AdvancedManufacturing.org
“While we do not directly work with any laser company,
the path repeatability and point repeatability of the robot is available to any application, laser or not,” he said. “We also provide a very open architecture, allowing for companies to design their own plug-ins and software modules to speed up interfacing between the robot and the laser system and allow customization directly on the robot pendant.” Prima Power Laserdyne, a maker of laser and sheet- metal machinery, is involved with aerospace. “What we do, what the machines we build do is produce holes,” Presi- dent Terry VanderWert said. “The precision of that hole determines the consistency of the air fl ow.” With more precisely made holes, he said, aircraft engines
can have improved air fl ow and lower fuel consumption. “Increasing the precision of the laser processed feature has enabled new designs and new features,” VanderWert said. “We’re competing against other technologies.”
How auto industry led the way “Automotive technology has driven laser applications,” FANUC’s Sharpe said. “Automotive tends to have deeper
pockets than general industrial and quicker programs than, let’s say, aerospace. “Back in the late '90s, it was hydroforming,” he said.
“Hydroform is where you blow up a tube to get a net shape and you can then make supposedly cheaper, lighter, stronger or more tailored car parts. But the problem is you can’t cut them with a stamping die; you need to trim them mechanically or with a laser.” Hydroforming was used on large pickup models.
“Those big programs drove volume,” he said. “By driving the volume, that allowed laser manufacturers to invest at lower cost.” More recently, the industry had used high-strength
steels. Such steels are stronger than traditional steels, so less of the material is needed. That’s one strategy auto- makers are using to make vehicles lighter—to meet federal fuel-effi ciency standards. “Those you can’t really trim in a die,” Sharpe said. If a die is used for trimming, it will only last “a few hundred cycles.” This reality, he said, has encouraged the use of robotic laser devices for cutting.
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