Raising Productivity with Right Cutting Consumables

Currently where compet­i­tion is rife, productivity and cost-effectiveness are often key differentiators that allow companies in the manuf­acturing sector to stand out amongst their business rivals. Over the years, manufacturing processes have progressed steadily with the advent of technology, and one of the key aspects of production lies in the machinery, where metalworking plays an important role.

Plasma system and its consumables

For many equipment manufac­turers, sheet metal cutting is a common procedure in their factory. India-based Bharat Foils Ltd is one such company. Established in 1975, the family-owned business has a long history in equipment manufacturing, and currently specializes in the production of equipment used in the grain milling industry, spanning the entire process from cleaning to drying, milling processing, and packing. In its daily operations, plasma cutting systems play a pivotal role as the company cuts 10 to 12 tonnes of sheet metal per day on average.

Modern cutting technologies, such as plasma systems, can produce high quality cut parts at fast speeds, requiring little or no post-production processes. That said, the performance of a plasma system is also dependent on the consumable parts used with the torch. Even the latest advances in technology and torch designs are not exempted from this ‘rule’ – a high performance plasma system can be rendered mediocre when inferior consumables are used.

Means to reduce costs

Often, instead of purchasing consumables directly from the cutting system provider or authorized retailers, man­ufacturers may seek out cheaper alternatives from other suppliers to reduce operating costs. This can lead to increased risks of purchasing counterfeit products unknowingly, since counterfeits are usually close copies of the genuine product that look similar in appearances, but are sold at relatively lower prices.

Despite being functional and cheaper, the usage of counterfeit consumables can be more counterproductive than beneficial, as experienced first-hand by Bharat Foils.

Counterfeits uncovered

A customer of Hypertherm for several years, Bharat Foils currently uses six Powermax85 plasma systems in its factory. As part of its service standards, Hypertherm routinely checks in with customers even after a purchase has been made. It was during one such occasion that a channel partner discovered that Bharat Foils had been purchasing consumables from another source in the open market. They had noticed from their records that the company had not been purchasing consumables from them despite owning six plasma systems.

The matter soon came to Hypertherm’s attention and after further investigations, it was revealed that unbeknownst to Bharat Foils, the consumables they had purchased were, in fact, counterfeit products, as they looked virtually identical to the genuine consumables. Sunil Gupta, Managing Director, Bharat Foils Ltd, shared, “Our purchase department was instructed to source from the open market, to see if we could get the consumables at a better price than what was offered by the channel partner. We found a product which looked like Hypertherm’s and hence started to purchase from that source.”

Upon understanding the situation, Hypertherm immediately contacted Bharat Foils to explain the consequences of using counterfeit parts, and the benefits associated with using genuine consumables. During a discussion with the operators at the company, Hypertherm also found out that they had to reduce the cutting speed in order to maintain acceptable cut quality, which resulted in cutting issues like dross that required secondary work. The consumables’ performance was also found to be inconsistent and had to be changed frequently.

Trials, tests & results

The high consumable consumption ultimately resulted in higher expenses in cutting operations for the company, in addition to reduced cut quality and decreased productivity. To illustrate the difference in performance between the genuine and counterfeit consumables, Hypertherm proposed the idea of conducting some trials in the factory.

Two separate trials—one with Hypertherm Cu+ consumables and the other with Bharat Foils’ existing consumables—were conduc­ted simultaneously for three days under similar conditions, on mild steel plates of varying thickness (8 mm, 10 mm, and 12 mm). As the trials progressed, the differences in performance became apparent to Gupta. For the same amount of cutting, Bharat Foils had to use three sets of counterfeit consumables compared to just one set of genuine consumables. The team also observed a significant increase in cutting speed (around 68 percent on average) with the use of the genuine consumables. During the trial, it was also noted that the counterfeit consumables had inconsistent lifespans, with the first set getting damaged after just 9 meters of cutting.

Quality-wise, the machine fitted with genuine consumables also delivered parts with better hole and slot cut quality. Upon assessing the results, Gupta became convinced of the benefits brought by the use of genuine consumables, and immediately made the decision to switch to Hypertherm’s consumables.

Better performance

Since switching to genuine consumables, Bharat Foils has experienced smoother operations, lesser down time, and better customer service levels. These benefits have led to a significant overall improvement in their manufacturing process, notably in the areas of productivity, cost effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.

Moving forward, Gupta intends to adopt other cutting solutions to enhance Bharat Foils’ operations, with high definition plasma cutting systems being next on his list.

Sanjay Kumar

Consumable Sales Manager

Hypertherm India

HTIndia.info@hypertherm.com

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