A specialist bronze foundry and machine shop in West London was the first UK customer to purchase a bandsaw from the new KastoWin range (www.kasto.uk.com).

Since this machine was delivered in August — direct from its launch at Kasto’s Milton Keynes Open House event — it has been the mainstay of Dyn-Metal’s long production runs of sawn-to-length bronze tube, which is used principally in the production of bearings for a wide range of applications.

The cast phosphor-, lead-, aluminium- and manganese-bronze tubes can be up to 1.2m in diameter, but they are mostly below 330mm, which is why Dyn-Metal chose a KastoWin A3.3 bandsaw of that capacity.

Managing director Stephen Capper (pictured) says: “We supply standard bronzes as well as our own special varieties with modified grain structures, which result in bearings lasting up to three-times longer than commercial bearings of similar composition. Self-lubricating varieties with embedded solid lubricant are included in our range.

“Practically none of our customers hold stock, so they want quick delivery of material. We needed another horizontal bandsaw to replace an older model — of a different make — that was causing bottlenecks.

"When I saw the new KastoWin at its launch, its competitive price, small footprint and ability to tackle long automatic runs made up my mind on the day. I placed the order there and then.”

Notable features of KastoWin bandsaws include ballscrew drives instead of hydraulics to ensure tight control over cutting and material feed, constant monitoring and feedback of the force on the saw band, and constant chip load throughout the cut, irrespective of the material cross-section. A touch-screen Smart Control made by Kasto monitors and controls order requirements and sawing parameters.