Page 20 - MetalForming June 2012

The ABCs of
Laser-Cutting Automation
Here’s advice on how to select the right automation solution—shuttle table, load/unload system or flexible manufacturing system—for your laser-cutting machines, and what to expect from your choice. Want to boost beam-on time to 92 percent? Try an FMS.
BY MARC LOBIT
Machines equipped
with an FMS typically
experience 92-percent
beam-on time with 14.7 hours of
cutting per day when running one manned and one unmanned shift. Since the increase in throughput—once the automation is installed—can be dramatic, let the machine manufacturer recom- mend the number of machines required for the expected workload. No need to over-build the automation system and tie up operating capital unnecessarily.
Afew years ago, it was rare to find a fabrication shop that had implemented automated mate- rial handling on its laser-cutting machines. Now, as companies invest to meet new capacity demands in a strengthening economy, a high per- centage of new cutting machines are being delivered with some type of automation. For some, automation helps overcome a limited skilled-work- er pool. For others, automation allows fabricators to meet customer demands
Marc Lobit is marketing manager, Mazak Optonics Corp., Elgin, IL: 847/252-4500, www.mazakoptonics.com.
to lower part costs, while increasing capacity to reduce delivery times. And, in some cases material-handling automation helps fabricators better deal with offshore pressures on their businesses.
The benefits from implementing laser automation are profound. Shops may utilize a typical standalone laser only a fraction of the useable work- week, allowing the machine to sit idle while waiting for setup or material. Idle time also results as operators take lunch breaks, and during off hours. Owners who track actual laser-beam- on time are shocked to learn of the underutilization of such a major asset.
18 MetalForming/June 2012
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