If we had to define Industry 4.0 in a few words, they would undoubtedly be: flexibility, production customization, and quality. The use of a new generation of machines and their ability to adapt to the needs of the end customer, as well as the traceability of materials through intermediaries, suppliers, and any agent involved in the production process itself, are key to guaranteeing greater competitiveness and optimized production.
In this context, there are key processes that are critical to the development of industrial activity. Laser cutting is one of them. Currently, laser technology, and specifically its cutting process, is one of the working methods used to cut a wide variety of materials. The high precision, speed, and versatility of the laser are critical in high value-added sectors such as capital goods, aeronautics, automotive, renewable energies, railway, electrical, chemical, or agricultural.
The advantages of a critical technology
Among the technological advantages it offers, laser cutting is used in a very wide range of materials such as titanium, aluminum, different types of steel, alumina, and other ceramics, textiles, wood, paper, and a long etc. This makes it an indispensable solution within the new additive manufacturing techniques.
Additionally, it does not require any type of post-processing as it allows sealing the edges of materials during cutting. All this results in less working time and optimization of the production process.
But above all, laser cutting stands out for its high precision in following any cutting pattern and repeating it unlimitedly. Laser cutting machines, for their part, are not subject to the wear and tear from friction that other cutting systems have, which not only increase costs in continuous work operations but also minimize the final quality of the product.
However, despite the advantages of laser cutting technology in multiple high value-added industrial sectors, until recently, the sector has encountered limitations with certain materials, such as aluminum or stainless steel.
Breaking the barriers of laser cutting
However, the development of new technologies has allowed the arrival of machines such as the AMADA ENSIS AJ 9kW, which with its single lens system combined with autocollimation allows performing jobs that were unthinkable until recently: it is capable of cutting mild steel of 25 mm in one second with less gas consumption.
This not only makes cutting more efficient but also increases its speed and the quality of the final product. Additionally, the resonator system developed by AMADA, combined with modular technology and the possibility of adjusting and focusing the beam depending on the material we are working with, represents an insurmountable difference compared to other cutting machines.
Its capacity is such that it emulates the work of a CO2 laser with a fiber laser, with the advantages this entails: it does not heat the part and works at a higher speed. If we add to this the ASF-EV 300 system that Laser Norte also has, the productivity improvement is exponential by improving production and cutting times as well as material loading and unloading times. All this makes our cutting system a perfect tool for finishing parts manufactured by hot stamping.
Absolutely necessary for quality serial production due to its characteristics, laser cutting is used in critical processes of advanced industries such as automotive and aeronautics. In fact, high-complexity structural parts such as the B-pillar of a car—fundamental for providing structural integrity to the model—or parts of the landing gear of airplanes are safer and more capable thanks to laser cutting.
Laser cutting stands out for its precision, flexibility, quality of finishes, lower energy consumption, and lower emissions of both dust (pollution) and noise. Additionally, the high precision of the laser cutting process allows the amount of material wasted during the cutting operation to be minimal.
Laser Norte, at the technological forefront
At Laser Norte, our absolute priority is to provide our customers with the highest quality products. We apply standards typical of the aerospace sector to all our work. And this requires the use of the most advanced machines.
Thus, in addition to the AMADA ENSIS 9kW, for cutting high-thickness carbon steel, we have a Trumpf Model TRUMATIC 5030 machine, which stands out for its reliability and the high quality of its final product.
In this way, these state-of-the-art tools allow us to work with all types of sheets (steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and titanium) maintaining competitive delivery times without compromising the final quality of the product.