LaserCoil Technologies (Napoleon, OH) has released information on how its conveyor design significantly contributes to the speed of the company's coil-fed laser cutting systems. The LaserCoil process relies on a series of dynamic profile conveyor lanes that independently and dynamically reposition to maintain a clear path below the moving laser head while also automatically shedding scrap during the cutting process. This multi-lane, high-speed conveying system is designed to adjust quickly and not limit the overall system's laser cutting speed, even in the direction of material flow.
With the LaserCoil approach, scrap falls to the bottom of the machine where it is conveyed to a scrap bin or shed to a scrap system. This delivers a high-precision, quality edge, ready-to-stack part at the end of the line without impacting production time.
The systems come with lasers up to 8 kW, available as single- or multi-head systems, in several configurations, where each head can cut independently of the other, and which also allows an increase in flexibility as well as a decrease processing time for improved productivity. Additionally, the systems offer multimode capability with a choice of Feed Index Mode (stop/start) or Continuous Mode for optimizing cutting parameters for each part configuration.
By laser cutting direct from coil stock, the systems have utility in production environments running multiple blank profiles and mixed material types. The systems can handle coil stock up to 2.1 m wide in any length, and can process aluminum, mild steel, advanced high-strength steels, materials for surface-sensitive panels, as well as structural components. With 8 kW systems, simple shapes in material thicknesses from 0.5 to 0.75 mm can be cut with speeds approaching 2.2 m/sec.
For more information, please visit lasercoil.com.