TPT January 2022

AR T I C L E

KASTO Maschinenbau GmbH

Case study: shor ter bandsaw cutting times even when processing tough alloys By KASTO Maschinenbau GmbH

In light an increasing number of high-volume orders, the Howat Group decided to build on a new facility to expand its capacity – and to broaden its sawing technology. The metal handler serving the oil & gas industry invested, among other machinery, in the KASTOwin pro AC 5.6 high-performance bandsaw. This bandsaw is designed for the optimal use of bimetallic and carbide blades and enables significant productivity advantages for all processing materials. After experiencing several difficult years, the oil & gas industry is now on the upswing again. The Howat Group also benefits from this development: Located in Barnsley in the UK, the company is a supplier of special metals for this demanding industry. The product range comprises various nickel and aluminium alloys as well as numerous steel and stainless steels. The materials are used, for example, on offshore drilling platforms or in pipeline construction – at sites where they are exposed to extreme temperatures, high pressure and heavy corrosion. The Howat Group opened its new facility in Dearne Valley, UK at the end of 2018. This facility provides 60,000m 2 of space, among other things, for a large sawing plant: a total of 14 automatic saws from the German manufacturer KASTO ensure fast and accurate cuts. Some of which have been in service since the 1990s and still cut as accurately as they did when first used.

The KASTOwin pro AC 5.6 is a high-performance bandsaw optimised for the use with bimetallic and carbide blades

Expanding sawing technology To cope with an increasing number of high volume orders, in the course of constructing the new facility, the company also decided to expand its sawing technology. Some of the existing models were retrofitted to update them to the current technology. In addition, the company invested in the KASTOwin pro AC 5.6, which is a high-performance bandsaw optimised for the use with bimetallic and carbide blades. Therefore, it is suitable to cut alloys such as tough nickel, titanium and stainless steel with diameters of up to 560mm as well as for cutting low-alloy steels. Howat’s operations director, Emma Parkinson, said: “We have four dedicated carbide cutting bandsaws on site, which include KASTOtec AC5s and now the KASTOwin pro, which is even more economical. They are ideal for cutting our Inconel materials.” Particularly for the processing of these nickel alloys, the company wanted to become more efficient and, therefore, decided to acquire this new machine. Ms Parkinson explained: “I was quite familiar with the benefits of the KASTO saws since I have worked with this manufacturer during my previous employment.” Easy blade change The remainder of the sawing plant, which comprises sawing with a cutting range of up to 800mm, is intended mainly for the operation using bimetal blades – however, now

Emma Parkinson, operations director at the Howat Group, examines the cutting quality of the KASTOwin pro AC 5.6 together with an operator

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JANUARY 2022