Atlas Copco’s nitrogen generator boosts laser cutting production

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A UK laser-cutting facility has installed two state-of-the-art fibre optic laser cutting machines and replaced its two existing nitrogen generators with a single Atlas Copco NGP70+.

 

As an addition to its established capacity to laser cut common materials such as mild, stainless, and galvanised steel, as well as aluminium, the laser and nitrogen generation equipment upgrade now enables HBH Laser to cut brass, copper and other non-ferrous materials. This gives a quicker, cheaper alternative rather than using their waterjet cutting machines.

“Our ability to precision laser-cut many different materials delivers major advantages to our customers in terms of design options and savings in both time and costs,” explains Lee Humphries, Managing Director, HBH Laser. “Our new equipment utilises state-of-the-art technology, allowing us to produce components that would otherwise require CNC machining, and to offer a range of product features that might not previously have been possible or would have required costly alternatives.”

Atlas Copco’s compact on-site nitrogen generator system comprises a NGP70+ nitrogen generator, a full-feature GA18 VSD+ FF rotary screw compressor as the dry air source feeding the company’s 6kW Trumpf Lasers, plus a 300bar booster, together with filtration and air and nitrogen storage.

In comparison to the output of the company’s original two generators, the new Atlas Copco installation can deliver 99.99% pure nitrogen at the rate of 30.5 m3/h.

The system was recommended on the basis of the company’s laser cutting process consuming 25 m3/h on average and utilising the unit’s high-pressure bottle bank for storage and filling during periods of low demand.

The NGP70+ nitrogen generator sits at the heart of HBH Laser’s installation and is part of Atlas Copco’s NGP/NGP+ range of service-friendly nitrogen generators, which combine high flow capacity, exceeding 3000 Nm3/h, with low operating and maintenance costs. Fully automated, with oxygen monitoring as a standard feature, the units require no specialist installation or commissioning – and thanks to its exceptionally low air and energy consumption, it also offers the lowest cost of ownership on the market today.

An NGP nitrogen generator operates with Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology that works by separating nitrogen and oxygen molecules within the compressed air stream feeding the unit. PSA does this by trapping the oxygen using adsorption techniques. Adsorption takes place when oxygen molecules attach to a carbon molecular sieve (CMS), allowing the smaller nitrogen molecules to pass through.

Central to the nitrogen generation system is the supply of quality, dry air. The Atlas Copco GA 18 VSD+ FF compressor, with its innovative vertical aspect, is a full-feature compressor designed with a Specific Energy Requirement (SER), which is, on average, 20% lower than comparative models. It delivers a variable output from 14.9 – 62.5 l/s at 7.5 bar and is complete with a built-in refrigerant dryer for dry compressed air supply. It comes as a plug-and-play concept with a host of innovative features that increase its efficiency, cut its energy consumption, lower its noise levels, and reduce its operating costs.

The nitrogen generation system was acquired through a fixed term rental scheme, one of the deals offered by Atlas Copco and its finance partner Société Générale Equipment Finance, which give customers a different option to pay for their equipment.

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