BDH Tullford upgrade router to boost productivity
BDH Tullford was formed in 1980 following the merger of BD Studios and W. H. Hutchins and Sons, two strong businesses that were established in 1968. Since the merger, BDH Tullford has grown to be a specialist in the print and design sector, offering screen, UV litho and UV digital printing services. The company takes great pride in being able to offer all services under one roof to a variety of diverse customers.
BDH Tullford originally bought their Zünd Cutter S3 L-1600 that was specified with a 300 watt router in 2015. At the time, the 300 watt were appropriate and more than sufficient to cover their business requirements for routing acrylics. However, as the print industry and their business evolved, BDH Tullford found themselves restricted as they could only route a limited range of materials whilst customer demands were changing over time.
Elliott, Operator at BDH Tullford explains “We found routing printed materials like MDF to be challenging with the 300w router. The printed board would chip, and the edges would sometimes be damaged. We also found ourselves using more router bits on each job. We quickly understood that using a 300w router to route MDF was not ideal or cost effective”
BDH Tullford got in contact with Zund to look at the options to upgrade their router, so that they can gain a better finish with fewer passes. Having consulted with the applications engineering and sales teams, BDH Tullford opted for a 1kW router with a Zünd Cut Center - ZCC software upgrade.
Reflecting on the purchase, Elliot said “The 1kW router has been a game changer for us. We are now 35% quicker on our routing jobs and the router bits last so much longer. Normally intricate routing of MDF used to take us around three hours. Now we can complete the job in 1 hour whilst maintaining a perfect finish. We have seen huge benefits of the 1kW router with materials like Dibond, MDF and Foamex; These materials would normally take five passes to achieve a reasonable finish, but now we can do this within three passes.” The company has also seen a 50% saving on router bit consumables by just upgrading to the more powerful 1kW router.
The new 1kW router is also equipped with a minimal quantity lubrication system (MQL) that coats the cutting surfaces of the router bit with a thin film of lubricant to minimize friction and extend the life of consumables. As their business and customer demand has evolved, their upgrade now allows BDH Tullford to increase its offering as the company can now route a far wider range of materials to its customers that were previously beyond their capabilities.
