FOCUS ON SURFACE FINISHING
For deburring operations , Steel Constructions uses two Timesavers 42 RB series machines in line , with a turnover unit between them . It is an unusual set-up but one that suits the diverse requirements of the company ’ s products and operations , from machining rectangular tubes to making a uniform radius of 2mm .
Marco Hage , Operations Manager , Steel Constructions .
Quality meets innovation
Each type of product has its own quality requirements .
Marco Hage , Steel Constructions ’ operations manager , explained this in more detail : “ Guardrail must meet various requirements ; everything is inspected and tested so that it complies with standards . This makes it specialised work , like so many other things relating to road safety . We make steel tubes for road signs and , more recently , traffic signs . We cut and paste those ourselves .”
A 2mm radius is required for railing parts and products that are powder-coated or wet-coated . The radius contributes to a longer service life . Diverse manufacturing requirements mean that the manufacturer is continuously innovating on its production lines .
Stock at Steel Constructions .
An eye on deburring
“ We used to deburr everything by hand . It was done the traditional way with an anglegrinder . However , the operation was very labour-intensive and the result was not always precise enough . Our customers wanted a certain radius to the sheet material ,” outlined Marco Hage .
Ludo Vermeulen is responsible for ‘ Technical Services ’ at Steel Constructions and for training the company ’ s machine operators . He still remembers how several operators manually machined metal parts . Besides the fact that it was intensive work , it also released a lot of dust and particles .
Steel Constructions
Edge-rounding sheet metal parts therefore began searching for the right deburring solution . It needed to brush and grind steel to a certain radius so contacted several suppliers , and eventually chose Dutch surface finishing specialist , Timesavers International BV .
“ The brushes on our machines gently ‘ stroke ’ steel workpieces , resulting in less wear on the rollers and lower maintenance costs . Steel Constructions chose two Timesavers 42 RB series with a 1350mm working width . The deburring machines feature eight rotary brushes that deburr and roundoff edges . Depending upon the speed , they apply a uniform radius of 2mm on the metal ,” Timesavers told ISMR .
Ludo Vermeulen , Technical Service / Machine Operator , Steel Constructions .
Deburring parts at Steel Constructions .
ISMR November 2024 | ismr . net | 95