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The company and products
The Iron Shop in Broomall, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, has been manufacturing custombuilt spiral, curved and floating stairs since 1931. The introduction of spiral stair kits opened new markets around the world. The company’s spirit of innovation made The Iron Shop one of the first users of Hypertherm’s HyDefinition process in 1991.The problem
A tight labor market and high demand forcustom-built spiral, curved and floating stairs was
creating a serious backlog of orders at The Iron
Shop. The problem was obvious: the company
needed to quickly upgrade its manufacturing
process if it was to remain a key player in an
expanding market.
The solution
In 1998, President Allen Cohen installed two new X-Y tables from Advanced Kiffer Systems (AKS) mounted with Hypertherm HyDefinition HD3070 plasma systems. Burny controllers operated the tables. Hypertherm Command THC controlled torch height.“The whole system is so much faster and the quality is so much better that I now have a real competitive advantage,” Cohen says. “It’s almost against my interests to tell anyone about it.”
Faster Torch Height Control Increases Output 20%
The Iron Shop
demands flawless
finishes on its spiral
stair kits and custom
ornamental work.
Tight schedules call
for fast turnaround.
The HyDefinition
plasma process cuts
at near laser quality.
Command Torch Height
Control reduces cycle
times by 20%.
The overall gain in
productivity is like
having an extra day’s
output each week.
Benefits
Hypertherm’s Command Torch Height Control has dramatically increased output by replacing a unit that took a full 5 seconds to screw down to the work piece, screw back up to pierce height, fire, pierce and cut. “With Command THC, there’s no waiting,” President Cohen says. “It’s boom! Done!”“The faster cycle time is like having an extra day of output every week,” he adds. “We’re doing $500,000 worth of fine ironwork for a new restaurant in Manhattan and because of construction contracts, we’ve got to stay on schedule. Because of these recent upgrades, we will.”
Command THC saves time by starting the
plasma preflow during initial height sensing.
Operators can quickly set partial retract
heights to keep the torch close to the plate
between cuts, further enhancing productivity.
Advance preflow start and partial retract
combine to reduce cycle times 20%.
Command THC also lengthens consumable
life by preventing collisions with the work
piece and minimizing spatter damage
when piercing.
