How much laser cutting power does a metal fabricator need?
The following is an excerpt from The Fabricator, posted May 10th.
Editor’s Note: The content for this article is based on “Putting all this laser power to work for you,” presented at FABTECH 2021, Chicago, by Troy Wilson, laser and automation product manager, Cincinnati Incorporated.
The laser cutting kilowatt race is back on. It happened with CO2 machines in the 1990s and 2000s, and it’s happening again now with fiber lasers. There’s a place for today’s ultrahigh-powered systems, but lower powers have their place too. So, what laser power fits your operation?
You might start by diving into the material thickness, grade, and part geometries you cut. But before you dive into the weeds, zoom out and look at the big picture. Consider your overall business as it relates to four areas: its customers, resources, capabilities, and operating costs. The first area, the customer mix, drives the direction of the remaining three, but all four can influence what kind of fiber laser will best serve your business.
Customers
A shop’s customer mix shapes its business model, which in metal fabrication usually falls into one or some combination of three areas: original equipment manufacturer (OEM, or manufacturer of product lines), contract manufacturing, and the job shop.
OEMs develop internal processes around the needs of their products. Equipment is tailored and production is tuned and timed around a pace that produces smooth, predictable throughput with as little waste as possible. Product demand dictates the pace of production.
Contract manufacturers come in one or a combination of two flavors. One flavor describes fabricators that build subassemblies for a variety of customers. They might specialize in certain capabilities that center around specific ranges of material types, thicknesses, and processing precision, but they ultimately serve a broad spectrum of markets.
