Page 19 - MetalForming December 2014

Along with improved accuracy and cut-edge quality—when comparing plasma to laser cutting—is the ability to common-line cut. “We do it all the time,” says Advanta production manager Rusty Obermyer. “With just this one sheet (right), common-line cutting saves more than 30 ft. of cutting.”
plate components used to manufac- ture its products, as well as the com- ponents making up its precision weld fixtures—a huge part of its business. For Advanta, the mission is designing better racks that not only protect their precious cargo, but also allow cus- tomers to fit more parts into them. This allows customers to save signifi- cantly on freight costs over the life of a program.
The better the weld fixture the bet- ter the rack, and we spied some amaz- ingly designed and built weld fixtures when touring the 130,000-sq.-ft. Advan- ta shop. Precision-laser-cut parts fit together beautifully in the fixtures to help welders assemble the racks. It’s clear that their jobs are made that much easier—meaning faster and with less chance for error—when weld fix- tures are built from precision-laser-cut components.
The workhorse cutting machines at Advanta: an Amada FOM2 machine with a 4000-W CO2 laser, added in 2012; and an Amada FOL3015AJ machine with a 4000-W fiber laser, brought into the shop in 2013 direct from the FABTECH floor in Las Vegas. Automat- ed material-handling systems manage
material flow for both machines—twin storage towers (Amada ALSUL mod- els) rack raw material and completed work at the fiber laser, and a single ALSUL tower manages material for and from the CO2 machine.
Bringing Laser Cutting Inhouse
“We outsourced laser cutting for several years,” says Grams, “and we also had a high-definition plasma-cut- ting machine inhouse for a couple of years. Bringing laser cutting inhouse made sense to us when we took a clos- er look at our outsourcing costs; when we realized we could decrease lead times by eliminating the delays that accompany outsourcing; and when we recognized the growing trend toward precision cutting.”
An added benefit of bringing laser cutting inhouse is the extra opportunity for engineers and designers to find cre- ative ways to leverage the technology to improve the fabrication processes. Case in point: Using the lasers to cut tabs and slots into rack components to make assembly more efficient and error-proof—in many cases, signifi- cantly more efficient.
Laser cutting of tabs and slots in storage- rack components makes fitup and weld- ing operations that much simpler for Advanta welders. Often, tabs and slots are uniquely sized so that there’s only one way parts can go together, error- proofing assembly operations.
“We can cut different sizes of tabs and slots in parts so that there is only one way to assemble,” says Obermyer. “That allows our welders to focus on what they do best—weld—and worry less about assembly and fitup. The parts fit together snugly with mini- mum joint gaps.”
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