Landmark installation

Nottingham-based subcontract sheet and plate profiling specialist, Lasershape, is using its recently installed 9m by 4m bed CNC waterjet machine to produce the huge architectural staircases required for a landmark office complex in West London.

Arranged as a necklace of several office buildings facing an inner garden complete with two tier lake, waterfall and decked boardwalks, Chiswick Park is marketed as prestige business accommodation located just five miles from central London and eight miles from Heathrow.

As part of a £2.5 million project to supply architectural steelwork, Lasershape has been contracted to manufacture the parts that make the colossal steel staircases, including 8.5m long stringers which are made from 30mm thick steel.

“With our newly acquired, large format Waterjet Sweden machine we are one of very few UK suppliers with the capability to supply these parts,” says Lasershape director Tim Leam. “This is a very high quality office development across 33 acres, which at present represents around 1.5 million square feet of business space, so it's great to be associated with such a prestigious project.”

Lasershape has already supplied three staircases for the 220,000ft² Building 6 at Chiswick Park, which has just been leased in its entirety to Norwegian oil company, Aker Solutions. Aker plans to house its global engineering hub at the facility where it will eventually create 1,300 jobs. The next three staircases, to be supplied early next year, are for Building 7, a 330,000ft² facility that represents the final phase of Chiswick Park.

“The 8.5m stringers are supplied in a single piece from the WJS waterjet machine because the quality requirements of the project are extremely high,” says Mr Leam. “In fact, our customer won their order based on the single piece sample we provided – competing tenders offered a fabricated solution.”

Parts supplied by waterjet cutting offer inherently high quality cuts. This is because the process does not create any direct surface pressure on the material – mechanical reactions take place at micro-level. So, despite the high kinetic energy in the waterjet, any workpiece deformation is avoided, offering a high quality cut without fraying or ridges, and hence no costly post-process finishing.

The recently installed WJS NC4060Q is said to be one of the largest waterjet machines in the UK. Featuring a 9m by 4m bed, it gives Lasershape the ability to process almost any material. Furthermore, the machine's four head cutting capability increases process speeds for customers, providing optimum value for money.

Powered by a 100hp KMT pump, the jet produced by the machine can cut steel up to 150mm thick. Already, sectors such as architecture and construction have been keen to take advantage, as the Chiswick Park project demonstrates. “The three staircases for Building 6 demanded three months of cutting, every day, which indicates the intense level of engagement required on this project,” concludes Mr Leam. “Due to the size and weight of the parts involved, it took four hours just to load the raw material plates. Fortunately it was all worthwhile – not only is our customer delighted with the results, so is Chiswick Park.”

Lasershape
www.lasershape.com