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Articles tagged with "laser beam cutting"
Results: 39
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Older plasma and laser cutters having performance fits?: Retrofit!If you are considering retrofitting existing equipment to not just expand your plate cutting capacity, several factors need to be considered. These factors focus on a higher wattage resonator or an higher amperage plasma system, but also on the need to review the entire machine architecture.
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Fabrication in transition: One-time metal supply house becomes a waterjet shop that now offers laser cutting, bending, and assemblyArcadia, Albany, N.Y., transitions from a metal supplier to a waterjet cutting shop to a laser cutting shop to a metal bender. Future plans call for the shop to evolve into a full-scale contract manufacturer.
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Euros zoned in on competing: A tale of a fabricator, a contract manufacturer, and a commercial refrigerator-makerEuropean metal fabricators, among them a stainless steel cabinet-maker, an electronics contract manufacturer, and a commercial refrigerator appliance manufacturer, are staying competitive in the global marketplace with automated material handling systems that feed modern punching, laser cutting, shearing, and bending devices.
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A breath of fresh air: ArrayArray
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Big shoulders, long strides: Four-generation family shop starts anewFamily-owned Hansen Steel Services started six years ago with a 600-ft. long empty building and a combined 144 years of experience and built it into a thriving job shop that shoulders large plate fabrications.
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Knockout punch: Hand-in-glove fit between application and process has Sanmina-SCI punching out profitsThe system Sanmina-SCI uses to produce rails for Sun Microsystems' large servers is a key factor in Sanmina-SCI's competitiveness when it comes to processing a large, heavy-gauge, complet part, delivered in large volume on an as-needed basis for computer server systems and other similar applications.
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Lasers loom larger in tube, pipe cutting: Ushering in a new era in tube designLaser technology has a new, larger role in cutting tube and pipe. It's suitable not only for niche applications, but also for broader tube cutting applications such as cutoff.
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Fabricator finds tubular niche: Job shop uses laser cutting to complement CNC machiningProduction Cutting Services was founded in 1985 as a machine shop to supply parts to agricultural equipment manufacturers in and around East Moline, Ill. It used saws and CNC machining centers to provide tubular parts, but later realized it needed to add more value. It purchased two lasers from Mazak Optonics Corp. It hasn't abandoned CNC machining, though. It uses the lasers to complement its other processes.
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Turning a machine shop into a fabrication shop: Contract manufacturer rolls with the changesSenior Editor Eric Lundin traces the history of a machine shop-turned-fabricator. Founded in 1984 as Target Boring, the company changed from a machining shop to a fabrication shop when, in 1994, it purchased its first sheet and plate laser cutting system. Now named Target Laser & Machining Inc., it boasts three lasers for sheet and plate (two 2-D machines and one multiaxis machine) and one for cutting tube.
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Tube fabricator, machine tool builder automates to accelerate: Hole punching, material handling, cutting operations run stealthilyStealth Manufacturing Inc., Savage, Minn., is a tube fabricator, and machine tool builder that automated its tube punching, laser cutting, and material handling to improve the efficiency of manufacturing its gas heater tubes and other tubular products.
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Machine shop sees the (laser) light: MG Products Inc. learns laser cutting tube complements its CNC machining businessMG Products Inc., Elkhart, Ind., successfully made the transition from a machine shop to a full-scale tube fabricator thanks to the investment in a laser tube cutter.
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Joining GMAW and GTAW: Hybrid welding takes on a whole new meaning with new technology developmentsOne form of hybrid welding combines both GMAW with a GTAW process in a welding torch. An electronic interface unit containing a plasma power supply controls the hybrid process. Research has indicated that such an approach to welding leads to faster welding times, deep penetration, and cleaner welds when compared with conventional GMAW technology.
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Combining 2-D and 3-D laser applications: Multiprocessing requires gas systems up to the challengeLaser equipment specialists claim that an operator now can change the head for cutting up to 3/4-inch mild steel to welding 3-D parts in less than 15 minutes. So the laser cutting/welding equipment has made a technological leap to support the job shops looking to expand their capabilities. But how have the gas systems evolved to support these advanced capabilities?
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Manufacturing evolution in the job shop: Contract manufacturer figures out how to accomplish more with lessGardner Manufacturing, Horicon, Wis., needed automation and flexibility to keep up with more challenging customer demands. The contract manufacturer found its answer with two laser cutting devices with automated material handling and three new press brakes capable of precision bending.
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Can your manufacturing software do this?: Questions you should be asking about your softwareManufacturing software has come a long way in just the last five years. Independent software developers point out some of the advancements in manufacturing software in the hopes that some fabricators realize they may be missing out on some real production-optimization tools.
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Laser cutting with less labor and less hassle: Machine automation and software help IMS keep the laser running and customers coming backCan a four-man job shop keep up with the demands of its manufacturing customers? IMS, Shakopee, Minn., will make you think about that and give you reason to question other practices going on in your job shop.
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Evaluating a CAM system: A complete list of everything to consider before you purchase or upgradeThe feature looks at what fabricators should be looking for in a CAM system, and how they can improve the efficiency of their machine tools, their work force, and their material utilization.
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One nesting software for all: Maurer Manufacturing now uses one software package for its plasma and laser cutting machinesMaurer Manufacturing, Spencer, Iowa, purchased a new plasma cutting table in late 2006 and decided it wanted one nesting program to run both the new plasma table and its slightly older Cincinnati laser cutting machine. After a slight stumble, the company found the solution it needed with MTC Software's ProNest program.
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Tube, profile cutting with lightning speed: Laser cutting tube with a rotary axisFor more than 30 years, lasers have been used successfully for flat sheet cutting. Complex 3-D laser cutting is well-established in the automotive industry.
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Looking to higher power for laser speed?: May need to look at beam quality insteadLaser beam sources with higher output powers and improved beam qualities have expanded the range of laser applications. Most system's lasers have power higher than 2 kW. Higher power does not always accelerate the speed, however. Increasing the power during thermal cutting beyond this value may cause increase heat-affected zones on the material and place higher demands on the motion system, thus limiting the cutting speed. A new patented process called diffusion-cooled CO2 slab lasers may offer improved beam quality and smaller focus diameters under conditions comparable to conventional fast-axial-flow CO2 laser with 4-kW output power.
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Selecting equipment for maximum productivity: Is bigger always better?H. Meeuwsen B.V., a fabricator in Yerseke, Netherlands, found that purchasing a laser that could handle parts up to 12 m long greatly enhanced its capabilities. It augmented this purchase with a tandem press brake. One side of the brake has an 8-m capacity; the other has a 4-m capacity. This gives the company the ability to bend 12-m parts, if necessary, or to run the two brakes simultaneously for smaller items. Subsequent growth in customer demand led the company to consider purchasing a second laser. A careful analysis revealed that the company could do just fine with a smaller laser, so it purchased a laser with a 3-m capacity.
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A breath of fresh air: ArrayArray
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Expanding upward and outward: A sheet storage tower helps Watson Engineering's laser operations grow upWatson Engineering didn't have to add any laser operators during its most recent expansion effort. The reason was technology advancements associated with material handling and modern laser cutting devices.
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3 steps to better laser maintenance: Pay attention to the environment, the equipment, and the ever-necessary consumablesLaser machine users know it, but often ignore it. Laser manufacturers swear by it, but often don't push it. It's maintenance, and it should be the watchword of anyone who owns and operates a laser.
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A new dimension in lasers: Tilt laser beam technology combines 2-D, 3-D laser cuttingHigh-speed laser cutting is a recent result of increased laser power and high acceleration motion technology, which have improved cutting speeds. Tilt beam 2D-3D systems allow laser cutting of small 3D parts, bevel cutting on 2D sheet metal and 3D parts, 3D trimming of small deep drawn parts, and processing of holes and cut-outs in hydroformed parts.
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Breaking speed barriers in laser cutting: Technology development synchronizes two unique cutting axesA real breakthrough in high-speed laser cutting occurred in 2005. Two additional parallel kinematic drive axes were placed near the point where the laser exits the head, creating a laser cutting machine with one dynamic and light cutting torch capable of independent movement along two axes but working in precise synchronicity with the machine's more sweeping movement of the laser head. This new approach opened up new frontiers and much higher limits in processing speed.
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Manufacturando más eficientemente en MéxicoIndustrias John Deere S.A. de C.V. quera equipo confiable, junto con un servicio excepcional, cuando empez el proceso de actualizacin de su equipo de manufactura en los aos 90. La compaa necesitaba una nueva cortadora lser, combinacin de punzonado/lser y tecnologa en dobladoras de cortina para transformarse en un fabricante "justo a tiempo" de tecnologa de punta. (Foto de la portada cortesa de TRUMPF Inc., Farmington, Connecticut)
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Achieving efficiency with occasional high-pressure, high-flow nitrogen use: The economics of choosing the right mode for your laserSeveral modes of nitrogen assist gas supply exist, but with choice comes the potential of saddling your business with overhead costs that make it difficult to compete. The best approach is to map out a growth strategy, using each option's performance and value, that coincides with monthly nitrogen usage.
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Successful automation isn't automatic: Fabricators need to communicate and ask the right questionsAs with so many other ventures in life, successfully implementing a laser automation system rests on one key practice: communication.
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Getting into the thick of high-powered lasers: Increased resonator wattage opens the door to plenty of opportunitiesThe new high-powered lasers allow fab shops to serve a broader range of custom needs.
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Hyperactive fabrication: Hype Manufacturing uses the latest metal cutting technology to make its way in the world of racingHype Manufacturing invested in a horizontal machining center, two lathes, two vertical machining centers, a universal milling machine, tube bending equipment, a press brake, a laser cutting system, and a waterjet to support its racing effort.
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Laser safety in the industrial workplace: Knowing the dangers and taking adequate precautionsLasers are capable of cutting thin-gauge metal and plate at incredible speeds and with outstanding results. But a laser also is capable of great damage to operators if the proper safety steps are not followed. To keep everyone safe and the laser cutting machine operating, a fabricating operation should have a safety program in place.
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The dirt on laser lenses: Keeping the lenses clean is key to keeping equipment runningThis roundup of laser lens providers gives tips on extending the life of lenses used in laser cutting.
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Making sense of metal cutting technologies: Oxyfuel, plasma, laser, waterjet-all have their place in today's shopThis article was developed from the Comparative Cutting Panel conducted at the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association's Metal Matters conference in Orlando, Fla., March 2008.
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Are you getting enough fiber in your metal fabricating diet?: Examining the growing market for fiber lasersWith sales forecasts predicting that fiber laser sales will increase by 16 percent, to $323 million, in 2008--$112 million of that in metal processing industries--this year is being called the year of the fiber laser. A closer look at the technology shows why this might be true.
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Laser and waterjet: friends or foes?: Capabilities make these technologies complements, not competitorsKnowing the capabilities and drawbacks of laser and waterjet machines is the key in determining which is best for a particular application.
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Entendiendo las tecnologias de corte de metal: Oxicombustible, plasma, laser, chorro de agua-todos tienen su lugar |
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Láser y chorro de agua: ¿amigos o enemigos?: Sus capacidades hacen que estas tecnologías se complementen y no que compitan entre sí |
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A breath of fresh air Laser cutting technique offers a new alternative: Laser cutting technique offers a new alternativeOne of the recent developments in laser cutting is the use of compressed air as a laser cutting assist gas. The process is not brand-new, but the benefits of the process are making it a growing trend.
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