A.J. Forsyth more than doubles productivity with HyPerformance Plasma technology

Company overview: A.J. Forsyth

A.J. Forsyth is a full-service steel service center with seven locations and 190 employees located throughout British Columbia, Canada. The company was founded over a century ago and has been part of the Russel Metals group since 2001.

A.J. Forsyth buys directly from steel mills and specializes in value-added steel processing, including cut-to-length with corrective leveling, pipe and tube cutting, plasma cutting, and CNC metal fabrication. Standard products consist of flanges, plate, bars, sheet, pipe, tubing, and hollow structural steel tubing for a variety of industries. A.J. Forsyth processes carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and other non-ferrous specialty metal products in a wide range of shapes, specifications, and plate sizes (up to 10' by 48').

Challenge: Long lead times resulted in lost business

Increased production demands limited A.J. Forsyth’s ability to meet customer requests, especially on orders with a two to three-day requested turnaround time. Running four days with two ten-hour shifts and three twelve-hour shifts over the weekend did nothing to alleviate lead times – which stretched to ten days. “We were losing orders, and customers were going elsewhere for faster turnaround times,” commented Branch Manager Garry Handley.

Outdated cutting equipment on one of the two 10' x 50' plasma cutting machines compounded the issue by limiting 95% of the high-volume production to just one machine. After A.J. Forsyth installed an HPR260^® five years earlier, the old plasma system wasn’t used for plasma cutting again because customers would not accept the poor cut quality. The 15-year-old plasma and oxyfuel cutting machine could only be used for jobs that required oxyfuel.

“Our five-year-old HPR260 has been reliable and done well handling the workload. Once we installed the HPR260, the older system was instantly obsolete,” Handley said. “We decided we needed a second HyPerformance machine to increase productivity on the second table and help us keep up with demand.”

Solution: Hypertherm HyPerformance plasma replaces the old system, and increases productivity

Handley worked with his Hypertherm Authorized System Integrator to find the best solution for the technology upgrade and decided to invest in a complete transformation of both cutting machines. The first phase was the most involved.

All components on the older cutting machine were removed and the system was stripped down to the gantry and rails. The HPR260 was moved to the revamped cutting machine. The retrofit included new drive motors, rack and pinion, gears, and the addition of an EDGE^® Pro CNC and ArcGlide^® THC. During integration, a new XD control board and firmware were installed in the HPR260 power supply, and a new XD torch and lead set completed the upgrade to an HPRXD with the latest technology.

A new HyPerformance HPR400XD^® replaced the HPR260 on the high productivity table, with the retrofit completed over a weekend to minimize downtime. Handley explained, “Our customers preferred the high-definition cut quality of the HPR260; and as a result, this machine was in constant demand while our traditional plasma was underutilized. The HPR400XD installation was fast. We started on a Friday at shutdown, and we were cutting with it on Sunday.”

HyPerformance plasma systems

HyPerformance plasma systems deliver superior productivity in X-Y, bevel, marking, and robotic cutting applications on metal ranging up to 160 mm (6.25 inches) thick. The combination of faster cutting speeds, rapid process cycling, quick changeovers, and high reliability dramatically lowers operating costs while boosting overall performance, productivity, and profitability. HyPerformance plasma systems deliver the ultimate in HyPerformance mild steel cutting, plus aluminum capability and unmatched stainless steel cut quality.

Benefits of using HyPerformance HPRXD plasma include:

• HyPerformance plasma cuts fine-feature parts with superior quality and consistency.

• The HPRXD cuts, bevels, and marks carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and other metals with HyDefinition precision.

• Faster cutting speeds deliver more parts per hour.

• Higher quality cutting virtually eliminates the cost of secondary operations.

• Patented PowerPierce technology can pierce thicker materials than ever before and replaces slower-cutting oxyfuel technology.

Business impact: Productivity doubles, improving turnaround times

A.J. Forsyth has more than doubled up-time and cut speed, significantly improving turnaround times on orders. Lead times have decreased, increasing customer satisfaction.

Handley explained, “We have more than doubled our productivity. Our order fulfillment is much faster because we have gone from one table booked for 116 hours of cutting time a week, to two tables booked for 232 hours, and the cut speeds have jumped from 400 inches per minute to 1,000 inches per minute.”

Cut quality has improved with the updated systems, further increasing customer satisfaction. A.J. Forsyth anticipates that the new system will pay for itself in under a year.

 

Other A.J. Forsyth locations have taken note of the benefits Handley’s division is receiving from the system upgrade. “Our other A.J. Forsyth locations are considering similar upgrades because the latest cutting technology produces the best value for our customers.”

Learn how Hypertherm’s HyPerformance plasma systems can help your business strike the perfect balance between cut quality, cut speed, and cost. Click the button below, fill out the form, and a Hypertherm product expert will contact you.