The family-owned company, located on the site of the former Moorgreen Colliery in Newthorpe, has invested more than £2m in bringing the latest industrial technology to its on-site Cut Shack components plant. It is the first time that one of the machines, the FG-400 NEO laser-cutting machine by Japanese manufacturer Mazak, has been installed in a structural steelwork company anywhere in the UK.
The Mazak FG-400 NEO is designed for high-speed 3D continuous and automatic laser cutting of long tube, pipe and structural material. It uses an energy-efficient fibre laser for high-speed cutting and can deliver 3D laser head cuts and complex joints and shapes with high accuracy. The machine’s specification is focused more on items below a profile of 300mm and up to 20mm thickness, processing a range of sections including universal beams, universal columns, channels, tubes, box, flats and angle sections.
The purchase of the FG-NEO follows the installation of a PeddiBot-1250 robotic structural steel fabrication machine in a two-pronged move intended to enhance and streamline the company’s production process.
“This investment in the very best of new and emerging industry technology is a significant statement of intent by Caunton Engineering as we strive to improve both the quality and efficiency of our production process,” said chairman Simon Bingham.
“We are especially pleased to be working with Mazak to bring the UK’s first FG-400 Neo laser cutting machine to the Cut Shack, designed for ultra-high-speed 3D cutting of long tube, pipe and structural material. This, together with the PeddiBot-1250, will provide us with the very latest in robotic technology available anywhere in the world today.
“The higher levels of both speed and accuracy that laser cutting and associated robotic technology brings to our production process will transform our capabilities in delivering larger and more complex steelwork projects,” he added.
“This new technology is changing the way we operate and the way we train and upskill our employees – and our investment reaffirms our commitment to be at the forefront of new and emerging technologies in the UK, which will improve efficiency and quality of components whilst accelerating production of the company’s structural steelwork.”
The US-manufactured PeddiBot-1250, a robotic structural steel fabrication machine which is the first of its kind to feature individual capabilities for plasma cutting, oxy-fuel cutting and layout marking all within one machine. Designed specifically for the structural steel market, the machine has an intelligent plasma cutting system with faster cutting speeds and is capable of processing material up to 80 mm thick.
Both machines will operate within Caunton Engineering’s Cut Shack, a 45,000 sq ft purpose-built facility opened in 2014.
Caunton Engineering is one of the UK’s top five steel manufacturing companies with an annual turnover of around £100m, employing 250 people. The company supplies steelwork for major UK projects including retailer TJ Morris’s £118m distribution warehouse near Warrington, the Energy Recovery Centre at the Edmonton EcoPark in London and the North Stand of Leicester Tigers’ stadium.