Barclay & Mathieson (B+M Steel) — a leading UK steel stockholder and fabricator — has invested £120,000 in two of the latest IMET two-way-mitre horizontal bandsaws from the Stourbridge-based cutting and sawing specialist Addison Saws Ltd
www.addisonsaws.co.uk.
One bandsaw has been installed at B+M’s Aberdeen depot; the other is at its facility in Chorley, Lancashire. Both saws will be used for cutting structural beams and columns, as well as steel hollow sections up to 15m long.
General manager Stephen McLean said: “Having decided it was time to upgrade the metal-cutting capabilities of our Aberdeen and Chorley depots, we looked for a supplier that could not only provide machines to the exact specifications we required but also demonstrate a thorough understanding of our needs. The team from Addison Saws Ltd was able to do both of these things.
Moreover, in addition to providing the precise cutting solutions we required, which included a number of special features such as fully automated in-feed and out-feed rollers, the company included a two-year warranty — something we have not previously been offered when purchasing metal-cutting machinery.”
The bandsaws supplied to B+M by Addison Saws were KS620 models from the Italian manufacturer IMET. Capable of performing cutting and mitring operations simultaneously, both machines offer an extensive range of standard features, including hydraulic main vice, rotating cutting table, variable speed (18-110m/min), vice-pressure reducer (for thin-wall tube), material-height sensor, two-way swing head for easy mitring and precise hydraulic down-feed control. There is also blade breakage detection with automatic shut-off.
The option of automated rollers allows for the in-feed of components up to 15m long and the out-feed of cut components up to 12m long. These automated rollers remove the need for manual handling during the cutting cycle, allowing greater accuracy to be achieved.
B+M also selected bundle clamps to further increase productivity; and to help fulfil the considerable demands of the Aberdeen market, the machine bought for the Aberdeen depot was equipped with an automatic component measuring system for even greater levels of precision.
“The level of accuracy that we are able to offer our customers is exceptional, while the automated roller systems have increased our productivity significantly,” says Mr McLean. “Moreover, the combined cutting andmitring capability provided by each bandsaw has enabled us to extend our product offering at our Chorley and Aberdeen depots to include full structural packages.”
More than just sawing
In another application, Addison Saws helped Surrey-based Designplan Lighting reduce its lead times by up to 50% by supplying the manufacturer of lighting solutions with equipment to cut and machine aluminium extrusions.
Designplan Lighting’s engineering manager, Rob Aldred, said: “When the out-sourced cutting and machining of aluminium extrusions began taking several weeks, we knew it was time to extend our already considerable in-house machining capabilities. Initially, we considered buying a mitre saw and a costly five-axis milling machine, but a meeting with Addison Saws convinced us that this was far from the most cost-effective or production-efficient solution.
“With our milling requirements focused on the production of cast bulkhead fittings, Addison was able to demonstrate that our money would be better spent on a high-speed machining centre and mitre saw for processing our extrusions, supported by a small CNC production machine to complete the milling work on bulkhead castings.”
The CNC machining centre supplied by Addison Saws was an MC 305 Kosmos model from the Italian manufacturer Meca. Able to machine components up to 8m long, this can easily accommodate the longest extrusions used by Designplan Lighting, its four-axis capability allowing the lighting specialist to mill, drill and tap components in a single operation. Prior to being machined on the MC 305 Kosmos, profile sections are cut to length using a Mecal SW 453 CN mitre saw.