Benchtop Press Proves Popular for Contax

Contax Ltd - UK

4 December 2007

Production automation system specialist, Contax Ltd, has recently supplied four Komax bt 722 benchtop presses to various UK customers to improve the quality of their cable production. The bt 722 is used for the manual crimping of contacts on to wires and cables, and has proved very popular due to its very short set-up and cycle times and ease of use.

The new users include Kenure Developments Ltd, a contract manufacturing company and BCA Leisure, a market leading producer of wiring and electrical components to the caravanning industry.

“We purchased the system to save money, increase productivity and improve the quality of our products,” explained Operations Director at Kenure Developments Ltd, Shaun McCanna. “All the right reasons for investing in capital equipment,” he added.

When Kenure came to choose a crimp machine they went straight to Contax. “We trusted them implicitly,” explained Shaun. “We have used them on numerous occasions and they have always provided us with the right system.

“The bt 722 basically does what it says on the box. It gives me an accurate crimp every time and is so easy to use, it effectively de-skills the operation,” he said.

Measuring just 700 mm x 750 mm x 500 mm, the Komax bt 722 can handle cross sections of up to 6 mm x 6mm (AWG10) with a crimp force of 20kN. The system is operated from a touch screen using Komax’s new TopTouch user interface which allows jobs to be set-up quickly and easily.

During production set-up, the machine operator is prompted to carry out quality measurements. Only a single crimp is needed for referencing the integrated crimp force monitoring, so minimising set-up time. Following the input of the calculated values the crimp height is automatically corrected, so eliminating human error and saving time and materials.

Furthermore, the quality values measured during production are saved and can be recalled later to ensure traceable quality at all times.

Another new user is BCA Leisure. Quality was the main driver for the improvement in production, explained Wim Batist, Managing Director at BCA Leisure. “The new Komax equipment has changed the way we do production,” he said. “The bt 722 and Zeta 633 transverse automatic harness making machine have on-board diagnostics, so if there is a fault they will chop the terminal and we will not be able to use the faulty wire.

“All this ensures that we consistently produce an excellent quality product that meets the automotive industry’s extremely high standards. And, it has the added benefit that our processes have become more efficient and streamlined and our production has improved.

“Contax has been a key player in our progress,” he said. “They are very professional, very helpful, and we would recommend them to anyone,” he said.