Cutting in the house

For many years, the blacksmith and metal construction company Josef Schiller in Gmund am Tegernsee was looking for a compact fine plasma cutting system to be able to implement the versatile tasks in the area of cutting in-house. Only an anniversary package was able to end the search and now leads to significantly higher productivity and many an unforeseen order.

For Josef Schiller and his team, production has become much easier since March 2022. With the delivery of a cutting system, the metal construction master brought the cutting in-house and thus combined several advantages. Gone was the wait for the pay cut, gone was the cumbersome and time-consuming rework of cutting with hand plasma or other home remedies.

Instead, with a fine plasma cutting machine, press brake and guillotine shear – all in the large-format 3 x 1.5 meter range – the forge and metal construction company is now as flexible in its machinery as it has always been as a company since it was founded in 2010. Because the company is versatile, customers rely on the custom-fit and individual products – from traditional blacksmithing to modern metal design.

High expenses and waiting times for suppliers slow down production

Josef Schiller used to spend between 1,000 and 3,500 euros a month on the purchase of cutting parts; in addition to added value, flexibility and speed also fell by the wayside. Since the PL Compact from MicroStep has made it possible to cut parts quickly and easily in-house, the situation has turned around 180°. In addition to the versatile tasks for carpentries or other construction companies within a 50 km radius of the Gmund am Tegernsee site, the company can now even offer contract cutting itself.

Viewed different variants over a long period of time

“If you can do it yourself, you just do it,” Josef Schiller clarifies the newfound straightforwardness. Whether plates and individual pieces for a steel hall, sheets for the grave crosses of the father’s forging, sheets for covers for wood chip bunkers or Z-sheets for steel structures – the 2D fine plasma cutting machine is a helpful production assistant. In the search for the right cutting solution, the family business took its time. “Four years earlier, I was already looking around. I was looking for something compact where the price also had to be right. That’s why I put it on hold in the meantime,” says Schiller, looking back. Again and again, he sought information from various manufacturers about used systems and entry-level systems with fine plasma but also air plasma. “I’m glad I didn’t do that. That may be enough for some things but not for us. Fine plasma is simply something else,” says Schiller.

MicroStep anniversary offer combines all requirements

With the PL Compact, which MicroStep had offered for its 30th anniversary in an anniversary package including plasma current source, filter system, software and control system, a package was on the market that covered all the requirements of the metal construction company: compact design with guide integrated in the table, fine plasma quality, price-conscious design. The main area of application for the plasma cutting system is 80 percent structural steel from 2 to 30 mm. Stainless steel mainly with a thickness of 5 mm for clamps on pipelines is also regularly cut. Mostly smaller quantities up to batch size 100 are produced. “The cooperation with MicroStep is very good. The plant runs almost every day and is really efficient. It fits perfectly for us,” says Josef Schiller and is looking forward to many more new tasks.

Web:
www.microstep.com