After extensive research into fibre laser cutting machines, Northern Ireland sub-contractor McAuley Engineering (www.mcauleyengineering.co.uk) concluded that the 6kW BySprint Fiber from Coventry-based Bystronic UK Ltd (www.bystronic.com) offered the best performance. During cutting trials at three potential suppliers, average production cost per laser-cut part was lower using the Bystronic machine than on the other shortlisted models.

The scope of the review was far-reaching, encompassing not only capital investment but also machine running costs, including power consumption, cutting-gas usage, other consumable costs and after-sales service. It led to a BySprint Fiber 3015 — the company’s first laser cutting machine — being installed last year at McAuley’s 7,000sq m factory in Ballymoney, County Antrim.

Managing director Jonathan McAuley (above right) said: “Typically, 60% of our sheet metal throughput is aluminium; we also process stainless steel and copper. These reflective materials are cut much more efficiently using fibre laser technology than on a CO2 laser machine, which shaped our purchasing decision. We frequently profile light gauges down to 1mm, and a fibre laser is well known to be several times faster when processing thinner materials up to, say, 5mm.

“However, it was a customer’s 15mm-thick plasma-cut component that we asked the three potential fibre laser cutting machine suppliers to nest and cut out of a plate of aluminium. Not only was the Bystronic machine faster, the quality of the cut edge was easily the best. We are still getting the same performance from the machine one year on.”

McAuley Engineering’s business is split into two divisions of about equal turnover. One is precision metal-cutting and CNC tube bending, notably for the aerospace industry, with Bombardier Aerospace and Thompson Aerospace being customers.

The sub-contractor has a number of approvals, including AS9100; it is also one of six companies in Northern Ireland to be part of the Bombardier-sponsored SC21 change programme (designed to accelerate supply chain competitiveness in aerospace and defence). The oil, gas and power generation industries are additional market sectors supplied.

The other manufacturing division encompasses sheet-metal processing and fabrication using an array of equipment including TIG and MIG welding, punch presses, press brakes, guillotines and a plasma cutting machine — plus the BySprint Fiber, which accommodates sheet up to 3 x 1.5m.

The transport and energy industries are the main recipients of the sheet metal parts and fabrications, added-value welding and assembly that are becoming an increasingly important part of the sub-contractor’s business.

McAuley components can be found on the iconic Routemaster buses in London, as well as in the commercial haulage and rail industries in the UK, Ireland, Far East and the USA. Aggregate crushing and screening has recently been added to the list of industries supplied.

Company origins

Both the precision machining and fabrication sides of the business sprang from Mr McAuley’s frustration in the late 1990s at the slowness of external sub-contract suppliers and the variable-quality components they supplied when he started building special-purpose machinery for the electronics industry.

He discovered that he was able to provide a much better service in-house and soon dropped machinery manufacture to concentrate on sub-contract machining services to industry, both locally and further afield.

For cutting and profiling components in sheet up to 2.5 x 1.25m and 4mm thick, two punch presses were bought in 2003 and 2005. They were followed three years later by a plasma cutting machine for producing components from 8 x 2m stock.

Gradually, there was an ever increasing requirement for higher speeds, to increase throughput and raise competitiveness, while at the same time improving the quality of cut.

However, the scalloped appearance of edges nibbled on the punch presses was a particular problem when producing components for some customers. The solution was the introduction of laser cutting technology.

Mr McAuley said: “The Bystronic machine not only produced superior edge quality in the shortest time, its software was also the easiest to install and use.

“An interesting innovation is the supplier’s PowerCut technology, which increases by about 50% the thickness of plate that can be cut. We often process mild steel up to 25mm thick onthe BySprint Fiber; the feature also raises the profiling speed for these thicker materials.

PowerCut increases cutting capacity in aluminium and stainless steel up to 30mm.

“Furthermore, the BySoft software for nesting and creating cutting plans and Plant Manager planning and monitoring package link seamlessly with our MRP system, which drives all our production. Work-flows are created automatically, and we are able to manage the process route more efficiently from order to dispatch, resulting in savings that we are able to pass on to the customer.”

To maximise productivity and ensure that sheet metal is removed from the cutting area and replenished with a new sheet as quickly as possible, McAuley Engineering decided to automate its laser cutting machine by linking it with a ByTrans 3015 Extended material storage and handling system (pictured right).

The company is now moving towards 24/6 operation, ‘lights out’ during the night shift, during which the simplicity and reliability of the sheet-handling equipment will play a crucial role.