CUSTOM SYSTEMS

Development in the major processing disciplines of cutting, welding and surface treatment has encouraged both system suppliers and production engineers to seek to apply the industrial laser to dedicated tasks in production with high success.

Motivated by production automation benefits, cost savings, elimination of secondary operations and efficiency gains all types of industry are now seeking to implement special purpose manufacturing facilities wherever possible.

Classifying custom design systems they essentially fall into three categories:

a) The complete special purpose design and manufacture of a dedicated FMS processing cell.

b) The modification and introduction of a 'standard laser system' into a production facility.

c) The retrofitting of the laser process into an existing production line replacing or
supplementing a conventional process.

In all cases the study and design of a dedicated system begins with process feasibility investigation and progresses into the study of the characteristics of the components to be processed ie geometry, size, accuracy, production volumes etc.  This basic information provides an indication for automated work handling, control and laser beam delivery needs to be chosen.  Consideration has to be given to the mobility of the workpiece, access for the beam delivery, thermal reaction of the processed material and environmental conditions.

It is significant that custom systems center upon high volume repetitive applications of cutting, drilling and welding where workhandling is as important as the application of the laser process.  In some cases the laser has been retrofitted onto an existing production machine to replace or supplement a conventional method and incorporated into some form of flow line arrangement.

Early advances in this area were made in the automotive industry where the fixed beam principle was fully taken advantage of for the welding of rotary component assemblies such as gearbox and transmission parts.  In simple terms, components parts are automatically loaded and assembled within the workstation then rotated under the stationary laser beam output to effect the welding process. 

This method of production has been extrapolated into several areas, and is not restricted to welding operations.  For instance, selective heat treatment or cladding can be accomplished on bearings or slideways in the same manner where for example, high wear points can be hardened or restored in isolation to the body of the component. A further example is that of laser drilling oil flow holes in automotive cam shafts and gear box shafts etc.

Further recent developments have been the incorporation of cutting and/or welding systems into a flow line arrangement for the production of a variety of sheet metal components on a continuous basis.  This has been particularly successful in the automotive industry.

Initially this centered upon the trimming of drawn body panels and vehicle shells. Performing the trim operation required on the pressed part using a laser entirely eliminated the need for trim tools. The flexibility of the laser operation accommodated the flexible production of variants from one specific drawn shell and also allowed for the 3 dimensional production of holes and apertures.

However the imbalance between press and laser operation cycle times dictated that careful batching of parts would be a significant feature of production planning and sometimes prevented production flexibility. These restrictions brought forward consideration for the development of prepared blanks. The production of 2 axis laser cut prepared blanks is not a difficult operation and there is minimal distortion to the blank after cutting. The edge finish of the laser cut blank is superior to that of a pressed part and the HAZ at the cut edge is insignificant, therefore further forming would not be affected.

The laser preparation of blanks provides several further benefits in the form of accurate repeatable complex developed shapes, the cutting of accurate tooling holes and shaped apertures prior to final forming and the saving of material by efficient nesting of part shapes.

Successful utilization of the laser process in this area by NV L. Balliu MTC has been several installations with a stand alone laser cutting system being integrated in line with a material blank automatic feed system, robotic off loading and palletizing of the cut parts and scrap removal.

Having proven that laser cutting is a most effective way to produce prepared blanks, laser welding is a natural extension into the production of tailored blanks. Laser welding is shown to be a very effective joining process capable of producing a smooth split resistant joint that requires little or no finishing before being painted.

Tailored blanks can be made up from materials of differing specifications, finishes and thickness, with differing sections in certain areas to provide stiffness, all welded together to form a single blank which can be finished using conventional press tools.

Tailored blank production has been established for some time in the Japanese and U.S. automotive industries and most recently there has been a visible increase in European demand for this facility. NV L. Balliu MTC is now acknowledged to be the leader in this field producing flexible high volume turnkey systems capable of completing multi section profiles.

Investment into a special design or dedicated manufacturing cell can sometimes be a painful and costly exercise for a company if it is inappropriate therefore there has to be a deep understanding of the production need and the application of the laser process. 

Close cooperation between the customer and the systems supplier is essential if the customer is to be more productive and gain a return on investment.  NV L. Balliu MTC takes pride in being singled out as a responsible system innovator that is willing to design and engineer a new system concept and not just modify a standard design and make it fit the job. 

In many areas NV L. Balliu MTC has not only exceeded the expectations of the customer but has also broken new ground in the application of the industrial laser.