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Combination Waterjet/Plasma Cutting Machine Fuels Business Growth for Idaho Steel Center
Idaho Steel Company Uses ESAB Waterjet/Plasma Combo
Small- to mid-sized businesses often thrive on diversity. Grant Forest, president of Forest Steel, a steel service center located in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, likes niche business. After 25 years in the steel service business, he recognizes the value of a “diverse profit center.” So when he wanted to expand his business two years ago, he decided to add a waterjet cutting machine to his already diverse metal fabrication capabilities. The machine he ultimately chose was one that gave him even more capability than he originally thought possible. He purchased a combination waterjet and plasma cutting machine from ESAB Welding & Cutting Products.
The HydroCut combination machine uses ESAB’s patented technology to combine the non-thermal waterjet process with the thermal plasma cutting process on the same gantry. No other machine currently on the market can offer this capability. The machine allows Forest Steel to use the accuracy of waterjet to cut precision holes or shapes on parts and use the speed of plasma on less critical cuts, such as outer contours, all on the same plate with no change in set up.
This unique capability is combined with ESAB’s reliable gantry design. The gantry features all welded, stress relieved, reinforced components with all contact surfaces machined to ensure accurate match up with mating surfaces. A thick-wall box beam provides ample strength and stiffness to support the process stations over a maximum 20 ft. width. An independent reinforced deck supports all auxiliary equipment without placing any additional torsional forces on the main beam.
The main rail system is a floor mounted assembly with machined “T” rails, mounted on fully adjustable cast steel pads and protected by bellows covers. This allows almost unlimited cutting lengths. Forest Steel’s machine cuts 12 ft. by 40 ft. plates. The “T” rails are machined on three sides and are tongue-and-groove
on the ends to interlock at the joints, eliminating sideways movement. Drive racks are mounted directly to the machined surface of the rail, ensuring proper alignment. Smooth, accurate motion is provided by machined wheels and roller bearings, digital AC drive amplifiers, AC brushless motors and precision planetary gear boxes. The system is geared for the waterjet process, providing travel speeds from 0.1 to 750 ipm (2.54 - 19,050 mm/min).
The HydroCut can be equipped with ESAB’s Vision™ Computer Numerical Control for the most advanced waterjet optimized motion control in the industry. Process control for any material is as easy as selecting the material type and thickness. Forest Steel also uses ESAB’s Columbus software that facilitates set up, nesting and program storage. The machine can be equipped with conventional plasma, Precision plasma and/or oxyfuel if desired.
The HydroCut’s unique capabilities have been put to good use by some local artisans and designers, particularly in the area’s gated communities. “We’ve cut some really unique designs for custom gates,” Forest says. These gates are cut from thick carbon steel plate. The company has also cut signs and artwork in a number of materials for other high-end projects in local condominiums. The waterjet capability opened a whole new area of business for Forest Steel in cutting non-ferrous materials, such as plastic, granite and glass. One of their customers in the sawmill industry needed gears cut from two-inch thick, heavy UHMW plastic. The waterjet cuts this material with ease. This same customer
used to have Forest Steel cut parts for him, and then took those parts back to his own facility to manually drill the more intricate holes. Now the entire piece can be done on Forest Steel’s HydroCut machine. This saves the customer a great deal of time, and the savings in labor makes it more economical for the company to have Forest Steel do the entire job. The waterjet machine also cuts these parts more accurately than could be done
by hand.
“When we bought this machine, ESAB gave us a set of parameters,” Forest says. “We actually pushed the machine beyond its capacity and got great results. We made a great choice. This machine opened up whole new markets. We’ve accomplished what we wanted to do and more.”
Although Forest has done no advertising specifically for this machine, word of mouth has brought in enough business to keep the machine running two shifts per day. In two years, they have had no problems with the machine, and Forest says, once it was hooked up, the equipment “did exactly what they expected,” completely living up to what they saw in an online technical demonstration prior to purchasing the machine.
Small- to mid-sized businesses often thrive on diversity. Grant Forest, president of Forest Steel, a steel service center located in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, likes niche business. After 25 years in the steel service business, he recognizes the value of a “diverse profit center.” So when he wanted to expand his business two years ago, he decided to add a waterjet cutting machine to his already diverse metal fabrication capabilities. The machine he ultimately chose was one that gave him even more capability than he originally thought possible. He purchased a combination waterjet and plasma cutting machine from ESAB Welding & Cutting Products.
The HydroCut combination machine uses ESAB’s patented technology to combine the non-thermal waterjet process with the thermal plasma cutting process on the same gantry. No other machine currently on the market can offer this capability. The machine allows Forest Steel to use the accuracy of waterjet to cut precision holes or shapes on parts and use the speed of plasma on less critical cuts, such as outer contours, all on the same plate with no change in set up.
This unique capability is combined with ESAB’s reliable gantry design. The gantry features all welded, stress relieved, reinforced components with all contact surfaces machined to ensure accurate match up with mating surfaces. A thick-wall box beam provides ample strength and stiffness to support the process stations over a maximum 20 ft. width. An independent reinforced deck supports all auxiliary equipment without placing any additional torsional forces on the main beam.
The main rail system is a floor mounted assembly with machined “T” rails, mounted on fully adjustable cast steel pads and protected by bellows covers. This allows almost unlimited cutting lengths. Forest Steel’s machine cuts 12 ft. by 40 ft. plates. The “T” rails are machined on three sides and are tongue-and-groove
on the ends to interlock at the joints, eliminating sideways movement. Drive racks are mounted directly to the machined surface of the rail, ensuring proper alignment. Smooth, accurate motion is provided by machined wheels and roller bearings, digital AC drive amplifiers, AC brushless motors and precision planetary gear boxes. The system is geared for the waterjet process, providing travel speeds from 0.1 to 750 ipm (2.54 - 19,050 mm/min).
The HydroCut can be equipped with ESAB’s Vision™ Computer Numerical Control for the most advanced waterjet optimized motion control in the industry. Process control for any material is as easy as selecting the material type and thickness. Forest Steel also uses ESAB’s Columbus software that facilitates set up, nesting and program storage. The machine can be equipped with conventional plasma, Precision plasma and/or oxyfuel if desired.
The HydroCut’s unique capabilities have been put to good use by some local artisans and designers, particularly in the area’s gated communities. “We’ve cut some really unique designs for custom gates,” Forest says. These gates are cut from thick carbon steel plate. The company has also cut signs and artwork in a number of materials for other high-end projects in local condominiums. The waterjet capability opened a whole new area of business for Forest Steel in cutting non-ferrous materials, such as plastic, granite and glass. One of their customers in the sawmill industry needed gears cut from two-inch thick, heavy UHMW plastic. The waterjet cuts this material with ease. This same customer
used to have Forest Steel cut parts for him, and then took those parts back to his own facility to manually drill the more intricate holes. Now the entire piece can be done on Forest Steel’s HydroCut machine. This saves the customer a great deal of time, and the savings in labor makes it more economical for the company to have Forest Steel do the entire job. The waterjet machine also cuts these parts more accurately than could be done
by hand.
“When we bought this machine, ESAB gave us a set of parameters,” Forest says. “We actually pushed the machine beyond its capacity and got great results. We made a great choice. This machine opened up whole new markets. We’ve accomplished what we wanted to do and more.”
Although Forest has done no advertising specifically for this machine, word of mouth has brought in enough business to keep the machine running two shifts per day. In two years, they have had no problems with the machine, and Forest says, once it was hooked up, the equipment “did exactly what they expected,” completely living up to what they saw in an online technical demonstration prior to purchasing the machine.
