In a Q&A session, Composites in Manufacturing hears the thoughts of Eastman Machine Company’s marketing manager, Elizabeth McGruder and how the company’s sophisticated, tailored, automated flatbed cutting systems can help streamline its customers’ operations.
As a fifth-generation family-owned and operated business, flatbed cutting machine specialist, The Eastman Machine Company has many customer relationships that have been maintained for generations because of its personalised service, support and attention to client concerns that it takes the time to review and respond to with care.
Q) What are the types of demands placed on your company by today’s customers?
Listening to our customers’ production issues or headaches and presenting the best equipment configuration specific to their application is where Eastman excels rather than supplying an ‘off-the-shelf’ size or configuration. Adapting or engineering special tools, creating new capacity material handling systems or customising software to meet the needs for new and high-tech materials, as well as traditional textiles is a way to stand out from the competition. In today’s marketplace, we need to be available 24 hours a day to respond to customer inquiries and we manage it personally and digitally to be fast and resolute.
Q) What is driving flatbed cutting machine technology and why and what are today's customers looking for in terms of performance solutions?
The demands are for the accuracy of cut pieces; a reduction of expensive material waste due to operator errors in cutting or lack of nesting; speed and throughput of cut parts; flexibility to cut many types of materials, thicknesses and properties on one system; the ability to mark/label parts or identification to reduce post-process operations; fully-automated facility communications from system to system, and robotics for piece collection.
Q) What kinds of composite-related materials and thicknesses can your flatbed products handle?
Eastman systems are suitable for cutting composites in both dry and prepreg form - with or without peel ply; unidirectional continuous strand roving; bidirectional (woven roving, woven fabrics, continuous strand reinforcement); multidirectional (chopped strands, continuous, chopped strand mat, tri-axial, multiaxial); nonwoven core materials; blocker materials and more. Depending on the material type and system – anywhere from 1mm thick to over 3cm for flexible goods.
Q) What CAD and material utilisation nesting software do your products use?
Eastman systems can accept most CAD file formats with .dxf being a typical industry standard. We optionally supply patternPRO for pattern design, marker making, import, and nesting.
Q) How do your flatbeds perform in comparison to the competition?
Ask anyone who has experience with an Eastman system and another single-ply cutter and the first response you will always get is that the Eastman outperforms in speed, repeatability and ease of operation and training. Take it from one of our customers, Adam Butler, operations manager, Certikin North, based in Leeds: “When it was time to replace our 20-year-old Eastman EC3 cutting conveyor, we knew we needn't look elsewhere. The help and service received to keep production going made Eastman the only choice. The new C125 gives us increased functionality and the ability to optimise all areas of our cutting processes along with the confidence that we can cut what we want when we need it.”
Q) Tell me about your levels of after-sales support and machine training provision?
In addition to phone and localised support through our global network, all of the Eastman systems feature remote access, so that our team is able to log in with customer approval to provide assistance from our technical support headquarters.
Q) Do you get involved in supplying/specifying automated roll feeding of dry fabric/prepreg material equipment to the machine’s bed?
Eastman has been manufacturing material handling equipment since the early 1970s - traditionally used with textiles for spreading and lay-up purposes. As new and high-tech materials entered the market, as well the requirement to feed directly to automatic cutting systems, Eastman’s product line evolved in tandem with these needs. Concerns over fibre orientation, tension-control, rewinding and feeding multiple layers simultaneously became common language in Eastman’s daily manufacturing. Eastman responded to industry demands and now manufactures over 30 models of roll stands, power feed systems and a complete line of spreading equipment for materials ±4m wide and ±1,100kg.
Q) Can you say anything about any customer success stories and the sectors in which these customers operate?
An area of speciality for Eastman is our large network of customers cutting dry fibreglass in multiple layers on the single-ply conveyor cutting systems primarily for wind energy, ground pipe and marine applications. The cut pieces are long, the material rolls are heavy and the demand for fast and repeated throughput is intense. We have client sites cutting nearly 2 tons of fibreglass per hour on the systems at facilities in China, Brazil, Turkey, Mexico, USA, India and other countries. The same facilities can also cut small, intricate parts from prepregs or other materials and the customer knows that the system will hit precise tolerance levels.
Q) How do you see the future of the UK’s composites manufacturing industry and particularly subcontract kit cutting evolving in the future?
The composites manufacturing industry is growing worldwide. Large-scale international projects with short lead-times will push every part of the supply chain to move fast and accurately to meet the demands. Outsourcing or subcontracting cutting requirements to a kitting facility has several benefits, including but not limited to: reduced cycle times and material waste; streamlining of additional manufacturing operations; and experienced specialists to manage job flow, ply orientation and nesting.
Q) What differentiates your company from the competition and why should customers use you over your nearest rival?
If you’re looking for an industrial ‘workhorse’ which can continuously be adapted with new tools and accessories as your cutting requirements grow, Eastman is your best choice. If you’re looking to start a business relationship that can last for decades, Eastman is your best choice.
