Pharmacy Design Company Reap Benefits of Investment in Leitz Razor Cut Saw Blades

 

Leading pharmacy design specialists, Retail Design Consultants, is reaping the benefits of the investment in a new Homag Beamsaw and Leitz RazorCut Sawblades with an increase in demand for their panel processing services and a marked improvement in production output.

David Donaghue, Managing Director, Retail Design Consultants, commented:

“When we were looking at the next phase of growth for the company, we knew that we had to invest wisely in our machinery so last year we decided to purchase a new Homag Beamsaw and Edgebander.

“This investment in new machinery naturally meant another look at the sawblades we were using and whether or not they were still meeting our needs.  We have worked with Leitz Tooling for many years, so when we purchased the new Homag Beamsaw, we contacted Norrie Good of Leitz Tooling to discuss new blades for the Homag Beamsaw.  We had previously used Leitz Premium Cut saw blades, however, Norrie suggested that we consider the Leitz RazorCut Sawblades. Leitz RazorCut Sawblades are designed for a finish cut quality. The RazorCut sawblade is designed to reduce vibration, resulting in a reduction in noise levels and an enhanced surface finish.

“When Norrie suggested the Leitz RazorCut Sawblades, we did our research and decided that they would offer an opportunity to improve our efficiency and productivity.  Before we purchased the Leitz RazorCut Sawblades, we generally worked with 8 sets of saws, so our operators tended to have 4 sets getting serviced and four sets in use in the factory.  The new RazorCut Sawblades have resulted in an immediate saving as we now only have to work with 4 sets of saws at any one time because they last a lot longer than the Premium Blades.  At least twice as long between services, and even as much as 3 times depending on the materials being cut

“The investment has also resulted in an increase in production output from 20 metres per minute to 50 metres per minute, more than doubling the feed speed, a marked improvement to the quality of finish and a near-zero changeover downtime.

In the past 6 months alone, we have increased our panel processing production by at least 30%.  We take on a lot more projects now which are solely panel processing.  Work which we never proactively sought until now

Norrie Good, Glasgow Service Centre Manager. Leitz Tooling UK, said:

“Our priority is always to give our customers the best solution for their needs.  When David contacted me to discuss the new Homag Beamsaw, I suggested the Leitz RazorCut Sawblades because I knew that they would have a massive impact on production output.  The Leitz RazorCut Sawblades have given Retail Design Consultants a longer tooling life between sharpens, extended production runs, improved edge and surface finishes, reduced production costs, reduced labour costs, reduced material wastage and a much higher production output.”

Talking further on the benefits of the Leitz RazorCut Sawblades, David Donaghue continued:

“On our old machine, we generally cut one sheet at a time but with the new blades we are cutting double thickness sheets.   It is mainly all 18 mm MFC and MDF board that we cut so firstly, the standard of finish is much higher and the fact that we can cut two sheets at a time on volume projects increases capacity right away.  The quality is perfect.  The blade life is extended from the previous Premium Blades by probably by as much as three times.

“One of the other many benefits is that after servicing, the downtime in changeover from one set of blades to the other is near zero.  They come back serviced and sharpened exactly matched as a set as they were previously.  There is no adjustment and the operators never need to adjust anything with the scoring blade in relation to the main blade.  It is literally just change and go which is an excellent benefit.

Brian Maddox, National Sales Manager, Leitz Tooling UK, commented:

“When the sawblades are returned to the service centre, we examine the sawblades for wear and tear.  If the sawblades are overrun, we can identify that, and we also track how many sharpens the sawblades have had.  It is something Leitz is immensely proud of and there are many benefits to the customers.  This type of self-policing ensures that we can get enough regrinds so that the customer is not spending money when they don’t have to.  The advantage of tracking the sawblades and how many sharpens they have had is that we can estimate the end of life for the sawblade and warn our customers in advance.

“Another issue companies face and which David talked about earlier is that a lot of companies have challenges tying the main saw blade with the scorer.  This can cause a lot of problems in the setup with chipping.

“As a company, we are also very conscious of reducing our carbon footprint and we want to do everything we can to support our customers in that endeavour.  When you chip a board, it is often difficult to recut it again and there is the additional cost of getting rid of it.  The waste aspect can grow exponentially over time so the reduction in board wastage due to near-zero downtime in adjustments has a direct impact on the environment.  Also, a saw blade that is consistently sharp will consume less power than a blunt saw so the fact that the saws are lasting at least twice as long has an impact on the amount of power needed to keep them running.  If we can also lessen the number of scrap sawblades then we have another environmental benefit.  It is mission-critical for us to reduce waste and improve efficiencies as much as possible and to pass those benefits on to our customers.”

David Donaghue concluded:

“Our collaboration with Leitz Tooling UK is very beneficial to our company.  They understand what our needs are and guide and advise us on the best solution for our business, so it truly is a win-win situation for everyone.”