Safer and more efficient

What was the decisive factor behind the decision to invest in a rack? “We installed our new laser cutter right at the back of the hall, while our sheet metal rack was right at the front. And the workshop is a hundred metres long. It soon became apparent that all this transporting would not make our work any safer or more efficient. That’s when I immediately called aalbers|farina.”

Good collaboration

It was a tight fit when it came to the configuration, Martens continues: “At aalbers|farina they worked with us closely on this. The centre of the rack is now aligned with the centre of the shuttle table so we don’t have to travel with the crane. If we are cutting complete packs, we place them right next to the shuttle table, so we can use the same crane to place the sheets on. And if we need to cut a sheet from the rack in the meantime, it is also always within reach of our crane. The laser cutter, crane and rack all now function as one. As a result, we are using less space and everything is CE approved.”

Two years of flawless performance

And how pleased are they with the rack? “We are extremely happy with it. It really was a great move. In terms of handling it couldn’t be more efficient. The sheet metal storage rack has been working flawlessly for two years now, while our laser cutter operates for nine hours every working day.”

Thick sheet in the evening

“We can shear sheets up to 10 millimetres thick, but in the rack we also have thicknesses of 12, 15 and 20 millimetres for the laser cutter. In the evening, therefore, we often put a thick sheet onto the machine so the laser cutter can keep working.”

Logging of leftover materials

Martens says that being able to log leftover materials is also ideal. “Sometimes you have half a sheet left. As you can see exactly what you still have in stock, you can say: let’s cut this sheet first. With thicker sheets in particular that’s ideal.”