close CMM welding machine provides Van Staden Engineering with a holistic beam welding solution 04 May 2012 Providing customers with a competitive edge and accelerating their return-on-investment is a key focus area for First Cut. This reputable and experienced distributor of international capital equipment and consumables has surrounded itself with suppliers who consider quality to be a top priority. Van Staden Engineering appreciates the level of commitment shown by First Cut to its customers. “We bought a Stierli-Bieger rotator from First Cut in 2011. This machine is used to rotate beams without needing to use an overhead crane and to date they have performed extremely well,” says Dirkie van Staden, Managing Director at Van Staden Engineering. Founded in 1982, Van Staden Engineering has grown to a stage where it can fabricate 600 to 700 tons of steel a month in its 11 000 m2 manufacturing facilities in Vulcania, Brakpan. “With a growth of over 100% in the past 20 years, we have been able to expand the capital equipment we own to cater for the demands of our customers,” says Van Staden. “Amongst our recent purchases are various CNC machines and nine overhead cranes. The investment in the CMM TBM EB 2000/8000 plate girder welding machine was prompted by our decision to manufacture large beams, which are not available as standard items from the steel mills. “CMM machines are renowned for the high levels of quality they produce. “First Cut invited Van Staden to the Kaltenbach IPS show in May 2011 and after seeing the machine in action , and based on their existing relationship with First Cut, Van Staden Engineering made the decision to add the CMM machine to its facilities,” says First Cut Capital Equipment Sales Director, Steve Van Wyk. The plate girder welding machine was installed in February 2012 and recently underwent a testing phase, which it completed with flying colours. “We are now ready to put the machine into service. We have already had a positive response from customers who are challenged by a lack of space to manufacture and store built-up beams in their workshops,” says Van Staden. “Because the machine is fully automated, we are able to increase our monthly tonnage and our productivity. While in the past it took up to three days to complete only one beam, we now take one hour and 45 minutes using the CMM machine. In addition, the machine only requires three to four employees to operate it, making it an extremely cost effective manufacturing mode,” adds Van Staden. Van Staden explains that the CMM plate girder welding machine forms an integral part of the company’s automated beam building and welding line. “We can cut flanges and webs up to 13 metres long and 70 mm thick. Assembly is performed by automated hydraulic arms and rollers that hold the web square to the flange and a hydraulic roller on top ensures that no gaps are left between the webs and the flange.” “The added benefit to this production line is that no tack welding or additional stays are required. Welding is performed by two DC 1000 Lincoln twin arc machines and straightening is undertaken in the same process so that no distortion of the final product occurs,” says Van Staden. “The CMM TBM EB 2000/8000 plate girder welding machine is a valuable addition to Van Staden Engineering’s production line. It provides them with a best-practice method of offering the market the opportunity to cost-effectively acquire large built-up beams without having to invest in capital equipment,” says Van Wyk.