A Sheffield-based start-up company is bringing disruptive materials processing technology to a site that has a 150-year manufacturing heritage.
Sheffield Technology has installed a state of the art 24kW Trumpf 5060 TrueDisk laser with fully automated material and part handling at the Crucible Works in Darnall Road, Sheffield.
The laser has a 6m by 2m bed capacity and can cut stainless steel, armour, carbon and alloy steels up to 60mm thick as well as aluminium up to 40mm thick, 16mm copper and 12.75mm brass and bronze.
The site also has extensive fabrication and machining facilities including 400 tonne, 5m press brake and cobot welding.
As Sales Director Richard Gould explains: “Whatever we can cut, we can bend and fabricate.”
He says that the vision of the company is to build on Sheffield’s manufacturing legacy. “We don’t make as much steel in Sheffield any more, but we certainly have the capabilities to process it. So we have gone all out and invested in the biggest laser with a very large, automated handling system for sheet loading and unloading nested parts.
“We trust that the blend of automation, the latest laser technology and world class manufacturing software – all complemented by a highly skilled workforce – provides a solid platform to attract and underpin materials processing projects within the Sheffield area. This, we trust, will help to strengthen the existing skills and services available in the city and, in turn, support our young people in developing and retaining relevant skills within the manufacturing sector
“We are now fully operational and have gone from 10 people this time last year to 58 now with four apprentices. We aim to grow the number of apprentices over the coming years, this being a major reason for establishing the facility. Passing on to the next generation the skills and capabilities developed in the city over many decades.
“An important thing for us is that we have disruptive technology. We are using a super power, super scale laser to do things that you wouldn’t normally think of doing on a laser.”
He says that even 40mm is too thick for most people’s lasers and with the capability to cut up to 60mm Sheffield Technology can compete very well on quality and cost with other processes.
“At that thickness you would otherwise be looking at high definition plasma, which is a dirty process, or waterjet, which is a slow and often expensive process. So we can cut thicker material and more complex shapes that you couldn’t normally do with other cutting processes. We can cut small holes, slots and other features to (very fine tolerances) so cutting out machining operations thanks to the quality of the cut – even on things that are difficult to machine such as wear plates and armour.”
The capacity at Sheffield Technology lends itself to a multitude of markets and materials. In defence, for example, this includes fabrications for land-based vehicles. For the mining and construction sectors there are applications cutting high strength steels and wear resistant materials for yellow goods, crushing equipment and wear plates. The ability to cut materials such as nickel alloys, duplex steels, weathering steels and stainless steels open up opportunities in the offshore, subsea, marine, rail and architectural sectors. Sheffield Technology already has a segregated working area dedicated to stainless steel processing for the nuclear industry. On the non-ferrous side there are massive opportunities in cutting heavy duty copper busbars.
“These are just a few of the potential markets, “ says Richard. “We are looking at anyone who wants parts up to 6m long and 60mm thick.
He says that the real sweet spot for Sheffield Technology is from 20mm to 60mm, especially when customers are looking for a fast turnaround.
“Fast Track is something that we are really focused on. With the speed of the laser coupled with fully automated handling and a large stock of material we can offer a really quick turnaround on large parts and kits of parts.”
“The handling system has multiple storage trays on the infeed side – so we have ready availability of different materials. The system loads sheet onto a shuttle table and removes and sorts cut parts while the laser is cutting, so there is minimal downtime.
“The real edge is in the speed of the laser, but we can offer the whole package of cut, bend, fabricate and machine if that is what the customer wants. We also have a team of chartered engineers on site, mostly working on design for manufacture, but if the customer wants it we can provide any level of design support, including turnkey projects.”
The 7.5 acre site includes a Grade II building dating back the 1870s, where 60 crucible furnaces were once producing special steels.
Richard adds: “When you look at Crucible Works itself, which is our oldest building, there are 72 foot timbers there that were put up in the 1870s. They would have been 200-year-old trees at the time, so there is a lot of history here.
“As for the future, we already have quotes in for additional capacity and capital equipment – watch this space.”
BACK TO ENGINERING CAPACITY NEWS PAGE