ESAB has retrofitted new CNC and plasma cutting systems to a 12-year-old Suprarex cutting machine because the customer, Northerntrack Ltd, wanted to future-proof production and ensure the machine would have high availability and reliability for many years to come.
In addition to upgrading the CNC control system from a Vision PC to the latest Vision T5 system, and the plasma from an ESP200 system to an m3 Plasma system with EPP-362 Precision Plasmarc power source, Northerntrack also replaced its Columbus II CAM software with the newest Columbus III version. The complete retrofit cost substantially less than buying an all-new plasma cutting machine, yet Northerntrack is now benefitting from state-of-the-art cutting capability that is expected to last another 10 years or more.
Northerntrack manufactures high-quality demolition and related work tools for excavators. In the 12 years since purchasing the Suprarex, Northerntrack had found the machine to be robust, reliable and easily capable of profiling the requisite components. However, the company had recently started to find it harder to source spares for the control and plasma systems. This represented a risk to the business because plasma cutting is the first operation in the entire production process, so any unavailability here could bring the factory to a halt.
Andy Hair, the owner of Northerntrack, explains why he decided to upgrade his existing Suprarex: “The machine had served us very well for a long time, so we could justify replacing it, but we explored all of the options. We had quotes for new plasma machines from ESAB and other suppliers, but ESAB also quoted us for retrofitting the latest control and plasma systems, and upgrading the software to Columbus III. As our Suprarex had always been properly serviced and maintained, and the basic frame looked like it would last forever, by far the most cost-effective option was to modernise it by retrofitting the latest technology. Furthermore, we have a very good relationship with ESAB and, while they are seldom the cheapest supplier, I know from experience that paying for ESAB’s quality brings long-term benefits.”
When the time comes, perhaps in ten or twenty years, ESAB’s philosophy means that we will probably be able to just retrofit the machine with new technology as necessary to modernise it again.”
Contact Details;
ESAB Group (UK) Ltd
T; +44 (0) 1992 768515
W: www.esab.co.uk
