Improving our Sustainability by Improving our Shop!
One of the major services that we offer here at KMK for metal fabrication of all types is laser cutting. However, in order for laser cutting to work, we need to keep a regular store of high pressure nitrogen to actually power the laser. Traditionally, we would have to source pressurized nitrogen from an outside vendor, dealing with delivery charges and time for cylinder changeovers. Now, we have a way to generate pressurized nitrogen in-house, saving us on downtime and shipping costs, and providing a more efficient and sustainable way to get the nitrogen we need for our laser cutting operations.
New Equipment at KMK: The NitroCube
KMK recently purchased the MSS nitrogen generator in order to supply the pressurized nitrogen we need for laser cutting all in-house. Their NitroCube products serve as a ‘plug and play’ solution, being easy to install and able to run 24/7 in order to produce and store the nitrogen necessary for our operations. It works by compressing air, then filtering and cleaning it before sending it to the final filters to separate out any nitrogen from the rest of the gasses. This nitrogen is then stored at a much higher purity than any nitrogen we’d purchased before, until it’s needed for laser cutting. The entire process is automated and monitored–once it reaches full capacity, the machine enters a ‘standby’ phase, so that it does not generate any wasted nitrogen.
The Nitrocube not only helps us improve our sustainability by eliminating the need for nitrogen delivery and significantly reducing waste, it’s also very versatile and scalable, with a relatively small spatial footprint in our shop. Plus, it helps us become far more efficient in our fabrication–we don’t have to worry about not having the nitrogen on hand in order to perform any laser cutting. The machine will passively generate it for us even when not being directly used, and without needing huge amounts of electricity to do so. The machine has an overall lower energy consumption than traditional ways of sourcing nitrogen, and produces only the gas needed for operations.
Keeping You in the Loop!
There’s always something cool happening at KMK, whether we’re improving our shop or working on a new fabrication! Our goal is always to keep you in the loop with what’s new, providing transparent communication and updates for all of our customers and visitors.
Interested in working with KMK? Head over to our website to view all of our fabrication capabilities and request a quote on your next project!
