Alternative Parts Inc. is the manufacturer and distributor of replacement parts for Amada Machinery and laser parts of leading brands like Amada Parts,Trumpf, Mazak, Bystronic, Prima Power, LVD Strippit, Mitsubishi, Cincinnati and Fanuc.
Is your current press brake machine becoming a headache for you? Or are you thinking of starting a business with a press brake? To find one you can try searching “Amada press brake for sale” online and would come across several options to choose from.
If above mentioned are some of the factors stopping you from buying the machine then this article is a must read for you.
Before going into details of press brake machines’ features, let’s have a look at their major types:
1. Hydraulic Press Brake:
They are easy to use and designed to work with heavy materials. If you are working with such materials then this is a must have. They are cost-effective and suitable if your material does not require high accuracy of bending. If you already have such a press brake then make sure they are tended well and there is no sign of wear and tear. In case you find that your press brake needs any replacement parts, then go for Mitsubishi replacement parts.
2. Electric Press Brake:
If you bend metals with high accuracy or your shop is manufacturing expensive materials, then it's a great investment for your shop.
Now, let's talk about the features you must consider while purchasing any press brakes:
1. Tooling:
It’s extremely important to identify the type of tooling you require. Now, that depends on the type of materials your shop work with. You also need to be careful about bending limit.
Additionally, if you are planning to buy new tools and use them with the existing press brake then make sure, they both are compatible.
There are two types of tooling:
Conventional tooling: Here the accuracy should be +/- 0.001 inch-per-foot. It should not exceed +/- 0.005.
Precision ground tooling: It’s accuracy must be +/- 0.0004 inch-per-foot and should not exceed +/- 0.002.
2. Accuracy:
When it comes to bending, accuracy is the most crucial factor. You need to undertake the angular accuracy of press brake into consideration. If the angular accuracy is not up to the point, then it might result in some loss. You need to find out how precise the press should be and based on that you will know the amount of angular accuracy it must have.
3. Tonnage:
Specifications are must have when buying and the same goes with press brakes. Also, you can select a suitable press brake for you by searching “Amada press brake for sale” online. Your aim while considering tonnage should be buying the one with the shortest and lowest tonnage which complies with the specifications.
The tonnage of machine depends on the type of material you use. If you are using 16-gauge mild steel with 10 feet of length or less than it, then you need only 50 tons of machine. But, if you are working with a higher amount of bottom work, then you might need 150 tons of air binding.
4. Deflection Limits:
Press brakes have deflection limits. The bigger the machine more the deflection it has. Whereas, smaller machines have less deflection comparatively. Hence, while purchasing you need to consider the deflection ratio depending on the type of material you are using.
5. Work with Experienced Suppliers:
It is important to work with a specialized supplier because it becomes easier to understand the products. They provide value-added services to you whenever needed. They will also be able to fulfill your requirements. They will provide you with technical support, address your issues and will help you to solve them as well.
6. Types of The Material:
The type of machine you need depends on the thickness of the material you use. For example, if you want to bend the stainless steel then bending force will increase by about 50 percent. But if you are using the soft aluminum then your binding force will decrease by 50 percent.
7. Flange Width:
Last but not least, it is important to consider flange before purchasing. If you do not have properly measured flange for, it might increase your cost and time to make wider parts. Also, to produce quality wider parts implementing Mitsubishi replacement parts can benefit you with more efficiency. Many of the fabricators while purchasing forget to consider Flange Width of the machine.
Wrapping up…
You must consider the above-mentioned points while purchasing a press brake machine. Oh yes, don’t forget the most important factor- bending accuracy. Because it defines at what angle the material will bend and how accurate it will be. If you are looking for the replacement parts you can consider Mitsubishi replacement parts as they fulfill the needs and are easily available to you.
Fabricators use laser machines for cutting or engraving their materials. But have you ever heard about using them in sign boards business?
When it comes to laser engraving or cutting, using it on sign boards will be no exception as all. They are one of the simplest and most used ways to share information and advertise. We often see them on the roads, our surroundings, outside of restaurants or shops, etc.
Their major aim is to provide people with the information they need to know. It costs a lot of hard work and efforts. To expand their capabilities, you can consider customizing them with Laser engraving machines. They can help sign board businesses in making creative and unique boards that yield results.
The sign shop owners aim to provide something unique to their customers. And Laser engraving machines can make it possible. Let’s see how it can help sign shop owners in growing their business and provide better customer service.
Being the sign shop owner, the first question pops up is that why you need laser in your business shop?
Here is a list of some of the amazing applications of signage shop:
These are just a few of the applications of using the laser cutting machines. Let’s look over the advantages of using these machines.
1. Precision:
Laser machines are very well known for their precision. Laser’s narrow width cut makes it possible to cut the corners of any material of your sign boards.
2. Engrave Detailed Artwork:
The laser machines have the ability to engrave the material at 600dpi. This makes it possible to engrave the artwork with correct precision and make it look more real.
3. Polished Edges:
Laser machines produce fine-tuned polished edges. You do not need any other second process after this and did I tell you the best part, you do not need to face headache of cleaning the material after the completion of process.
4. Speed:
Laser machines cut down 50% of your time compared to old machines or other labor work. It becomes easy to cut multiple materials with the same file again.
Here are some of the things you must consider while purchasing a laser machine for the sign shop.
1. Size of Laser Machine:
Before starting a laser, engraving or cutting business it is necessary to know which type or size of material you are going to use. To know it more deeply, study the market and customer requirements. When there are a variety of machines available in the market knowing your requirements can solve half of your buying hurdles.
2. Customer Support:
It is extremely important to know which company provides better customer services. While purchasing the laser machine you need to consider this feature as you are a beginner in this field and you need someone to guide you with understanding the details of machine and using it. So, it is a smart choice to purchase a laser machine from the company which is in this business for a long time.
3. Laser Machine Accuracy:
Accuracy is one of the most important factors when purchasing laser machines. It includes quality of laser parts from different brands like Prima Parts and LVD strippit parts as well. Working with laser cutting or engraving you need to check the accuracy of the machine as this will be necessary even while engraving or cutting the materials.
Wrapping Up
These are the basic guidelines we ask our customers to follow while purchasing a laser machine. Did this article encourage you to use laser machines in your sign shop? Make sure to invest in quality laser parts like Prima Parts or LVD strippit parts for better results. Especially LVD strippit parts can come as a major benefit as this machine can provide your customers a unique experience. This helps you not only to showcase your creativity but also increase your customer base and leave a lasting impression of your brand.
Laser cutting and engraving started in the 90s. Even today, people use it for its fine accuracy and ease of use. If you are a designer, then these machines help you turn your designs in reality. It provides you the opportunity to start your own company and work independently, or if you don’t wish to invest much in these machines you can submit your designs to other laser cutting companies who might help you in bringing them to reality.
Many designers use laser cutting and engraving as it gives them the freedom to curate their own designs.
One can use this laser cutting machine in different fields like jewelry designing, medical devices, fabric designing, leather designing, etc.
In this article, we will see how laser cutting can be useful in leather designing and how it overcomes the limit of the manual cutting, machine cutting, punching presses, etc.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
There are many different types of laser machines available in the market. So, to help you make the right decision, we’ve listed a few factors you must consider before making the purchase.
It depends on the type of material, thickness, and power of the laser. If the laser is high powered then it increases the speed of the laser in direct proportions. Also, depending on the material and its thickness, the impact on the speed of the laser varies.
Leather is a flexible and durable material. It requires a sufficient amount of power to vaporize. The CO2 laser machine would be perfect for leather designing as it has a power of 40 Watts and above. This is the recommended amount of power for thick materials like leather. Hence, if want to work with leather material then you need to consider a high-powered laser machine.
Large laser cutters are expensive. But, in the long run, it will help you save more leather. With large laser machines, you can make strategic cuts and create more objects with just a single sheet. So, while purchasing you need to understand your requirements and purchase accordingly.
When opting for a laser machine, make sure they have top-class laser parts like Mazak parts, TRUMPF parts, etc. Among these parts, TRUMPF parts are compatible with almost every machinery making it a long-term investment for you.
But what if you want leather-cut designs without investing in a laser cutting machine?
Well, we do have a solution for that too. There are few online stores that can help you with cutting and engraving leather. You have to create your designs and give them to fabricators. These fabricators turn those designs into reality keeping your requirements in mind.
Here we’ve listed a few websites which can help you with leather engraving:
As the saying goes, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works!” - Steve Jobs. But these designs become more special when it turns into reality.
So, what are you waiting for? Get started with your designs today.
Laser engraving is a cutting-edge addition to any business where there is a scope of personalization. It is one of the booming industries.
If you are a funeral director running a funeral then this is something you might be interested in. With your industry going through a disruption period and the introduction of new technology, laser engraving will be something that adds charm to your funeral services.
You can either hire a fabricator who can engrave multiple things on different materials or you can invest in a laser cutting machine. This will help you create lasting memories of your client’s special moments with customized products.
But before you outsource your engraving work, you have to learn about the fabricator and their work. What kind of laser machines do they use? Are they using Fanuc fans and TRUMPF laser parts for the maximum efficiency of these machines? Then get them accustomed to people and families who are going through one of the painful times.
Funeral homes are among the most sensitive places. Everyone wants to remember their family members in a special way. They don’t want them to fade away the special memories they have of them. They want to conduct a special memorial and make sure their family member lives as a good memory in everyone’s mind.
You can offer a lot with laser If as a funeral director, your two main objectives are:
You need to make sure that you fulfill the needs of the family members and provide them with the best creative way to remember their lost family members. Additionally, you also need to make sure that while being creative you do not hurt anyone’s feelings.
To make this happen, you need to make sure that your service speaks louder. Services help in increasing the market share and provides a reason to people as to why they should use your funeral home over others.
People want a memorial service with unique things that can create a lasting memory. At the same time, they also want to make sure that the funerary box, headstones, etc. are unique.
As a funeral director, you always have this responsibility to bring something unique in the funeral home to make sure families get unique headstones and can create lasting memories of their loved ones forever.
The purpose of providing such unique and creative ideas is it gives a personal touch to the family members.
Here we’ve listed a few ideas that you use to provide for exceptional experience to the grieving families in your funeral home using laser engraving machine.
Give personalized cremation options to your customers which they can treasure forever. These personalized cremation memorials will help these families say goodbye to their loved ones in a special way. If you are not providing cremation services in your funeral home, then it’s time you think about it. The number of people choosing to cremate their lost ones is increasing day-by-day.
Provide customized headstones to your customers. Just imagine how pleased these families would be when they see names and favorite quotes of their loved ones engraved on a black or white granite headstone which reflects their personality.
The families choosing your funeral home can use the laser engraved caskets for their loved ones to provide the personal touch and reflect the life of the lost member. Caskets built using wood like oak, bamboo or steel or any other metal make engraving easy.
Laser engravers with Fanuc fans and TRUMPF laser parts are the ones you want to invest in. They will last a long time and help you bring more business.
Losing a pet is difficult for every pet parent. They don’t get options where they can use the memory of their loved pets during the last rituals. And there are not many options available in creating a memorial for your pets. In such a case, you can provide pet owners with the laser engraved memorials for their pets. This helps them in remembering the special moments they would have shared with their pets.
You can provide pet owners with pet urns, personalized photo frames, engraved pet memorials or customized pet jewelry. These are some of the examples but there are many things that you can provide to pet owners.
Families want personalized items to keep as a souvenir in the memory of their family members. These keepsakes help the family members remembering the special memories of the person who has passed away.
Closing note
Laser engraving has many different uses. You can use these machines in engraving any type of material. The idea discussed here helps you as a funeral director not only take your business ahead but it also helps you spread compassion and happiness to some extent in many people’s lives.
Thinking of starting a laser engraving business?
Beware of these 9 myths!
Starting a laser engraving business is a big decision. It’s a great way to earn extra income or you can pursue it as a hobby as well. This field is growing as engraved artifacts are always in demand. People love personalized things as it reflects their personality. It’s amazing to gift engraved things to your loved ones. And they want designs to be out of the box which is the hard part of starting a laser engraving business. So, with the right laser machine, spare parts like Bystronic spare parts or Amada parts, and the right motivation, you can build a huge business.
All the other things you might have heard about laser engraving are just myths.
So, in this article, we will bust some of the misconceptions these myths might have created in your minds.
Learning anything new is hard. The same goes for laser machines too. Initially, you might find it hard to learn but with time, you learn how to use it to perfection. Companies selling these machines have training staff who can help you in learning and using these machines. So, you don’t have to worry about finding an expert or trainer to learn this machine.
Of course! You do get a return on your investment. Starting a business always comes with a risk. Initially, your goal should be to breakeven. But once you start showing your creativity in this industry you will grow your business and start getting customer orders. You just need to have patience, creativity, good customer service and strategy to grow your business. And the right laser cutting machine.
Well, it’s not so. You just need to design a program for the laser machine to engrave or cut. The program must support vector and raster format.
Let’s learn what raster and vector formats are:
A raster file has a grid of pixels that builds up an image. It is useful in engraving an image or a grayscale image on any material.
A vector format has nodes. You can enlarge images of this format without losing quality.
But, if you don’t know how to write a program, you can use free files that are available online and start using laser machines or you can refer some online tutorials to make it easier for you to understand how to use the machine.
Not really. Marketing your engraved products is not that difficult. You know why? Because your products show your creativity. Customers love personalized products. You can post your product images on any social media platform, share in the local groups or collaborate with any of the local companies. To increase your visibility, you tie up with companies and engrave their company logos on mugs or shirts and provide them as a free giveaway. These are just some of the ideas. But let me tell you there is no limit when it comes to marketing your products or showing your creativity.
It’s fine at the initial level if you lack creativity. As I mentioned above, there are many free designs available online. You can use the ones you love and start engraving with those designs. As time passes, you will realize what type of designs your customers love and which designs are trending. You evolve as you learn. So, just be patient with yourself.
Laser engraving business is always in demand because it gives customers the freedom of personalization. You just need to think out of the box and bring out your creativity. Buyers are always ready to pay what you ask. So, if you are putting accuracy and perfection at the core of your products, you won’t have to worry about not earning enough money.
You will not lack support as the companies who sell the laser machines are in business for decades and know very well the basics of customer service. So, you will not remain in darkness. Companies send trained fabricators to their customers to teach how to use the laser engraving machine. But if you still have doubts you can always call their technical support staff as they are ready to help you 24/7.
Of course, it is. Every market today is competitive. But that should not stop you from starting your business. This market is very huge. And believe us, there will be space for your unique designs.
Closing statement:
Make sure you don’t fall prey to the above-mentioned myths of laser engraving business. Start your business with your unique designs, right laser machine, Bystronic spare parts, Amada parts, etc. The market is competitive but everyone can make a place for themselves if they want to and customers love personalized curated designs.
Laser cutting, etching, engraving. It is one of the coolest ways to bring your designs to reality. It provides you results with precision, multi-layered lettering, and design.
Laser cutters are powerful, realistic tools to burn most things like wood, paper, plastic to create a design that you imagine.
So, before you buy a laser cutter, keep these five things in mind to make a precise choice.
The Main Choice: Laser Cutter
A typical laser cutter that most designers and engineers use consists of a 100W laser that have Trumpf nozzles. Between the laser’s extractor fan and sourced materials, your cost can reach $8000 to construct the whole setup. If you are just starting, you can even go for a smaller laser like 40W laser cutters available online. You can even search for parts like precitec nozzles or Trumpf parts online to setup the perfect product for your use.
40W laser cutter can help you with etching the designs you want on a thin place of birch plywood. You can also use acrylic material if you are looking for some cool opaque effects. Also, you can retrofit an old DVD players’ 5W laser into a working laser cutter if you have smaller use cases. It can do more than just etching a design on a piece of paper.
How to Source the Equipment to Build One?
In the digital age, you find many online options for your requirements. For nozzle parts, you can go for precitec nozzles, Trumpf nozzles online to source the best equipment for your business. Other than that consider referrals from your circle. They might also work best!
What Materials to Choose?
You can not just pick any old material and start blasting it with a laser. There are numerous materials like polycarbonate sheets that produce thick, acrid smoke when coming in contact with the laser. Also, make sure that you don't go for cardboard as much as possible. Because the focused heat can cause fire easily when dealing with electrical equipment.
Birch plywood is a few millimeters thick but worth to add material; you can design simply with this material.
Your First Design
To find the best designs to start with, the internet is your bible. Of Course, it does not mean copying others' work. But you can get some cool ideas with which you can create your own designs. You get ready-made SVG files, DXF to put into a laser cutter software for printing.
General Things for Using Laser Cutter
Power: It defines the output power of the laser. It can be from 0 to 100%. Generally, high power to cut thick materials and lower power to engrave and cut thin materials.
Speed: It decides the movement speed of the laser head. To engrave and cut thin material, the speed is usually set to the maximum.
Frequency (Hz, PPI): It specifies the number of laser pulses per second. For instance, wood cuts are best at 500 to 1000 Hz. For acrylic, 5000 to 20000 Hz is the minimum requirement.
Focus: There comes a focus lens inside the laser head. It should be on the surface of the material or slightly below for most of the applications. Make sure that materials are at a certain distance from the lens. The exact distance depends on the type of focus lens.
There are so many types of laser machines that come with a motorized bed. You can move up and down to set the focus distance. And the position of the material surface should be also manually adjusted.
Parts: Make sure you are using the best brand parts like Trumpf nozzles, Amada laser parts, etc. to get the most accurate results.
It’s time to cut!
Don’t worry, it can take a few tries to find the ideal settings for your material. Make sure you change only one parameter in a test process. For example, do not forget to write down your current settings for future reference.
For processing laser cuts with 0.25-inch to 4-kW laser, it can be a hurdle-less task for fabricators. Now when it comes to 12-kW or 15kW, they need high-powered fiber lasers.
And there are choices available in the market, but if you as a fabricator want to focus on thick metal cutting, only high-powered lasers are not the right choice. The 15-kW machines can do more tasks than cutting the thick material.
Overall, the major motive behind this laser technology is about decreasing process time in laser cutting. Let’s explore what these fiber lasers can do for a fabrication shop.
A Little Throwback to History
During the mid-2000s, high-powered laser cutting machines were a necessary tool for quick and efficient armor kits for US troop vehicles. After a few years with the debut of fiber laser technology, these giant machines were not in the trend anymore.
Why Fiber Laser Technology is a Hero
Fiber lasers produce a beam wavelength which is about 10 times shorter than the 10-micron beam wavelength with a CO2 resonator. It produces a higher power density which you add to the higher absorption rate will create a great cutting speed. This cutting speed outpaces that of a CO2 laser in less than 0.25 in.
It becomes easy for manufacturers to increase the power of these machine tools with the additional laser-producing modules, Amada laser parts, and Prima parts. That is the reason for the sudden surge in wattages. In fact, these systems can exceed 100KW in some instances.
Beam delivery systems cannot handle the power of 100-KW systems on their shop floors. Hence, each laser cutting system manufacturer is looking to produce a reliable cutting head which can deliver the fiber laser beam for an extended amount of time.
Recently, these machine tool developers are stepping into the production of cutting head optics which can modulate the beam size during cutting. Its development propelled fiber laser cutting machines from being a tool just for cutting thin sheet metal. When the cutting material gets thick, you need a wider beam to create kerf to remove the molten metal.
It is important for a company to look at the typical thickness range which makes up 80 percent of its work. Also, to make sure that your lasers are working fine, you need to install Amada laser parts and prima parts.
Here are the general rules to cut common metal such as steel, stainless steel, or aluminum with nitrogen:
Utilize the Material Exchange
The processing time on a fiber laser cutting machine is tied with the system’s ability to load sheets, unload cut parts, and skeletons. A fabricator does not gain any cycle time advantage if it has to wait for several times for the material movement. A lot of pallet changers are designed with CO2 lasers. It cuts slower rates compared to fiber lasers. They use hydraulics and can take 35 to 50 seconds to exchange a sheet.
The modern pallet changers rely on servo-driven technology. Here the automation is critical. When it comes to selecting pallet changer technology, fabricators should select one which can handle the thickest material they process.
Is High-powered Laser the right choice for you?
No, if your shop’s laser cutting workload is not expecting continuous growth. If it consumes only half of work shift, paying for a powerful laser to reduce the workload to a quarter of a shift won’t deliver a good return on investment.
If metal fabricators are maximizing their current laser cutting capacity, adding another shift, they can look at high-powered lasers. It is true when they use older laser technology. They can invest in a fast and efficient laser to reduce the number of laser operators needed.
Fiber laser cutting machines will grow in power if the cutting head and material handling can complement the power. You as a fabricator can take advantage of the power if you can feed these cutting machines for proper maintenance.
Picture this scenario:
You are offloading a sheet of cut parts from the laser machine. From all these pieces, you will pick up a few pieces to reveal clean edges for the next step. And you leave the rest of the pieces with the burred finish.
In order to avoid such burred finishes, you need to know which parameters you exactly need to work on. Here are some handful of strategies to help you get the burr-free prints the way you want.
What Causes Burr?
During the process of laser cutting, the laser beam’s intense energy brings the metal beyond its melting temperature, and the powerful action of the assist gas leaves the metal from the kerf. When you use nitrogen, the cutting process relies on the beam’s energy to melt the metal. When carbon steel is cut, the oxygen interacts with the hot metal for an exothermic reaction. And that adds extra heat.
This is why you don’t need as much gas pressure to eject the material. With oxygen cutting, you have much lower pressure and slower dynamic flow of the gas. Overall, these burrs form from the molten metal solidifying faster than its evacuation. The solid material becomes a deposit at the bottom of the kerf. You can also control the burr by using the right nozzles, Mitsubishi spare parts, and Fanuc spare parts.
The Gas Dynamic
When it comes to nitrogen assist gas, operators need to make changes with quality, efficiency, and costs in mind. It can make up to 35 to 50 percent of the variable cost in laser cutting. Hence, it is important to control the overall consumption. When you set up cutting parameters, it is important to minimize the nozzle diameter. It is also essential to choose the smallest nozzle diameter that you can use to achieve the anticipated quality and performance.
After determining the smallest nozzle diameter, you need to determine the lowest possible pressure to obtain a quality cut with good molten metal separation with no burrs.
It is not the Speed
A burr-free finish is not something achievable with nozzle diameter and gas pressure. You also have to pay attention to the spare parts you are using. Make sure they are either Mitsubishi spare parts or Fanuc spare parts. Additionally, when you go too slowly, you might end up injecting more heat than needed in the kerf. And this might end up raising the temperature to an extreme level. Eventually, it causes vaporization which disturbs the gas flow
That disturbance, in turn, causes more burrs, not less. This means that an operator can make cut quality worse by slowing the feed rate.
You can prevent such events by increasing the cutting speed incrementally.
Consider Oxygen Cuts
When it comes to oxygen cutting for carbon steel, consider the exothermic reaction. It is a fact that with both CO2 and fiber lasers when you increase oxygen global purity to 99.95 percent or above, you can increase the cutting speed in production. Sometimes between 30 to 40 percent.
When an oxygen vacuum flask or cylinder has a drop in purity level, it is usually argon. It happens because the oxygen gets produced cryogenically in an air-separation unit, both oxygen and argon liquefy at similar temperatures.
When you add argon into it, it changes the exothermic reactions. It, in turn, affect the cutting performance. The exothermic reaction works in conjunction with the gas flow rate to burn and evacuate the molten material. If the molten material and oxidized slag aren’t removed effectively, it remains as a burr on the cut edge.
At last pumping
In most laser cutting systems, installers know to avoid elbows in the gas plumbing or to oversize the piping diameter to compensate for pressure drops. With downtime and gas not flowing to the laser, air penetrates and fills the pipe. It can cause problems when the laser is restarted for the next shift or operation.
Final Words!
In order to achieve the burr-free cut, the beam parameters and gas dynamics should work together to ensure the right amount of molten metal evacuates the kerf at the prime time.
Laser cutters help you produce products with high standards of precision. They are accurate and capable of providing you detailed and complex cuts. Overall, they provide you the freedom to design your products the way you want. You can cut materials using these machines according to your designs. And 99.9% of the time there are no chances of error.
These are fully automated and saves a lot of your production time. As your worker just needs to move materials, it leads to low material wastage with lower production costs. They can also provide laser engraving services to develop your projects and find a solution for your production. You can produce different depths and dimensions of your projects.
Let’s find out how.
The Working
It is a digital manufacturing technology, working on 2D vector files. The laser cutter has a laser resonator that depends on the cutting method, containing a mixture of a crystal body or glass fibers. When there is a force of energy applied to the mixture of the cutting process, the force sends the beam through different mirror lenses which focus on the laser.
The laser beam travels through the nozzle straight at the material. When it contacts the surface, it vaporizes the material in the shape of the vector file. There is a part of the material which melts with the laser, that is Kerf.
Basically, the laser beam is a column of very high-intensity light of a single wavelength or color. For a typical CO2 laser, its wavelength is in the infra-red part of the light spectrum. Hence, it is invisible to the human eye. The beam is about ¾ of an inch in diameter. It travels from the laser resonator that creates the beam on the machine’s beam path. These rays may bounce in different directions by several mirrors, or beam benders before they focus onto the plate. The focused beam will go through the bore of a nozzle right before it hits the plate. Also passing through that nozzle bore is a compressed gas like Oxygen or Nitrogen.
You can focus the laser beam by a special lens, or a curved mirror that takes place in the laser cutting head. It should focus on the spot of the laser material. The focus spot and density of the energy on it should be perfectly round, consistent, and centered in the nozzle. Just like when you use a magnifying glass to focus the sun’s rays onto a leaf, and that soon catches fire. Now when you think about when you focus 6KWatts of energy into a single spot, it can get extremely hot. The laser cutters containing Mazak parts or Bystronic parts can easily handle these high wattages for the best results.
This high-powered density can cause rapid heating, melting, and partial or complete vaporizing of the material. When you are cutting mild steel, the heat of the laser beam is enough to create an “oxy-fuel” burning process, and the laser gas will be pure oxygen, resembling an oxy-fuel torch. When you cut stainless steel or aluminum, the laser beam melts the material. The high-pressure nitrogen is the main component to blow the molten metal out of the kerf.
With a CNC laser cutter, laser cutting head can move over the metal plate in the shape of the desired part. Hence, it cuts the part out of the plate. A capacitive height control system can maintain an accurate distance between the end of the nozzle and the plate being cut. The cut can be affected by raising or lowering the focal point from just above the surface of the plate.
Other than these, many other parameters that work and affect quality. But when you control them properly, laser cutting gives a stable, reliable, and accurate cutting process.
The Endless Opportunities that come with it
You can make the most of this technology in various industries using high-quality laser cutters with Mazak parts and Bystronic parts. Whether it is a mechanical engineering, a technical firm or a creative space. For example, you can combine 3D printing and laser cutting. And after that, you get perfect for production needs and highly customized products.
Lately, there has been a huge rise in the number of dual-source laser machines. These machines can deliver better results in less time. The main reason is the demand in the market and the ease these machines provide. With such a laser system, you can have more options in one machine. You can choose a suitable laser source for your requirements.
If you are a novice in the laser cutter world, let me give you a brief on this. The dual-source system includes both CO2 and fiber laser sources in a single system. The CO2 laser has a versatile frequency that works well with wood, plastic, glass, marble, and more. But for engraving, you cannot rely on them. That’s when fiber lasers come in the picture. Now when you have a dual-source laser machine, you can switch out between these two sources according to the use and application. These machines are durable if used with the right parts like Amada parts or Trumpf replacement parts. The key is to invest in the right things.
The major benefit you get from this dual laser source is the versatility of the system. But is it really suitable for your business? Do you actually need one?
Let’s find out.
Are you using/planning only one source?
Based on your needs, you might use fiber laser less often than CO2. But there has been a surge in the applications of these fiber lasers and you will find yourself using these lasers more & more in the near future. Hence, having a dual source laser in place can prepare you for the future and you can add additional material processing capabilities. You can do all this without having to invest in the second machine.
However, it is important to remember that with the dual-source, you can use one type of laser source at a time. If you wish to use both simultaneously, then a dual-source laser machine is not the right choice for you. In such cases, opting for the systems separately would be a better option. You can make use of your single-use machines to the fullest too by using Amada parts & Trumpf replacement parts.
What’s your work area look like?
When you have limited floor space, a dual system makes perfect sense for you. It can be an appealing option having a system that can produce results of both CO2 and Fiber laser without expanding your physical workspace. Hence, if you have space for only one machine, a dual system would maximize the capabilities of your machinery.
What is the nature of your products?
After these factors, it is important to consider if the products you work on contain dual material. For example, does it contain plastic and steel? Or metal and leather together? In such cases, a dual-source can be the perfect choice for your application. With a dual system, you can engrave using both the CO2 and fiber laser in a single job.
Benefits:
Has the Best Features
When it comes to dual source laser machines, it allows you to process a variety of materials in a single operation. For example, the CO2 laser course is best for engraving, cutting plastics, wood, rubber, leather and other materials. And the fiber laser is correct for marking metals and staining plastics. You get a blend of these features in dual-source laser machines which makes it a perfect combo for your business.
Fewer Laser Jobs with High Output
Depending on your material, you can get your job done easily using a dual-source laser without manually changing laser tube, lens or focus. In such machines, you can easily assign sources to the associated software with just a touch and get the job done. You can do each of the laser applications, annealing marking, metal engraving, etc. in no time. It saves a lot of time providing you more flexibility to help you grow business.
Before investing in such a machine, it is important to describe your requirements. Decide if your system needs such a type of laser system or not. When you go into the purchasing process, ask the right questions to yourself and make sure you are prepared to make an informed decision.
Automation has been a common factor in all the industries now. And the metal fabrication industry is just one of them. The common goals of a fabrication company include increased production speed and boosted capacity to meet the growing demand.
Can automation help you meet these requirements? Let’s find out.
Is Automation Right for Your Business?
It solely depends on your short-term and long-term needs. By applying laser automation, you get:
Speed: With automation in place, material loading speed accelerates up to 35%.
Capacity: You can achieve the highest production results with your machine.
Consistency: With automated laser cutters, you can perform precisely and get everything (time between cycles, load and unload times) down.
Finding the Right Type
Loading/Unloading System: When you add such type of system with the existing machines, it enables them to function unattended for a longer period of time. You might see an increase in productivity by 2.8 times. It includes a single load and separates unload tables. It restricts you to one material type/thickness at a time, making it an ideal choice for batch productions where you require fewer changes.
Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS):
Such a system makes it possible to run a variety of material types and thicknesses without any assistance from an operator. FMS has multiple storage shelves that let you load materials into one or more laser cutting machines. These systems typically deliver a beam on-time of roughly 92% and 14.7 hours of cutting per day. They can be an ideal choice for small-batch productions and frequent material changes.
Your Initial Stage Configurations
The Types of Materials
With simple systems like the load/unload system, it uses a single table. With FMS systems, you can load a range of materials into different shelves.
The Number of Machines
A compact system can work well with the machines you already have. In the future, when you want to expand your business to a certain extent, a modular solution will be a more logical option.
The key here is designing your system to handle a bit overcapacity. And you would not want to go overboard, as it might tie up too much operating capital.
The Considerations
Most systems have a maximum capacity of 1” sheet of the mild steel. You can design systems to run single sheets without using any transceiver which will give more flexibility. In case if you need parts automatically sorted, you can build some systems to cut parts from a skeleton, depositing them on a specific offload table or you can deposit them in a bin.
How would you like to control your automation system?
Load/Unload systems are typically simpler. They use a basic cell controller to load the program sequence-wise on your machine. An FMS will need a more sophisticated system which prioritizes tasks, manage inventories, provide data about the cuts, when, and more.
What type of material unloading system will you need?
There are so many options available which you can consider. It could be any of the following: fixed tables, scissor-lift tables, multiple offload tables, rail systems, and conveyors. Also, make sure you are using either Prima spare parts or Mitsubishi laser spare parts when converting to automated lasers.
The Challenges
Here are some of the challenges to keep an eye on:
If you as a fabricator wish to accelerate the overall flow from automated laser cutting, it is important to choose the right laser machine with the right partner by your side to make this implementation a success for your business.
With laser engraving and cutting system, there is one thing that comes as an absolute benefit: the speed. These systems render the fastest results to etch a pattern or cut the piece with the design. But when you have such a system in place, it is important to maintain efficiency otherwise it can hamper your overall growth. So, here are six hacks to help you with maximizing your Laser Production.
A basic thing to pay your attention to. When you print multiples at one time, it reduces production time. This can be possible in the cases when you require the same engraving or cutting on more than one item. When you engrave in batches, you can experience an increase of 37% in the time savings. When you are working in the batches, how many products would go in once depends hugely on the table size. You need to enlarge the page size in your graphic design program to match the full table size where you place your laser. In such cases, you can use a jig to space out the items. The output from any batch would be a result of using the right nozzle which includes a Trumpf nozzle or Precitec nozzles.
Adjusting Resolution
This is another factor to consider when you want to increase production. Especially in engraving jobs, it is important that the final image output is adequate. When you keep your DPI(Dots per inch) higher, it will take longer to engrave the item. And if your DPIs are higher, then the dots are going to be closer together. This will produce a detailed image, but it might take a bit longer time. If you lower your engraving resolution a bit, it can increase your time savings by 33% or more. The key here is to find the right combination of resolution and pattern which render achievable results with good quality in less time.
Color Mapping
Using color mapping can save your engraving time. For example, there is a design with three columns and in it, there are 30 names. At first, the laser will see it as one image and the laser head will travel over the white space columns to engrave the graphic. When you have a color mapping in place, it enables you to skip all the white space as it assigns each column a different color and an associated engraving order. This way, the laser will engrave one column at a time, traveling over white space. It will save you almost 43% time depending on the item you have put for the job. For better results of this technique, you can use a Trumpf nozzle or Precitec nozzles in the implementation.
Center engraving
This makes it easy to work with the various sized items, as you can create a custom template for each one. It allows the user to move the laser by hand to the center of the project. Set the center point as the new home position and the laser will utilize that point to properly place the graphic. Compared to other items it will save you a lot of time.
Pre-engrave Items
Customization is a great opportunity to give your business a new customer base. But singular jobs can prove to be very inefficient. Because if you load and produce the same design over and over in your engraving machine, it consumes a lot of your production time. To overcome this obstacle, you can pre-engrave and create an inventory of your popular items. This way you can just load pre-engraved material and save a lot of money & time. Thus, pre-engraving can help you to engrave the same items in one go to decrease the production time. It becomes easy to pre-engrave the major graphics of the design onto a batch. Once the order comes in, you can simply use one of the pre-engraved boards back in the machine.
Using Job Manager
Using a job manager will help in keeping track of the regular jobs done in your laser machine. It becomes easy to streamline your laser processing workflow. It saves your time by giving you access to job time records, databases, status and more.
In a Nutshell
It is important to maximize your laser production for long-term production benefits. When it comes to laser machines, keeping these little things in place would help you eliminate unnecessary gaps in your system. Plus, an increased rate of the job will be your additional advantage.
With laser engraving and cutting system, there is one thing that comes as an absolute benefit: the speed. These systems render the fastest results to etch a pattern or cut the piece with the design. But when you have such a system in place, it is important to maintain efficiency otherwise it can hamper your overall growth. So, here are six hacks to help you with maximizing your Laser Production.
A basic thing to pay your attention to. When you print multiples at one time, it reduces production time. This can be possible in the cases when you require the same engraving or cutting on more than one item. When you engrave in batches, you can experience an increase of 37% in the time savings. When you are working in the batches, how many products would go in once depends hugely on the table size. You need to enlarge the page size in your graphic design program to match the full table size where you place your laser. In such cases, you can use a jig to space out the items. The output from any batch would be a result of using the right nozzle which includes a Trumpf nozzle or Precitec nozzles.
Adjusting Resolution
This is another factor to consider when you want to increase production. Especially in engraving jobs, it is important that the final image output is adequate. When you keep your DPI(Dots per inch) higher, it will take longer to engrave the item. And if your DPIs are higher, then the dots are going to be closer together. This will produce a detailed image, but it might take a bit longer time. If you lower your engraving resolution a bit, it can increase your time savings by 33% or more. The key here is to find the right combination of resolution and pattern which render achievable results with good quality in less time.
Color Mapping
Using color mapping can save your engraving time. For example, there is a design with three columns and in it, there are 30 names. At first, the laser will see it as one image and the laser head will travel over the white space columns to engrave the graphic. When you have a color mapping in place, it enables you to skip all the white space as it assigns each column a different color and an associated engraving order. This way, the laser will engrave one column at a time, traveling over white space. It will save you almost 43% time depending on the item you have put for the job. For better results of this technique, you can use a Trumpf nozzle or Precitec nozzles in the implementation.
Center engraving
This makes it easy to work with the various sized items, as you can create a custom template for each one. It allows the user to move the laser by hand to the center of the project. Set the center point as the new home position and the laser will utilize that point to properly place the graphic. Compared to other items it will save you a lot of time.
Pre-engrave Items
Customization is a great opportunity to give your business a new customer base. But singular jobs can prove to be very inefficient. Because if you load and produce the same design over and over in your engraving machine, it consumes a lot of your production time. To overcome this obstacle, you can pre-engrave and create an inventory of your popular items. This way you can just load pre-engraved material and save a lot of money & time. Thus, pre-engraving can help you to engrave the same items in one go to decrease the production time. It becomes easy to pre-engrave the major graphics of the design onto a batch. Once the order comes in, you can simply use one of the pre-engraved boards back in the machine.
Using Job Manager
Using a job manager will help in keeping track of the regular jobs done in your laser machine. It becomes easy to streamline your laser processing workflow. It saves your time by giving you access to job time records, databases, status and more.
In a Nutshell
It is important to maximize your laser production for long-term production benefits. When it comes to laser machines, keeping these little things in place would help you eliminate unnecessary gaps in your system. Plus, an increased rate of the job will be your additional advantage.
Being a fabricator is not an easy job. One of the hardest tasks you might have is to maintain the efficiency of your laser cut machine. And you can do so by following adequate steps to improve the flow of laser-cut parts through a fabrication shop. Using quality parts like Bystronic laser parts, Mazak laser parts will benefit you for a streamlined flow. Here is how you can speed up your laser production by maintaining the flow of laser cut parts.
From all the areas of concern, it is most important that the layout you are working is efficient. Your shop’s layout can make or break even the most versatile production plan. A point to note is that the more time your parts spend in transit or waiting for delivery, your overall efficiency will reduce and can affect the production and overall the plant.
In the ideal scenario, the incoming material should load directly into or nearby the main machinery and all the secondary operations should happen near the laser output area. You must be wondering this is such an obvious thing. But sometimes fabricators do not pay much attention to the layout while installing the laser machine. To overcome this layout mistake, usually, fabricators or owners use a patchwork approach. And when a patchwork approach to shop is inefficient, the entire shop layout would need a redesign.
Any layout’s basic objective is ensuring the smooth flow of work, material, parts, and information through a system. When you understand the overall flow of the shop, it can help the material move efficiently.
It is important to consider that maintenance is an equally important part when it comes to laser machinery. To be honest, some fabricators don’t pay much attention to the maintenance of their parts. Unless they experience some problems in the speed or accuracy, they will not feel obligated to maintain their lasers or their quality Amada parts.
It is important to stay on top of the recommended maintenance activities. Because once a problem occurs, the equipment operator won’t be that much more productive. You don’t have to pay much attention because today’s manufactured lasers come with enhanced options that make it easier to practice healthy maintenance. You can schedule and set a regime that allows you to stay on top of your maintenance schedule.
It becomes crucial to program automated material and part handling, majorly for maintaining efficiency. In the production industry, it has become a necessity to have automation. It yields double or triple results. A shop that upholds a manual sheet can vastly have different outputs than a shop that has a completely automated system.
To help avoid downtime, it is necessary to optimize your plant layout, maintaining your equipment on a schedule, programming, and automation, monitoring your production.
In the past years, program software developers used such algorithms that homed parts with as little waste as possible. This saves you more money which means more money left in the pocket of the manufacturer. It is important to maintain integrity in laser nests while unloading them automatically so that they can render at various locations. It is true in cases where high-capacity carts are in use. Because a stack of cut sheets can become a tangle of parts and scrap.
Technology never stops providing better tools for increased efficiency in the workflow. After optimizing your shop layout, performing maintenance and programming, it is important to set out to stride toward laser automation.
If you can operate your industrial laser with 50 percent efficiency then it is pretty much good! The most common beam-on times for an average mix of materials have hovered between 30 and 40 percent historically. But your laser could be capable of more than that. If you add a very basic load and unload automation system, it can increase your beam-on time to more than 80 percent.
If you use standard cart unloading, it might create denoting bottlenecks which can delay the arrival of parts downstream. Conveyors are popular as they allow denesting to occur at the same rate as production. It enables you to react more quickly to production issues. It gives you more time to downstream operations.
To make some revolutionary improvements to your laser-cut-part flow, it is important to understand and track all the jobs. When you get statistics like beam-on-time, transit delays, maintenance schedules, and process bottlenecks, it can help you in achieving continuous improvement.
There some laser cutting equipment that comes with a production monitoring option. When there are robust production monitoring and support system intact, you can design and provide transparency to your machine process anytime. it will enable you to achieve real-time access to an extensive amount of data through your desktop or mobile device. To find quality laser parts you can go for Bystronic laser parts and Mazak laser parts for the quality outputs.
For any type of business, identity is a mandatory thing. It makes a business unique and more visible to its users. Just like your logo, packaging, uniforms, you need a unique stamp for the manual work which represents your business.
What’s wrong with regular stamps?
If you are using regular stamps, there is always a threat of other people replicating the stamps and your identity. So, having a unique stamp always goes a long way. When it comes to creating personalized stamps for your business, laser engraving machines can do wonders. The laser engraving machine creates a high-resolution stamp and makes it hard to replicate your identity. You can have a micro-sized inner signature to make copying even harder for others. Plus, it will look good and leaves a good impression on your colleagues.
Why Laser Technology for Stamps?
Stamps are for the public identity. Hence, they must be high resolution. With laser cutting technology, you can cut rubber with a precise resolution and finish. Even if you are okay with low-resolution stamps, it might take a long time and effort to finish the job. Plus the lasers containing Mitsubishi machine parts or Amada spare parts will last longer and save a lot of your money.
The Benefits You Get with Laser Cutting Machine
A Neat and Clean Impression
If you are pitching your business to potential partners, they always look for the details that make your business look like its one step ahead of you. When you use laser technology, it helps you leave a great impression. These small things would make a big difference. Having a laser which has Mitsubishi machine parts or Amada spare parts can give help you neater finish to the logo.
Increase Efficiency
When you have a laser cutting machine in place, it becomes easy to try different things. You can always revise your work in no time and manufacture more products according to your convenience & requirement. This way it helps you increase your efficiency.
Competitive Advantages
When it comes to laser cutting, it has set a benchmark in the industry for some time now. It is cost-effective as if you are producing products on your own time & have no other costs to bear. When you have other cutting methods, you will have to calculate every single millimeter offset in the large design stage for the better cutting stages. It might lead you to messy and frustrating situations. But laser technology is not only better in cutting, but it is cost-effective, easiest and adjustable.
Saves Time
With this machine in your ownership, it becomes easier for you to create art. The rubber-stamp process is as easy as printing a picture from your regular office printer. These machines save a lot of time in cutting and engraving rubber stamps.
Reduces Production Times
You can automate laser cutting technology for producing a large number of stamps. It helps you get your job done much faster. As with the laser machine, you will never need to work for an extra hour.
Steps to Create Your Own Stamp with Laser Engraving
Step 1: Gather the Materials
Step 2: Design
Draw a rough idea for an idea about how your stamp would look. If you scan it, make sure that it is a high resolution; around 600DPI.
Step 3: Engraving Preparations
Step 4: Start Engraving
And ready!
Conclusion
Laser engraving technology is the fastest growing technology. If you are running a design company/agency, you will definitely need this technology as the world is changing and nobody would want to pay high rates for small productions to the production companies.
In the laser cutting, there are two main types of lasers used in producing exceptional machinery parts. CO2 lasers and fiber lasers. While CO2 lasers have the advantage of producing superior edge quality, Fiber lasers are rising as innovative cutters in the industry. They are beneficial in metal cutting due to their non-reflecting beam. They cut quicker than their alternatives.
One of the major benefits of using fiber lasers is the clean, oxide-free edge you get as an end result. You can obtain it with nitrogen assist gas. As there will be no oxidation, it improves the downstream processes such as welding and powder coating which in turn helps achieve better adhesion and weldability.
You can further improve Fiber Laser's cut edge by making optimal changes in the assist gases and nozzle technologies.
Here is how to start!
Nitrogen Purity
Purity levels play a major role in the quality of edge and other parts. If you want to buy new ones, try searching for Amada Parts or Fanuc Parts online for quality products. If you know and understand what kind of expectations to set from purity levels, it can help achieve the desired quality for any part and other end goals. If you are working for industries such as medical and food-grade equipment which require a bright silver finish, then you need to set the purity levels to 99.9 percent.
If your targeted market is agricultural implements and powder coat adhesion in which your main focus areas include producing parts per day, then a lower nitrogen purity level between 98 to 99 percent will suffice the requirement. It is important to understand what you need in terms of level. This helps in sizing your nitrogen generator properly, at the beginning itself, to avoid edge quality glitches which later affects the overall performance. Moreover, using quality laser parts like Amada parts would also benefit in the longer run. You can also search for Fanuc parts online which fall into the same quality parts category.
Nitrogen Consumption and Costs
While operating any laser cutting machine, be it fiber or CO2, the consumption of nitrogen is always high. Several factors cause this issue. With the fiber’s upgraded technology, you have higher wattage ratings available which can easily process most of the materials. It might have been possible that your CO2 laser had a limitation in cutting mild steel with nitrogen assist gas at 3/16-inch-thick, or 7-gauge material. For example, A 4-kilowatt CO2 laser may have used 1700 SCFH (standard cubic feet per hour) to cut 3/16-in-thick or 7-ga. mild steel. And to cut ⅜ in-thick material, the gas consumption will double to 3,400 SCFH.
And with the Fiber’s technology, this limitation will no longer be a limitation as it can help expand the mild steel nitrogen procession range.
Nitrogen Consumption & Cut Edge
Nitrogen-generation systems reduce the cost of nitrogen and eliminate gas supply contracts. If you purchase your own nitrogen-generation system, it becomes easier for you to take advantage of the capital equipment depreciation which accelerates your ROI.
You can generate nitrogen by separating air into argon, oxygen, nitrogen, and CO2. It might come as a surprise, but the air we breathe contains only 21% of oxygen, a whopping 78% of nitrogen, 0.9% argon and some traces of Carbon dioxide & other gases.
Here are the most commonly used gas separation systems: Pressure swing adsorption, cryogenic fractional distillation (used to separate liquid air), and membranes.
Generating your own nitrogen may accelerate your ROI. In most cases, you can achieve the ROI in less than two years. For the manufacturing units using multiple machines or running multiple shifts, achieving such ROI will be in less than 2 years. And once the company achieves ROI, they will be saving a lot on delivery fees, equipment rental fees, etc.
Not only an economical choice but for better results also, Fiber Lasers have it all. Also, using Amada Parts for your machines would maximize its productivity. There are cost advantages, superior quality and are safer than CO2 lasers.