Formed over 65 years ago, Manchester-based manufacturer, Plastic Formers Ltd., are specialists in all areas of acrylic fabrication. Producing innovative plastic and acrylic solutions for clients, the company creates large and small-scale solutions for displays, events, shop fitting and more with short lead times. Big-name clients include Harrods Department Store, Morrisons supermarket and Coca-Cola.
Innovative production
Plastic Formers were an early adopter of laser cutters. Managing Director, Daniel Jepson, first discovered the technology at a trade show over 25 years ago. After seeing the small and intricate cuts and engraved details that were possible with lasers, Daniel was keen to bring the technology into his business to expand production capabilities.
Plastic Formers have invested in a wide range of tools to kit out their production zone, with five large format CO2 laser cutters, one flatbed CO2 laser engraver and five CNC routers as well as printing and moulding machines. Due to the variety of production equipment they have in-house, the team are able to choose which technology is best suited to fulfil job requirements and can offer a wide range of services.
In the past, the team at Plastic Formers found the bed size of their laser cutters could be limiting. Certain jobs required the team to use their CNC routers to cut material down to fit the laser’s bed size, effectively doubling the workload. An increase in enquiries for raster engraved applications also brought challenges, as the lasers were not optimised for engraving, leading to long production times and reduced capacity for cutting jobs.
Daniel and the team had long been aware of Trotec’s flatbed laser engraving solutions, having seen them in action over the years at the Sign and Digital trade show in Birmingham. Priding the business as a one-stop-shop for all acrylic services, Daniel wanted to find out what Trotec systems could offer to facilitate their raster engraving applications. While discussing this requirement with the Trotec representative, Daniel learned about the SP3000 large format cutter.
With its 3x2m work area, the need to cut materials down to size on the CNC could be completely removed, which would significantly improve production times. Ultimately, Daniel decided to invest in both a large format SP3000 laser cutter and a Speedy 400 system to optimise the company’s production capabilities.
Improved production possibilities
Since the Speedy 400 and SP3000 were installed, Plastic Formers Ltd has continued to provide high-quality service to customers. The biggest impact on the business has been in terms of productivity.
The addition of the SP3000 large format laser has significantly improved production times and freed their CNC technology for other work, with all materials comfortably fitting the 3 x 2-meter working area.
The larger bed size of the SP3000 means that larger sheets can be processed, which minimises wastage through previously unused offcuts. For one application in particular, the team have seen a 50% improvement in material usage, where the bed size of their former laser cutters could only hold a sheet big enough for two components to be cut, wasting significant material, the SP3000 can cut three components from one sheet. There are cost and environmental benefits to this.
Easy access to all sides of the SP300 allows for effortless loading and unloading of materials without having to stop the machine, reducing idle time. In addition, changeable laser beds provide optimum results for a wide range of applications. When specifying the SP3000, Daniel opted for the addition of Trotec’s Vision Print and Cut camera system. The Print and Cut add-on provides perfect synergy with the business’s printing technology. The SP3000 accurately cuts printed acrylic sheets via the detection of registration marks, so there is no need for a print bleed which further improves material usage thanks to tighter nesting.
The Speedy 400 flatbed system has brought new production capabilities for Plastic Formers Ltd., all engraving work is now done in-house which has saved on outsourcing costs and improved customer service levels. The smaller cutting jobs can also be completed on the Speedy’s 1016 x 610 mm work area.
Daniel and the team speak highly of their experience with Trotec. As well as praising the reliability of the systems, credit is given to how quickly and efficiently any issues have been dealt with, with the Trotec service team doing their utmost to keep downtime to an absolute minimum.
Looking to the future, Plastic Formers will continue to innovate acrylic fabrication with their products.
Daniel said “The Trotec systems have been an excellent addition to our workflow, reducing our production load and allowing us to add new services to our portfolio.”
European Sign Federation