Laser Cutting at Grazebrook Dudley
As with any laser cutting business continual investment is vital to keep the company growing and to remain competitive as laser cutting machines become faster and faster.
With this in mind GF Laser purchased their fifth laser cutting machine in May 2017 which is now up and running and ready for business. The new model joining the GF Laser family is the Trumpf 3030 Laser
Although GF Laser had only recently moved to larger premises they had outgrown them in the two years due to the growth in the laser cutting industry. The Directors decided to look for additional premises and when a suitable, 11,000 square feet site just a few hundred yards away became available, the company moved quickly to secure a lease.
New Fibre Laser
Given the success of the fibre laser working at GF Laser’s main site it was decided to purchase another fibre laser. The new generation of lasers were extremely fast at cutting thinner and medium gauge material and used around 40% less electricity than a traditional CO2 laser.
Whilst the site at Grazebrook was a great location with a large yard, cranage and excellent access for large vehicles there was still some work to do to prepare the site for laser cutting.
This included the following investments:
1 – Designing and constructing a new floor for the laser to ensure that it met the flatness and depth requirements.
2 – Installing CCTV and alarms to ensure the safety and security of staff.
3 – Installing a 30,000-litre nitrogen tank that could cope with the demands of laser cutting using fibre lasers.
4 – Compressed air system to serve the laser and for general use of the operatives.
5 – Suction sheet metal handling system to load material onto the laser without scratching material and to increase handling speeds.
6 – IT infrastructure so that laser programming can be undertaken at the main office including remote monitoring of the laser.
Stock Holding & Storage
Setting up the additional site, whilst a significant investment, does allow GF Laser to serve a wider range of companies with the additional capacity and space for storage of stock and customer material. Furthermore, the proximity of the site to GF Laser’s main factory and the excellent I.T links means that managing the operation will fit within the company’s existing management and quality systems.
Finally, the site has extensive room for expansion that will hopefully serve GF Laser and their customers well over the coming years.