HARLOW, ESSEX, ENGLAND – For over 40 years, Gratnells has been known for its school storage products in over 68 countries. In 2015, the company invested in a new machine that allows it to not only speed up production of its own products, but offer a high-quality laser tube cutting service to outside customers as well. The company continues to grow and has noticed a substantial rise in the interest of laser tube cutting this year.
Gratnells has installed two laser tube cutting machines, allowing it to switch between one-off prototype cutting and large batch processes.
The increase in demand for slotted steel tubes needed for Gratnells’ metal frames and trolleys led to a search for an alternative method of producing these tubes. The result was the arrival of the first LT5 laser tube cutting machine from BLM Group in the UK and a revolution in its factory production (FIGURE). Installing this machine resulted in increased productivity and consequently gave the company extra capacity to offer laser tube cutting as a service. The company recently invested in a second LTFiber laser tube cutting machine, which allows it to cut tubes of any shape up to 152.4 mm in diameter as well as process highly reflective materials like aluminum, brass, and copper with a faster cutting time, helping to increase efficiency even more and offer the best possible lead time for customers.
Since the arrival of the laser machine in 2015, Gratnells has been involved in many exciting projects. One project of note is its sponsorship of the University of Glasgow racing team, laser cutting and numbering all of the parts for their chassis, which in 2017 helped them to achieve their most successful year to date: “Achieving the highest placement ever for a University of Glasgow team, by a significant margin of 30 places, can be attributed to several key improvements in accuracy and time management, something that would not have been possible without the close co-operation of Gratnells Engineering.” The company is looking forward to continuing sponsorship for 2018 and seeing the results.
What sets tube laser cutting apart from other cutting methods is the ability to easily switch between one-off prototype cutting and large batch processes. Regardless of the size of a project, they are able to provide services to fulfill any size project. A quick route to a precise finish eliminates conventional, time-consuming stages such as marking, sawing, and finishing while delivering significant cost savings. The company offers service on short run or batch production, with lead times as short as 3–5 days from receipt of order.
For more information, please visit www.gratnellslasercutting.com.