TPT January 2009

T echnology U pdate

In its move away from traditional methods, the company has embraced CNC sawing and CNC tube laser cutting and profiling, using equipment supplied by BLM Group UK Ltd, as well as installing robotic welding cells in its recently completed 65,000ft 2 manufacturing facility. The latest development on the new site also provides covered storage for more than 2,500 tonnes of raw material, which is moved throughout the building on eight remote- controlled cranes. IAE took delivery of its first BLM machine, a TS71 CNC saw, in the mid-1990s, and it is still in use. “ It was a big investment at the time, ” commented Frank Klucznik, “ but we currently sell 3,000 gates a week on just one line and each gate has seven bars. Even then, it was a lot of tube and a lot of cuts needing to be made. After that, my father pushed for the lasers and we bought an LT652

tube laser some five years ago. It did everything we expected it to do and we kept putting more and more work through it. We moved to 12-hour days, then 24-hour operation, and even worked weekends…until we bought our second laser. ”

 The Adige LT712D LaserTube installed in IAE’s new 65,000ft 2 manufacturing facility can cut and profile tube up to 152mm diameter

The second BLM Adige tube laser, a larger LT712D model, was installed six months ago and sits alongside the LT652 tube laser and a BLM TS72 CNC saw in the new manufacturing facility. With a capacity up to 152mm diameter and maximum tube lengths of either 6.5m or 8.5m, the LT712D features fully automated bar handling throughout the entire sequence of load, measure, feed, cut and unload. The TS72 CNC saw is able to cut four different programmable lengths out of the same bar, and unload the cut tube into four separate locations. Brush deburring, in-line measuring, washing systems and collecting devices are all fully integrated. The TS72 has a capacity of 8-102mm OD, with a choice of cutting length of 1.5m, 3m or 4.5m. All IAE products, from gates to cattle grids, are hot dip zinc galvanised inside and out to prevent corrosion, using a tank containing 310 tonnes of molten zinc. When the tank was first filled back in 2002, zinc cost around £650 per tonne; today it is around £2,000 per tonne. However, the switch to laser cutting and profiling has enabled larger vent holes to be cut in individual components, allowing more of the molten zinc to drain back into the tank after hot dipping, resulting in overall cost savings. BLM Group UK Ltd – UK Fax : +44 1525 402 312 Email : sales@blmgroup.uk.com • Website : www.blmgroup.uk.com  IAE’s new BLM TS72 CNC saw sits between the LT712D LaserTube (right) and the smaller LT652 tube laser

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J anuary 2009

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