Lasers, fabricating, and EDM equipment boost flexibility

Manufacturing Engineering, Aug 2002

YES, IT'S A MACHINE TOOL SHOW, but IMTS boasts many technologies related to parts manufacturing, and important places to locate such technologies are the Metal Forming & Fabricating/Laser pavilion (newly combined for IMTS 2002), and the EDM pavilion. "Everything we do is machined either right before or right after we process it, so it only makes sense we're at this show," says Dave Plourde, vice president/metals market for Laser Machining Inc. (Somerset, WI).

Think lasers, and likely the first image that comes to mind are laser cutters for the sheetmetal industries.

According to The Association For Manufacturing Technology's Laser Systems Product Group (LSPG), cutting applications are the largest source of industrial laser activity, accounting for more than 50% of the $89.4 million worth of industrial laser equipment and systems shipped in first-quarter 2002, including exports. This total breaks down as $66.7 million representing North American shipments, and $22.7 million representing exports. More than 80% of total shipments ($72.4 million) were configred as a laser system, defined as laser source plus workstation, while the remainder ($17.0 million) were laser source only.

Taken together, shipments and exports were down slightly more than 40% from year-earlier levels. For reporting purposes, the decrease reflects only those companies who participated in the report in both first-quarter 2001 and first-quarter 2002, and does not include increased shipments reflecting new program participants this year. Forty-seven companies participated in the LSPG statistical review.

"Even with the economic stimulus package, the strong dollar continues to depress US manufacturing and weaken order volume of US-manufactured equipment overall," Plourde says. "With lasers, though, there is encouragement on two fronts. First, the US is still a significant exporter of industrial laser processes and equipment. Second, we continue to see strong new interest in laser technologies that offer improved flexibility, reduced cycle time, the ability to automate the process, and improved quality."

Plourde's company, Laser Machining, provides highpowered laser solutions for welding, heat-treating, and cladding, primarily in heavy-equipment and power-generation industries, among others. "We're not in the sheetmetal end of the business; everything we're supplying is designed either for high-speed applications or deep-penetration welding, in the areas of five to as much as 16 mm," he says. In its booth at IMTS, Laser Machining plans on showcasing an array of work samples with technical backup on the systems that produced them, as the systems themselves are too large for display purposes.

Size of the system notwithstanding, the theme of the company's display is increased productivity and lower costs. "We're dealing with a high capital-equipment proposition," Plourde explains. "For customers to buy new equipment, there has to be a compelling business case. For us, that means replacing an existing technology such as electron-beam welding, significantly increasing throughput, or thoroughly supporting a product design that exploits the advantages of laser processing."

Such process advantages where laser welding is concerned are:

* Laser welding is a non-contact technology

*Capable of welding thick or large geometries

* Laser welds exhibit high structural strength

* Deep weld penetrations can occur in parts fixtured with oneside-only access

* High-powered lasers can produce faster weld speeds compared to other technologies.

Typical system configurations LMI supplies consist of CO, or Nd:YAG lasers, beam delivery, frame, linear, and rotary motion, and a controller with Windowsbased software. Configurations run from large X-Y single-station tables to twin multiaxis stations or dial stations for small parts.

Trumpf (Farmington, CT), a producer of sheetmetal processing equipment including machine tools that cut, bend, measure, and otherwise process sheetmetal parts, will be using its IMTS booth to demonstrate a diverse range of laser technology expertise, including laser cutting, laser welding, marking, measuring, and laser-hardened bending tools. "At IMTS, we hope to show how Trumpf lasers can help any manufacturer, whether job shop or OEM, foreign or domestic, better produce anything from a high-quality computer chassis to a luxury car," says Trumpf vice president Peter Riehle. "Last year, Trumpf reinvested $63 million in research and development, and we are already reaping the benefits of that investment, particularly in the area of laser technology." The company decided to begin producing its own lasers in 1983, and today, laser technology generates approximately 65% of Trumpf's worldwide revenue, which last year exceeded $1.2 billion. And the Trumpf Laser Technology Center in Plymouth, MI, recently opened a new building featuring a fully accessible laser laboratory for developing and validating laser applications in such wide-ranging manufacturing industries as automotive and medical devices.