Above: Ram Alloys primarily stocks round bars and cuts them with Cosen band saws.
November, 2024: Band sawing stainless steel and nickel-based superalloys can be challenging to cut, rough on band saws and requires high-quality coolant to yield lengthy saw blade life. Ram Alloys LLC in Houston primarily stocks and processes round bars of premium grades of those materials, which can cause a lot of wear and tear on a band saw, says COO P.J. Malsbary. “I needed a very durable band saw that can and will withstand a lot of head pressure.”
Malsbary, who founded Ram Alloys with his brother-in-law Anthony Vlahos in 2014, says he reached out to Richard Rose at Bad Ass Band Saws LLC, based on on a recommendation from his father-in-law, who was also in the metals industry.
About four years ago, Rose launched Bad Ass Band Saws in Houston, which quickly became Cosen’s largest volume U.S. dealer. Rose has about 40 years of experience in manufacturing and distributing band saws. Bad Ass offers large, heavy-duty billet saws and stocks some 50 Cosen band saws for immediate sale. Rose and his team also make recommendations to Cosen for design changes. Cosen reports that it implements these recommendations into its new product lines as soon as possible. Rose says he also consults with Cosen on designing and manufacturing heavy-duty band saw conveyors, including such features as stock arms, transfer arms and automation systems.
The first band saw Ram Alloys’ Malsbary purchased from Rose had a 16- inch capacity and functioned well, but as his company has grown, so did its need to cut larger-sized material. Eventually, Ram Alloys purchased a Cosen C-520NC automatic horizontal dual-column band saw from Bad Ass with a rounds cutting capacity of 20.5 inches.
PROVEN WORKHORSE
Malsbary says he was initially drawn to Cosen Saws because its “middle of-the road pricing” fit his budget and his operators experienced the saw’s ease of operation and high level of performance once in use.
From left, P.J. Malsbary, COO of Ram Alloys; Richard Rose, founder of Band Ass Band Saws; and Peng Huang, North American president of Cosen Saws—at Ram Alloys’ facility.
“Once you have a single saw that has proven to be a workhorse, you start moving up and down the line with regards to capacity. There was no reason for me to change,” he says.
Ram Alloys now has 12 Cosen automatic, horizontal, dual-column band saws: four G320s with a 12.8-inch capacity, four C-420NCs with a 16.5- inch capacity, three C-520NCs and an SH-8580D with 31.5-inch capacity. Malsbary says the diameter range for the bars being saw cut is from 1/4 to 31 inches.
Over the past 10 years, Ram Alloys has grown and now employs 85 workers at its 70,000-square-foot facility, which operates two 12-hour shifts six days a week. Five saw operators work the day shift and three at night. “We rest on Sunday,” Malsbary says. “These saws are running 24 hours a day almost six days a week,” he adds, noting that the first ones purchased are still functioning after nearly 50,000 hours of use.
Having all its band saws from one builder enables synergies at Ram Alloys, Malsbary says, meaning all the human/machine interfaces, bearings, sensors, brushes and other components are all the same, and that similarity helps with maintenance. “It became very easy for my personnel to start fixing some of the smaller issues, where we didn’t need to call Richard [Rose] or [Bad Ass] Service Manager Eric Geiger to come over and support us with the repairs on the saws.”
Nonetheless, when an issue arises that Malsbary or one of the operators is not able to address, he does call Geiger. “He’s quick to come and educate us and get us moving in the right direction for any issue we may be having.”
Although operators can be rough on the saws and occasionally damage minor components, “I haven’t had to go through and replace the hydraulics or anything else on these saws, says Malsbary. “They’ve been fairly low maintenance, which has been very nice and easy on the pocket.”
When Ram Alloys needs simple replacement parts, such as a brush, bearing or sensor, it orders directly from Cosen, often online. “They’re all interchangeable on every single saw.”
MODIFICATIONS
Bad Ass Band Saws can make changes to a saw based on a customer’s requirements, Malsbary notes, and one change was to the stroke length. For example, when a saw indexes back and forth, it may only have 20 inches of stroke, but if a job requires a 32-inch stroke, the saw can be modified to avoid indexing twice and possibly causing an issue during the second index. “You just want it all done on one primary stroke.”
Carbide-tipped blades give 24 to 36 hours of consistent run time, depending on the workpiece.
Bad Ass also modified the head feed force control for Ram Alloys’ saws.
Having a capable band saw is one of several elements needed to achieve a productive and profitable sawing operation, according to Malsbary. Service centers must also partner with a high-quality saw blade and coolant manufacturer and educate saw operators to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the saws and how to set the proper machining parameters.
“It’s really a combination. Once you have those four things, then you’ve got the right potion to really spit out a high volume of cuts with very little waste,” he says.
At Ram Alloys, the diameter range for the bars being cut is from ¼ to 31 inches.
He notes that Ram Alloys uses carbide-tipped blades, which provide about 24 to 36 hours of consistent run time, depending on the workpiece, and applies flood coolant.
As Ram Alloys either grows it existing capacity or adds facilities in other regions of the U.S., Malsbary says the company will need more saws with various capabilities. He says he is confident of the skills and workmanship of Cosen and Bad Ass, “so I feel like we have good partners when the need comes to expand. We’re very satisfied with the Cosens, and that’s why we’ve got 12 of them.”
Bad Ass Band Saws LLC, 713/424-9424, http://badassbandsaws.com/
Cosen Saws International Inc., 704/943-1030, http://cosensaws.com/
Ram Alloys LLC, 713/466-1890, http://ramalloys.com/
