The Tube & Pipe Journal

LASERS

Laser cutting machines used to come in two varieties: equipped with a bed for sheet metal or chucks for tubes, pipes, and profiles. These days many manufacturers offer machines with both a bed and chucks.

In 2010 Mazak introduced the SuperTurbo-X Mark III RTC laser system, which accepts flat material up to 5 ft. by 10 ft. and round pipe up to 14.76 in. in diameter. An extended Z axis, 16. 14 in., adds to its versatility, as does a tapping head. It is available with either a 2,500- or 4,000-W resonator, for a maximum cutting capacity of 0.87 in. or 1 in. in mild steel, respectively.

Likewise, BLM Group USA’s LT Combo handles tubular shapes and sheet metal. The standard tube loader/unloader handles lengths up to 20 ft.; the standard pallet changer accommodates sheet material up to 5 ft. by 10 ft. Laser sources are available from 2 k W to 4. 5 k W.

Prima, which focuses on the flat segment of the fabrication industry, makes an attachment for sheet and plate fabricators that allows them to add tube and pipe to their laser cutting capabilities.

A typical success story concerns one of the company’s customers involved in manufacturing the stanchions used to secure computers in police cars and emergency vehicles. After purchasing the rotary axis and doing some experimenting, the fabricator realized that his capabilities went far beyond manufacturing the same old stanchions— he became able to offer his customers substantial design flexibility for new designs or improvements to

“The flexibility has allowed him to
change his whole business,” said
Michael Millette, laser products manag-
er for Prima Finn-Power North
America Inc. “Instead of machining
them, he cuts them with lasers, and it
has allowed him to get a lot more cre-
ative. He has been able to change his
business, expand his business, and get
more flexible with his designs. It’s wide
open for him when he’s trying to do any
new geometry.”
Millette mentioned that the capabil-
ities of a rotary axis reflect those of the
laser cutting machine.

“When you put it on a 2-D machine, the cutting head is always perpendicular to the centerline of the tube,” he said. “You have no tilt axis. When you put it on a 3-D machine, you have full 5-axis capabilities, so you can do just about any shape you can imagine on a tube.

“This sort of attachment is ideal for most job shops because it opens up an entirely new market segment for them,” he said.

Likewise, TRUMPF offers the RotoLas, a tube cutting device which is an option for the TruLaser 3030 2-D machine. It is able to handle tube and pipe up to 14. 5 in. dia. One customer found that his investment in the rotary axis attachment is paying off in three distinct ways. First, he has created a niche in laser-cutting large-diameter applications. Second, the laser combines several operations, such as cutting and chamfering, on one machine. Third, the additional capabilities are strengthening customer relationships.

Laser machine manufacturers also are offering more choices in maximum cutting diameter. Mazak Optonics Corp. recently supplemented its FabriGear series with its 220 model. It handles round tube and pipe up to 8.66

in. diameter, so it fits into a niche between the FabriGear 150, designed for rounds up to 6 in. in diameter, and the FabriGear 300, which fabricates rounds up to 11. 8 in.

TRUMPF’s TrueLaser Tube 5000 handles diameters up to 6 in., and its TruLaser Tube 7000 comes in two versions. The standard model goes up to 8 in. dia.; the second model handles workpieces up to 10 in. dia. The company has found that fabricators have been moving toward larger-diameter machines.

“Every 7000 ordered in the last year was ordered with the option,” said Product Manager Stefan Schreiber.

A laser machine with a big jump in maximum diameter can introduce fabricators to new niches in the fabricating market, as BLM recently found out. The company introduced its JUMBO machine, which comes in two versions, a small one for diameters up to 14 in. and a large one for tube up to 20 in.

“For tubes this large, fabricators usually mark the tube with a template, then cut it with a hand-held torch,” said Laser Tube Product Manager Jeff Arendas. “A laser provides much higher accuracy, but also much more design flexibility. It allows designers to create new joints and intersections, such as hook-and-slot or insertion joints. All the parts slip together, the features are precisely located, and assemblies come together faster,” he said.

Although laser-cut parts are well-suited to architectural applications, Arendas noted that most building codes deal with beams and girders, but not tubular components. However, this isn’t a roadblock.