Contract profile cutter benefits from KMT Waterjet technology

PP Plasma, one of the UK's leading contract profile cutting companies, is deriving major productivity benefits from a KMT Waterjet Cutting Systems Streamline 100 high-pressure intensifier. This was supplied by Kerf Developments, the UK agent for Hellenic Hydrocut of Greece, as a part of a package based around a Hellenic Hydrocut 2040. Thanks to the intensifier's specification, running costs are considerably lower than they might otherwise be, and its reliability is ensuring that the complete cutting system will achieve payback in as short a time as possible.

PP Plasma of Salford is using the system to cut steels, nickel alloys, aluminium alloys, brass, copper, bronze and plastics in thicknesses up to 150mm. After around nine months of use, Peter McCabe, Director of PP Plasma, is utterly convinced that the cutting machine and intensifier are right for his needs: "The quality of the cut is fantastic, and the whole system has been extremely reliable - indeed, it has been absolutely brilliant on all counts. Both KMT Waterjet Systems and Kerf Developments have been superb suppliers. I cannot fault them, and I really do not think I could have got better equipment or service from anywhere else."

Plug-and-play 100HP intensifier

Dan Taylor, Managing Director of Kerf Developments, comments: "We selected the Streamline 100 because it was eminently suitable for cutting metals and was well matched to the Hellenic Hydrocut 2040. It was very easy to integrate the cutting machine and the intensifier which is truly plug-and-play. The maintenance is also straightforward; for example, seal changes can be completed in 30 minutes typically, though it has to be said that the first set lasted around 1000 hours.

"Kerf Developments has a good working relationship with KMT Waterjet Systems, which always provides excellent service in terms of pre-sales support, technical assistance and all aspects of post-sales backup."

Included in the package supplied to PP Plasma was a Burny 10 LCD Plus CNC multi-tasking control system for manipulating the two independent cutting heads, both of which can handle abrasives. Indeed, the Streamline 100 is capable of being used with a maximum of four cutting heads and, should PP Plasma ever wish to do so, the 100HP intensifier can be connected 'bus-style' with additional intensifiers to serve multiple waterjet cutting machines.

One of the major advantages of the Streamline 100 is that it has a single high-pressure topworks arrangement that means it virtually halves the running costs compared with more traditional set-ups that would require several intensifiers to achieve the same power rating of 100HP. Other features that help to keep the cost-of-ownership low are the air-cooling (rather than water cooling) and a soft start that reduces energy consumption on start-up and minimises wear on the motor.