FASTER CUTS FOR FILM RIGGING CO.

Doughty Engineering – a world-leading manufacturer of rigging and lifting equipment for film, TV and theatre – has ordered a new NC circular saw from Addison Saws. The saw, a Profilma 400V from Pressta Eisele, will accelerate production of the company’s wide range of suspension brackets – reducing the cutting time per bracket from approximately one minute to around eight seconds. Greater number of cuts per hour “Initially, we considered upgrading to the latest versions of the three saws we currently use,” comments General Manager, Stuart Rodgers. “As a benchmark, we presently achieve approximately one cut per minute, per saw in aircraft grade aluminium extrusions; we load 3-metre lengths and cut to widths of 30mm – 50mm. With two saws in operation at any one time, that equates to around 1000 cuts per eight-hour shift.” Doing the work of at least two machines “Addison Saws were able to demonstrate that by switching to one Profilma 400V circular saw from their Pressta Eisele range, we should achieve one cut every eight seconds, or 450 cuts per hour. That level of performance is seven times faster than one of our existing machines. As a result, we plan to retire two machines, keeping just one in-situ as a backup and freeing up valuable floorspace.” Specialist roller system Designed especially for the precise, high-speed cutting of heavy-duty aluminium and ferrous components, the Profilma 400V ordered by Doughty Engineering will be equipped with a six-metre infeed roller table and an intelligent one-metre outfeed/extraction system. Clean working environment The outfeed/extractor will automatically differentiate between cut components and trim cuts, removing even the smallest particles of swarf from components and leaving them ready for final polishing/coating and assembly. To help provide the cleanest possible working environment, all machining swarf and trim cuts will be delivered directly to a compactor, ready for recycling.