Hydram Engineering Limited is a leading supplier of sheet metalwork. The business occupies a 50,000 sq ft factory conveniently situated close to junction 60 of the Al in County Durham. Privately owned, it was established in 1977 to provide sub-contract engineering services to local businesses. The company has grown steadily over the years and now supplies components all over the UK and Europe.
It is Hydram's objective to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction with regard to quality - a formal quality system meets the requirements of ISO 9002. Customers can expect a high-quality product, competitive prices and prompt delivery. Hydram's team of experienced engineers regularly lends its expertise to product development, helping to meet customers' changing requirements and improving cost efficiency.
The company follows a policy of continuous improvement. Hydram's advanced 3D CAD/CAM system is linked directly to the CNC machines on the shop floor enabling rapid realisation of customers' requirements. Hydram has been awarded Investors In People and its loyal workforce is fully aware of the quality and delivery requirements demanded in the marketplace. Customers can rely on flexible and responsive service from Hydram's dedicated team.
Laser Cutting
With short lead times, zero tooling costs and optimum material utilisation, laser cutting provides a fast, flexible and economical means of sheet metal and plate profiling.
Hydram's three Bystronic lasers, rated up to 4kW with 3 metre x 1.5 metre sheet handling capability, can cut up to 20mm thick mild steel and "clean cut" up to 12mm thick in stainless steel. Laser cutting offers a superior cut-edge quality with parallel sides and no burrs. The typical dimensional tolerance on contours is better than +/- 0.2mm. The technology offers supreme flexibility, handling profiles from the simplest of components to shapes of almost limitless complexity - it is suitable for both pre-production samples and production batches.
This ability to cut complex profiles can eliminate the need for additional operations, making laser cutting highly economical. The narrow cut width, zero clamping strip and computerassisted part nesting allow maximum material utilisation. A high-pressure gas delivery facility with cryogenic storage guarantees the high purity and pressure of the laser cutting gases, resulting in exceptional cut quality.
An advanced CAD/CAM system enables components to be programmed quickly and accurately, thus ensuring that there are no delays either leading up to or during production. CAD drawings are accepted via e-mail in AutoCAD, Radan and DXF formats.
CNC PunchingWith accurate CNC control and low tooling costs, turret punching offers a flexible and cost-effective alternative to dedicated blank tooling. Hydram's five CNC punching machines are capable of punching materials in thicknesses up to 5mm and sheet sizes up to 3 metres x 1.25 metres.
Materials processed include stainless and mild steels, aluminium, brass, copper and plastics. Rapid processing speeds and lower operating costs can make punching a cheaper profiling solution than laser cutting, depending on part complexity and batch size.
Punching machines can generate simple formed features such as dimples, louvres, logo indentations and knockouts, thus avoiding the need for additional operations.
With 15 years' experience in CNC punching, Hydram has built up an extensive tooling library, so part-tooling costs can often be avoided.
An advanced CAD/CAM system enables components to be programmed quickly and accurately, ensuring that there are no delays either leading up to or during production.
"Radan's e2i product produces all our quotations, handles the orders and produces routings for the shop floor with full bills of materials. We are able to track the progress of all the work in the factory using the shop floor data capture system. Recently we have configured the system ourselves to produce production-planning reports. These assist the production manager and the supervisors to plan their work more effectively. e2i also produces our delivery paperwork and invoices.
The e2i product suits the way we work very well as Radan understands the sheet metalwork industry. Prior to e2i, we had 3 different, cumbersome systems that could not be integrated. Now we have a streamlined system with all the functions rolled into one package. Radan are constantly improving e2i and in the future we are planning to introduce Stock Control and Scheduling functionality."
