Lancashire-based
Pendle Engineering which started as a two-man business back in 1977, has expanded steadily over the years and is now a leading sub-contract supplier of steelwork, a description that covers its main focus on tube and flat sheet manipulation along with extensive turning, milling, robotic and manual MIG and TIG welding and powder paint and design capabilities. Along the way it has also branched out into manufacturing a range of bicycle racks, trailers, and storage under the brand name Pendle Bike Racks.
Having this wide range of capabilities under one roof allows Pendle Engineering to offer turnkey manufacturing solutions to customers from a variety of industry sectors, including office furniture, energy, retail, and defence.
These customers range from SMEs, through to global blue-chip companies where Pendle’s ability to deliver consistent, high-quality batch production has created strong relationships. To ensure that any growth could be met with improved efficiency the decision was taken to enhance its tube working capabilities, bringing in additional BLM ELECT 52 and E-TURN 32 tube benders alongside a ‘state of the art’ BLM Laser Tube LT-FIBER EVO fibre optic, fully-automated laser tube cutting system.
Chris Smith, Pendle Engineering managing director, said: “Business has been growing, especially with increased orders for Pendle Bike Racks, so we knew we had to upgrade our existing tube processing capacity.
“We have had a history with Bedfordshire-based
BLM Group UK, for tube bending over many years. When it came to upgrading our 15-year-old tube laser it made sense to ask BLM to put a bending and laser package together. A big advantage in doing this was the ability for the controls on the BLM benders and the Laser Tube to communicate with each other. The ease-of-use of the BLM software and offline programming was also a significant factor — the less time a machine is idle the better.”
The BLM Laser Tube LT-FIBER EVO is available with either a 2kW or 3kW fibre laser and has the capacity to cut round tube up to 152.4mm diameter or square tube sections up to 120 x 120mm.
Meanwhile, productivity is enhanced by the standard bundle loading facility which is capable of handling up to 4,000kg of material to a maximum length of 8.5m. BLM Group has also developed a number of patented technologies to maximise productivity, these include a series of ’Active-Tools’ such as Active-Focus which makes automatic adjustments to compensate for variations in material thicknesses; ‘Active-Scan’ ensures highly accurate parts even with tubes that are poorly dimensioned; ‘Active-Speed’ adapts all of the cutting data to achieve the highest quality cut at the highest output; while ‘Active-Pierce’ which boosts piercing reliability and speed, especially on thicker materials.
The BLM Laser Tube LT-FIBER EVO machine’s cutting capabilities can be further enhanced by software packages supplied by the BLM Group. Among these is the patented Artube 3D CAD/CAM system, a straightforward solution to take the user from the concept to finished part as easily as possible. In addition, ProTube Express and Enterprise are also invaluable tools for production control, estimating and general management functions. All BLM systems are also compatible with Industry 4.0 requirements allowing them to be integrated, not only with other BLM machines, but with automation and other compatible technologies.
Mr Smith continued: “We are already seeing the benefits of increased productivity, even though we are not running at 100% yet with the BLM Laser Tube LT-FIBER EVO. It is fast, the nesting capability brings a reduction in waste, we can cut more complex components, yet the operation of the machine and software is very simple, which will allow us to introduce a third shift as and when required.”
“We are looking forward to fully understanding the potential capability and capacity before driving growth.”
The two new BLM tube benders completed the machine package and give additional capability to Pendle Engineering. Our existing E-TURN 40 gave us good left- and right-hand bending capacity, but the new E-TURN 32 gives us greater flexibility for smaller diameter tube up to 30mm diameter, while the ELECT 52 provides a cost-effective solution for tube up to 50mm diameter.
“Bending is critical to what we do, so we need a reliable supplier for machines, service and support, and BLM also has an added human element to its support. In total the investment in the BLM laser and tube benders was over £1 million and it was a big decision for us, but we are here for the long-term.
“Having this capability ensures that we can catch any opportunities that come our way, especially as we talk to customers about reshoring and recovery from the pandemic. It was definitely a decision worth taking and we are already seeing business improving.”