Procurement of water cutting equipment to advance in the production value chain (2016)

The water cutting equipment will be used primarily for the production of vacuum technical components (flanges, end plates) and special equipment for the manufacture of thick structural elements for special appliances.

These workpieces are incorporated in large numbers in our self-manufactured equipment, but they are also in great demand at the Institute for Nuclear Research, which has been doing business with our company for 20 years. The tandetron accelerator equipment, acquired in 2016, requires quite a significant capacity to manufacture flanges of various sizes for the construction of beamlines. In addition, the manufacture of precision scaffolding and the large-thickness structural elements of the machines and devices on it will also represent a significant number of custom jobs in the future. Both the tandetron and the already operational cyclotron accelerator, and ECR ion sources are constantly evolving as research goals change.

Other opportunities include the fast and precise machining of plastic components for the custom equipment we build, and the cutting of special high-value (e.g., titanium) sheet metals with minimal material loss.

Our progress in the production chain

We see it as an advance in the production chain that what we could not do ourselves before, we can do now with the new equipment, at a high technical and technological standard.

So, our investment in capacity expansion will bring technological, production and productivity innovation and expansion to our company.

The technological difference between the plasma cutting machine we use and the new water cutting machine is very significant! During plasma cutting, the materials to be cut in the heat-affected zone undergo changes in material structure – recrystallisation, grain swelling, burn-out – which in many cases are not permissible to meet the specific production requirements of the experimental equipment. Cut material hardens, non-corrodible material rusts, etc. The water cutter purchased in this project will achieve a higher technological standard. The machine separates the material mechanically as opposed to melting it by plasma cutting, thus eliminating structural changes caused by heat. This means better production quality and eliminates the post-processing that was unavoidable with plasma cutting.