More than a century of hard work and experience has made Brighton Tru-Edge the largest cold-form tank head manufacturer in North America with a reputation for high-quality workmanship. Their signature Brighton Tru-Edge Heads get their name from their precision edges that are an important key to speeding tank assembly and welding. A stellar reputation such as theirs is hard to gain and harder yet to maintain. High-quality manufacturing equipment is a great help. Brighton Tru-Edge went looking for such to complement their machine pool and they found it at MicroStep.
Upon consultation with MicroStep’s North American representatives at United Precision Services, the company decided on a DRM machine with two dome cutting positions with adjustable supports able to process up to Ø6.2 m domes. A rotator tool station able to tilt up to 120° will trim the edges, cut petal sections or whatever else is needed according to the dome parameters and Brighton’s customers’ requirements, by utilizing the integrated 440 A plasma source. A scanner on the plasma rotator aided by MicroStep’s advanced mScan software will make sure the unavoidable small differences between a model and a real manufactured dome won’t stand in the way of a perfect product.
At the end of February 2023, we had the honor to welcome the representatives from Brighton Tru-Edge led by the president of the company Mr. Adam Hock, for a factory acceptance test of their new machine. After a visit to the headquarters in Bratislava, the tank head specialists headed to our production facility for presentation of our newest dome cutting solutions, including CAMLive, a software that contains a model of the whole cutting machine and is thus able to calculate the best and fastest scanning paths. Together with a new generation of MicroStep machine controls, it is able to deliver a complete scan of e.g. a Ø3 m dome in swift 80 seconds.
Further, a personalized version of mCAM for Brighton includes customized reporting and also introduced a basic modeler that enables designing of domes directly in the program, eliminating the need for a separate CAD software in many situations. How it all comes together in practice was tested by cutting beveled samples from 10 and 15 mm plates and three different domes – one of mild steel, one stainless steel and even one made of aluminum, each with a specific shape.
We look forward to the delivery and commissioning of this machine which sets an example in modern dished ends processing. A solution that will make Brighton’s company motto and their promise to their customers, “The truest edge for the best fit,” easier and faster to fulfill than ever before.
