Prime cuts

With order sizes becoming ever smaller and the variety of cut sizes increasing, Finnish steel stockholder Kontino has invested in a computer-controlled sawing centre from German manufacturer Kasto. "At first, we thought we had found a good solution using new saws and improved material infeed technology, but it did not solve the problem of restricted space at our Tampere site," Kontino's project manager Kari Röntyen explains. "Moreover, supply of stock to the saws would not have been continuous, which would have created lower machine utilisation, more bottlenecks and less productivity." Measuring just 8.5 by 30 m, the automated Kasto store avoids these drawbacks by ensuring reliable, 24/7 supply of material, ranging from 20 to 320 mm in diameter and up to 3.5 m in length, to two integrated sawing machines. One of the machines is a KASTOvariospeed SC 15 circular saw that uses very thin, disposable carbide blades to minimise kerf and, hence, material loss. The other is a KASTOtec SC 3 bandsaw, which also uses tungsten carbide tipped blades. In addition, there is a stand-alone KASTOtec FC 7 bandsaw for processing bars up to 730 mm in diameter and 7.2 m long. All three saws are equipped with sorting and palletising of cut pieces. The store is 8.2 m high and has 514 cantilever locations, each of which can support up to 2.5 tonnes, giving a total system load of 1,150 tonnes. A gantry crane, travelling on elevated rails, supports storage and removal of material. With the help of two quick-change stations and a cart, it feeds all of the saws. Image:Automated raw material handling and supply is supporting 24/7 sawing at a Finnish stockholder's site FULLY AUTOMATIC The sequence is computer-controlled and fully automatic, so it can run unattended overnight and with minimal manning during day shifts. "Our personnel had no previous experience of such huge, automated systems, so Kasto trained our personnel before the system was installed," explains Mr RöntYen. "After installation and commissioning, which went ahead without any problems, we needed about six months until everything worked flawlessly. Even the change to carbide saw blades worked well. "The fact that hardly any personnel are needed to run the system, as well as the space saving due to the compact footprint, means that return on investment will be even faster than we originally calculated. "A huge advantage for us is that we are now able to consolidate all our activities in Tampere and do not need satellite storage locations. Productivity has increased threefold, and the quality of our products and just-in-time delivery to customers are greatly improved." Parker Steel, headquartered in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the largest privately owned steel stockholders in the country and recently installed a fully automated Ficep 601DZB drilling and sawing system for the processing of sections. This is the first machine in the UK to have a fully automatic beam rotating device, which allows sections to be drilled and sawn in the 'I' position. This unique machine function has been specifically designed for Parker to allow profiled sections to be drilled and sawn standing up, such as those that produce mezzanine flooring, walkways and building beams for light structures. Benefits are savings in both time and cost. This machine has also enhanced the company's capability to process channel sections in the same way, which offers greater flexibility for customers. Scribing is also available on the machine, with this also delivering cost savings. John Parker & Son, based in Canterbury, Kent, and with depots at Andover, Gatwick, and Waterbeach near Cambridge, employs over 450 people, carries stocks of over 25,000 tonnes of steel, and has its own fleet of over 75 trucks to distribute steel throughout Southern England. The company also has its own new dockside facilities at Shoreham, West Sussex, enabling it to unload 5,000-tonne ships. Image: FICEP has delivered advantage to John Parker & Son, steel stockholder "We purchased a range of Ficep machines, as they are the most technically advanced on the market and have enabled us to develop custom software to download NC files direct into our system to create an enquiry," explains John Goring, commercial manager. "Once the order is placed, the data is transferred directly to the machine, 'untouched by human hand'! "We are now able to offer what is the most comprehensive steel processing facility at any stockholder in the UK. Processes available include drilling, laser, profiling, Waterjet, shearing and plasma cutting, as well as tube laser and shotblasting and painting. All our machines run 24/7, which means we can offer excellent, consistent and short lead times." PLATE CUTTING, MACHINING Elsewhere, at RIM Fabrications Ltd in Kintore, Scotland, one of the latest Kaltenbach plate processing centres, a KF1606 single-head CNC plasma system, has been installed at the company's purpose- built, 10 acre site. RIM is a leading fabricator in Scotland, providing a complete structural fabrication service, including site erection. The KF1606 has been developed specifically for the demands of fabricators and stockists, where accurate profiles and drilled, counter-bored and tapped holes can be rapidly achieved in strip-fed material from 6-60 mm thick and up to 1.6 m wide, using acetylene or high speed plasma. Used by RIM Fabrications for cutting typical structural fittings, the KF1606 is fully PLC controlled via a user-friendly, integrated monitor and keyboard console. The speed and accuracy of the KF is supported by a precision, material feed and length positioning twin-gripper system on an 8 m long input rollerway, with laser beam datum line, an automatic 6-tool changer for drilling, countersinking and thread cutting, using HSS or TCT tools and an auto-tilt table within the output conveyor to exit either small finished or waste parts into a container, while larger finished items or plate remnant exit onto a 2 m output rollerway. Cutting torch head and tool-bits are PLC traversed and positioned to suit, with tool-bit speed and feed rates automatically pre-programmed via the machine's operating system to suit each selected tool diameter. Operator override is also possible, via the control panel. Image: Profiling and metalcutting at RIM Fabrications, courtesy of Kaltenbach's KF 1606 "We feed our new Kaltenbach machine with 1.5 by 6 m long plate, which is a big improvement over our previous machine 1 m wide capacity. This, combined with the excellent CNC control and speed of the KF machine, has reduced what was a double-shift to a single-shift, giving us far greater efficiency and the opportunity to readily service increased customer demand." Cutting instructions are directly downloaded to the machine from the RIM planning department, and cutting and best nesting layouts are automatically achieved through the machines integrated Lantek software. Included is the very latest VPN (Virtual Private Network) modem link to Kaltenbach engineers, enabling the monitoring and interrogation of the machine's performance to assist the maximising of cost-efficient maintenance and planning. First published in Machinery, January 2010