With the first laser machine introduced into South Africa as late as 1979, the use of lasers in the local stainless industry is still in its infancy, compared with turning and milling. Stainless Steel takes a closer look at this exciting field.
Laser cutting has the potential to revolutionise the stainless sector, as complicated components or designs can be cut out of a solid sheet in under a minute, with the protective plastic wrapping still in place. “It holds tremendous advantage for one-offs as well as extended production,” says Retecon technical director, Hans-Peter Neth.
Handheld a possibility
“This method has increased and improved output and quality tremendously over the last few years.” Neth comments that a new development is a handheld unit, considered impossible until recently. “The critical part is maintaining the focal point, but I have no doubt that a handheld unit will be available in the near future,” says Neth.
A Trumpf laser-cutting centre in action
Quick integration
The Trumpf Robocell uses a compact laser robot system for welding and cutting. Pulsed continuous wave HL solid-state lasers are used so that the optimal laser is always available whatever the material-processing task. The laser beam is guided through a fibre optic cable to the precise location on the workpiece. Constant laser outputs from 350 W to 4 000 W are attained at the workpiece. The focus diameter, which remains constant across the entire power range, guarantees continuously high-quality processing results. The six-axis industrial robot with joint kinematics is suited to all complex motions and positioning tasks. Due to the flexibility of the central hand, optics for laser material processing can be integrated quickly and easily.
Trumpf offers a selection of welding and cutting optics. With focal lengths of 70 mm to 200 mm and working distances of up to 200 mm, the focus diameter starts from 150 mm. Water-cooled optics are used when highly-reflective materials [sic].
