Laser cutting specialists and manufacturers of Gearmate bespoke vehicle storage systems – PNJ Laser Cutting in Alcester – have recently expanded their laser cutting operations to meet increased production demands. As part of this expansion, PNJ have also upgraded their on-site nitrogen generation equipment by adding a second MSS Nitrocube with additional high pressure nitrogen gas storage, supplied by the MSS Group
This expanded Nitrocube 7 system is now used to supply 99.9975% (25ppm) purity nitrogen for PNJs two high performance 6kW Amada Fiber Laser cutting systems.
PNJ first installed an MSS Nitrocube in 2018 to supply their lasers alongside bulk liquid nitrogen from traditional gas suppliers. This latest installation represents a significant upgrade which now provides gas flow of 100m3/hr and PNJ are expecting this system to be their sole source of all laser cutting nitrogen from now on.
Nick Moberley, Operations Director PNJ comments ‘we have been using MSS products for 5 years and we’ve found their equipment to be very reliable and much more cost-effective compared to buying liquid nitrogen in bulk. We decided to purchase a second NitroCube 5 in 2023 following an initial successful upgrade from a much smaller MSS system the previous year. With the two NitroCubes working side by side we have significantly more nitrogen which now gives us the flexibility we need to increase our laser cutting capabilities’.
The Nitrocube 7 system provides high pressure nitrogen up to 300 bar at 99.9975% purity which comfortably meets the application requirements of the fiber laser. The new installation is very compact and features integrated high pressure storage tanks. The latest generation Nitrocube is more efficient than ever using 25-40% less energy to generate higher purity nitrogen than achieved with older systems were capable of.
Nick comments further ‘On average our lasers currently run between 12 and 18 hrs each a day, cutting gauges from 0.9mm up to 6mm steel using the nitrogen generated. We now have plenty of nitrogen for cutting without having to worry about any supply issues. This was a major factor in our decision to move all of our nitrogen supply over to Nitrocube equipment and the machines have not disappointed’.
MSS Sales Director, Chris Smith commented ‘this is fabulous installation and a great example of how multiple Nitrocube systems are easily combined to suit higher volume users needs’.
Callum Grane, Laser Operations Manager at PNJ also commented, ‘the simplicity and ease of use of the main controller is great, gives you all the information you need without being overwhelmed with information, the NitroCube 5 is simple to operate, within a couple of buttons you’re up and running. Having two Nitrocube 5’s working together we have never had any shortages of nitrogen to date’.
Chris at MSS also comments ‘the latest generation MSS Nitrocube is the most compact and most flexible system available anywhere in the world, we have over 1200 lasers operating with MSS Nitrocube technology worldwide already and the popularity of this product is growing very quickly, this latest product incorporates all we have learnt from high pressure nitrogen systems for laser cutting applications over the past 20 years’.
