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Power, Speed, Size, Surprises Add To Lasertron’s Cutting Capabilities
Press brakes, welders, finishing equipment and particularly the nine different lasers — each with a very distinct capability — give Lasertron the “cutting edge.” Laser capabilities have steadily grown and the shop expanded to the current 18,000 square foot facility. Twenty-five employees keep production going around the clock. “When most of the world envisions having something laser cut,” explains Gary Geller, Lasertron’s founder and president, “they envision a single laser. That’s not it. Each laser has a distinct capability.” Geller began Lasertron as a one-man, no-frills shop in 1979. His growth philosophy was very specific. Buy only first models of new lasers with advanced capabilities, work with the manufacturers to hone production processes, and be the first to offer the results to the market. He keeps his edge by getting a head-start, “You learn how to use the new laser. You know what it can do. When anybody else buys one they have to go through the same learning curve but you’re already ahead and have the customers.” Unusual applications Lasertron specializes in “experiments” and prototypes, often producing only one piece or a small lot size. Other capabilities such as laser engraving, forming, welding, and specialty finishing have been added to satisfy customer demand. But cutting, the bulk of the business, is where Lasertron excels and sees the greatest profits. “A lot of our projects don’t even look suitable for a laser,” Geller explains, “But somebody wants to know if the laser cut will work. So there are a lot of things we do that seem to make no sense at all. Some of them end up cutting great on a laser. Then all of a sudden, you’re in a different business.” “Big” attractions About a year ago, Geller moved two machines out and structurally altered his plant to accommodate his latest acquisition, the PlateLASER™ from Whitney. The initial attraction of the PlateLASER was three-fold. Power, speed and size. And, following with Geller’s business philosophy, he purchased the first PlateLASER and worked closely with Whitney to fine-tune the machine’s abilities. Geller had purchased a 6 kW laser prior to the Whitney, but experienced challenges ranging from internal machine software to repeatability. That changed when he began using the 6 kW laser combined with the Whitney PlateLASER platform. The 6 kWs of power allowed Lasertron to quickly and accurately cut thick stainless and carbon plate (up to 1-1/4"), with the emphasis on cutting the thicker specialty metals. This new ability has Geller capturing business from conventional machining, plasma and even waterjet processes. According to Geller, his 3 kW laser struggles to cut 1/2" stainless at 5 or 6 inches a minute. The Whitney multiplies that speed — in some cases up to six times — depending on the complexity of the part. In thin metal the increases can be even higher. That means more productivity in less time as well as savings in cutting gases and electricity. The size of the work tables — 80" x 160" handling plate up to 4,600 pounds — increased the size of parts Lasertron could offer. The dual shuttle tables, which allow loading material or unloading a nest of parts while the machine is cutting, is another time saver. Predictable results Operators became comfortable with the machine very quickly, comparing it to operating a desktop computer. Whitney’s Intelligent Laser Control (ILC) with the Material Parameter Library (MPL) simplify operation for predictable results. Identify the material to be cut and the part configuration and the MPL automatically tells you the cutting and piercing speeds, the gases required, the gas pressure needed and the lenses to be used. “Our operators love the PlateLASER,” says Geller. “The results are predictable…you get the same thing time after time. That cuts down on the level of frustration from where you walk in one day and can do the job and you walk in the next day and you can’t. That’s important.” For some applications Geller uses the PlateLASER in an unexpected manner. He uses the high power to make very thin, intricate cuts in a 1/2" steel. Surprising advantage An unexpected advantage came from the linear motor drives that are not typically available on a machine for cutting plate. With fast processing of thin material, the motion system needs to accurately keep up with cutting speeds. In most higher power plate cutting lasers, the motion systems become the limiting factors. So the speed available, because of the higher power, cannot be maximized when cutting thinner material. That’s where the PlateLASER’s linear motors come into play making it a truly “thick to thin” machine. “Normally somebody interested in cutting heavy plate would not go to the expense of linear drives. Whitney put them on this laser. There is no inherent advantage when cutting thick parts, but for cutting thinner parts, where you can go very fast, there is a substantial advantage,” says Geller. The Whitney was added to Lasertron’s shop floor to cut very thick, large parts. And it does that well. But it is also consistently used to cut thin gauge parts that were formerly processed on lower power lasers. “Just about everything that we have we try to put on the Whitney. We definitely do everything that is thicker than 1/4" for carbon steel and everything that is thicker than 3/16" on stainless,” Geller adds. “We even reprogram parts that were done on our 3 kW lasers and put them on the Whitney. We’ll make the same quality part but we’ll get more bang for the buck because there’s more power to work with. “It’s the most advanced machine — the topic of party conversation. When you say I work on a machine that cuts 1-1/4" stainless, it’s something people just talk about.” (Used with permission from Whitney Metal Fabrication News, March 2002) Home | All Applications | PlateLASER | PlateLASER Applications |
