The Middleton, Manchester-based company, which is currently celebrating 70 years in business, bought the machine this summer to replace an old Piranha CNC router that it put up for sale three months ago.
“Our old CNC machine was purchased in 2012, but rather than a like-for-like replacement, we decided to invest in machinery that could give us the best of both worlds,” said commercial director Josh Ainsley.
Ainsley Signs was founded in 1952 as a traditional signwriting business by Nelson Ainsley. His grandson Josh Ainsley joined the company in 2010, later buying out his uncle in 2019, and he now co-owns the company equally with his managing director father, Ian Ainsley.
The company moved into digital production in 1998 and its customer base is predominately the construction sector and services companies from the Midlands to the top end of Scotland.
Ainsley took Adam Taylor, the company’s CNC router operator, with him to review cutters from Zünd, Kongsberg, and Summa.
“Out of the three I got a much better feel for the Kongsberg and Adam preferred it as well. I was also really impressed with CMYUK’s customer service that included the extra training,” Ainsley said.
“As a whole package, investing in the Kongsberg was by far the better option. The user interface seemed much easier to use and the price was good as well.”
The business purchased the Kongsberg X44 Edge MultiCut toolhead model that has a milling spindle up to 45,000 RPM. An integrated camera system ensures precision registration and cutting every time.
The table is a modular system that allows users to purchase tools as and when required. In addition to the above, the company also bought a VariAngle tool that automatically cuts at any angle between 0 to 60o without operator intervention.
Other purchases included an engraving tool plus creaser and box production software. This has allowed the company to start producing its own branded delivery boxes that perfectly fits the signs it has produced.
“We were buying boxes in at a certain size that we were using to send out our work. By making our own we’ve saved money, reduced the amount of packaging materials required, and improved our general corporate presentation,” said Ainsley.
With its X44 Edge, the company can also now print and cut generic banners for the construction industry far more quickly and efficiently than before.
Previously, it had the capacity to print and hand-cut a small number of mesh banners at a time, which were then held in stock in a process that took approximately three hours. Now with the Kongsberg it can cut an entire 50m mesh roll in under 40 minutes, without the issue of human error.
“It’s a fantastic addition to our business and has already had instant impact,” Ainsley said.
