FOCUS ON PLASMA CUTTING
A proprietary PA tower , designed and manufactured by Serious Stages to carry PA speakers at outdoor events .
explained : “ The movie studios were leasing buildings or temporary structures and the lead times could often be up to 12 months . In some instances , studios wanting to use existing buildings would have to undergo the laborious local authority planning application process .
“ As soon as studios realised that we could design , manufacture , deliver and construct a temporary building in a matter of weeks , and not months , and then remove the structure upon completion of filming , the movie studios were intent on securing our services . We have just delivered a 20,000 sq ./ ft . Netflix building in less than ten weeks . The Shinfield studios in Reading had a six-month head start on us and now we are 18 months ahead of its schedule . This is the speed of delivery that we can now offer with the help of the Kerf RUR2500 .”
At present , the 150-employee business is producing two 150-tonne , 40,000 sq ./ ft . steel buildings for the ‘ Mission Impossible ’ franchise . It is manufacturing two buildings for Walt Disney , another two for Netflix as well as structures for the famous Longcross studios . Recent projects include Kenneth Branagh films such as ‘ Death on the Nile ’ and ‘ Murder on the Orient Express ’ as well as ‘ Bohemian Rhapsody ’ and ‘ Empire of Lights ’.
Below : Examples of a temporary building , the SuperStage range from Serious Stages , for TV and film work .
Alluding to the movie industry work , Rob added : “ This industry was a very small percentage of our business and it has rapidly exploded to almost 80 % of our turnover . We have rapidly gone from four fabricators to 18 and we are using more than 20 tonnes of welding wire per year . Without the Kerf RUR2500 plasma machine and a small bending machine that we acquired , we wouldn ’ t be able to cope with the workload .”
The partner principle
“ With previous subcontract laser-cut parts , there was always an issue and this could be anything from burrs and sharp edges on parts , missing parts and incorrect batch supply , varying quality and precision of parts and more . Now we have complete control of the process . Previously , our supplier would charge us £ 3 to cut and bend a steel cleat . Now , we can put a steel sheet on the Kerf and cut hundreds of cleats in a few hours and then bend them on our bending machine . The cost saving is huge and there is no three to five-week lead time . If we are short of parts , need spares or extras , we can cut them in minutes ,” explained Rob Watts .
“ We are delighted with the Kerf machine . From day one , the sales engineers were knowledgeable and interested in our business and applications . It wasn ’ t just about the sale . This duty of care has been carried through every step of the process and now the machine is installed , the service is unparalleled . From a production standpoint , the machine will pay back in less than two years and will save us upwards of £ 750,000 in subcontracting costs . It provides design freedom and efficiency and it reduces our turnaround times and creates a synergy between the design office and production – it really is a great machine ,” he concluded . n
Kerf RUR with UltraSharp
Available in a range of sizes , the RUR is available with cutting widths from 1,500mm to 3,000mm and any customer-specified length . The machine can be configured for singleplate processing or longer to enable pendulum loading with multiple plates . It can be extended in length at any point in the future should production requirements change .
“ Our UltraSharp takes the benefits of high-definition plasma and an automatic gas console to provide high cut quality . It is the automatic gas console that is key to the process as it enables changes to be made to gas pressures and flow rates without any manual intervention . As a result , for smaller holes and slots , the machine can automatically slow the cut speed to ensure the best possible shape to the plasma arc with no lag on the profile ,” explained Kerf Developments .
“ This is an automatic process that requires no manual intervention from the operator , helping to de-skill the process for the machine operator and ensure consistently high cut quality . This style of system offers high cut quality and long consumable life and enables users to cut more consistently at faster speeds ,” it added .
About Kerf Developments
Kerf Developments was founded in 2002 . In the early days , its focus was on helping customers who had been struggling to get service and support for their cutting machines . To this day , Kerf Developments remains privately owned and independent .
“ Those early days repairing a wide range of machines gave us a great insight into many of the products in the market that were reliable and provided the quality needed by customers . We believe that we offer best in class products across our product range of oxy-fuel , plasma-cutting and waterjetcutting technology . We then back installations up with post-sales support and service ,” it told ISMR .