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PRV Engineering > Blog > CNC Machining
28 Oct 2016

Laser, plasma or waterjet cutting?

When you work in manufacturing you have a decision to make; laser, plasma or waterjet cutting? ‘Which one is best?’ is the first question that many people ask. The most up to date and technologically advanced must be the best, surely? Well that’s not the case. In fact there could be a case for using any or all 3 of the manufacturing processes depending upon your needs and what you value most from the machine.

Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, from speed to cost and even waste. So let’s take a look at each option.

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30 Sep 2016

CNC Machining is moving to the desk top

There are few products that we use in everyday life that have not had CNC machining take some part in their production. Cars, planes, household machines and appliances, medical parts and toys all get to visit the CNC machine at some point in their production.
CNC or Computer Numerically Controlled machining has become more versatile then ever over the years. The number of axis has increased and the types of machine available now mean that increasingly smaller and more intricate parts can be manufactured using CNC machining.

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1 Aug 2016

How waterjet cutting works

Even though waterjet cutting has only come into its own in recent years it may surprise you to know that it has been around since the 1930s. At that time it was used at a low pressure and only for cutting soft materials. Whilst things continued to develop after the war, waterjet cutting became much more effective in the 1970s, when the first reliable high pressure pump was developed.

Whilst the earlier waterjet machines could cut softer materials they could not handle harder materials and metals. The ability to cut harder materials like metal came about following the addition of an abrasive to the waterjet cutting nozzle. This was a technique first used in the 1930s, however early versions of the nozzle were not commercially viable. Further development of the nozzle and the availability of a reliable pump led to a more effective waterjet that could now cut through a bigger variety of materials.

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1 Jul 2016

The advantages of waterjet cutting

There are many advantages of waterjet cutting compared to other methods, but if we had to try and summarise them neatly into a few words we’d say;

The ability to cold cut almost any material in any direction with less waste and a superior finish.

But really that’s not enough of an explanation, so let’s expand a little on that statement and address some of the areas of improvement over more traditional cutting methods.

Omni-directional cutting
Waterjet cutting allows omni-directional cutting – the ability to cut in any direction which gives much greater cutting flexibility. In most cases starting holes are not required as the water jet is able to perforate the material. It is now much easier to cut more complex shapes and designs into all sorts of materials.

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17 Jun 2016

PRV Engineering take delivery of Hydro-Abrasive Waterjet Cutting System

After a busy few days at the Subcon Show in Birmingham, it was all hands on deck to take delivery of our new Idroline S1730 Hydro-Abrasive Waterjet Cutting System from Selmach Machinery.

The system is the latest addition to our suite of state of the art CNC Multi Axis / Multi Discipline machining centres and will allow us to continue to improve and provide the best service possible to our clients.

The Idroline S1730 hydro-abrasive waterjet cutting system is an elite design which ensures superior technological and productive performance. It uses a very high pressure jet of water or a mix of water and abrasive to cut a wide variety of materials and allows greater control and precision when materials being cut are sensitive to high temperatures.

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27 May 2016

New machinery is an investment not a cost

Developments in engineering and manufacturing are moving on at a pace. Continuing research into materials and their capabilities results in demand for more complex work requirements and those requirements mean more advanced machinery.

Whether you provide one service or many, older outdated machinery may eventually lead to less efficient production and an increase in costs. There probably are some areas of manufacturing that have remained unchanged for years and so the older machinery may well still be able to work effectively, but can it compete with more modern machinery that is more efficient and technically capable? A regular review of the machinery and equipment you use should identify if your business can be improved by investing in new machinery – and it should be seen as an investment, not a cost. Newer more advanced machines may open up markets and opportunities that you previously hadn’t been able to consider, ensuring your businesses longevity.

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9 May 2016

Subcon 2016 speakers give their thoughts on the industry

Subcon 2016 is only a few weeks away now and with that in mind the organisers have asked some of their speakers their views and opinions on some key areas of manufacturing.

Not surprisingly, when asked about the biggest challenge facing the industry this year, 4 of the 7 said that they saw political and economic uncertainty as a major challenge in the coming months. The debate about staying or leaving the EU means that people are reconsidering longer term commitments and may even be delaying projects as they are unsure as to how they will be affected. Things will be clearer after the referendum in June, but there still may be longer term issues to consider depending on the outcome. It would be prudent for any business to consider the impact on them should the result be that the UK exits the EU. Of course it will take time for any exit policies and agreements to be put into place, but there’s likely to be some sort of immediate impact on existing contracts and projects. Should the vote be to stay in, then of course, things will settle back down, but it still may take a little time for that uncertainty to settle completely.

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6 Jan 2016

Engineering the Medical Advances

There are increasing numbers of stories and innovative ways in which 3D printing is being used in the medical profession. From component parts of prosthetic limbs to facial reconstructions, there are regular news stories highlighting just how ground breaking some of these developments are.

While these stories are fascinating and uplifting, we don’t hear too often about all the success and changes to people’s lives that more common procedures bring. Hip and knee replacements have become so common now that we tend to forget just how life changing these operations are for people. We also forget the engineering that went in to the design and development of these medical advances and artificial systems originally and the continued development into improvements that goes on today.

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11 Dec 2015

Developments in CNC Machining

CNC milling machines are used for the shaping of metal and other solid material and there isn’t much nowadays that hasn’t involved CNC machining somewhere in the manufacturing process. Cars, aeroplanes, machine parts, moulds for household machines, toys and prosthetics etc. are all likely to have CNC machined components.

Early milling machines were manually or mechanically operated but developed to be CNC controlled – Computer Numerically Controlled. Computer programmes control and drive the machining centre, with help from an operator and they have now also moved on from 3 axis to 4 and 5 axis machines enabling much more intricate parts to be produced.

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10 Jan 2015

PRV Engineering ready to face the challenges in 2015

The year has started well with good news about the manufacturing economy. Indicators show that things continued to improve throughout 2014 and the trend is likely to continue into 2015. However, there are still concerns about a shortage of engineers in the UK.

PRV Engineering pride ourselves on being pro active in the industry. We keep an eye on trends and developments to make sure that we can provide the best service possible to our existing clients while attracting new ones at the same time. We want to stay at the cutting edge of engineering.

Continued investment in machinery and staff, means we get the best from both. We keep down time to a minimum, our operations effective and give the best customer service possible. We also continue to expand into wider markets due to our investment in state of the art CNC and 5 axis milling machines.

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