“As the most innovative company in the industry we are continually getting better all the time. The Amada fiber laser is another step in that direction – without even knowing the numbers you could just tell that it was fast.”
“The speed of the Amada fiber laser was just superior to everything else we had seen.”
“As the most innovative company in the industry we are continually getting better all the time. The Amada fiber laser is another step in that direction – without even knowing the numbers you could just tell that it was fast.”
If you were travelling around Australia – or even the world – you wouldn’t find many companies using laser machines to fabricate ductwork for air conditioning systems. Traditionally, the HVAC & R industry is relying on low- or high-definition plasma cutters, which do have their merits, but cannot be compared to laser systems in terms of speed. When Aidan Kavanagh (MD at Kavanagh Industries) and Mark Stratford, Director of KS Metal Fabrications, in Smithfield, NSW, were looking to expand their capacities, they decided to investigate laser cutters as an alternative to their existing range of plasma machines. “Since I had seen one I have always wanted one,” Mark admits with a smile.
KS Metal Fabrications was born seven years ago out of the need of Kavanagh Industries to increase output and flexibility in order to satisfy their growing market. Today Kavanagh Industries (including KS division) has a manufacturing facility of 17,000 sqm which is one of the biggest and most innovative duct manufacturers in Australia, has 75 employees, and services all of its customers’ sheetmetal, general fabrication and silencer needs – whether it be mild, galvanized, stainless steel or aluminium.
In March this year, Amada installed the FOL-3015-AJ fiber laser, and the team at Kavanagh Industries is wrapped with its performance. “The speed is just superior to everything else we have seen,” Mark says and adds that before coming across the Amada fiber laser, they hadn’t seen another machine capable to replace their plasma cutters. “Today, our operators push a button and have their morning tea. Just 13 minutes later, the laser has finished the whole nest, which used to take the plasma around 1.5 hours!” In terms of feed rates, we are talking about a difference of 45 m/min on the laser as compared to 6 m/min on the plasma – a huge difference!
As a result, Kavanagh Industries can replace all of their five existing plasma cutters with the one single fiber laser system – a worthwhile investment. Mark admits it was a steep learning curve to actually get 100% of the available performance out of the laser system because it is their first experience with lasers, but he says that Amada’s support has been fantastic. The high accuracy and speed of the laser will allow us to engineer a lot more quality and efficiency processes into our system.
The company might soon be looking at a second fiber laser system….
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