prima to its machine park of mostly punching machines.

Young and Wood typically profiled up to 15mm thick mild steel, 8mm stainless steel and 6 mm aluminium sheet on the Platino, which provides 0.03mm cutting accuracy across its 3 x 1.5m machining envelope.

Superior dynamics enable head speeds of up to 140m/min and accelerations of 12 m/s2 to be achieved.

"The Platino's ability to pierce material in around 0.5s and cut at up to 6.5m/min has substantially reduced cycle times and increased our productivity, enabling us to minimise the effects of escalating raw material costs," reported O'Rourke.

"The machine's accuracy and repeatability has allowed us to manufacture a much wider range of products than is possible with our punching machine set up".

* Raising productivity - impressed with the Platino's versatility and the high level of support and back-up from Prima, O'Rourke decided to exchange it for a Syncrono in order to benefit from the further improvements to productivity and efficiency that it offered.

O'Rourke continued: "Prima has always responded quickly when we have needed assistance and that is so important for us, We had a few teething problems to overcome - which is to be expected with a piece of kit newly introduced to the market.

But it was the excellent service as much as the speed and accuracy we would get with the Syncrono which motivated us to invest in another Prima laser machine".

The Syncrono produces very fast processing times, enabling more than 1000 holes to be cut in 1 min.

While a job carried out on the punching machines typically took around 14s to complete, Young and Wood has been able to achieve the same operation on the Syncrono in just 4s (with nitrogen) and 6s (with air).

A major benefit for the company is the Syncrono's adjustable optics, which provide fast speeds and extreme precision, irrespective of the gauge of metal being machined.

"This feature really sold it to us in view of the wide range of materials and thicknesses we deal with every day," said O'Rourke.

"Syncrono's modular construction and versatility ensures we can machine all of our jobs with confidence and have the flexibility to meet future production requirements".

O'Rourke concluded: "We currently utilise a shuttle table, which, at the end of the day shift, automatically switches over two plates.

This is sufficient to feed the machine to enable 'lights out' operation.

However, we plan to install Prima's automatic Compact Server stacker/destacker in the near future.

Controlled directly by the Syncrono, this will enable us to handle an increased volume of work overnight".

* About Prima Industrie UK - Coventry-based Prima Industrie UK draws on the established track record of its Italian parent organisation, Prima Industrie, a world leader with 30 years experience in the design, development and manufacture of laser cutting machines and automation solutions.