Aluminium plate: US customer switches from laser to machining solution
“In the world, it is very rare for decisions to be made once and for all,” wrote Goethe over 200 years ago. Although he was certainly not thinking about state-of-the-art industrial production processes, his words are still valid today in this field. Production planners constantly have to choose between different alternatives: Which technological application secures a competitive edge in the respective production situation? Which provides the optimum combination of efficiency and quality? This is illustrated rather well by a recent example at LMT Onsrud in the USA. One of its customers decided to use Onsrud cutters for machining aluminium sheet in the production of military vehicles after having previously used lasers for the job. The reasons for the change of technology were multifaceted – a “once and for all” decision would have made little sense here.
- Optimized for machining aluminium: LMT Onsrud’s 63-600 Series.
The laser process previously used by the LMT customer had caused issues – the output of the T3 aluminium parts was extremely low. “The laser process was a bottleneck, holding up the entire production process,” explains Tom Cornwell of LMT Onsrud. “That’s why the production planners on the spot eventually decided to utilize CNC routers to cut the sheets and began using LMT aluminium cutting tools, specifically, part numbers 63-606, 63-618 and 63-630.”
Sixfold increase in feed rate
The sheets are used in the production of military vehicles and, of course, the requirements of high-volume production apply: efficiency, cost-effectiveness and precision are crucial criteria. The Onsrud cutters fit perfectly into this scenario since they have not only provided a six fold increase in feed rate (from 30 inches a minute to 180 inches), but have also substantially improved machining quality. “Small holes and indentations, for example, can now be machined more perfectly with the Onsrud aluminium cutters. What is more, the components are burr-free and additional machining steps are no longer required,” explains Cornwell.
Process reliability also benefits
This improvement has had a significant impact on process reliability in the American company’s entire production chain. Whereas it was previously necessary to finish the lasered parts by hand, the “finish quality” of the Onsrud tool now makes this unnecessary. “Each additional finishing step does more than just slow down the production process. It also constitutes an additional risk to process reliability and component quality – especially when it has to be carried out by hand,” says Cornwell. The customer is therefore benefiting on all levels: the aluminium sheets are produced faster, more precisely and with greater process reliability.