MACH 2010 - Cirrus Laser announces £500,000 profiling investment

The £500,000 order announcement was made at the Subcon show in Birmingham yesterday (8 June), the order having been placed at recent Trumpf event in Germany. Cirrus managing director David Connaway explained the company's reasons for making the choice. The company, a £1.5 million turnover operation, currently has a Trulaser 3030 and Trulaser 3035, both of 3.2 kW power output; both CO2 laser technology. Investment timing is considered important. The lease on the company's 3030 will expire in around 17 months' time (when the Fiber is due to be installed) and the 3035 some six months after that. The company uses 5-year leases to finance its investments, so if it missed the 'slot' and installed something else, like a 5 kW CO2 laser, the opportunity to install the new technology would not come round again for five years, or so, Mr Connaway said. In addition, there is not enough room at the 16-employee company's site for a higher performing CO2 machine, which would allow the company to boost its output further (it is currently running 24 hours a day). The cost to move to a new factory is put at £100,000 to £150,000, while a power supply upgrade that would be required if the firm went for a 5kW CO2 laser source to replace the 3030 at its current facility put at £50,000. The Trulaser 5030 Fiber allows the company to add a third machine in its existing premises without a power upgrade, while also getting the cutting capability of a 5 kW CO2 laser machine. And, unlike a 5 kW CO2 laser, it requires no laser tube gas, while power consumption is also slashed. But while this 5 kW CO2 equivalent capability will support the processing of thicker material, this is not the main reason to adopt the new technology. On thinner material, it offers far higher productivity - on 1 mm thick stainless steel, the Trulaser 5030 Fiber will cut at 34 m/min versus Cirrus' CO2 3030's 8 m/min. The company's main focus is on stainless steels of from 1 to 6 mm thickness and on mild steel from 1 to 12 mm. In addition to this, Mr Connaway estimates that cost savings in terms of gas, electricity and maintenance, which are all lower with Nd:YAG technology versus CO2, will save the company an estimated £10,000-£12,000/year. In all of this, the managing director describes his decision as a "no brainer". So, the intention is that the company will purchase the existing 3030 when it comes out of lease and fit that with a Trumpf Compact Loader. The lease on the 3035 will be extended for 2 years so that leasing breaks of around 20 months are established. And, if the Trulaser 5030 Fiber does perform as expected, the purchase of a second to replace one of its CO2 machines is not discounted. A further attraction of the new machine is the potential to use the laser source to support welding operations - perhaps running the machine as a profiler during the day and using it to support welding overnight. In conclusion, Mr Connaway gives a graphic example of the benefits. For one particular component, the cycle time on its first 3030 was 98 secs; for its second, it was 68; it dropped to 46 with the 3035; and with the Trulaser 5030 Fiber, this time is expected to be driven down further. The price of the part to the customer over the years has not risen, with Cirrus investing to maintain both price and margin.