FABRICATION: DOING MORE WITH LESS

Fabricators must continue to streamline their processes to reduce costs and improve profit margins. Here are some combination systems that can help consolidate processes, improve precision and speed, and even compete profitably in new markets.

For some fabricators across the country, the effects of the recession continue to linger on, with work plentiful in some areas and slow in others, sometimes only short distances apart in the same state. To survive this uneven work demand, these manufacturers must streamline their fabrication process and do more with less to reduce costs and improve profit margins. Here is a look at some of the latest systems that help consolidate fabrication processes, improve precision and speed, and reduce operating costs.

TAKE ON NEW TYPES OF WORK
The LC-2012C1NT turret punch/laser combination machine from Amada America, Inc. (Buena Park, CA) provides OEMs and job shops working with materials up to ¼ in thick with seamless process integration of laser and punching operations to increase productivity, reduce costs, and offer new services or take on work they previously could not perform profitably.

The C1 is friendly to the environment through reduced energy and petroleum product consumption. Its innovative features create a fast track from print-to-product and help eliminate many costly secondary operations to free up shop labor for more value-added tasks. The system’s Multi-Purpose Turret (MPT) features four 1¼ in stations that hold tapping tools driven by the turret’s auto-index mechanism. When tapping tools are not required, these four tap locations can hold punching tools to increase the turret capacity to 49 stations.

A wide range of taps are available as both Inch thread (4-40 through 10-32) and Metric thread (M2.5 through M8) tools. All of the tools can be mixed or matched based on specific production requirements. To provide reliable operation the tap and the tap drive mechanism are both lubricated by the machine’s air-blow (oil mist) system. When cutting-type taps are used, power vacuum dies remove chips from the work area.

Depending on material thickness, average tapping time is approximately two seconds per hole. In the event of an overload, a shear pin helps to protect the tool’s driving mechanism from damage. The tool also automatically detects a broken tap to signal a machine stop-condition. Tools are color-coded according to tap size to that operators can tell at a glance if the correct tool is in the corresponding turret station.

Because the C1 can process material up to ¼ in thickness, it uses a heavy-gauge “Strong Punch” tool to punch holes with diameters as small as 56 percent of material thickness – an accomplishment that obsoletes many commonly held industry practices and beliefs. Amada claims that the user can quickly and accurately punch holes that formerly had to be cut by a laser or drilled as a secondary operation.

According to Amada, “While a laser cuts small diameter holes, the Strong Punch is considerably faster. Laser cutting hardens the edge of the hole with heat that can cause problems with both tapping quality and tap life. The Strong Punch can pierce holes prior to laser cutting to further reduce overall processing time, especially in thicker materials. Secondary drilling and tapping of parts that are punched or laser cut typically produces a production bottleneck and adds cost that is difficult, if not impossible, to pass on to the customer. By maximizing process integration, the C1 significantly reduces total processing time and increases part quality, while increasing competitiveness and profitability.”

The C1 is equipped with the most technologically advanced work support table available to produce cosmetically acceptable parts and reduce secondary processing costs. The table allows the user to make parts without scratching the underside of the sheet or damaging forms that often occur during punching and laser cutting. The table has a full brush surface to help eliminate scratching and reduce punching noise. Pop-up rollers help with the loading of material sheets. A pneumatic positioning mechanism located below the table automatically positions the sheet against the X-Y gauge blocks prior to clamping.

During downward forming and extrusion operations, forms can sometimes be damaged if they remain in the die prior to the next table movement. A floating brush section lifts the sheet 5 mm (.196 in) after the forming process to ensure removal of the form from the die. Special high-temperature (1,800+ deg F) brush material is used in the laser cutting area of the table. The brush cutting “floats” as required during laser cutting, with no metal rollers that could scratch material or damage forms.

No pins are located in the laser cutting trough which could scratch material or cause laser gas blowback onto the underside of the material being processed. A large 15¾ in x 50 in work chute opens to drop either scrap or finished parts. The chute oscillates during the opening process to ensure that parts or scrap drop reliably. To reduce wear on the brushes when laser cutting material up to ¼ in thick, pop-up urethane rollers support the material while moving in the X-axis.

The “Y” axis table and laser positioning mechanisms use direct drive servo motors (no gearboxes) for high speed and accuracy. The laser head moves in the Y-axis via a direct drive servo mechanism for maximum speed and accuracy. The laser head is isolated from punching vibration to help maintain beam integrity and cut quality while reducing maintenance and repairs. An optional PR-C1 part removal system mounts onto the machine frame to maintain the small footprint of the C1. The system automatically removes parts as small as 4 in x 2 in up to 20 in x 20 in and 26.5 lb. Once picked from the sheet, the PR-C1 places the parts on a conveyor with multiple feed and stacking options. www.amada.com

COMPETE IN COUNTERTOP FABRICATION
The Mach 4r is a combination robotic waterjet and saw cutting system from Flow International Corporation (Kent, WA) that maximizes job shop productivity by optimizing countertop cutting and significantly improving operator efficiency. This system combines the precise corner radius and maximum material usage offered by waterjets with the fast straight-line cutting of a saw.

This system uses a heavy-duty, foundry-grade 6-axis robot with a 20,000 hour maintenance cycle and an extended reach of 3.1 m. It combines a Paser® waterjet cutting system with a 20 hp direct drive horsepower saw for countertop fabrication. Dual work zones allow the operator to simultaneously load and cut slabs with unmatched fabrication speed and uptime. The system features automatic tool pathing that is programmed by a comprehensive yet easy-to-use software suite that eliminates the need for G-code knowledge typically required by CNC machines. Files from all major CAD programs are directly accepted. The software suite includes:

• Vein matching software that easily combines multiple stone pieces from different slabs for exact color matches at the seams created with a combination of multiple stone pieces from any number of slabs.
• A vision system that directly transfers pictures of the stone slab to the operating monitor, allowing dxf drawings to be applied to the slab and cutting to start immediately.
• An inventory management system that easily catalogs slabs online, using photographs and barcoding to efficiently organize slab inventory.

“We installed this robot cutting system in our shop and it now takes only 15 minutes to process an entire slab. We not only improved our throughput, we increased the overall satisfaction of our customers,” says Cedric Graham, owner of Royal Marble and Tile (Baltimore, MD). “This system is easy to learn.” www.FlowWaterjet.com

COMPETE IN STRUCTURAL FABRICATION
An extensive line of high performance machines designed for cutting, machining, drilling, marking, punching, notching and shearing metals for the steel construction and metalworking industries is available from Behringer Saws, Inc. (Morgantown, PA). Vernet Behringer machine tools are powerful fabricating systems built for the machining of large structural beams, plate girders, hollow sections, thick steel plates and forged work.

“Beam” lines can drill, saw, punch and cope almost all types of profiles (H, I, channels, angles, flats, rectangular and square tubes) and welded profiles. The HD models in the line can accommodate materials with maximum dimensions up to 47.3 in x 24 in. By combining proven HBP miter cutting bandsaw machine technology and state-of-the-art 3-spindle HD drilling machines, these drilling and sawing systems deliver versatile operational flexibility and high working speeds to increase productivity.

“Angle” lines punch and shear while automating the handling of angle sections. The VP and VF models can drill angles as large as 9.9 in. The high working speeds and the simplicity of set-up and operation make these lines ideal for any tower fabricator or steel builder searching for the highest productivity and machining accuracy.

“Plate” models PS, PG and FG offer combinations of punching, drilling and cutting operations on a single machine based upon an operator’s needs to reduce handling and movement of work pieces and significantly reduces the production costs of those parts. The MAG-B and MAG-C model plate lines can incorporate plasma and/or oxy cutting. www.behringersaws.com

LOWER PART COSTS ON PROTOTYPES, SHORT OR LONG RUNS
LVD Strippit (Akron, NY) offers the LVD Pullmax 520, 530, 720 and 730 punch presses that combine punching, forming, marking, bending and tapping. An efficient hydraulic press drive combined with rapid table accelerations and high hit rates increase productivity and lower the cost of per part production for prototypes, short or long run operations. Pullmax  punch presses handle workpieces up to 60 in x 120 in (1500 mm x 3000 mm) without reposition in material thicknesses to 0.315 in (8 mm).

These punch presses provide exceptional forming capacity through advanced control software. Flanges up to 3 in (75 mm) can be formed to any programmed angle. Flanges oriented on the sheet at angles other than 0 or 90 deg can be formed using the OptiBend feature with 360 deg head rotation. Knockouts, louvers and countersinks are accurately produced and internal as well as external bends can be achieved.

All tool rotation allows every tool to rotate a full 360 deg for total flexibility. All 20 tool stations hold any size tool, up to a maximum tool diameter of 90 mm. Any tool can be used anywhere on the sheet. Tool capacity can be increased by adding indexable Multi-Tools in 5- or 10-station configurations. The optional Extended Tool Magazine offered on the Pullmax 720 and 730 models provides 40 additional tool stations to further reduce set-up time and tool changeover.

Automated handling options provide unmanned machine operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Pullmax 520, 530, 720 and 730 systems can be equipped with load/unload, parts picking and parts sorting. A standard 19.7 in x 20.7 in (505 mm x 525 mm) parts chute quickly offloads small parts. The Compact Automation system loads full-sized blanks onto the punch press and unloads, sorts and accurately stacks finished parts and skeletons, including formed parts up to 60 in x 120 in (1500 mm x 3000 mm). www.lvdgroup.com