IT has been almost six years since J. Furphy & Sons purchased their first laser cutting machine.

Now the company is set to expand Furphy Laser Cutting with a $1.5 million investment in two new laser machines. Both machines have been purchased from Bristow Laser Systems (BLS), a leading Australian company who also supplied the existing machine.

The first machine commissioned effectively replaces the original equipment and has a standard ball screw motion system fitted with a new Rofin Sinar DC025 laser, supplied by Laser Resource Management and new Fluid Chillers Australia CA44 model water chiller.

The DC025 is a 2500 watt laser and is BLS's most popular system. It offers the latest available laser technology. The new resonator design offers extremely high quality cutting in the lower power ranges, with increased cutting speeds and edge quality in thinner materials.

The DC025 is capable of cutting up to 16mm thick mild steel, 12mm thick stainless steel, and 5mm thick aluminium. The second machine purchased is Australia's first laser to feature fully intergrated "Slab"laser technology with a linear drive motion system. This includes advanced cutting head technology, offering many features such as motorized focal control, pierce detection and cut monitoring.

The system is also integrated to the new Rofin Sinar DC030 (3000 watt) laser and will be upgraded to 3500 watts within 12 months. This revolutionary laser offers the same cutting features as the DC025 but its increased power means it will cut thicker materials.

Both lasers have minimal moving parts which improves cutting performance and reduces maintenance costs. The new systems are more accurate than the original machine with both being able to cut to a tolerance of +/- 0.05mm. The cut has a machined-type finish that is ready to use and is extremely accurate and smooth.

The software systems used have also been upgraded with both the programming software and programming controller utilizing the latest Windows based technology, making the whole system compatible.

The systems also feature autotransfer tables to further increase materials handling productivity. Furphy Laser Cutting believe the two new BLS machines offer the finest laser technology on the market and will result in its customers receiving improved service, quality, cutting capacity, production flexibility, and reliability.

Worldwide search leads to backyard

BRISTOW Laser Systems was the company Furphy's turned to for their very first laser cutter back in 1997 and now they have returned to the Melbourne-based company for their two new lasers.

But it wasn't simply a case of going with what you know for Furphy's, the decision to deal with Bristow once again came after an exhaustive worldwide search.

Furphy's Managing Director Adam Furphy confirmed this saying the decision to return to Bristow was one not taken lightly. "We genuinely looked around the world to the find the best machine for us," said Adam. "In the end Bristow, an Australian company, uses the best international technology to make their products and that's why we chose them for our new system. "These are essentially Australian machines and we are very proud of that fact," he said.

Once again the system flexibility and innovation of the only fully dedicated, Australian owned laser manufacturer has delivered for Furphy's. Bristow's lasers and their backup service is also winning fans overseas with the company exporting systems to Europe as well. Furphy's and Bristow Laser Systems - two Australian-owned companies working together to make each other stronger.