Lentenbach-Nellumersbach, Germany-In Germany there are about 50 systems used exclusively for tube laser processing that are used by process suppliers, and those dealing exclusively in product manufacturing-mainly furniture manufacturers and automotive suppliers-add about 70 systems more.
Many users are still making use of a rotary device that makes it possible to laser machine tube shapes on flat bed cutting systems. This method is not very economical because it requires relatively high setup cost and equipment expense and does not provide the necessary parts precision as available with exclusively tube laser systems.
With a tube laser cutting system, the savings start during project engineering. Designers benefit from the fact that construction can be significantly more cost effective with precise dovetailed parts, and the multiple possibilities with modern tube laser constructions are equally valued in construction by users. The ± 0.1mm precision of the workpieces processed with the tube laser reduces subsequent processing.
At H.P. Kaysser (www.kaysser.de) tubes and profiles are nothing other than already bent, welded, and ground pieces of sheet metal-only much easier to manufacture and often significantly lighter in weight than comparable welded sheet metal constructions. An example of what this new technology can do follows, where the cost savings compared to conventional solutions (if it is even possible to manufacture with them) can be 30-80 percent and the quality of the construction goes far beyond this.
For designing and fitting out the playground shown in the photo below, H.P. Kaysser was asked to manufacture a ship hull with almost 80m length and 18m width. During implementation of the CAD design of the bow and stern, 32 wall elements and 28 connecting elements, more than 20 tons of Corten steel, and more than 1000 m of tube in eight different dimensions had to be cut to sizes between 33.7 mm and 114.3 mm outer diameter with the tube laser, with 260 processing programs created for the tube cutter.
What was accomplished in the shortest possible time was only possible with the use of modern manufacturing machines like the tube laser cutting center. Conventionally, with the usual working steps of sawing, drilling, and milling, the necessary tube connection would have required about four times the machining and process time. In this case, only 117 hours were required including creating all the necessary cutting programs for the laser tube cutting center.