UK electrification component supplier adds capacity with new laser cutter
Specialty metal components supplier H V Wooding (Hythe, Kent, UK) has invested more than £500,000 on a 3 kW Trumpf TruLaser 3030 laser cutter to double its cutting capacity to produce thin-gauge laminations and busbars for use in electric cars, lorries, buses, and commercial vehicles. The investment also enables the company to cut below 0.5 mm thickness and to a better-than-50 µm tolerance.
An existing laser was working 24 hours per day; the new laser helps satisfy current demand and gives the capacity for new business. Paul Allen, Sales Director at HV Wooding, says “Customers are changing designs of rotors and stators to increase performance and this investment gives us the ideal solution to offer quick-turnaround prototypes without the cost of wire cutting. The maximum sheet thicknesses we can cut on the new machine is 20 mm for mild steel, 15 mm for stainless steel/aluminum, and 6 mm for copper and brass. This enhances our current equipment that allows us to cut up to 8 mm copper and brass.”
Over £200,000 of orders have already been placed, with the potential to add another £800,000 between now and the end of 2022. The company has added 16 new jobs to help with the increase in demand, and they are aiming to be the local source for clients in the automotive, aerospace, and power generation sector.
They are also part of the Faraday Battery Challenge, working with the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the University of Sheffield to develop an improved insulation solution that will enhance the quality of the busbars it is producing.
David Belforte | Contributing Editor
David Belforte (1932-2023) was an internationally recognized authority on industrial laser materials processing and had been actively involved in this technology for more than 50 years. His consulting business, Belforte Associates, served clients interested in advanced manufacturing applications. David held degrees in Chemistry and Production Technology from Northeastern University (Boston, MA). As a researcher, he conducted basic studies in material synthesis for high-temperature applications and held increasingly important positions with companies involved with high-technology materials processing. He co-founded a company that introduced several firsts in advanced welding technology and equipment. David's career in lasers started with the commercialization of the first industrial solid-state laser and a compact CO2 laser for sheet-metal cutting. For several years, he led the development of very high power CO2 lasers for welding and surface treating applications. In addition to consulting, David was the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Industrial Laser Solutions magazine (1986-2022) and contributed to other laser publications, including Laser Focus World. He retired from Laser Focus World in late June 2022.