2018-09-21 07:12:17
LaserCoil Technologies LLC has increased the cutting speed and power of its laser blanking systems with the introduction of 8 kW fiber lasers featuring a proprietary Z-axis design integrated directly into the laser blanking system. This feature is designed to allow the laser head to more rapidly adjust to height variations in the material, maintaining consistent stand-off. As cutting speeds increase with the higher power laser, it is imperative the performance of the Z-axis increases accordingly to realize the system’s full potential.
In the past when reaching higher cutting speeds, especially in the range of 1,000-2,200 mm/second, the system’s ability to adjust to variations in material height with less than perfectly flat material lagged behind the laser’s potential cutting speed, essentially keeping the system from reaching its full throughput potential. This was, in part, due to this Z-axis adjustment being tied into a separate controller, functioning through a separate HMI. But the new integrated Zaxis offers the ability to maintain the higher speeds with a wider range of less than perfectly flat material.
The systems can be sold with a single laser 8 kW head or with multiple heads, which allow a shared balancing of the cutting workload to decrease processing time and improve productivity. Additionally, the LaserCoil systems offer multi-mode capability where users can choose either Feed Index Mode (stop/start) or Continuous Mode for optimizing cutting parameters for each part configuration, increasing processing rates and enhancing quality.
By laser cutting direct from coil stock, LaserCoil systems can provide a fast and flexible approach to blanking that is well-suited for production environments running multiple blank profiles and mixed material types. The systems can handle coil stock up to 2.1 m wide in any length, and can process aluminum, mild steel, advanced high-strength steels, materials for surface sensitive panels as well as structural components. With 8 kW systems, simple shapes in material thicknesses from 0.5 to 0.75 mm can be cut with speeds approaching 2.2 m/sec, making laser blanking a viable and competitive manufacturing choice for volumes of less than 100,000 per year.
When LaserCoil upgraded its systems from a 4 kw to 6 kW laser, it produced a 10-25% increase in speed enabling the systems to cut 0.5 to 0.75 mm thick materials at 1.5 m/sec. Since then, the company has developed multiple- head systems capable of improving throughput by 85%, its own LaserCoil CAM software, a multi-mode option and integrated robotic stacking, as well as this recent 8 kW capability. Currently, there are four LaserCoil cutting systems installed and running production.
For more information contact: LaserCoil Technologies LLC 476 East Riverview Napoleon, OH 43545 419-592-0050 www.lasercoil.com
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