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Laser system adds capabilities, capacity at Iso-Lux |
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 by Jerry Cook
Enhanced flexibility, increased productivity, and additional capacity are only some of the benefits that Iso-Lux Manufacturing Company Ltd., Markham, ON expects to realize from the recent installation of a new laser cutting system.
"What I am always looking at is complementary technologies that will
increase our flexibility, (provide) more value-added, and allow us to
get in with customers that we might not have been able to get into
before because we didn't have the capability," says Thomas Welch,
president of Iso-Lux.
As a result, Iso-Lux recently installed a Strippit/LVD Axel 3015 L
linear laser cutting system with an integrated load/unload system. The
Axel laser system was supplied by Strippit Inc., Akron, NY
(lvdgroup.com).
Iso-Lux, which began operations in 1980, is a precision sheet metal
fabricating job shop that serves customers in various sectors including
packaging, electronics, aerospace, medical, telecommunications and
others.
The company has 30 employees at its 20,000 sq. ft. facility. Iso-Lux
also operates two subsidiary companies based in the Toronto area that
do metal spinning and power coating and silk-screening.
Iso-Lux offers a variety of services including laser cutting, CNC
punching, hardtooled stampings, tool making, hardware assembly, powder
coating, painting, forming, machining, welding, and more. Iso-Lux is
ISO 9001-2000 certified.
Typically, Iso-Lux is dealing with material thicknesses ranging from
shim stock up to one in. The firm works with various materials
including mild steel, aluminum, stainless, coated material, and more.
The firm's part runs range from one-offs and prototype work up to
10,000 pieces. The company can easily hold hole-to-hole tolerances of
plus or minus .003 in.
Previously, Iso-Lux had another smaller laser cutting system but it
wasn't meeting the firm's growing needs, says Jim Dobson, vice
president with Iso-Lux.
"At the time, we were still subcontracting a lot of work that we just
couldn't do on the laser system that we had due to the growing volume
of work. In order to increase our capacity, we had to get a bigger,
faster machine," explains Dobson. In fact, according to Dobson, since
2002, the company's sales have increased 10% to 20% each year.
The desire to bring the laser cutting work back in house was a critical
factor when the company was looking at installing a new laser, adds
Welch.
"One of the things that we had to consider was how many dollars worth
of work were we subcontracting out," says Welch. "However, it's not
just the dollars (for subcontracting work). It's also the control
because you lose flexibility on deliveries," he says.
The Axel 3015 is a flying optic laser system which offers travels of 61 in. (Y axis), 122 in. (X axis) and 3.9 in. (Z axis).
The 5 kW Axel machine utilizes the GE Fanuc E-Series RF excited fast
axial flow CO2 laser. The laser can be pulsed in various modes to
provide high quality cuts in stainless steel and aluminum.
The machine's GE Fanuc linear motor offers a compact and shorter axis,
as no ballscrew and gear are required and no motor projects from the
axis.
The Axel laser system offers repeat accuracy of plus or minus 0.0008
in. and positioning accuracy of plus or minus 0.002 in. over 40 in.
According to Dobson, one feature of the Axel laser system that attracted Iso-Lux was the integrated loading system.
The twin pallet loading device only performs vertical moves which
allows quick and safe loading of sheets from the loading station. Each
pallet can handle 8,500 lbs. of material.
"We are tight for space here and the laser machine and loading system
fit the footprint of the space we had in the shop perfectly.
"The Axel laser system was the only machine that I saw that could run
multiple types of material without having to use a (material storage)
tower. However, we didn't have the space for a tower," Dobson states.
The new laser system will provide other benefits as far as enhancing
flexibility, adds Dobson. "One of the problems that we had with the
previous laser that we had was that it didn't have Auto-Focus. The
system used manual focus so every time that we changed material we
would have to manually change the focus for things such as offsets," he
says.
"Now, with the Axel laser, we have the capacity to go from one material to another and automatically change focus.
"We also have nesting software now that allows us to nest parts and run multiple jobs on one sheet of material.
"The nesting software will also enable us to increase our material
usage. The Axel laser system is much less labor intensive and more
automated," explains Dobson.
The level of automation offered by the Axel laser will provide other
benefits as far as increasing productivity through the ability to
operate unmanned, adds Welch.
"With the laser, we will have more capability to produce much more on
the day shift as well as being able to run it unmanned on the night
shift will put us in the position where we can reduce lead times and
increase capacity," says Welch.
Productivity has also improved because of improvements in pierce time with the new laser, points out Dobson.
"Our pierce time has significantly decreased with the new laser. Our
pierce time has probably improved by four times what it was. It has
made a huge difference for us," he notes.
According to Dobson, the new laser system will also open new market opportunities for Iso-Lux.
"The laser opens a brand new market for us. I was previously involved
in the stainless steel side of the market and there was a huge market
in stainless between 1/4 in. to 3/8. However, previously we weren't
competitive in that market segment with the old laser but we are now,"
Dobson states.
Because of the company's previous experience with laser cutting, Dobson
anticipates that training on the Axel laser system will be
straightforward.
"The training for the new laser includes a week of training on
maintenance and another week of training on the operation of the
system. We are lucky because one of our operators has 11 years in the
market operating lasers. As a result, his learning curve on the system
should be significantly shorter," says Dobson.
lvdgroup.com
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