Speaking with Ronan Smith, the technician manager at Belfast Metropolitan College, about their new Swiftcut Pro 1250 plasma cutting table, it’s clear that they are thrilled with the latest inclusion to their Belfast Met Millfield Campus.
When it came to purchasing the table it was not something we took for granted; over a year in planning with budgeting and extensive discussions with local suppliers, Ronan proposed the Swift-cut machine after viewing and discussing with Engineering Machinery’s representative . Ronan was impressed with the machine build and technology and most importantly the smart foot print of the table including the innovative approach Swift-Cut take to plasma cutting. Further discussions with other local Swiftcut users convinced them the decision to proceed with the purchase was correct
Ronan described the installation and commissioning as effortless, the table was promptly fitted and operational in a couple of hours. A days training later and he said the table was ‘ fool proof ‘ Any questions or queries were answered and the ability to remotely support any issues was explained, meaning no waiting for engineers visit or downtime in what is quite a confined space . ‘ Our campus needed this next step to keep up to date with industry standards so that our students have the very best facilities available. ’
The college opted for the water table which helps reduce fumes during use, in what is quite a low ceilinged enclosed space, this was a necessity to ensure that the safety of the user is optimised during use. The Swiftcut Pro 1250 is also installed with the Swift Trace, this allows rapid programming of even the most complex of drawings.
In terms of how the table has advanced Belfast Met’s efficiency, it has reduced downtime in the preparation of materials for classes allowing the technician to prepare multiple cuts of material with ease and efficiency. It has also greatly reduced wastage of material as the Swiftcut Pro 1250 can be set to produce the most efficient cuts possible. It has also eliminated the need for a technician to stand and cut lengths of material on a daily basis. The introduction of the Swiftcut PRO 1250 plasma cutter has allowed Belfast Met to increase the volume of student projects two fold at least.
The only problem now is the number of students who would need access to it,but through other solutions students don’t physically always need to use the table themselves, they create the designs which can then carried out by technicians who will produce the work in turn.
The table has quickly become a integral part of a lot of the courses with subject areas other than engineering making use of the facility in a short space of time. Purchasing the Swiftcut CNC Plasma for us was always going to be investment, but now one we see that is already paying off rapidly for the College in terms of the work produced, efficiency in use, cost effective preparation of materials and most importantly the learning for our students.
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