Cutting processes displayed and debuted at FABTECH®

Whether you’re making a complex tubular assembly for an exhaust manifold or producing straight lengths of line pipe for the energy industry, you’re going to do some cutting. All manner of cutting machines and peripherals were on display at the 2015 FABTECH^® expo, from the conventional to the contemporary.

Laser Cutting

In the metal fabrication industry, for several decades the term laser meant CO₂ laser, and in the early days, laser machines were designed to cut either sheet or tubular shapes, but not both. These guidelines are on the way out. The fiber laser has been gaining ground for several years, and in 2015 two laser machines were introduced that were designed to handle both flat and hollow workpieces. Meanwhile, software and hardware that support laser systems have been taking a larger role in laser productivity.

BLM. BLM Group’s LC5 combination laser is one of the new machines that doesn’t take sides. It’s a fully automatic tube laser and a fully automatic sheet laser.

“This unit was designed, from the ground up, to handle both tube and sheet,” said Todd O’Brien, BLM’s North American product manager for lasers. “It’s not cobbled together. We made no compromises,” he said.

The standard machine handles sheet metal up to 9.8 by 4.9 ft. (3,000 by 1,500 mm) and tubular shapes in diameters up to 4.7 in. (120 mm). The machine can be upgraded to handle sheet up to 13 by 6.5 ft. (4,000 by 2,000 mm). It can be equipped with either a CO₂ laser source up to 4.5 kW or a fiber laser source up to 5 kW.

According to the company, the changeover from tube to sheet or vice versa is automatic and takes just a few seconds. Whether cutting sheet or tubular shapes with CO₂ or fiber, the machine automatically selects the optimal cutting parameters, using sensors to monitor them. A servomechanism inside the cutting head regulates the focus.

The LC5 system can be scaled up after installation. A fabricator can start with a sheet-only system and add tubular capability later. Automatic storage capacity and feeding towers also can be added at a later date.

Bystronic. Bob St. Aubin, president of Bystronic’s U.S. operations, put numbers to the notion that fiber is making great strides in the metal fabrication industry when he said that 17 FABTECH exhibitors made laser machines and that 30 to 40 fiber models were available.

“There’s no question that fiber has overtaken CO₂,” he said. “Approximately 70 to 80 percent of new laser sales are fiber lasers.”

Sometimes a new category of machine runs much faster than its predecessor, and this is the case with the fiber laser. Commissioning such a machine can provide a substantial increase in laser productivity, but an inevitable outcome is that it puts a strain on all of the equipment and systems that support it. In other words, this sort of change is a disruption that turns a formerly smooth-running system into a series of bottlenecks.

As St. Aubin described it, a fiber laser’s biggest advantage can be a disadvantage, undoing the fine balance between push and pull. To this end, Bystronic introduced Fibernomics, a program that looks beyond the machine and seeks to restore balance to the push and pull forces.

For example, the office software that turns an order for a finished product into a bill of materials and job routings must keep up with the increased throughput of a fiber laser. Likewise, the draftsmen need to keep up with the increased capacity.

“In a scenario involving two CO₂ lasers, the draftsmen might need to make 50 drawings a week,” he said. “If the company were to buy one fiber laser, it would need 300 drawings a week. Therefore, the company needs automated software.”

The loading and unloading speeds also are critical. Maximizing throughput doesn’t mean cutting and waiting, it means cutting and cutting. Three processes—unloading the finished workpiece, loading the raw material, and cutting the part that is in the machine—must be synchronized to maximize the torch-on time. Many material handling systems for laser machines were designed for CO₂ laser speeds and productivity and can’t keep up with a fiber laser, St. Aubin said. Upgrading to a fiber laser means upgrading the infeed, outfeed, material handling, and storage systems too.

The overarching goals of Fibernomics are to balance the push and pull demands, lower the operating costs, and speed up the processing to maximize the shop’s revenue. Although the program is based on sheet metal equipment and services—the company’s BySprint Fiber 6-kW machine, ByOptimizer online nesting program, ByTrans Extended and ByTower material handling systems, and Xcite and Xpert press brakes—the strategy applies to anyone considering a change from CO₂ to fiber.

Mazak. Mazak Optonics Corp., long known for supplying laser machines for sheet, tube, and intricate, 3-D components, rolled out its latest machine, the VCL-Tube 100, at FABTECH. Mazak President Al Bohlen mentioned several features that set it apart from other lasers.

First, although it has “tube” in the model name, it was designed to handle more than tube and pipe. The VCL in the nomenclature stands for versatile, compact laser, and the current design handles formed shapes in addition to tubular workpieces. Plans are in place for the next-generation machine, which will handle material in these two formats plus coil stock.

Second, it’s neither a CO₂ laser nor a fiber laser.

“Fiber is becoming somewhat a commodity,” Bohlen said. “This is a direct-diode laser, which is more energy-efficient than a fiber laser. It offers high-speed, high-accuracy cutting on material up to 3⁄16 in. thick.” It handles tubes up to 10 ft. long.

Mazak credits the accuracy to the machine’s construction. Machining centers are extremely accurate, capable of tolerances that are much tighter than laser tolerances, Bohlen said. To make a more accurate laser, the company relied on experience of its machine tool division (Mazak Corp., Florence, Ky.) and based the unit on the company’s VCU (Vertical Center Universal) series machine.

TRUMPF. Although TRUMPF’s TruTops Boost software is for processing sheet metal, it hints at what lies ahead for tube and pipe fabrication. It’s a single program for starting, processing, and finishing a work order: designing the part; planning the nesting, cutting, and bending steps; and generating the code for all of these processes. Its ability to import 2-D and 3-D data reduces conversion efforts and minimizes data loss. It nests parts for maximum material use; allocates bending tools; monitors tooling motions for interferences and collisions; and generates the NC for press brakes, laser cutting machines, and punch presses.

It also provides a chronological overview of the process and suggests solutions to problems that crop up along the way. Two operating modes, HomeZone and TecZone, allow automatic processing or manual programming respectively.

Sawing

Behringer. Saw manufacturer Behringer displayed one of its HBE horizontal band saws, which use a high-torque, frequency-controlled drive motor and gearing for sufficient power and speed for fast cutting rates, according to the company. It was designed to minimize power consumption yet sustain high production rates. Drive motors develop 3.4 to 6.4 HP.

To help reduce remnant stock, the unit’s band wheels are inclined forward. This allows the feed gripper to be positioned closer to the frame, reducing remnant size. The wheel incline also eliminates a 90-degree blade twist, reducing stress on the blade. This, combined with a stable saw frame made of vibration-damped gray cast iron and double-sided bearing for the band wheels, results in an increase in tool life of up to 30 percent, says the company. Its cutting pressure control helps prevent tool overload and provides a visually improved cut quality, according to the manufacturer.

Downfeed power is balanced against blade wear via a blade pressure monitor, which is linked to a cutting pressure sensing system. Based on sensor data, the HBE saw automatically adjusts blade pressure as needed to create the optimal balance between feed rate and blade pressure, which maximizes the material feed rate without overloading the blade.

It is available in four models: 261A, 321A, 411A, and 511A. The cutting range is from 10.2 to 20.0 in. diameter for round stock and from 11.8 by 10.2 in. up to 20 by 20 in. for flat stock.

TigerStop. Known for its automated stop/gauge and pusher systems for sawing applications, TigerStop rolled out its TigerSaw 2000, a fully automated saw that pairs a 17.7-in. (450-mm) saw with a pusher capable of moving 2,100 lbs. of material. The unit has an adjustable cutting envelope that accommodates saw blade sizes from 350 mm to 500 mm, pneumatic clamping for handling delicate material, and a patent-pending lube misting system that follows the blade to deliver the lubricant at the cut point for increased blade life.

It handles bundles from 5 by 5 in. to 1 by 15 in. when using the 450-mm blade or 6 by 6 in. to 1 by 16 in. when using the 500-mm blade. Fully automatic, pneumatic clamping in both vertical and horizontal positions eliminates manual clamping and adjustments.

After the operator downloads a parts list and loads the tube into the machine, the software uses dynamic optimization and nesting to maximize material use. After the saw makes the cut, the inkjet printer marks the part or a label for the part.

Plasma Cutting

Burlington Automation. The PythonX, a robotic CNC plasma system for structural steel, is designed to reduce errors, eliminate material handling, and increase throughput. Whereas conventional fabricating requires marking the workpiece at one station, then moving it to various machines for cutting, drilling, notching, and coping, this unit uses high-definition plasma torches for these processes.

The user loads a workpiece—beam, channel, square tube, angle, or plate—onto the infeed conveyor and inputs a part file from a CAD program. After that the machine takes over. The measuring cart shuttles the workpiece into the work envelope and the robot uses probes to determine the workpiece’s exact position and dimensions. The unit’s controller then identifies all the features and dimensions required and generates the cut sequence; the software adjusts cut paths automatically to comply with the actual workpiece dimensions; then the plasma torch cuts all holes, copes, slots, and other features in a single pass. The completed part is then shuttled out of the work envelope to the outfeed conveyor for transfer to the next station for fit-up, welding, and painting.

The conveyors accommodate 40-ft. lengths, which can be increased up to 80 ft. in 4-ft. increments. The standard maximum material thickness is 1.25 in., which can be upgraded to 2 in. The standard maximum edge start thickness is 2 in., upgradable to 3 in. Regarding workpiece width, 36 in. is the standard dimension; it can be upgraded to 48 in. The machine’s accuracy is within 1/32 in. over the length of the part. Optional cross transfers are available as drag or lift-and-carry type.

It is equipped with a 6-axis robotic arm that is accurate and versatile enough to make intricate shapes, yet rugged enough for the typical shop environment and continuous use, says the company. A tube cutting robot processes all four sides of square and rectangular tubes in one pass.

Because the unit eliminates the measuring and marking steps, it eliminates the errors associated with misreading drawings and making bad measurements. Replacing several traditional machines, the PythonX conserves shop space, cuts down on material handling, and reduces work-in-progress, according to the company.

Waterjet Cutting

OMAX^®. Although flat products are the mainstay of waterjet cutting, OMAX’s rotary axis opens up new design possibilities, embracing tubular workpieces. A submersible unit, it facilitates cutting complex shapes from tube, pipe, and barstock. The axis can be mounted on any machine in the company’s JetMachining® series and is powered by the waterjet’s controller. When used with the company’s A-Jet or Tilt-a-Jet® cutting heads, it is capable of 6-axis cutting.

Mounting features on the output shaft include external and internal threads, flanges, and locating shoulders. It has standard ACME and metric threads to allow the user to make custom workholding fixtures. The unit can be located where needed on the waterjet’s bed to permit sheet cutting and rotary cutting without removing the rotary head.

Hypertherm. This manufacturer of plasma, laser, and waterjet cutting equipment introduced a waterjet accessory intended to reduce waterjet downtime. The PowerDredge™, which can work with any manufacturer’s system, takes the hassle out of removing the used abrasive from the machine. It has nozzles that vacuum the spent abrasive and water, a storage tank that captures the used abrasive, and a return hose that uses gravity to send the water back to the waterjet machine.

The storage tank, which contains a heavy-duty filtration bag that captures the abrasive and lets the water pass, has a capacity of 2,000 lbs. After the unit is full, an operator uses a forklift to remove the bag of spent garnet.

The unit requires no additional lines to supply water or electricity.