Cutting Machine Increases Fabricator Productivity

The Problem:

Southerntier Custom Fabricators, an Elmira, NY-based manufacturer of HVAC air handling systems and specialty fabrications for the commercial, educational/institutional and industrial marketplace, wanted to expand into new areas of business. To do this, the company knew they needed a cutting machine that held closer tolerances, so they started to investigate waterjet cutting.

ESAB’s Solution:

After listening to STCF’s needs, ESAB recommended the HydroCut gantry cutting machine that combines plasma cutting and waterjet cutting on the same gantry. The Hydrocut gives STCF the ability to make close tolerance cuts with waterjet and lower tolerance cuts with the speed of plasma, without stopping to change machines or set ups.

The Hydrocut CNC shape cutting machine uses a patented system permitting thermal and non-thermal processes to be installed on the same gantry. By combining waterjet and plasma on the same machine, both tools can be used on the same parts. High precision contours can be cut with waterjet, while less stringent contours can be cut with plasma. This system allows users to obtain precise cuts when needed without sacrificing speed on every cut, as would normally be the case with a waterjet machine alone.

The sturdy rail-mounted gantry also features a fully enclosed dual linear rail cross beam designed to ensure accuracy. Equipped with digital AC drives, brushless AC motors and precision planetary gearboxes, Hydrocut delivers smooth, accurate motion for precise cuts on a variety of materials. The machine features positioning accuracy of ±0.005” over 3’ in each axis, with repeatability of ±0.002”, and a maximum positioning speed of 1000 ipm to keep traverse time to a minimum.

The Result:

With the added close tolerance capacity, STCF was able to acquire new business that they previously could not pursue. HydroCut also increased STCF’s overall productivity by 25% and helped reduce production costs. “Our labor rate is about $60 per hour,” says STCF Vice President Ian Morrell. “The speed of this machine helps us keep our prices down.”

STCF also found that the Hydrocut combination machine facilitates work in non-ferrous materials. A commonly used material in buried HVAC systems that encounter acid or base environments is polyvinyl-coated galvanized steel. The company had worked in this material for years, doing the cutting manually because the polyvinyl coating burns off and becomes toxic when cut with plasma or laser. The new waterjet machine safely cuts this type of material, yielding a 50% increase in productivity.

Waterjet also cuts a wide variety of other materials that cannot be easily or safely cut with traditional cutting methods, such as Lexan, PVC, polypropylene and other thermoplastics and rubber. Using the Hydrocut on these materials dramatically increased STCF’s productivity over hand cutting and punching.

STCF chose the ESAB machine in part because of their long-standing relationship with ESAB. “We knew the quality of the ESAB machines and the quality of their service,” Morrell said. “ESAB is a very good company to do business with. They are very open to customer requirements and needs.”

Morrell is sufficiently impressed with the value the Hydrocut machine has added to his company that he is contemplating the purchase of a second machine to keep STCF on the road to continued growth.