Faster – and more reliable – than two machines combined

Tidd Ross Todd Ltd (TRT) is a privately-owned family business, specialising in the design, manufacture, sales and delivery of products and services to Australasia’s road transport and construction industries.

In December 2021 they invested in a 13m-long CutAce XL bevel system – the largest one of this model that Plazmax has ever built.

“We had a previous plasma machine and before that, a creeper cutter,” explains TRT’s Manufacturing Manager Simon Carden.

“But our plasma machine just wasn’t reliable enough. We brought Plazmax on to start servicing it a few years ago because it regularly kept going down and costing us days of lost production time. The original manufacturer just couldn’t support our needs.”

Plazmax built a successful relationship with TRT and provided overnight delivery of consumables, immediate servicing and breakdown repairs – which greatly impressed TRT seeing it wasn’t a Plazmax machine.

“Eventually we got approval to upgrade so we went straight to Plazmax for a solution. Our old plasma machine used to have one big bed with two cutting units on it, but this new machine can cut faster than those two machines combined.”

Lawrence Baker, TRT’s Chief Operating Officer also commented on the CutAce XL’s performance saying “The obvious and noticeable improvements are increased reliability, much higher production and a significant decrease in monthly operating costs”

TRT’s new machine comes with a Hypertherm XPR300 VWI power source plus bevel head and etching technology.

In addition to cutting much faster and putting a 90-degree cut on all parts, TRT’s new machine is also far more accurate at cutting circular holes. “Before, especially on thick parts, the holes were not very concentric with each other so we had lots of quality control problems. We used to just make the slots larger to compensate for the inconsistent cut quality. With this new machine and it’s accuracy, we’ve been able to bring down a lot of the cutting tolerances which has made a big difference. There’s less lining up and extra welds required from a fabrication point of view.”

Alex McEwen, TRT’s plasma system operator adds “Our Plazmax CutAce XL system is reliable and easy to use with the great cut quality and helpful features like the camera and skew function. The bevel capability is awesome and saves heaps of time in downstream fabrication.”

Overall TRT has been impressed with Plazmax’s technical expertise, as well as their prompt service. “They know what they’re talking about, from the software right down to the actual equipment. They’re very professional to deal with and have helped streamline the whole process. They provide a very high standard of service.”