Barrett Steel, Bradford

HBP310/403GA

HBP310/403GA - “the dream machine”

Barrett Steel in Bradford has bought a new Behringer HBP310/403GA CNC mitre cutting bandsaw (the first of its type in the UK) to accompany their existing HBP650 straight-cutting machine.

As steel stockholders, with a reputation for processing ability, the company already has a wide range of other Kaltenbach installed machines, including an automatic KKS up-stroking cold saw, a Behringer HBP430A automatic bandsaw, a mitre-cutting Behringer HBP340/700G bandsaw and two Kaltenbach HDM structural systems. “This new HBP310/403GA is our dream machine,” says Robert Wood, Stockholding Director. “It gives us the ability to automatically cut opposite mitres on a wide range of material sizes, saving us many man hours. It also solves the problem we used to have with those time-consuming, labour-intensive jobs, where profitability was sometimes questionable.”

With both economics and efficiency in mind, as well as floor space being at a premium, Barrett linked their new HBP310/403GA into the existing input lift and carry system of their HBP650. Both machines are installed almost side-by-side, so they can share the same input transfer tables. Input and output conveyors are both motorised, with the input side capable of accommodating sections over 12m long.

A digital measuring system has been included with the new HBP310/403GA saw which, in conjunction with a motorised conveyer, is able to deal with jobs that are impractical to process using the saw’s automatic 1m vice. With the HBP650 already dealing with 12m measured lengths, digital length measuring on the new saw is deliberately restricted to 6m lengths.

“We are very pleased with this machine,” says Robert Wood. “It’s treated by us as a Jack-of-all-trades,” he jokes, “fortunately it’s master-of-most, but having said that, we didn’t expect Kaltenbach to disappoint us anyway!”