Laser System Offers A Proven Cutting Method
Early to recognize the advantages of CNC bending, Northern Tube (Pinconning, Michigan), a tier two supplier of tubular products for light, medium and heavy duty trucks, was also quick to see the benefits of robotic laser cutting over traditional mechanical drill/pierce equipment in hydroform applications, including increased quality and productivity.
Northern Tube recently replaced its original robotic laser cell system installed in 1995 with two new cells featuring FANUC (Rochester Hills, Michigan) robots mated with TRUMPF lasers, supplied by the TRUMPF Laser Technology Center (Plymouth Township, Michigan).
The system consists of two identical cells, each featuring two laser cutting robots and a ferris wheel-type part-indexing device. The system also incorporates two material handling robots, an incoming conveyor, a flush booth, an operator console and a main power panel. A key upgrade for the company is the new system's ability to verify the presence of the holes cut during the process versus the post-process probe method of the old system. A beam switching capability allows the supplier to fix any problems during the cutting process, providing high uptime.
The laser portion of each cell comprises two HL 1003 D 1-kW Nd:YAG lasers, proven to perform reliably in hydroforming applications. The HL 1003 D laser has a beam quality of 12 mm-mrad, said to be an optimal level for cutting. The focal diameter and position of the beam remain constant, even when the laser power is changed, allowing consistent processing results every time.
Key to the successful operation of lasers in a tough frame plant environment such as that at Northern Tube is minimizing the amount of time the laser cavity is opened so that contaminants have little access to reflective surfaces. The model HL 1003 D has a modular design that protects the internal laser cavity. Each laser cavity has its own power supply, which, like the cooling and control systems, is designed as a slide-in, module for easy service and maintenance.
Flash lamps are in the lid of the laser resonator. When the top is opened, the laser cavity is easily protected by simply placing a cloth over the chamber to shield the minors. Not that the lamps require frequent replacement--current lamp life ranges from 700 to 1,000 hours on these systems. Northern Tube has found the HL 1003 D resonator to be very reliable, operating with no water leaks, pumping chamber faults, rod failures or fiber faults.
The Nd:YAG lasers offer fiberoptic beam delivery through Z-axis cutting nozzles that use capacitive (non-contact) height sensing. Two six-axis FANUC M161 robots manipulate the nozzles of each system. Each robot moves to a specific point where the laser beam is activated to produce the specified hole shape in the part.
A dual-trunnion ferris wheel part indexer that transfers the parts in and out of the laser enclosure holds the frame rails. Both trunnions have the ability to manipulate the rail during processing to allow ideal positioning to the robots.
Frame rails are delivered to the robotic cells by two-tiered rail conveyors, which deliver both right and left rails. A material handling robot then transfers the rails to the ferris wheel indexer and the flush booth. A second material handling robot then grabs the rails and stacks them in a pallet.
Each frame rail weighs about 40.5 kilograms and is made from 4-mm thick cold rolled steel. The cutting speed of the lasers is 3 m (120 inches) per minute with hole-to-hole repeatability of plus or minus 0. mm. The holes be cut vary in size from 6 to 72 mm an come in a variety c shapes such as circles, slots, square and hexagons. Th two robots in each system cut 60 hole and trim the rails to length, processing left and right pair in 5 minutes.
An added value of the system, according to Northern Tube is the availability of remote diagnostics offered by the TRUMPF Laser Technology Center. Should the system experience trouble, the company's operator can dial into TRUMPF's online troubleshooting service. Up to 600 actual system parameters can be monitored and accessed at any time. Connecting with a modem permits remote transmission of all operating and control data, allowing a TRUMPE laser expert to analyze and quickly provide fault correction, eliminating unnecessary downtime.
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Northern Tube recently replaced its original robotic laser cell system installed in 1995 with two new cells featuring FANUC (Rochester Hills, Michigan) robots mated with TRUMPF lasers, supplied by the TRUMPF Laser Technology Center (Plymouth Township, Michigan).
The system consists of two identical cells, each featuring two laser cutting robots and a ferris wheel-type part-indexing device. The system also incorporates two material handling robots, an incoming conveyor, a flush booth, an operator console and a main power panel. A key upgrade for the company is the new system's ability to verify the presence of the holes cut during the process versus the post-process probe method of the old system. A beam switching capability allows the supplier to fix any problems during the cutting process, providing high uptime.
The laser portion of each cell comprises two HL 1003 D 1-kW Nd:YAG lasers, proven to perform reliably in hydroforming applications. The HL 1003 D laser has a beam quality of 12 mm-mrad, said to be an optimal level for cutting. The focal diameter and position of the beam remain constant, even when the laser power is changed, allowing consistent processing results every time.
Key to the successful operation of lasers in a tough frame plant environment such as that at Northern Tube is minimizing the amount of time the laser cavity is opened so that contaminants have little access to reflective surfaces. The model HL 1003 D has a modular design that protects the internal laser cavity. Each laser cavity has its own power supply, which, like the cooling and control systems, is designed as a slide-in, module for easy service and maintenance.
Flash lamps are in the lid of the laser resonator. When the top is opened, the laser cavity is easily protected by simply placing a cloth over the chamber to shield the minors. Not that the lamps require frequent replacement--current lamp life ranges from 700 to 1,000 hours on these systems. Northern Tube has found the HL 1003 D resonator to be very reliable, operating with no water leaks, pumping chamber faults, rod failures or fiber faults.
The Nd:YAG lasers offer fiberoptic beam delivery through Z-axis cutting nozzles that use capacitive (non-contact) height sensing. Two six-axis FANUC M161 robots manipulate the nozzles of each system. Each robot moves to a specific point where the laser beam is activated to produce the specified hole shape in the part.
A dual-trunnion ferris wheel part indexer that transfers the parts in and out of the laser enclosure holds the frame rails. Both trunnions have the ability to manipulate the rail during processing to allow ideal positioning to the robots.
Frame rails are delivered to the robotic cells by two-tiered rail conveyors, which deliver both right and left rails. A material handling robot then transfers the rails to the ferris wheel indexer and the flush booth. A second material handling robot then grabs the rails and stacks them in a pallet.
Each frame rail weighs about 40.5 kilograms and is made from 4-mm thick cold rolled steel. The cutting speed of the lasers is 3 m (120 inches) per minute with hole-to-hole repeatability of plus or minus 0. mm. The holes be cut vary in size from 6 to 72 mm an come in a variety c shapes such as circles, slots, square and hexagons. Th two robots in each system cut 60 hole and trim the rails to length, processing left and right pair in 5 minutes.
An added value of the system, according to Northern Tube is the availability of remote diagnostics offered by the TRUMPF Laser Technology Center. Should the system experience trouble, the company's operator can dial into TRUMPF's online troubleshooting service. Up to 600 actual system parameters can be monitored and accessed at any time. Connecting with a modem permits remote transmission of all operating and control data, allowing a TRUMPE laser expert to analyze and quickly provide fault correction, eliminating unnecessary downtime.
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Quite informative..Thanks for updating us with this million dollor Laser Cutting Fabrication
information....cheers