Techserv Engineering Services to launch UK-built waterjet cutting machine at MACH 2012

The key ingredient in the company's ability to offer such a machine is the availability of KMT's latest 40 hp/3,800 bar intensifier pump system, Neoline. Techserv's owner, Mike Cowley, who designed the machine, highlights that there are three main elements to a waterjet profiling system – the tank and other fabrications, the control and the pump. "We are able to control the cost of construction in-house and avoid expensive controls, as we have written our own software for Windows 7. So, until now, it was the cost of the pump that tended to push up the purchase price of a waterjet cutter," he says. The Neoline pump costs just two thirds of a 50 hp unit, which means that Techserv's machine will be "one of the most competitively priced on the market". Mr Cowley adds: "We have been building bespoke waterjet cutters for a decade, but it was the introduction of the Neoline pump that prompted us to launch our first standard model." Techserv aims to build a waterjet cutting machine that is more reliable, has better accuracy and is less expensive than imported machines. The new machine on the stand at MACH will have a 3 by 2 m tank and axis movements actuated via ballscrews by AC brushless servo motors fitted with precision planetary gearboxes and encoders. The cutting head is mounted on a cantilever arm, rather than a bridge, to facilitate the loading of material. The control always knows the absolute location of the head, even after the machine has been switched off and on again, ensuring high positional and machining accuracies, says the company. Either a single nozzle of up to 0.30 mm diameter or two 0.23 mm nozzles can be powered by the Neoline pump, allowing single and twin-head water jetcutters to be supplied, and the machine can be supplied in pure water or abrasive configurations. KMT provides service and support from centres in 30 countries, which means that, regardless of where in the world Techserv waterjet profiling machines are in use, customers will receive a high level of service back-up, it is underlined.