PUNCH, PROFILE, BEND THE RIGHT SHAPES PRODUCED EFFICIENTLY
Kintech opted for Trumpf’s TruPunch 3000,
rather than the 2000 model, favouring its
wider variety of automation options
preference to the company’s longestablished
preferred brand.
Based in Hull, Kintech is using the
automated TruPunch 3000 to perform the
lights-out production of parts for the
caravan, leisure, retail and medical sectors,
eliminating the cost of outsourcing.
Established in 2009 with the acquisition
of the former Hull-based fabrication
business John A Kinnersley Co Ltd, which
had 40 years of history, the assets of
Kinnersley were acquired by current Kintech
chairman Carl Canty.
He explains: “Although the machines
were perfectly operational, it was clear that
the last 10 years of business at Kinnersley
had seen minimal investment. As a result,
since the establishment of Kintech, we have
steadily been updating, which has resulted
in more orders and revenue growth.”
Core business at the 60-employee
company is the punching, bending and
powder coating of sheet and tube. “Our
punch press was old and could no longer
keep pace with growing sales. In fact, we
had started to subcontract our punching
work, which was having an obvious impact
on bottom line pro tability. With this in mind,
we decided to replace the machine.”
Of the switch to Trumpf he says:
“Although I thought that my previous
machine tool supplier would be hard to beat,
the TruPunch from Trumpf was more
attractive, both technically and nancially.”
Originally looking at the TruPunch 2000,
he says that he could see the 3000 model
was far more suitable, adding: “This was
primarily because of our intention to
introduce lights-out manufacturing and the
availability of more automation options on
the TruPunch 3000.”
Installed in July 2018, the automated
TruPunch 3000 has been busy producing
large panels for caravans and sunbed
equipment, largely from 1.0 to 1.5 mm thick
sheet. Typical materials processed on the
machine include galvanised steel, zintec and
aluminium. Kintech accommodates batch
runs of up to 1,500, but more usually
around 200-off. Many of the longer-running
repeat jobs are processed unmanned
overnight and at weekends, with more
intricate jobs completed during the day.
“There are many aspects of the machine
that we like,” Canty says. “Aside from the
obvious business bene ts of running lightsout,
we enjoy the high speed of the machine
and the fact that we can set-up the tooling
while it is running. We are also saving on
nesting, labour and materials, not to
mention subcontract costs. Furthermore,
with its brush table, the machine is quieter
than our previous model. Indeed, we have
now sold that machine, so we are totally
reliant on Trumpf for our punching
requirements.” And to support its
investment, Kintech also acquired Trumpf
TruTops Boost software for 2D/3D design
and programming.
“In my experience, investing in proprietary
software for your machine tool – rather than
third-party software – always pays dividends,
and this has proved no exception,” Canty
asserts. “We have found TruTops Boost to
be highly bene cial and the operators have
really warmed to it. In fact, as rst-time
users, we found the learning curve to be a
lot shorter than expected. Within two weeks,
we were feeling very con dent on the
system, which is really easy to use. We
already have a number of special tools for
the TruPunch 3000 and they are readily
supported by TruTops Boost.”
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62 September 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
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