Dudley-based subcontractor De-Met has dramatically reduced the time from design to part after purchasing new machinery from a fellow Made in the Midlands member.
De-Met has bought two new EasyForm brake presses from sheet metal machining and software specialist, LVD.
Each machine is fitted with programmable sheet supports that allow it to form large thin sheets without them being damaged by buckling or creasing. This has allowed one of its customers to offer an enhanced product range on industrial metal doors.
De-Met was founded in 1998 and acquired by GIL Investments four years ago. It is now a direct subsidiary of one of GIL’s businesses, Davicon, a specialist in mezzanine floors and associated equipment for applications such as automated warehouses.
Lee Kempson, Operations Director and one of the original owners of the business, said: “Davicon relies on us to make many of their smaller items. That has introduced a whole range of new products including, for example, staircases, step-overs for automated conveyors, workstations, sorting benches and so on. That is on top of all the subcontract work we have traditionally done, which ranges from steel partitioning to garden patio heaters and items for kit cars and the automotive aftermarket.”
He said that everything De-Met produced was subcontracted and that it set itself apart from other sheet metal and laser cutting companies by offering a complete one-stop-shop service.
This stretches from helping customers develop their designs using Inventor 3D design software through to punching or laser cutting, bending, fabricating, finishing and shipping direct to the final customer on-site. Powder coating is carried out by sister company De-Met Colourcoat.
Lee said: “If it is made from sheet metal and someone wants it, then we will do it. There is almost nothing we will turn down. We do a very wide range of work and to do that we have a very versatile range of equipment, including an LVD Sirius laser and LVD Strippit punch press as well as our new LVD press brakes.
“Since Davicon took over the business we have more than doubled our turnover. We have put on a second shift and we are really looking to push and expand the business.”
As part of its marketing push the company has recently joined the Made in the Midlands manufacturing alliance.
Lee said that the company was fortunate in that a neighbouring factory unit became available shortly after Davicon took over. This allowed the company to separate the powder coating and sheet metal operations and lay out the factory to get a better workflow.
“This really speeded everything up,” said Lee, and the new LVD press brakes will take this to the next level.
“We had two existing LVD press brakes, one from the day we started and one from 2001. There was nothing wrong with them, but we needed to push the business forward by using the latest technology.”
To meet that need, the company purchased two of the latest high-specification EasyForm 9, 8-axis press brakes from Banbury-based LVD-Pullmax – both 170-tonne machines, one with a 4m bed and one with a 3m bed – and both fitted with programmable sheet support arms.
Lee added: “With the LVD machines, with the EasyForm® adaptive bending system and offline programming using the LVD CADMAN B software, you get from designs and prototypes to a finished item much more quickly.
“It is the combination of machine and software that allows us to do that. We are really pushing offline programming at the moment in combination with 3D design using Inventor. Anything we can do at the early design stage to speed the production of the part and get it onto the machine more quickly is always a win situation.
“These are top-of-the-range machines in terms of their features, and the EasyForm® technology ensures that every bend is right first time.”
One of the key features for De-Met was the programmable sheet supports fitted to the machines.
“We do a lot of panel work, so having the sheet supports gives us much more control over the process with less damage to the sheet,” said Lee.
For example, De-Met has recently started making some metal skins for industrial doors. These incorporate a hemmed edge which is created by bending over and flattening the sheet.
These are made from 0.9mm thick steel and for a standard door the sheet can be up to 2m long. The door panels can also have quite large cut-outs and until the first couple of bends have been made the sheet is very flimsy and difficult to control.
Accurate bending is crucial as the two door skins need to fit snugly together with an even gap all the way round.
Lee says: “This wasn’t something I was happy doing using traditional methods. Having a large thin sheet hanging in the air was both a quality and a safety problem, so before I got the new machines with the sheet supports I had refused to do doors above a certain size. Now with the extra support we don’t get ripples or creases.
“What is more I can work with confidence on sheet up to 3m by 1,500mm, so I have been able to go back to the customer and tell him I can do larger sizes and he has been able to expand his product range.”
Other features add to the capability of the machines and speed of setup. The six-axis CNC back gauges on the machine allow the production of complicated parts and tapers and multiple setups. The setup process itself is quick and simple as the EasyForm unit shows the operator exactly where to put the tooling.
Another important feature is dynamic CNC crowning which ensures that the bend angle is consistent when forming sheets up to 3m long. This means that the machine can change from one thickness of sheet to another without having to worry about the settings.
These advanced features all speed up the time from design to part and the versatility of the machines means that De-Met has more to offer as it looks for new customers to expand the business.
Lee concluded: “We have got the ability to do pretty much anything now. We can go from design to finished part much more quickly and the parts are more accurate.”