Page 21 - MetalForming February 2013

and requires a different mindset, all the way from the management suite to the production floor. Contributing mightily to that mindset shift was the firm’s acqui- sition, in 2006, of a local (Elk Grove Vil- lage, IL) sheetmetal fabricator. The human capital and expertise the com- pany gained in that acquisition enabled Laystrom’s transformation from low-mix high-volume stamping to high-mix low- volume fabrication.
“The acquisition proved vital for us,” says Laystrom, “not so much for the capital equipment we acquired but rather for the talent that came to us.” Of the firm’s 60 employees, 10 came from the fab shop Laystrom acquired.
“Although we closed that Elk Grove Village facility,” Laystrom continues, “we brought over a team of engineers and production workers well-versed in this type of work. The acquisition allowed us to immediately get up to speed on CAD, purchasing and in production.”
The Automation Arithmetic
Following the talent influx of 2006- 2007, Laystrom make a major revamp to the production floor. In 2008, the firm replaced its 1998-vintage laser- cutting machine with a new 4-kW machine (an Amada FO with shuttle table). Along with the machine came the material-handling automation sys- tem. Laystrom does the math:
“Lasers are expensive, around $500,000 each, and we spent another $500,000 on the automation. Without full-scale automation and only simple shuttle tables, we might get 80 hr. per week from each cutting machine, oper- ating two shifts per day. With the automation, we’re processing material 140 to 150 hours per week on each cut- ting machine, while reducing overtime dramatically. Amortizing the automa- tion investment over the useful life of the cutting machines makes the automation investment extremely inex- pensive. And, if business slows, we can scale back or eliminate the second shift and still yield 140 hr. per machine per week while working one shift.”
Laystrom added to his automated laser cell in 2011 with the purchase of a
second 4-kW machine, this one an Amada FOM2 machine with high- speed shuttle table. The FOM2, says Amada, boasts new features such as an eight-station automatic nozzle changer, water-assisted cutting and cut-process monitoring for automatic pierce detection—designed to mini- mize pierce time, particularly useful on thicker plate. This feature senses the instant that the laser beam pierces the material, and then immediately initiates the cutting process.
Three Years Make a Difference
The firm’s newest laser-cutting machine also features a downdraft dust- and fume extraction system (from Camfil Farr) located beneath the cut- ting table. It’s divided into four sections, and during the cut-
ting process, only the ducts directly beneath the cutting head are open for fume extrac- tion. The ducts in the other sections remain closed to improve dust collection and reduce energy consumption.
Laystrom’s fabrication depart-
ment processes material from 0.030 to 1⁄4 in. thick, with plenty falling within 0.030 in. to 14 gauge. With its newest laser-cut- ting machine, purchased in 2011, it’s experienced a 5- to 7-percent increase in effective speed, or output and productivity, com- pared to its 2008-vintage laser- cutting machine. “Most of that improvement comes from increased control over the pierc- ing process,” Laystrom says.
Laystrom is piloting a process to shift from product validation to process validation, by creating standard coupons (shown) of varying combinations of work- piece material types and thick- nesses, and laser-cutting the coupons to develop acceptable cut quality. It then documents the process parameters so that when starting a new job, the machine operator will simply compare the part to the coupon, verify proper process settings—optics, cutting param- eters and so on.
Amada also says that the machine’s state-of-the-art resonator and optics system increases cutting speed and quality over previous models, which Laystrom can attest to.
“With the new machine we’ve seen a 5- to 7-percent increase in effective speed, or output and productivity, com- pared to the 2008 model,” Laystrom says. “Most of that improvement comes from increased control over the pierc- ing process. And, the new machine also does a better job on reflective materi- als like stainless steel and aluminum. For example, a job that features numer- ous pierces and takes 2 hr. to process on the 2008-vintage machine might only require 80 min. to process on the newer model. So, we tend to schedule that
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/February 2013 19