Whether small, medium or large sizes: Sheet metal is often manufactured and traded in standardized dimensions. Such standard sizes offer many advantages in terms of production, logistics and trade. However, for laser job shops there are also some disadvantages. Mainly because these companies do not just manufacture standard sizes. Yet, blanks customized to fit the product are not available and thus either a huge amount of expensive scrap is generated, or additional sheets need to be bought. With a coil-fed laser blanking line, the operator can now cut sheet to the exact size instead of throwing the money into the scrap bin.
Until recently, coil processing was mainly found in metal stamping or punching. A high quantity output of the same products is thus produced efficiently and economically. Though, the trend towards smaller and more flexible batch sizes makes laser processing from coil more attractive. Lower investment costs and high flexibility have led to connecting the laser with coil applications. Coil-fed laser blanking lines can close the gap between flexible laser processing of the sheet and efficient coil lines with presses. Also, laser job shops that currently work with sheet metal benefit from the coil operation when they see the quantities increasing.
With the combination of coil and laser operators get the best of both worlds. Laser cutting systems fed with strip material has a significantly higher throughput rate when compared to systems that use just sheets. Add to this the reduced material costs due to the appropriate cut length: With the help of the laser, the shapes are cut from the coil line to the exact size needed. Without these size limitations, the nesting of sheet metal parts becomes much easier. Thus, we have savings of at least 7 percent, and in the case of large surface parts up to 30 percent. The other advantage is the lower tooling costs. Additionally, these coil lines run fully automated - no additional operating staff must be made available for this task.
Coil lines for laser operations naturally include integrated precision levelers. They are used to eliminate the coil deformations as well as the residual stress in the metal strips. This will reduce the risk that sheet metal cutouts jump up during laser cutting which can damage the laser head. The sheet metal surfaces become smooth and flat. Operators benefit from an increased process reliability due to the leveled metal sheets.
By deploying the coil-fed laser blanking lines, business with presses can also reduce their investments. These lines do not need additional infrastructure measures such as building foundations. Likewise, the space requirement is relatively limited - this is an important factor for many in the sheet metal processing business.
If you want to learn more, try it out yourself: An ARKU coil-fed laser blanking line is already available at the TRUMPF customer center in Neukirch (Saxony). The machine will be put into service for anyone interested in a demonstration.