Tube laser helps open new doors
September 1st 2011

Installation of a BLM ADIGE LT8 tube laser has enabled Hutchinson Engineering, a Northern Ireland-based subcontractor, to take on a broader spectrum of work, speed up its manufacturing process and keep costs down. This is at a time when customers are demanding greater accuracy but are unwilling to incur any additional expense.

"Investing in more productive equipment and in good people to run that equipment pays dividends in the long term," says Mark Hutchinson, MD. "So, too, does our focus on quality of service – which gives customers the confidence that orders will be delivered on time and to a high standard of accuracy – and our emphasis on full traceability." With a round tube processing capacity of 12 to 220mm and a maximum square section capacity of 200 by 200mm, the LT8 Lasertube is capable of the intricate profiling of a wide range of tube and section weighing up to 35kg/m. It has a 3.5kW laser as standard and is fully programmable via the Siemens 840D Solution Line digital numerical control. It is available with an automatic bundle loader and an automatic single bar loader, as is the case at Hutchinson Engineering, or with two automatic tube bundle loaders. The latter option doubles to 5000kg the amount of material that can be held ready to cut.

"With the LT8 we can provide customers with up to 40% savings by eliminating multiple operations and the need for welding jigs," says Mark Hutchinson. "This gives us an important competitive edge but our biggest challenge in terms of moving forward is making more people aware of the many benefits that result from using a tube laser." The company's expertise can be seen at the Ann Street entrance to Victoria Square Shopping Centre, Belfast. Here, several lasercut human silhouettes direct shoppers towards 810,000ft2 of retail floor area in one the most expensive property developments ever undertaken in Northern Ireland.