The business case for high laser cutting power in the metal fabrication industry has evolved over the years.In the early days of CO2 laser cutting, more power allowed you to cut faster and thicker.For custom manufacturers in particular, higher power lasers broaden store capabilities, which in turn opens doors to new customers and markets.
Then in the late 2000s came fiber lasers and a whole new ball game.Cutting thin materials, fiber lasers can run around carbon dioxide of similar power.Fiber lasers have pushed the industry’s cutting capabilities so much higher that many shops struggle to feed the beast.Of course, shops can automate material handling, but even then, lasers that cut very fast can overwhelm downstream processes, especially bending and welding.
Manufacturers don’t have to be experts in fiber laser cutting technology to know that if they can cut a 6mm sheet with a 4kW laser, they can cut it faster with an 8kW laser power.Now think about what they can do with a 12kW fiber laser cutter.What about a 15kW machine?
Today, these options are available to metal fabricators, but it would be a mistake to focus solely on cutting thick metals with these new high-power fiber lasers.These 10kW, 12kW and 15kW machines can do more than cut thick material, even though that’s probably the first thing that metal fabricators think of when they talk about these powerful machines.
The story of high power fiber laser technology is about reducing process time for laser cutting.This is why we see metal fabricators buying a high powered laser cutter to replace two or even three old lasers.They can remove parts from the laser bed faster and cheaper than ever before.
As fiber laser cutter power levels increase, operating costs are likely to rise.In general, doubling the power increases the operating cost of the laser by 20% to 30%.This is why it is so important for fiber lasers to operate at peak efficiency, which reduces part cycle times to offset higher operating costs.By reducing cycle times, manufacturers can reduce the impact of variable and fixed costs and improve profitability.
Fortunately, fiber lasers cut very quickly.Just watch them race up and down a sheet of metal.Unfortunately, most manufacturers will not cut parts with long, straight lines.They are cutting small holes and unique geometries.In this case, the manufacturer needs to accelerate quickly to take advantage of the machine’s line speed.
For example, a 1G machine accelerating at 10 meters per second can easily be overtaken by a 2G machine accelerating twice as fast.When Gs is doubled, the machine takes half the time and half the distance to reach the same programmed speed.The rate at which the machine can decelerate into and accelerate out of corners and tight arcs generally has a greater impact on cycle time than laser power or maximum machine speed.Acceleration is critical.
Sheet Size, Acceleration and Thickness When you combine these three factors into a single machine, you gain more possibilities by leveraging your process flexibility and time to acquire new customers.
“Pegasus Steel believes that the only way to stay ahead and meet customer needs is not to dream about the equipment you want on your floor, but to act and invest,” co-owner Alex Russell said. Russell) said Pegasus Steel.
“Our last acquisition was a Trumpf TruLaser 5040 8kW fiber laser cutter with a 4 x 2 meter cutting table, which brings our number of Trumpf laser cutters to 5. The TruLaser 5040 fiber installed by Retecon allows us to Cuts carbon sheet up to 25mm, stainless steel up to 40mm, aluminium up to 25mm, and copper and brass up to 10mm.”
15kW Bystronic ByStar 8025 Fiber Laser with Nitrogen Concentrator “Now we have invested in a 15kW Bystronic ByStar 8025 fiber laser with tabletop dimensions of 8 x 2.5 meters. This may not be the first 15kW laser to be installed in South Africa, but it will be The first laser with this size chart.”
“The only reason we chose the Bystronic machine over another Trumpf is that Trumpf doesn’t offer the size machine we want.”
“Even with the high laser output, the new machine provides a reliable cutting process that can be used in a variety of applications. The technological leap from traditional 3kW to 12kW systems to the new 15kW is significant.”
“On average, by increasing the power, the ByStar can cut 50% faster when cutting with nitrogen compared to a 10kW laser source. This means that sheet metal fabricators can benefit from higher productivity at a lower unit cost .The new machine can precisely and reliably cut steel, aluminium and stainless steel with thicknesses between 1mm and 30mm, as well as brass and copper with thicknesses up to 20mm.”
“The 15kW laser output also enables extended applications in steel and aluminium up to 50mm, providing optimum flexibility for large series and urgent customer orders.”
“The reality is that the vast majority of metal fabrication companies in South Africa that use fiber lasers as a cutting source process metals in thicknesses of 6mm or less. There simply aren’t many shops that need to laser cut very thick specialty metals for things like nuclear reactors . These types of applications are not plentiful.”
“In laser cutting, you need to be up to date or you’ll be out of the game. We bought this machine for that reason, while also adding capacity and productivity. We didn’t buy it for bragging rights.”
Press Brake Upgrade “One of our largest press brakes on the floor was recently refurbished and upgraded to the specifications of a new machine with the latest Delem DA-60Touch CNC control. We tried to go the OEM manufacturer route, but the truth is This proved complex and challenging, so we hired a local company, Flexible Electronics Systems.”
“Original 500-ton press brake with Cadman control system and Cybelec drives retrofitted with Delem 66 6-axis controls (four new electric servo motor axes on backstop and two hydraulic servo axes on master cylinder) with proportional Pressure regulation controlled by Delem 66.”
“The 500-ton machine with a table width of 6 100 mm has been completely rewired because of the new controls.”
Dillinger Dillimax and Dillidur Wear Plates “Another relatively new service we offer is the supply of ultra-high strength and wear resistant wear plates and components. We import wear plates from Dillinger Steel in Germany.”
“High-strength Dillimax and wear-resistant Dillidur steels are degassed under vacuum. This treatment, combined with complex secondary (or “ladle”) metallurgy, reduces unwanted “impurity” levels (impurities) such as sulfur At a minimum. High-quality slabs, especially of larger thicknesses, also require a sufficiently thick and uniform feed. Dillinger can continuously cast so-called slab feeds with thicknesses up to 600 mm.”
“Pegasus Steel stocks wear plates imported from Germany in sizes from 8mm to 160mm.”
Pegasus Steel is a one-stop three-shift, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week steel processing company specializing in CNC laser cutting, high-definition plasma cutting, CNC bending, CNC flame cutting, CNC punching, guillotine cutting, and rolling. Service Center, Forming and Manufacturing.The company is ISO 9001 certified and has a Class 1 BB-BEE.
Post time: Jan-17-2022