Roll-up and laser weld module fabricates round sheet metal wrappers

Coldwater Machine Co. has announced the availability of its roll-up and laser welding module for fabricating clothes washer and dryer drums and baskets and other round sheet metal wrappers. The system can be modified to suit customer requirements.

The modular process automates the production of finished baskets and drums from coil stock, allowing on-the-fly automatic changeover to different part diameters and heights.

A servo-controlled decoiler feeds stainless steel through a straightener into a proprietary trimming press, where the material is sheared to length and the edges prepared for laser welding. The material is fed automatically into the roll-up and laser weld module, which rolls the sheet into a hoop-shaped wrapper. The joint is seam-welded with a laser in a single operation. The laser welded parts then are ready for secondary operations such as spin forming and closure assembly.