Material supplier has finger on pulse of latest technologya

The Halesowen-based materials firm is a major supplier metal to the oil, gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, nuclear and engineering industries. “The new Amada PCSAW330, supplied to us by Birkett Cutmaster, has improved the cutting service and tolerances we provide to our customers,” says Kevin Burden, Sandvik UK’s business support and warehouse manager. “We are extremely pleased with the overall performance of this machine, which has already justified our decision to make the initial capital investment. The PCSAW330 has allowed greater flexibility and noise levels are extremely low: the only indication that the saw is operational – as its blade disappears smoothly through the material – is provided by a warning light mounted directly above the sawing area.” When using a standard carbide blade, the pulse-cutting PCSAW330 bandsaw is capable of cutting a 304 stainless steel bar of 400 mm diameter in 8.5 minutes. Wear on standard M42 bi-metal blades can also be reduced by as much as 50 per cent when compared with wear on other, more conventional machines. Birkett Cutmaster says the Amada PCSAW 330 and its larger alternative the PCSAW700 is “the biggest breakthrough in bandsawing technology for half a century”. The innovative pulse-cutting concept uses a special high-powered servomotor to power the machine’s driving wheel and control the motion of the blade. In effect, the induced level of oscillation provided by the servomotor is applied in direct opposition to the chattering of the saw blade to create zero vibration in the cutting area.