Located in County Durham, Waterjet-Tec Ltd is a promising start-up, especially given its recent investment in an Optima O-Series 420 waterjet cutting machine from Kerf Developments. Founded by Co-Directors Terry Stewart and Peter Robinson, the new business is situated near its sister company, Laser Profiling (North East) Ltd.
The serial entrepreneurs recognised an opportunity when a local waterjet firm went into administration. As Peter Robinson comments: “We previously sold a business and I had retired, but a gap in the market for a subcontract waterjet business appeared and it was too good to pass up. We found a facility, looked for a machine and employed experienced staff.”
With decades of expertise in the sheetmetal industry, the business partners employed two engineers with extensive knowledge in waterjet cutting. Commenting upon the machine selection process, Waterjet-Tec fellow Director Terry Stewart comments: “We identified a market opportunity around two core points. Firstly, there was an opportunity for cutting a wide range of non-metallic materials beyond the traditional laser and plasma remit. Secondly, certain parts across industries such as aerospace, offshore and the military require cutting with no heat generation, as it has a propensity to alter the physical properties and integrity of components.”
The Key Requirements
As a new business buying its first machine, the turnover, order fulfilment and subsequently the reputation of the business would be built upon the first machine. With exceptional flexibility and speed limitations falling on either side of the pros and cons argument for waterjet cutting, Waterjet-Tec looked for a twin cutting head machine with an unsurpassed reputation for reliability and service. A solution that would deliver speed and flexibility.
As Peter adds: “We have decades of waterjet, laser and plasma cutting experience, and what has been a major let down is spares, consumables and service support. However, Kerf Developments. has been the stand-out supplier. Their Rochdale headquarters stocks an abundance of spare parts and consumables, so same or next-day service is always assured. In contrast, other vendors have to ship parts from Europe. This often takes at least three days to arrive, and then you have to wait for an engineer to install parts – the situation isn’t much better with consumables.”
The Solution
Doing its due diligence from a position of vast expertise, the fledgling business opted for the Optima O-Series 420 with a 4 by 2m bed with two cutting heads. As Peter continues: “Despite looking at rival machines, we knew the Kerf machine would be at least 30% faster than anything else, giving us a competitive edge as soon as we opened the doors for business. Our team also had first-hand service experience from numerous waterjet suppliers, and they immediately recommended Kerf.”
The Optima 420 was supplied in April with two cutting heads, each driven by the BFT ECOTRON® high-pressure pump that generates pressure up to 4000bar for cutting all material types in thicknesses up to 200mm. Supplied with the industry-leading BFT hydraulic intensifier pump with a built-in booster and fan cooler as standard, the Optima 420 delivers powerful, precise, repeatable and reliable cutting for production environments.
The Benefits
Commenting on the productivity of two high-pressure cutting heads, Terry confirms: “There are some high-profile MoD and offshore projects that can only be cut with waterjet due to the strict limitations on heat-transfer during processing. With the twin-head capability, we can cut double the number of parts that our competitors can achieve. This instantly makes us more cost competitive with the bonus of significantly reduced lead times. Our turnaround times can be days, not weeks like competitors, especially on large parts.”
Referring to one large sub-sea pipe cutting project, Peter continues: “We are currently profiling large nylon pipes, and these heavy-duty parts need a stable cutting environment. The machine has a robust steel frame that withstands excessive weight and vibration and accommodates all of our large parts.” In addition to the sturdy base and frame design, the Optima 420 has a robust bridge design with twin-sided drives and digital AC servos on each axis. This offers a rigid CNC platform for the 20m/min rapid axes acceleration of the machine whilst dampening vibration and enhancing precision and surface edge quality. The Optima also has a precision 40mm diameter ballscrew drive that further underpins the precision and stability credentials of the machine.
Commenting upon the market benefits of the Optima 420, Peter says: “We are extremely competitive on both price and turnaround times due to the twin-head capability. We are even scheduling work to load the machine at the end of a shift to run lights-out. Depending on the job, the machine will run for 10 to 20 hours unmanned, and the next step is to look into fitting cameras on the machine. This will help us to monitor, reload and run the Optima for even longer unmanned periods over evenings and weekends.”
Software Streamlines Throughput
The user-friendliness of the CNC control system and the IGEMS CAD/CAM nesting software on the Optima 420 has also made a significant impact on Waterjet-Tec. Alluding to this, Terry Stewart continues: “The IGEMS system is straightforward to use. It makes programming parts extremely fast and efficient, so we can create programmes while the machine is running. For customers who supply drawings as .STEP and .IGES files, we can add toolpaths, calculate machining times and turnaround quotes for customers in minutes. This gives us a massive advantage over competitors and sets us apart. Additionally, the nesting technology minimises material waste and costs whilst the speed and contours of cutting paths are also optimised to streamline production and minimise non-cutting times.”
“Like the availability of spares, consumables and any other support we need, Kerf are always available to help us with the software. However, the IGEMS suite is very intuitive, and if we do have any challenges, they have a complete library of online video tutorials where we can upskill ourselves.”
Concluding on the acquisition, Peter says: “We are delighted with everything that Kerf has supplied. From the initial discussions to commissioning and ongoing support and consumables, Kerf has proven to be a partner on this journey, supporting us at every step. As for the machine, we fully expect the Optima 420 to have a very short payback period, and our annual turnover will be approaching £1m in the near future, which is a fantastic foundation for a new business to grow.”
