Cerris Systems North Central, Inc. (formerly MMC Contractors) needed a unique pipe cutter to meet rapidly growing demand, so they collaborated with HGG Group to develop the first-ever ProCutter 900 RB. The results were immediate, with instant time savings. A recurring job involving 30” pipes that used to take two weeks to cut now only takes four days.
Pursuing a Pipe Dream
Cutting with precision and accuracy is an integral part of any metal fabrication enterprise. A clean, exact cut makes for more accurate welding and less time spent grinding and refitting. Even when fed by a skillful hand, getting a clean cut often takes time, considerable effort (especially with a batch of big pipe), and a lot of rehandling to meet customer specifications. Delivering on schedule and on budget, often with little margin for error, can be difficult.
In recent years, CNC pipe profilers have revolutionized the metal fabrication industry, allowing shops to attain greater accuracy in a fraction of the time of the manual approach. These approaches can be a real game-changer, but depending on the scope and scale of the business and its infrastructure, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution. For Cerris Systems North Central, finding the tool that would meet the specific needs of their growing business seemed like a pipe dream.
According to Mark Janning, fabrication shop manager at Cerris Systems North Central, business has spiked over the past decade, creating more work and the need for more skilled workers and faster turnarounds than ever before. What started as a small shop with some focus on fabrication has grown into an entire building dedicated to fabrication for three different trades.
Cerris Systems North Central needed a machine with an offload system that was oriented sideways, enabling them to discharge pipe into the flow of the shop. The team decided to meet with HGG to discuss options. According to Janning, HGG listened intently to their wish list of desired features and machine capabilities, undaunted by the need for a unique solution.
“When we discussed design, they came to our offices and asked, ‘What do you need?’” Janning noted.
HGG offered to design and build a machine that fit Cerris Systems North Central’s space—one with a unique infeed and a side discharge. In November 2020, Cerris Systems North Central purchased and installed the fully automated, customized ProCutter 900 RB.
Watch the ProCutter in action at Cerris Systems North Central’s fab shop: https://www.hgg-group.com/case/mmc-contractors-shaving-off-6-days-of-cutting-time-with-the-procutter-900-rb/
Saving Time, Labor, and Materials
In addition to saving substantial time with the new pipe cutter, Cerris Systems North Central saves on materials. The software is programmed to drop about 0.5” between cuts. This, paired with the ability to optimize the pipe to get the most cuts-per-length possible, dramatically decreases the amount of scrap generated.
“Being able to stack different sizes of pipe on the infeed and just have them at your fingertips and roll the pieces in as you need them has really cut down on material handling alone, let alone the manpower needed to do it,” observed West. For a fab shop that turns out about 8,000 welds per year (an average of 40,000 weld inches) on average on pipes ranging in size from ½” to 48”, this benefit adds up.
“The quality of the cuts that have come off the [ProCutter 900 RB] machine has been phenomenal.”
—Mark Janning, Fabrication Shop Manager, Cerris Systems North Central
Increasing Efficiency
Not only is the fabrication process less taxing overall, it is also much more efficient. With the customized ProCutter, pipe lengths are directed along the roller bed toward the main drive automatically, with precalculated precision and speed, turning finished profiles out with ease.
“We design it in CAD, we push it through from CAD into the machine, and then we pick which ones we want, push a button, and it cuts it all at once,” said Matt Townsend, Cerris Systems North Central pipe fabrication manager.
The automated approach is quite a change from the tedious cutting method that required manual adjustments to the torch for bevel cuts and laying out pipe, a piece at a time, by hand.
“The quality of the cuts that have come off the machine has been phenomenal,” Janning agreed. “None of our fitters had any complaints, even down to the pickiest guy in the shop.”
“It’s heavy duty. It’s meant to handle big pipe and do it fast and do it well,” observed Townsend. “We have not found a limit on how many welders we can feed. We currently run 10 spots right now, and they’re full all the time.”
Safe to operate and built to last, the machine Janning now affectionately refers to as “the heartbeat of the shop” is what makes the work possible every day. Going from a hand-cutting, primitive machine to the fully automated, customized ProCutter “that will do everything,” said Janning, has only created one problem: he cannot imagine doing business any other way. West added, “I think we got kind of spoiled in having this machine and it would be very difficult to go without it.”
For more information, visit www.hgg-group.com.
