One of the UK’s leading specialist metal parts manufacturers has received a new laser cutting machine, which it hopes will help bring in up to £1m in new sales.
HV Wooding employs 90 people at its manufacturing plant in Hayes and has invested over £500,000 in the installation of the Trumpf TruLaser 3030 as it looks to capitalise on the significant ‘electrification’ opportunity.
The company has doubled its laser capacity and the machine will be used immediately to produce thin-gauge laminations and busbars for electric vehicles, trucks, buses and commercial vehicles, not to mention offering customers the ability to cut sub-0.5mm thick capability and achieve tolerances better than 50 microns.
Installed last month, the Trumpf 3030 is an industry-leading machine with 3kW of laser power, 170M/min synchronized axis speed, 14 m/s2 axis acceleration and a fast pallet change time of just 18.5 seconds.
“Our existing lasers work 24 hours a day, so we needed an additional option that would help us meet current demands and give us the ability to capture new opportunities,” explains Paul Allen, Sales Director at HV Wooding.
“Customers are changing rotor and stator designs to improve performance, and this investment provides us with an ideal solution to deliver quick turnaround prototypes without the cost of wire EDM.”
He continued: “The maximum sheet thicknesses we can cut on the new machine are 20mm mild steel, 15mm stainless/aluminium and 6mm copper and brass.
“This enhances our existing equipment and allows us to cut copper and brass up to 8mm. Over £200,000 of orders have been placed, with a potential to add another £800,000 between now and the end of 2022.”
HV Wooding has had a strong past 10 months, adding £600,000 in turnover since the UK emerged from lockdown.
The company, which also provides wire corrosion and stamping services, created 16 new jobs to help deal with the increase in demand and hopes to capitalize on the growing demand for local sourcing from customers in the automotive, aerospace and power generation industries.
It is also part of the Faraday Battery Challenge, working with the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the University of Sheffield to develop improved insulation solutions to improve the quality of the busbars it produces.
Supported by Innovate UK, the project focuses on research and development of alternative coating methods to improve the performance and integrity of critical components that carry high currents between different parts of an electrical system.
We have and will continue to invest in equipment to help us become a leader in the field, and in addition to the new laser, we have added a new Bruderer BSTA 25H press, Trimos altimeter and InspectVision inspection system,” added Paul.
“These investments, along with our personal development plans for all employees, are key to our strategic plan to maintain world leadership in the subcontract manufacturing of metal components.”
Post time: Feb-25-2022