Page 28 - MetalForming magazine • December 2022

Fabrication: CNC Punch-Laser Combination Machines
with their scheduling. Metal fabrica- tors, Michaud says, often don’t know the volume mix when quoting a job, “so they will ask us to help them tool up the machines to enable smaller batch processing.
“This, again,” he continues, “is where the punch-laser combination pays dividends, especially when a job might require one or more special tools. In these cases, if the volumes don’t jus- tify new-tool development, we can use the laser. And we’re hearing, too, that customers more often want laser edge quality without the nibble marks from punching.”
In some cases, when bringing in a new job where the volumes are unknown, Michaud even sees shops opting to not hard-tool it at all, and use the laser for everything—for cutting part peripheries as well as holes and cutouts.
“This process might be slower but until you know the volumes, it might make sense to wait to tool-up a job,” he says.
Michaud does point to one clear benefit of punching, however:
“We really don’t want to see hole piercing with the laser, which in some cases can create back reflections detri- mental to the machines and their beam-delivery components,” he says. “Instead, we recommend that compa-
nies use punching to make starter holes before laser cutting. At the end of the day, this process is faster and cleaner.”
More Efficiency Gains from Condition Monitoring
Of course, no discussion surround- ing efficiency can go without talking about machine and tooling features recently developed to improve through- put and quality. First and foremost, says Michaud: real-time condition moni- toring, “which allows the service depart- ment to monitor machine operating conditions, promptly spot anomalies and reach out to the metal fabricator in order to address issues promptly— and efficiently.”
Data analysis provides a clear view of machine conditions, and active machine monitoring leads to fast trou- bleshooting and reduced—or avoid- ed—unplanned downtime.
“The fabricator can receive infor- mation about machine operating irreg- ularities by phone call, through a mobile service app or via email,” Michaud shares. “And, preventive main- tenance can be scheduled as well, to best fit into the production schedule.”
What issues typically make them- selves known in this manner? A couple come to Michaud’s mind: an inordi- nate number of cutting-nozzle crashes,
from part tip-up, and excessive sheet warping.
“In both of these cases,” Michaud says, “that’s an indication that part pro- gramming and nesting needs to be addressed. Punch patterns must account for tip-up in the case of crash- es, and material stretching in the case of warping. And, with machine moni- toring, the user can set go-no go con- ditions so that, for example, it only triggers a service call if it senses more than three nozzle or punch collisions in a given period of time.”
Proactive measures from the service department, says Michaud, can avoid hours of unnecessary and inefficient machine downtime, which results when a metal fabricator delays calling for service. “Downtime can be greatly minimized,” he explains, “when service immediately recognizes and acts on an error message. These remote mes- sages from the field also allow the serv- ice department to build a statistical database, which we then can use to help the customer with programmer and operator training.”
On the Tooling Side
...Michaud points to some newer punch-tooling options geared to improve fabricator efficiency. Exam- ples: tapping tools that form the threads rather than cutting them,
Using a multi-bend tool, a CNC punch press or laser-punch combo can form small bends to 90 deg., and also can bump-form in a set of steps to perform hemming operations. A laser-punch combo then can tap right through the hem if necessary, all in one machine setup.
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