December 2008 Edition

WATERJET

Double the Fun

A waterjet/plasma combination cutting system helped an Alabama laser shop expand its services

Alabama Laser Technologies, Munford, AL, can turn metal into money. It’s not taking the place of government minting facilities; it understands metals so well that it can make anything out of metal for money. The company was spawned from Alabama Specialty Products, Inc., a manufacturer of products used in corrosion monitoring and the medical industries.

It started by cutting metal strips for use in corrosion testing, working with alloys ranging from common steels to exotic alloys. It learned that not all metals could be easily cut with the methods the shop had when it began. When laser cutting technology was in its infancy, the company purchased its first laser cutting system for cutting strips for corrosion testing. Alabama Laser was soon spun off.

Now, Alabama Laser is one of the few ISO 9001 certified laser shops in the Southeast, offering a range of laser cutting, welding, and etching services using more than 20 laser systems.

"We make anything out of metal," Matthew Johnson, company president, said. "If it can be done with a laser, we can do it."

The company has been dedicated to meeting customer needs. To do that, it had to expand its services beyond laser cutting to become a one-stop metal processor. It offers CNC punch presses and press brakes, as well as other machining equipment. It also houses a powder-coat line, a full-capacity machine shop, and welding shop.

The company also recognized that providing service to its customers meant using a broad spectrum of cutting systems to produce parts not practical or possible with a laser cutting system.

"A lot of customers don’t know the best technology for a job," Johnson said. "They just want us to quote parts. They don’t know the best machine for the job, and they don’t want to know. It’s our job to use the most cost-effective tool."

Johnson knew that laser cutting is not always the best tool for some jobs and was interested in purchasing a waterjet cutting system for certain high-precision jobs and non-metal cutting. He was also interested in purchasing a plasma cutting system for cutting thicker materials than could be done with lasers. His research led him to the HydroCut waterjet/plasma combination cutting system from ESAB, Florence, SC. He could have both of his requirements with a single machine.

What One Doesn’t Do, the Other Does

The HydroCut is a three-axis waterjet gantry that carries up to two waterjet heads and one plasma station. It features rack-and-pinion drives, a precision-machined box-beam design, enclosed Y-axis beam and drives, digital AC drive amplifiers for maintenance-free operation and accurate speed control, and precision Y-axis guide ways.

"The waterjet provides tighter tolerances and allows for more intricate shape cutting, while the plasma provides greater speeds for less critical cuts," Johnson said.

"The precision plasma cutter provides a straighter edge with less of a bevel than that of standard plasma cutters, and because of the low dross, there’s not much secondary cleanup required. The waterjet system produces clean edge cuts. Since there is no heat involved, heat-affected zones aren’t a factor," he said.

The combination machine can cut thicknesses up to 6" with the waterjet, up to 3" with the plasma, and can handle material as large as 6'×12'. The machine can be used as a standalone waterjet system for tight-tolerance cutting or to cut parts out of plastics, rubber, or other non-metals. The plasma system can be used to cut material as thick as 3/4" carbon steel.

With both systems on a single gantry, however, the shop can use the waterjet for intricate, high-tolerance cutting, and the plasma system for faster, lower-tolerance cutting, such as outside perimeters on the same part.

Taking on More

After the purchase of the combination machine, the company was asked to cut a part for a military vehicle from 1/2" aluminum.

"We wouldn’t have been able to take this job if we hadn’t bought the waterjet and plasma machine, because we couldn’t cut 1/2" aluminum with lasers," Johnson said.

With the HydroCut, it could cut the intricate interior features with the waterjet, and it used the plasma to cut the outside profile. An unprecedented success for the shop.

"If we didn’t get this machine, we wouldn’t be able to quote some jobs," Johnson said. The company also uses the plasma on some lower-tolerance jobs, and this has increased productivity.

"Our primary business is laser processing, but the waterjet/plasma machine is running every day and helps us service our customers," Johnson said. ESAB

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