Perrysburg, OH - LaserCoil Technologies has received an order for its coil-fed laser blanking system from Worthington Specialty Processing (WSP; Jackson, MI), a toll processor for the automotive industry. The 2100mm-wide dual-head system, featuring two 6kW lasers, is being installed to help expand WSP's capacity, especially in the production of advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) blanks, which can challenge traditional mechanical presses.
The increased tensile and yield strength of AHSS has little to no impact on laser cutting speeds, so the cost of laser consumables is much less than maintaining the die and tooling. Additionally, the LaserCoil system's programming enables production changeovers in less than a day, significantly reducing the typical 14–16 weeks required to produce a final blanking die.
The company's coil-fed laser cutting technology, featuring numerous patents, is based on over half a decade of research and successful production runs since 2012. Gantry-mounted laser heads stationed in multiple cutting cells travel along the moving strip to balance the workload for improved productivity. The system’s dynamic profile conveyor features adjustable lanes that support the coil strip while automatically repositioning as needed to clear a path for the laser cut. This feature also facilitates gravity-shedding of scrap and offal, delivering only totally finished blanks at the end of the process.
This design enables high yield rates into the 60,000 piece range, making it a viable alternative for processing a wide variety of coil material in aluminum, mild steel, high-strength steels, and other materials, as well as structural components in thicknesses from 0.5 to 3.5mm and up to 2100mm coil at any length.
The coil-fed laser blanking line will combine the company's laser blanking technology along with leveling equipment supplied by the Automatic Feed Company (Napoleon, OH). The new line at WSP is expected to be running production by early 2016.
For more information, please visit www.lasercoil.com.