Broadwater Mouldings, a UK-based manufacture of glass fiber composites, has completed an upgrade to its robotic trimming department.
The investment will allow the trimming of more than 70% of its fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) moldings. The company’s aim is to develop its worldwide business and strategic position in the automotive, medical and industrial as well as explore other markets.
Before this improvement Broadwater Mouldings had two 5 Axis CNC robot trimming centres, installed separately in 2003 & 2010. The new upgrade to the original cell will increase the flexibility with more cutting tool options and improve the repeatability/accuracy. The system has one fixed spindle which has six chucks currently but more can be added to suit new work.
‘We installed the original robotic trimmer in 2003, which was cutting edge at the time,’ said Justin Cossey, production manager at Broadwater Mouldings. ‘During the period after installation of the second CNC Robot we realised that in order to ensure the best possible trim levels for our customers we needed to upgrade and invest in new technology.’
This story is reprinted from material from Broadwater Mouldings with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
