Don-Bur (Bodies & Trailers) Ltd has completed a major upgrade of its manufacturing capabilities to include a high-specification 8kW TruLaser 5030 fibre laser profiling centre, complete with a STOPA autonomous raw-material and parts management system.
Supplied by Luton-based Trumpf Ltd (
www.trumpf.com), this fibre machine replaced two CO2 laser cutters from another manufacturer.
Moreover, Don-Bur estimates that its new machine is seven-times faster than the two previous ones. The company also installed two Trumpf TruBend bending machines.
The name ‘Don-Bur’ derives from Donald Burton and was first used in 1981, following a management buy-out of the original company.
Back then, the business was located on a four-acre site and had 70 members of staff.
Today — still based in Stoke — the Don-Bur group of companies has six divisions, generates an annual turnover of about £50 million, and covers some 18 acres.
Much of this area has been developed into covered manufacturing and assembly bays, where some 500 staff produce about 1,500 finished units per annum.
These range from 7.5-tonne rigid bodyworks to complex hydraulic moving-deck trailers.
Simon Allerton, manufacturing and engineering project manager, said: “We pride ourselves on operating at the high end of the trailer and bodywork market, giving customers exactly what they require in terms of height, length and special features.
“We do make some standard trailers, but most are bespoke high-quality units for UK-wide ‘blue chip’ customers.
“Moreover, our current order book is such that we are looking to increase the workforce by around 100 in the coming 12 months.
“Until recently, we ran two CO2 laser cutters in-house, supported by some external sub-contract resources, but ultimately these machines were not quick enough to keep up with the growth of our business; and because 99% of our work is mild steel, we knew that moving to fibre-laser technology would give us a huge boost in productivity.
“After reviewing the market, we installed the Trumpf TruLaser 5030 fibre laser in February 2019.”
Automated production
This machine formed part of a £4 million investment in new plant, software and training, designed to support an increase in turnover of £20 million per annum.
At the core of the investment is a £1 million STOPA autonomous raw-material and parts management hub with pallet racking space to accommodate 15,795m
2 of sheet steel.
Some 25m long x 7m wide x 5m tall, the STOPA stock-handling modules are linked into a new ERP/TruTops Fab software suite that automatically converts 3-D engineering models into full ‘bill of material’ components.
Mr Allerton said: “The STOPA system recognises whether each individual component needs to be cut and pressed or, if not, exports the remainder as an internal order for miscellaneous parts.
“It also anticipates production schedule requirements for laser-cut sheeting, pressing, drilling and shot blasting — and it issues orders for raw material when stocks are running low.
“Furthermore, the STOPA manages ‘scrap’ material, storing and re-using remnants of material whenever it can, thereby maximising yield.
“The only manual intervention required is to feed the system with raw material and collect prepared job-specific assembly kits.”
The STOPA system feeds to — and collects from — the TruLaser via synchronous loading platforms, which means that the laser never has to wait for more raw material while the cut shapes are removed.
“The fibre-optic beam cuts standard 3mm steel sheet at 1.38m/sec, allowing us to process around 1,000 sheets a week.
“Needless to say, we’ve also managed to eliminate any requirement for sub-contractors.”
More than speed
However, speed is not the only benefit. For instance, the new laser can run with oxygen and nitrogen: oxygen to provide an exothermic power boost and nitrogen to shield the surface of the cut material from oxidisation.
An additional jet of compressed air blasts hot material away from the cutting zone, maintaining clean and precise cuts.
Don-Bur also specified a number of Trumpf ‘smart options’ for its TruLaser fibre 5030.
These include BrightLine, CoolLine, DetectLine, Drop and Cut, Collision Prevention and Dot Matrix Code.
BrightLine technology, for instance, allows holes as small as 3mm in diameter to be cut through 25mm stainless steel without clogging or melting the surrounding material.
“Furthermore, the new nesting software and head placement technology can reduce a typical nest cut time for a 3 x 1.5m sheet from 21.5min to just 2.5min, enabling us to process nine-times more material with virtually no loading or unloading time.
“In addition, this level of performance is achieved using 70% less gas than our previous laser cutters.”
Also linked to the STOPA hub are two new TruBend bending machines; these cater for most of Don-Bur’s sub-assembly requirements.
One of these machines is a TruBend 7036 — an all-electric press brake with a bending length of 1,020mm and a 36-tonne press force.
It is programmed using TruTops Boost software to take programming into the office environment and de-skill shopfloor operations.
Mr Allerton says this machine was acquired specifically for the rapid repetitive processing of small parts.
“In addition, the servo drive allows us to produce 60% more pressings while using 30% less power.”
The second bending machine is a TruBend 5230; and while this has a 230-tonne press force and a 4,230mm bending length, it only requires one operator, because it has two lift-assist robots at the front.
Furthermore, a 3-D augmented-reality facility overlays a ‘correct’ 3-D part placement over a live video feed “to ensure the user manipulates the material quickly and accurately — enabling a 50% increase in production and virtually eliminating waste.”
The new manufacturing technology at Don-Bur is allowing the company to rapidly produce a range of “configured to order” products on short lead times; this is attractive to many general hauliers, rental companies and ‘pallet network’ operators.
In conclusion, Mr Allerton said: “The machines have exceeded our expectations.
“Some weeks, we’ve finished all of our contracted work by Thursday afternoon, which means that we can start on next week’s work and give ourselves some breathing space.
“We simply load up the STOPA system, and away we go.
“We are now considering expanding the plant by levelling off an adjoining six-acre site that is currently unused.”