“The MicroStep machine has exceeded our expectations”

The company Bono Steel, situated in Gauteng, South Africa, opened its’ doors in 2006 seeing a gap in the market for quick profiling at competitive pricing. They started small but with good business sense and initiative, the company has managed to grow from strength to strength and is now widely known in the industry and supplies the greater Gauteng region. They continually strive to attain newer and more advanced technologies, which allows for faster turnaround times and high-quality service levels. The team is dynamic and knows the importance of staying in touch with all the latest trends.



Speeding up

In 2020, they saw a need for further expansion to accommodate their 24-hour shifts and to remain competitive in the industry and too continuously offer high quality products, at competitive prices and with timeous delivery. It was during Covid that they realized that it was even more necessary to stay ahead of the game and stand out from the competition. Their machine arrived in 2021 and they have not looked back, ever since.



We asked Wayne Stanton, General Manager of Bono Steel, why they felt the need to expand their factory floor. “Bono Steel has been engaging with customers and has realized the need for a quicker product turnaround time. We need to produce a component that is cut, ground, beveled and ready for welding. By speeding up our services, we become more efficient and save ourselves and our customers time and money. We also determined that there was a need to cut stainless steel up to 50 mm thick and the Microstep plasma cutter is more than capable of handling this, with excellent repeatability and consistency.”

They looked at other competitors in the CNC plasma cutting market and realized that the MicroStep machine was their best choice.



One-stop-shop experience

In order for Bono Steel to be able to give their customers an overall one-stop-shop experience, they needed a flexible CNC cutting machine that could perform various tasks in one. The CombiCut gantry CNC cutting machine from MicroStep is just that, offering a possibility of combined technologies.

They also needed to cut beveled stainless steel and when they approached Ludwig Oellermann from MicroStep SA, he knew we had the right solution for Bono Steel. “Fiber laser cannot cut beveled stainless steel, but plasma definitely can, especially with a Kjellberg plasma source, which also is able to cut thicker on mild steel and obviously stainless steel. The CombiCut CNC plasma-oxyfuel combo system is a brilliant solution for Bono Steel.” says Mr. Oellermann.

Bono Steel in Gauteng are now able to cut with oxyfuel and plasma on one machine, both with bevel cutting options and weld preparations.  This incredible solution has allowed for a significant improvement to their service offering, as previously they had to machine and grind in the bevels for weld preparation.

Additional Beveling Process is an advanced functionality for cutting bevels for weld preparation to the outside and inside contours of straight-cut parts - saving time, material and space on the factory floor.

Combination of technologies

The first gantry is fitted with one 3D oxyfuel cutting head, two 2D oxyfuel cutting heads, one scanner for ABP (Additional Beveling Process) and one ACTG (Auto-Calibration of Tool Geometry) unit. The second gantry is fitted with one 3D plasma cutting head with a SmartFocus 400 Kjellberg plasma source, 4 oxyfuel cutting heads, one scanner for ABP and one ACTG unit. This robust machine is 25 meters long and can run on 24-hour shifts.



“Our Microstep is used to cut a variety of materials. We have also started cutting all weld preparations and bevels with the 3D plasma head. We make use of both the oxy fuel and plasma cutting heads.” says Mr. Stanton.

Since the acquisition of the machine they have improved on cut quality, speed and are able to offer their customers better delivery times over a variety of materials. It gives us great joy to see our customers growing and thriving with our solutions. “The MicroStep machine has exceeded our expectations and has allowed us to achieve the levels of high quality cutting and efficiency far beyond our expectations” Mr. Stanton concludes.