Metalformers Pty Ltd is one of three associated companies processing sheet metal from the same facility in Industria, Gauteng. Hennie van Niekerk, the inventor of the Ultra Lock, the world’s first intentional emergency locking device for security gates, started his first engineering business, Henwill Engineering, in 1989. Initially Henwill Engineering was mainly a jobbing shop but has since grown into a full production shop that manufactures and fabricates various components and products that are used as electrical support systems, cable management systems and structural support systems for the construction and IT industries in Southern Africa.
“We supply the manufacturers, wholesalers and suppliers with custom components such as strut, cable trays, cable ladders, power skirting, cantilever arms, wiring channels, brackets, clamps and fasteners who then install them,” explained Van Niekerk.
The new 12kW Senfeng fibre laser that Metalformers have recently purchased
“Metalformers was established in 1992 to accommodate the ever-increasing requests for supporting products and equipment for the industries that we were already involved in. These included computer cabinets, self-service terminals and distribution boxes, all products that require sheet metal components. In short, the company was established to take care of our laser cutting, bending, punching, profiling and forming of sheet metal requirements. We have subsequently added fibre welding services to this package.”
“We make products that have relatively long production runs of the components that are fabricated, once cut or bent, to make these products.”
“However, we are also well-known in the industry for being a go-to place to help with new product design and prototyping with typical short runs. We have a flexible approach to metal forming and realise there is a big market for smaller batches and shorter part runs.”
“The array of components and products is numerous and come in all shapes and sizes according to the clients’ drawings or requirements. Flat sheet is bent, formed, punched, stamped or notched. Depending on the component required we also weld and if necessary, have the components galvanised or painted for the clients. Many of them are high volume orders and therefore require equipment that is reliable with repeatable operations at high speed.”
“Although we still have a number of machines that you cannot consider modern, they are nevertheless essential to the operations that we need to perform to produce the components. Take the eccentric presses for example. We have 25 of them ranging from three tons to 150 tons. At this stage it is not economically viable to go ‘modern’. You could say the same about our three guillotines.”
Metalformers have been looking for an automatic storage and retrieval system that integrates with the laser machine, a system that automates material handling from warehouse to the cutting table, a system that automatically retrieves the correct material, brings it to the machine, and automatically loads it. They have invested in a four-tier warehouse storage system which sometimes is called a tower storage system. For true process optimisation you need to supply sheet metal materials with different thicknesses and formats accurately and quickly. Metalformers have done this with four tiers of racking, each able to store up to 3 tons of material, in a tower format that can add more racking or stations when required
“Having said that, we have invested substantial amounts in equipment and software in other areas of the manufacturing plant, which includes a Durma fibre laser and Durma press brake, a number of Safan press brakes and guillotines, a Dimeco-Alipresse cut-to-length and levelling line, Euromac CNC turret punch presses and a Modula vertical warehouse for our press brake tooling.”
“Additionally, we have added five hand-held fibre laser welding systems to our fabricating department.”
12kW Senfeng fibre laser and material warehouse
“In our business it is not just about making products, it is about making the best products in the most effective way,” said Derrick van Niekerk of Ultrafab, one of two brothers working in the family business, the other one being Henk.
“Increasingly metal fabricators are turning to automated equipment to reduce production downtime and costs, streamline manufacturing, minimise material handling, and address a shortage of skilled labour,” continued Derrick van Niekerk.
“In some parts of the world, low unemployment and high wages lead job shops and contract manufacturers to invest in capital equipment rather than in additional labour. Automation can help small subcontractors compete with larger fabricating operations and automated equipment helps provide quick deliveries, competitive pricing, and could add a production shift without investing in more labour.”
“Automated operations can range from simple load/unload devices to robotic systems to lights-out production cells with full tower and material warehousing systems. You have got choose the one that best suits your business and vision.”
Metalformers have also recently installed a CoastOne bridge-type drilling, tapping or countersinking machine
“An automatic storage and retrieval system that integrates with the laser machine, a system that automates material handling from warehouse to the cutting table, a system that automatically retrieves the correct material, brings it to the machine, and automatically loads it, is what we have been looking for.”
“We have had such a wonderful experience with our Modula vertical warehouse storage system that when we decided to purchase a new fibre laser machine we decided we had to look at the material handling aspect of the sheet.”
“We are not a service centre that needs large areas for material storage nor are we a production operation servicing a few clients that also needs area for material and we are not a 24-hour a day operation. Rather we use a select amount of various gauge sheet regularly and could have many changeovers of the various gauges of sheet in a day. Therefore we need accurate selection and loading of the sheet of the popular materials and sizes. Poor inventory management is the silent killer.”
“This is why we have gone for the four-tier warehouse storage system which sometimes is called a tower storage system. For true process optimisation you need to supply sheet metal materials with different thicknesses and formats accurately and quickly. We have done this with four tiers of racking, each able to store up to 3 tons of material, in a tower format that can add more racking or stations when required.”
“There are many different options and solutions but the main benefits have to be a reduction of the footprint, elimination of handling and stock management errors, efficient inventory management, significant risk mitigation, enhanced efficiency and an operator does not have to carry out manual extractions.”
“The storage system has been setup next to our new Senfeng 12kW fibre laser that has a 3 000mm by 1 500mm bed.”
“We have also recently installed a CoastOne bridge-type drilling, tapping or countersinking machine.”
Metalix software suite
“Investing in a laser cutting system is a big decision and can seem overwhelming, but with a systematic approach to understanding the needs of your company you will be able to make an informed decision.”
“But to make you stand out from the rest and be more cost-effective, which makes you very competitive in the market, you have to choose the right software package.”
“After testing various software platforms, we very quickly found that the Metalix software suite is a very powerful piece of software and fits very easily into our workflow. It allows us to rapidly go from design to cutting and punching of parts.”
Aluminium components that have been drilled, tapped and countersunk on the new bridge type machine
“The agility, ease of use and speed we can work with when using Metalix is key to keeping our machines running 15 plus hours per day. Sometimes we have nests with over 30 to 50 different parts totalling more than 100 000 parts, and Metalix has no problem nesting it and managing it very effectively.”
“We have found the nesting engine to be extremely good compared to other software we have used. And we trust the software very much to make the most of available material with minimum waste.”
“What makes Metalix stand out for me personally is the flexibility that Metalix offers me as the programmer. Metalix AutoNest can make automatic decisions that work in most situations but when I would like to take a specific approach to a job, it is extremely easy and fast to implement things my way. The software does not push you into a corner and force you to do it a certain way.”
“Metalix cncKad for me is a very powerful tool. Not only for preparing NC code, but the drawing side of cncKad is extremely feature-rich. Making changes to parts is unmatched in any other CNC software I have tried. Manipulating or changing drawings, or even creating parts from scratch or using the
built-in parts library is very fast to do.”
“Also, the compatibility with other software packages is very good. For our 3D design we prefer to use PTC Creo. Using the CAD Link Creo plugin, with very few mouse clicks within Creo, we get our parts into Metalix with the correct material, thickness and bend parameters. There is no other workflow that can do it that fast.”
For further details contact Metalformers on TEL: 011 474 9810, email info@metalformers.co.za or visit www.metalformers.co.za
