FOCUS ON METALFORMING
The company revolutionised its production output when it invested in its first laser processing machine , a 3D FG-220 II , in 2017 . Dumb bells manufactured by Watson Gym Equipment .
This sparked further conversation with Mazak around the prospect of integrating laser processing into his in-house manufacturing process . It culminated in 2017 , with Mazak recommending a 3D FG-220 II laser processing machine with the capacity to cut multiple types of tube while also undertaking operations such as drilling and tapping .
“ It was a momentous investment for a small company , but I kept doing the figures and it all stacked up . Buying that first FG-220 II is the biggest jump forward we ’ ve had with a single machine . However , it has completely transformed how we operate . Our welders are now welding , not cutting steel . They ’ re now doing what we pay them to do ,” Simon Watson highlighted .
Sheet metal cutting
The FG-220 II was swiftly followed by a 3kW OPTIPLEX NEXUS 3015 FIBER laser processing machine , and then a second FG-220 II from Mazak when Simon ’ s company moved into a new facility in 2018 .
“ With the lasers , we can customise everything to suit us and cut components in a way we just couldn ’ t before . We are cutting today what we are welding in two-three days ’ time which keeps our stock right down ,” explained Simon Watson .
In 2021 , Simon further increased the company ’ s productivity by upgrading the original OPTIPLEX to a 6kW OPTIPLEX NEXUS 3015 FIBER version , complete with a KST automation system .
“ We had an issue of storing sheet metal because we tended to pile the sheets on top of each other , which meant that we were forever moving pallets out of the way to get to something underneath – all of which impacted productivity ,” he continued .
“ As soon as I saw the KST system I knew it could solve the problem . It stores all the steel out of the way and then picks whatever you need and loads it automatically . This has resulted in a huge increase in our overall operational efficiency , which in turn has helped to shield us to a certain extent from the increase in steel prices ,” he added .
Precision bending in focus
Simon Watson has also been able to substantially add to his range of gym products and bend metal for his equipment quickly , consistently and easily with the purchase of a new press brake .
The company bought one Jean Perrot press brake ( 3106 x 120 ) two years ago ( just as it finished building its new factory in Frome ). The press brake is 120 tonnes x 3m in length and has revolutionised the way that Watson Gym Equipment designs and fabricates some of its products .
“ We used to bend steel in a manual way on our older press brake and had to re-set new jobs , with no way of storing genetic jobs . When I heard that Mazak was bringing the Jean Perrot press brake range into the UK , we opted for one of these press brakes as we had a great relationship with Mazak ,” Simon Watson told ISMR .
Our initial thoughts were that it would be overkill for the small bit of bending that we did and would only be used a couple of times each
Mazak 6kW OPTIPLEX NEXUS 3015 FIBER .
108 | ismr . net | ISMR October 2023