ADS doubles profiling speed with 10kW Trumpf TruLaser

ADS Laser Cutting is a premier UK supplier of metal laser cutting, folding, fabrication and metal finishing. Founded in 2005 by brothers Stephen and Duncan Keates, ADS has grown tremendously year on year, today generating turnover of circa 7million and employing over 70 people across two sites. Among the keys to this rapid growth is the company's continuous investment in the latest manufacturing technologies.

Stephen Keates states: "Our customers want correct parts, on time, at a competitive price. By having the latest technology in-house, we can better control factors such as lead times, quality and cost."

Another consideration is investing in machines that can accommodate the wide array of parts handled by a manufacturer. ADS needs to be flexible and competitive when supporting the needs of its customers, which come from sectors such as construction, machine building, signage, automotive, rail and medical, to list but a few.

Mr Keates says: "To maintain our high standards we strive to adopt the fastest lasers producing the best quality parts, which is why we look to change one of our laser cutters every three years. Until recently we ran a Trumpf TruLaser 5030 fiber 5kW and a 5kW CO2 laser cutter - and it was time for the latter to be replaced. We had no qualms about going 100 per cent fibre as the cut quality of modern fibre lasers is just as good as CO2, even on thicker materials."

ADS assessed four different fibre laser cutters for speed, quality and reliability, but the 10kW TruLaser fiber was deemed first choice, and was duly installed in November 2019 at a total investment of circa 1million.

Competitive business

Mr Keates says: "If you're an OEM making your own product against in-house targets, you can probably get away with having a 15-year-old laser. However, as a subcontractor we need to compete year-in, year-out with others in our arena. "

Due to the speed of the new laser, which Mr Keates estimates is twice as fast (on average) as the company's existing 5kW 5030 fiber, the decision was taken to install a TRUMPF LiftMaster Compact load/unload system, which can accommodate up to 3 tonne of material.

Mr Keates adds: "We specified several other TRUMPF features to help us run lights out. For example, Active Speed Control works by looking straight through the nozzle directly at the cutting zone, monitoring it in real time and controlling the feed rate of the laser to suit specific material conditions. Ultimately, we want to load the program, input standard parameters, press the button, walk away and come back to perfect parts - every time. And that's what the TRUMPF machine provides."

ADS Laser Cuttings' capabilities have further improved, now being able to cut common materials such as mild steel up to a thickness of 30mm, stainless steel to 40mm, aluminium to 30mm, plus brass and copper to 12mm and 16mm respectively. More exotic materials ADS have experience with cutting, include treat plates, tool steels and they have cut shim steel down to 0.05mm.

All parts are programmed offline, with the company upgrading from TRUMPF TruTops to TruTops Boost with the latest machine investment. Mr Keates explains: "TruTops Boost works on 3D architecture rather than 2D. So now we can take 3D models, unfold them and create optimised nests based on the best sheet size for the parts. Using 3D models also means we can use TruTops Boost to better prepare parts for our TRUMPF press brakes."

ADS is clearly ambitious and want to grow even further, but there is a distinct desire to retain its personal touch with clients.

Mr Keates says: "We've done really well in recent years, with turnover up nearly 30 per cent in 2019. We are good communicators and react quickly to any issues. Honesty and transparency are also key, suggesting ways to make parts cheaper. On top of these factors, it's clear that our investment in the latest manufacturing technologies is paramount. The Midlands is the UK's most densely populated area for laser cutters, so we have to differentiate, which is what we've done with the 10kW TruLaser 5030 fibre."

Learn more about the 10kW Trumpf TruLaser at www.uk.trumpf.com.