AKS and Imperial Systems Dust and Fume Collectors
AKS Cutting Systems offers plasma tables, including models for general use, heavy or thick plate, high accuracy, or with 5-axis bevel for pipe and tube cutting. The company also offers fiber lasers, which feature a solid-state laser source with laser delivered through a fiber optic cable. This technology is equipped with a Class 1 safety enclosure and helical rack and pinion drive.
AKS has chosen to work with Imperial Systems Inc. on dust and fume collection systems.
"It's really a good feeling to know that a company like AKS trusts our systems enough to choose us as their dust and fume collection partner," said Jeremiah Wann, President and CEO of Imperial Systems Inc. "We know from experience how important a cutting table is to keeping a shop running. If you're going to buy one of the best cutting tables in the industry, it should be paired with one of the best dust and fume collection systems in the industry."
For more information, visit the AKS Cutting Systems and Imperial Systems Inc. websites.
If you're attending FABTECH this year, you can stop by the companies booths to see an AKS custom-designed CMAXX in person.
Hypertherm Plasma Cutter
Delivering 6.5 kilowatts of output power, the new system is designed to cleanly cut material up to 5/8” (16 mm) in thickness, and sever material nearly twice that thickness. Similar to the Powermax45 before it, the Powermax45 XP is intended to be versatile. A new low-amp process is designed to make it easy to mark, score and make precision gouges.
The versatility is further enhanced by the availability of 11 different torch styles for handheld and mechanized use plus a variety of consumable types for specialized cutting and gouging applications.
The system comes with many Hypertherm exclusives, including a new Duramax Lock torch which has a torch disable switch for quick replacement of consumables, a FastConnect torch to quickly switch between different torches and Smart Sense technology that automatically adjusts gas pressure and flow for optimal performance.
For more information, visit the Hypertherm website.
Mitsubishi Ultraviolet Laser
The ABLASER was first launched in 2014; the first product in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' (MHI) laser machining business. By ablating the machining area with high peak power, the thermal effects on the area can be suppressed.
This means that, for drilling applications, dimensional accuracy and surface smoothness can be achieved at a level that would not be possible with conventional electric discharge or laser machining. The product's features allow difficult machining tasks, such as drilling conically tapered holes and drum-shaped holes, as well as micro-precision machining of difficult-to-cut, hard or brittle materials.
The new ABLASER-DUV features a short-pulse oscillator for rapid-firing of the laser light. The product uses the same unique optical head as previous ABLASER products, as well as a high-precision lens and prism to refract and rotate the laser beam.
The picosecond class DUV laser has a shorter wavelength than the short pulse YAG or green lasers commonly used in micromachining products. The smaller focal spot diameter allows finer machining, improving the minimum machining diameter to 10 micrometer (micro: 10-6), compared to 50 micrometer with the conventional ABLASER (which uses a green laser).
Further, since the photon energy of a DUV laser is large, it exhibits high machining performance with materials such as glass and compound semiconductors that were previously hard to process, even for other laser products, according to Mitsubishi.
The ABLASER-DUV will be on display at JIMTOF 2016 (the 28th Japan International Machine Tool Fair) on November 17, when the product will officially go on sale.
For more information, visit the Mitsubishi website.
Synova-Makino HybridCell
To address this need, Synova and Makino are joining forces to offer a solution: the HybridCell, which combines Synova's Laser MicroJet (LMJ) with Makino's EDM capabilities. It is a fully automated, manufacturing-ready, work cell that can handle a wide range of hole-drilling applications.
The HybridCell consist of a MCS 500 cutting system, along with Makino's EDBV EDM hole-drilling machine.
"Combining Synova's MCS 500 Laser MicroJet machine with Makino's well established hi-speed EDBV machines enables our customers to drill holes in components already pre-coated with a thermal barrier, as opposed to post-coating drilling processes currently being used. This approach significantly simplifies the overall process, improves quality and reduces overall manufacturing", said Bernold Richerzhagen, Synova founder and CEO.
The Laser MicroJet system is used to cut diffuser shapes in the coating layer and drilling metering holes, while the EDBV is used to drill deep through holes. The machine tasks are intended to be balanced between the HybridCell machines to ensure an optimum throughput.
The HybridCell also provides a solution to handle difficult "non-line of sight" holes on the EDM machine. A sophisticated data transfer scheme is also part of the cell, with the goal of enabling high accuracy hole-drilling of complete components.
All EDM drilling on EDBV machines is performed while being fully submerged under water. According to Makino, this enables faster machining speeds, improves part quality and creates more stable and consistent conditions during cavity wall penetration.
For more information, visit the websites for Synova and Makino.
TRUMPF Punch Laser Machine
The TruMatic 1000 fiber punch laser machine will be introduced to the North American market at FABTECH 2016.
With its expandable functionality, the TruPunch 1000 is designed for entry into precision punching. It can handle sheets up to 0.25 inch thick at rates of up to 600 strokes a minute. With a footprint of 21 x 12 feet, it is approximately 15 percent smaller than its predecessor. The machine enables fabricators to process medium-format sheets without repositioning for significantly faster production overall.
The machine’s modular design enables the TruPunch 1000 to transition into the new TruMatic 1000 fiber, a combination punch laser machine. The process is achieved by adding a 3kW TruDisk solid-state laser and retrofitting the TruPunch 1000 with a laser cutting system, a laser evacuation unit and a beam guard system.
Through this conversion process, sheet metal fabricators are able to increase the variety of parts they manufacture. Those with an existing TruDisk solid-state laser also have the option of connecting to the TruMatic 1000 fiber via the TRUMPF laser network.
Both new machines from TRUMPF offer a completely redesigned drive technology. The patented “Delta Drive” moves both the electric punching head and the laser along the y-axis while the sheet moves in the opposite direction. Powered by two servomotors, this arrangement enables the machine to accelerate far faster in the y-axis and eliminates the need to move the sheet or work table.
As a result, the punching process is more dynamic and the machine is more productive than with the previous design. Decreasing relative movement between the machine table and the metal sheet also reduces the risk of collisions and makes the process more reliable overall, according to the company.
Both the new TruPunch 1000 and the TruMatic 1000 fiber are designed to automatically sort finished parts up to 7 x 7 in. Processed parts are sent down a chute and can be sorted into a series of four boxes (16 x 12 inches). The boxes are positioned below the machine for removal.
Alternatively, an additional flexible parts flap, a standard feature of the TruMatic 1000 fiber and an option for the TruPunch 1000, provide users with a second choice for part sorting. Equipped with a sensor that detects whether all the parts have been properly ejected from the machine’s working area, this solution can be used to eject long and wide parts into containers as well as onto conveyors or pallets during both the punching and laser operations.
As the first entry-level combination machine from TRUMPF with a solid-state laser, the goal was to make the TruMatic 1000 fiber compact as possible. For this reason, TRUMPF developed a special space-saving beam guard system that is compatible with the machine’s modular concept. The machine’s protective housing, a requirement for safe laser processing, is integrated into the system and features two laser safety windows that allow users to visibly monitor laser cutting. This protective housing automatically moves out of the way when the machine is punching.
For more information, visit the TRUMPF website.
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