MechChem Africa March 2020

SouthAfrica’s pioneering nitrogen generator manufacturer and supplier, NitraLife, has partnered with Bystronic, a leading Swiss steel processing solutions manufacturer in a deal which will see the Swiss company marketing NitraLife’s NitraCut generators. NitraLife and Bystronic partner to advance cutting-edge steel processing

cations are carefully selectedbyour special- ists tomeet thehighest conveying standards in terms of reliability, flexibility and consis- tent quality and hygiene controls,” explains Ryan Forsyth, business unit manager, Light Materials Handling division, BMG. KleenEdge is suitable for use in ardu- ous applications, particularly where knife edges are present. The belting can also be safely used on roller supports, slider bed and troughed applications. Typical applications include high-risk food processing areas, such as bakeries and confectioneries, meat, poultry and fish processing, the dairy industry and fruit and vegetable processing. q “WeareextremelygratifiedthatBystronic, a leading global provider of holistic steel pro- cessing solutions, has chosen us to be part of the future development of its advanced steel processing worldwide,” he concludes. q purchased three more NitraCuts, which are connected in parallel to supply the large gas volumes needed by the company’s 10 kW Bystronic ByStar fibre laser. “We have also found that supplying a fibre laserwithaNitraCut generator allows a fabri- cator to continue operating successfully – in locationswhere conventional gas supplies are either erratic or unavailable,” he continues. This was recently the case when, in a first-ever for Zimbabwe, aBystronicBySprint Fiber 3015was purchasedby aHarare-based company. As gas supplies in Zimbabwe are sometimes uncertain, theBystronic laserwas suppliedwith its ownNitraCut generator. This has allowed the Zimbabwean operation to continue cutting steel without interruption. As the world moves towards Industry 4.0 and increasingly automated factories, the uninterrupted flow from a NitraCut nitrogen generator supplying automated fibre lasers means that production can continue with a minimum of human intervention, or skilled supervision. “Since the generator has no moving parts, it is also absolutely reliable and requires minimal and infrequent main- tenance,” says Sowry. He adds that, in the past few years, Nitralife has had great success in co-mar- keting its NitraCut nitrogen generators with Bystronic’s fibre lasers. Feedback from users of this combination has been excellent, as the two machines in tandem have invari- ably increased productivity and consequent profitability. “Our experience to date in partnering with Bystronic has been excellent, so much so, that we are now exporting our NitraCut units to Bystronic in Switzerland and Israel,” continues Sowry.

N itraLife has been manufacturing and marketing nitrogen genera- tors – primarily for the tyre infla- tionmarket – since1996. In2016, following a request from the owner of a local fabrication business, NitraLife developed the NitraCut generator to supply gas to the fabricator’sfibrelaser.Thenewgeneratorwas immediately very successful and since then, NitraLife has sold over 60 NitraCut genera- tors into the fabrication market. Bystronic is the world-leading manufac-

turerofarangeofsteelprocessingequipment. Within this range, the company markets the ground-breaking 10 kW ByStar fibre laser, one of the most powerful, high-output lasers in the market. According to Tom Sowry, managing direc- tor of NitraLife, the advantage of having a la- ser steel processor linked to aNitraCut is that conventional gasisusually suppliedintanksor cylinder bundles. Occasionally – and usually becauseofunavoidablecircumstances–there is a risk of gas run-outs. This, in turn, means expensive downtime for the fabricator or engineering business, until such time as new supplies of gas can be delivered. “What we have found is that if a busy fabrication shop generates its own nitrogen, the cost of aNitraCut genera- tor canbe amortisedwithin the spaceof a year, or less in some cases,” explains Sowry. “After the NitraCut has paid for itself, the owner of the fabrication shop essentially continues tohave a free sup- ply of nitrogen,” he adds. Sowry explains that some owners of fabrication businesses were under- standably hesitant about acquiring a NitraCut. He cites the example of a leading steel processingcompanywhich operates six fibre lasers. “WeinitiallyconnectedaNitraCutto one of the company’s smaller Bystronic machines. After a period, the cost- saving convenience of the NitraCut becameevident. Recently, this company

By generating its own nitrogen, the cost of a NitraCut generator can be amortised within the space of a year, or less in some cases.

BMG’s Ammeraal Beltech for food handling Developed by Ammeraal Beltech to mi- nimise the problems of belt-edge fray and associated contamination issues, BMG’s KleenEdge non-fray belting series ensures absolute hygiene in food processing.

The easy-to-clean KleenEdge belting has been designed with a high-strength, low-stretch fabric reinforcement, which is held securely in a tough, non-cracking thermoplastic structure. The durable as- sembly prevents the risk of contamination, belt shrinkage anddistortion thatmayoccur from belt-edge wear during use. “BMG products for food handling appli-

BMG’s new Ammeraal Beltech KleenEdge non- fray belting minimises the problems of belt-edge fray and associated contaminated issues, to ensure absolute hygiene in food processing.

24 ¦ MechChem Africa • March 2020