Bringing cutting capabilities in-house with combination Amada fiber laser flat sheet and tube cutting cell.
One of South Africa’s largest privately-owned generator manufacturers and suppliers, Elegen, has had to make some smart investments coupled with putting in place strategic plans so as not to ‘drop the ball’ while trying to keep up with supply and demand for the Cummins and Perkins powered generators that the company supplies to Blue Chip companies, government and other private and corporate entities.
Load shedding, rolling blackouts and power outages are words that South Africans have become accustomed to but don’t like as the incompetency of utility provider, Eskom, is exposed as it supposedly continues with efforts to maintain and repair infrastructure. However, unplanned unit breakdowns, criminal sabotage, and corruption are likely to continue to hamper efforts to rehabilitate the national grid. Power cuts could possibly last for up to 12 hours and above during major supply shortage periods.
The new Amada ENSIS 3015 RI fiber laser with rotary index for processing tube and pipe
Trying to transform the misery into some sort of convenience that minimises disruptions to daily life is generator manufacturer and supplier Elegen.
“Backup solutions help to maintain productivity and comfort. However, an on-site power source can be a matter of survival for some companies. For airports, hospitals, military bases, emergency workers, businesses and manufacturers, generators provide an indispensable standby power supply. Even when the unpredictable forces of Mother Nature disrupt power supply generators can be used,” said Elegen founding Director Christopher Hinckley.
“However, they are not limited to these circumstances. Generators have many varied uses. For example, a television outside broadcasting unit will generally use a generator to power up their equipment or have them on standby in case there is a power cut.”
The ENSIS 3015 RI from Amada is equipped with a 3kW fiber laser and an integrated rotary index located on one of three shuttle pallets, allowing the operator to switch from flat sheet cutting to tube or pipe cutting in as little as two minutes
“It is companies like Tiger Brands, Unilever and Astral Foods, companies that are central to the health of our food supply, that were taking strain before they put in contingency plans. Companies like these need large and strong industrial generators producing sufficient energy to run all their manufacturing operations. It is challenging for food producers and the broader supply chain, including agri-producers. They have had to make operational changes and adapt production schedules.”
“Currently we have a contract to implement a full turnkey operation at numerous Tiger Brands’ sites in South Africa. This includes supplying the equipment and designing the installation site, plinths, civils, cable racking, walls and fencing. So far, we have serviced 61 sites for Tiger Brands.”
“On some sites they could have a bank of five generators operating. At 320 litres an hour of diesel usage it is no wonder that their load shedding costs have increased by over 500% in the six months ended 31 March 2023.”
Components that Elegen can now process on the Amada ENSIS 3015 RI fiber laser
“We are in the business of manufacturing industrial generators. We manufacture custom generators in conjunction with leading brands including Cummins, Perkins, Volvo Penta and Doosan ranging from 5kVA to 20MVA. We are the sole manufacturer for Cummins engines and currently we have about a 95% market share for generators using Perkins engines.”
“If, for example, you wanted a weather-proof powder-coated canopy for any generator size ranging from 28kVA to 3MVA and any voltage ranging from 400V and 11 000V, we would be able to create a tailor-made solution specific to your application and requirements using ISO certified and SABS-approved components for the unit.”
“Whether you run a small business from home, run a company from your own premises or operate a large firm from an office park, our corporate generators are available in a range of sizes to meet any application for your business dependably and reliably.”
Elegen have opted to include the EZ-Cut System with their purchase. The EZ-Cut System from Amada is an optional feature for Amada lasers that is designed to reduce costs associated with nitrogen usage. It is also a highly reliable alternative for providing clean, dry and high pressure air required for shop air cutting
“Your business can choose automatic or standby generators, which are permanently connected to your building’s electrical system. When the power goes out, the generators automatically switch on to restore power. You can also choose to invest in a portable or backup generator which can be manually installed once power outages occur.”
“Our generators provide you with hours of backup electricity when load shedding, electrical storms or other unforeseen power issues strike.”
“As an original equipment manufacturer, Elegen supplies a selection of generators ranging from 5kVA single phase diesel generators to massive 20MVA generators for industrial applications. We also have a range of generators available for hire up to 220kVA with trailer and light-in tower options.”
Growth pains
“Thanks to Eskom business has been good for us. From starting off with five staff members in 2004 we now employ 256 staff. With this comes a number of growing pains but it is more on the manufacturing side that we have had to be especially progressive and diligent. We are on a constant quest to discover what more we can do with metal and how we can expand our capabilities as a company.”
Load shedding has resulted in a big shake up for fast-food restaurants like KFC who now have their own branded generators supplied by Elegen
“A generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. They need to be housed in an enclosure manufactured from durable sheet metal and various ancillary devices such as the base, the enclosure, sound attenuation, control systems, circuit breakers, jacket water heaters and a starting system make up the generator. This is referred to as a generating set or genset for short.”
“As far as possible we like to offer a turnkey situation, therefore our manufactured genset becomes an integral part of each project. Long lead times when outsourcing any processes or component does not sit well with us. Bringing capabilities in-house, whether it be cutting or fabricating, is high priority.”
New Amada ENSIS 3015 RI fiber laser with rotary index for processing tube and pipe
“We already have an Amada ENSIS 6kW fiber laser, an Amada turret punch press, an Amada HG1303 CNC press brake that is a 7-axis controlled bender that has a bending width of 3 000mm and offers up to 130 tons in bending force with automatic crowning and another Amada 220 ton press brake.”
Elegen, has had to make some smart investments coupled with putting in place strategic plans so as not to ‘drop the ball’ while trying to keep up with supply and demand for the Cummins and Perkins powered generators that the company supplies to Blue Chip companies, government and other private and corporate entities
“So when we were in the market to increase our laser cutting capabilities and capacity it made sense to keep the one-brand workshop going. We have now invested in a new Amada ENSIS 3015 RI fiber laser that comes with a rotary index for processing tube and pipe. Again we have purchased a machine that is the first of its kind in South Africa and this makes us stand out and be ahead of the game.”
The ENSIS 3015 RI from Amada is equipped with a 3kW fiber laser and an integrated rotary index located on one of three shuttle pallets, allowing the operator to switch from flat sheet cutting to tube or pipe cutting in as little as two minutes.
The system uses a variable beam control unit that automatically adjusts the laser beam’s properties to cut a variety of thin to thick materials without a lens change. Optimal beam control enables the machine to process thin materials up to four times faster than a CO2 laser.
Elegen offers a one-stop service by supplying the equipment and housing such as containers and designing the installation site, plinths, civils, cable racking, walls and fencing
“We do not have a call for production type amounts of tube and pipe work but enough to justify investing in the ENSIS 3015 RI. The combination fiber laser flat sheet and tube cutting cell was specifically purchased to alleviate the bottleneck issues we were experiencing.”
“The rotary index is an integrated unit, allowing the cutting head to be positioned near the chuck, thus minimising the dead zone. Bowed pipe or tubing can now be cut without vibration while maintaining accuracy from end to end. The innovative design expands process range capabilities to cut a significantly wider variety of tubing and pipe. Amada’s ENSIS 3015 RI can process round, square, rectangle, C-channel and angle iron, making it the most versatile rotary index laser cutting system available.”
All design and programming is done offline and sent to the machine. Now, instead of waiting days or weeks for cut material, Elegen’s process has been reduced to a few hours. In addition, Hinckley says that the moment a piece of material is cut, they can pull it off and have their artisans working on it right away. And being able to demonstrate this combination technology is helping with clients.
As an original equipment manufacturer, Elegen supplies a selection of generators ranging from 5kVA single phase diesel generators to massive 20MVA generators for industrial applications
“They really enjoy seeing how it works, especially the tube aspect of it. I know tube lasers have been around for a while, but a lot of our clients don’t know the capabilities and what we can offer with it.”
Additional manufacturing space
“Our Mountjoy Street, Wilbart, Bedfordview factory has become limiting with space. Next door to Elegen is sister company Stegel Engineering, a company that specialises in cutting, forming, machining, welding, and finishing of austenitic and high alloy stainless steel metals in relation to manufacturing, repairs and upgrading of products, equipment and buildings used in important sectors such as the food, beverage, dairy, paper and pulp, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.”
“They do supply Elegen with certain products but most their fabrication of stainless steel tanks, vessels, elution columns and other products are used in the food, beverage, dairy, paper and pulp, mining, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries. The company has an extensive machine shop facility with milling and lathe machining services.”
“They have also grown considerably and for space and work-flow reasons we are moving them to a 16 000m² factory in Wadeville, Gauteng. This will give our 20 000m² warehouse and production facilities that we occupy in Wilbart, Germiston an extra 6 500m² to work with. We are also negotiating for a further 1 000m² in the vicinity.”
For further details contact Elegen on TEL: 011 455 4900 or visit www.elegen.co.za
