Leutenbach, Germany-H.P Kaysser, a 50-year-old company that takes pride in finding system solutions in metal, was started in a Stuttgart garage as a welding shop. Twenty years ago the company, located in a Greenfield in this town, installed its first laser. Today the 220-employee company, which grew using laser metal cutting technology, gets a majority of its annual sales from laser processing.
With a strong design and project engineering staff the company supplies laser cut and welded parts to a host of customers. And it has built a reputation by making experience in product design and production available to clients early in the product cycle where economies can be made in the final product costs. Inside Kaysser they always think about better product design using laser to cut and weld. An example was an automatic circuit board switching system that takes the boards from one production station to another. Kaysser designed this unit from scratch employing the laser as a low-cost production tool.
A good example of how Kaysser remains ahead of the competition is the company’s close relationship with TRUMPF whereby it acts as a Beta test site for new laser systems. One of these is the Trumalase 1000 that is used to cut and weld a scale display housing for Mettler, which is produced using a 2kW TRUMPF Nd:YAG laser. A unique example of their product design capability aiding a customer is a 6-inch-long mesh filter made of 4571 chrome steel, which is now cut and welded with a laser whereas in the past it was machined out of cast aluminum, at a considerable cost saving. Another Nd:YAG high-accuracy robot welder assembles a gear for a BMW motorcycle (shown in the photo), a job that occupies about 20 percent of this laser’s annual capacity.
Kaysser runs a large sheet metal fabricating facility stocked with many TRUMPF laser cutting systems, including three 3030s, a Trumatic 6000 combination laser/turret system, and a TRUMPF laser tube cutter. It also runs three-dimensional laser systems. Currently the company is running the laser cutters three shifts a day, as this part of its business remains strong.-DAB
