Machine has one of the largest tables in terms of width to be installed in South Africa.

Fabrication and general engineering company Admo Engineering has installed what is thought to be a fibre laser with the largest bed size and the first of its kind, in South Africa.

“The machine might not be largest in terms of its cutting area for the length of the bed – that accolade went to a company named Laser Sprint way back in 2003 – but for the width of the cutting area it certainly is. The bed size of this monster Hugong CNC fibre laser cutter is slightly more than the 12 metres by 4.5 metres plate that Admo Engineering intend processing. Generally speaking you will get a maximum width of 3 metres and even the length is not common in South Africa. This length is normally associated with plasma profile cutters or oxyfuel cutters,” explained Thys de Villiers, Sales Manager of the suppliers TRM Supplies.

The large Hugong 12m by 4.5m 8kW fibre laser that has been installed at Admo Engineering by TRM Supplies

The inauguration of the machine took place in November 2021 with many engineering associated delegates in attendance. The machine specifications, in particular the bed width, were stipulated with a particular client in mind – Weir Minerals Africa. Admo Engineering has been associated with Weir Minerals Africa for a number of years supplying product and components to the company’s high standards.

“On two occasions during our 27 year dealings with Weir Minerals Africa – in 2011 and 2015 – we have been awarded Weir Minerals Africa’s Supplier of the Year award. By working closely with Weir Minerals Africa, we have been able to help them achieve significant cost savings and deepen our partnership with them,” explained Anton du Plessis, General Manager at Admo Engineering.

“The Hugong CNC fibre laser cutter was purchased specifically with supplying fabricated plate for Weir Minerals Africa’s custom-designed vibrating screens for a range of applications, in mind. The new generation of linear motion vibrating screens is now being locally designed and manufactured in South Africa. According to Weir Minerals Africa, this design capability provides the flexibility to produce vibrating screens to suit specific plant layouts. The designs aim to optimise cost, efficiency and performance and the screens are deployed in a wide range of minerals processing applications. Vibrating equipment is seen to be more challenging to design than static equipment owing to the high frequency cyclic loading to which the machines are subjected.”

Hugong uses European components for the lasers that they manufacture including Precitec cutting heads

“These ‘double-decker’ screens as they are referred to, require large plate sections, preferably ones that have less welded sections than necessary. The 4.5 metre bed width allows us to process plates that fit these requirements and therefore give more integrity to the vibrating screens. These plates are not made locally and have to be imported from Germany.”

“We have just received our first shipment. Each plate has a thickness of 12mm and each one weighs 5.1 tons. Our first shipment of 100 plates weighed in at over 500 tons of steel.”

Hugong 8kW fibre laser “Fibre laser cutting machines have emerged as the technology of choice for sheet metal cutting in the metal fabricating industry. They are able to deliver unrivalled productivity, precision and cost-effective operation when compared with the cutting technologies that came before them.”

“Unlike YAG lasers, fibre lasers utilise semi-conductor diodes as the pumping mechanism and a doped fibre optic cable as the gain medium. In a fibre laser, the doped fibre optic serves as the resonator. There are many pros of a fibre laser with one of the main ones being the high beam quality.”

“Fibre lasers (named so because the laser beam is created using solid-state laser diodes and then delivered to the cutting head with fibre-optic cable) have come a long way in being able to handle the variety of metal thicknesses that a job shop has to tackle on a regular basis. The increased wattage from these power sources and cutting heads that have the ability to adjust the beam mode for thicker materials has made the fibre laser a machine tool capable of addressing all sorts of cutting applications.”

The latest Precitec fibre laser series All-In-Light Fiber is a cost-efficient and reliable, complete optical solution for your laser cutting system. You receive everything directly from a single source, from the laser source to the process fibre to the cutting head

“The emergence of fibre lasers with a 10kW source and higher is forcing fabricators to think differently about how they approach laser cutting. The increasing adoption rate of high-powered lasers is not likely to end anytime soon. With laser cutting power reaching 20kW, these devices are capable of cutting materials up to 38mm with precision, a thickness once reserved for waterjets and plasma cutting machines.”

“In our game the bigger the sheet you can cut the more efficiency you are going to achieve. You add the higher wattage that is available these days to the equation, and cutting heads that have the ability to adjust the beam mode for thicker materials, and you have a machine tool capable of addressing all sorts of cutting applications.”

“The biggest fibre laser that we know of in the country has cutting capabilities of up to 12.2 metres by 3.2 metres, with an overall loading bed size of 12.4 metres x 3.4 metres, and the biggest plates available in the local market are 12 metres x 3 metres.”

The main suppliers involved in the installation of the large Hugong 12m by 4.5m 8kW fibre laser with management from Admo Engineering and the client Weir Minerals Africa. Rajen Govender of Weir Minerals Africa, Piet Fourie and Anton du Plessis, both of Admo Engineering, Thys de Villiers and Guenther Schmitz, both of TRM Supplies, Alex Dowling of RGM Cranes, Stephen Joseph of MCB Ningi Consulting Engineers and Eugene Broodryk of Weir Minerals Africa

“Our Hugong machine can cut plates up to 12m by 4.5m. The machine is also equipped with the latest European manufactured laser source, laser cutting head, air compressor, air cooling dryer and filter and CNC system.”

“At this size, it does give us many options. Continuous cutting eliminates steps in the process and saves time and money.”

About Admo Engineering Admo Engineering was established in 1988 By Piet Fourie (CEO) and his wife Dot. The company is recognised as a leading manufacturer and supplier of fabricated components into a diverse range of industries including the mining and general engineering industries.

Specialising in laser and flame cutting, guillotining, bending, punching, rolling, drilling and machining of steel and stainless steel, the company adds value with fabricating, shot and sand blasting, stainless steel blasting, shot peening and spray painting.

Admo Engineering has just received their first shipment of plate, imported from Germany. Each plate has a thickness of 12mm and each one weighs 5.1 tons. The first shipment of 100 plates weighed in at over 500 tons of steel

The company currently employs 180 staff that operate from six workshops and administration buildings in Vulcania, Brakpan, Gauteng. With a total area of 15 000m² under roof the company can cut plate up to 150mm thick, have turning and milling CNC capabilities and large turning and vertical and boring mill capabilities. The company also boasts with a lifting crane capacity of 9m lifting height to accommodate larger scale projects. Admo are capable of moving in excess of 140 tons of finished products per year.

Admo Engineering is ISO 45001:2018, 9001:2015 and 14001:2015 certified.

For further details contact Admo Engineering on TEL: 011 740 2093 or visit www.admoeng.co.za