When it comes to purchasing capital equipment, the price, the payback and the productivity are always key deciding factors. This is no different for laser processing machines and while the price tag is easy to identify, assessing the potential productivity of a machine and its calculated payback certainly involves some deeper investigation.

Material processors and metal workers need to focus on what the machine has to offer their business beyond figures like rapid traverse rates and resonator power. These tangible figures are often touted as the most important defining features of any particular laser machine, yet what tangible benefit do these features actually deliver to the typical job shop?

You may have a flying optics laser with the fastest rapid traverse rate on the market, but your product mix may not allow the machine to reach such rates.  And perhaps the changeover time from job to job may be lengthy because of set-up times and that the CNC controller is not flexible enough. Or perhaps cut quality is variable because the beam is not stable at speed, or the complexity of the flying optics system is causing the problem.

In any case, machine productivity is going to be greatly affected.  That means less money in your pocket. 

Consider the hybrid optics system. Unlike flying optics machines, Hybrid optics machines have a fixed beam length that requires no complex beam length compensation systems and as a consequence contain fewer mirrors.  Hybrid optics machines produce a more stable and efficient beam.  With less mirrors the efficiency of the beam delivery is increased resulting in more useable power at the torch. They require less maintenance than flying optics machines thereby reducing operating costs. 

The end result is cutting speeds equal to or better than that achieved with flying optics at a much lower purchase price and reduced operating cost.  That means more money in your pocket. 

But there’s more to it than that.  Additional benefits inherent in Hybrid optics machines include greater accuracy in the finished parts they produce due to highly accurate motion systems, smaller kerf widths, (the actual width of the cut into any given material), shorter beam paths and greater beam integrity.

With all this in mind, John Hart Pty Ltd have been supplying the world class Mazak 2D and 3D lasers to the Australian market for some 20 years with the goal of maximising our clients productivity and achieving the shortest payback possible.

Great Western Corporation in Toowoomba (QLD) is a metal fabrication, manufacturing and finishing business, that in the absence of a 2D laser machine, were limited to what they could achieve with their existing plasma cutting machines, lathes and machining centres. 

As a result, their work shop was being held up when machining holes and slots in plates after they were plasma cut. Additionally, process flexibility was greatly reduced due to the need to sub-contract cutting work on a range of mild steel and odd shapes parts to outside laser shops.

After an evaluation of their existing equipment and processes, Great Western had to look at the overall process efficiencies any given laser system had to offer. The time taken from raw material to finished part is far more important to them than any specific features alone.

Bearing all this in mind, when Great Western chose the Mazak Hybrid laser with pallet changer, the goal was to reduce the bottleneck situation they were experiencing in their production, while gaining the ability to turn around parts almost immediately in house and in smaller batches.  

With  the new laser cutting system helping to achieve these goals, and considering the flexibility inherent in the Mazak’s Hybrid design, Great Western have begun to put more and more work onto the laser, some of which was not initially expected. Such as:

• Processing tube, pipe and rectangular hollow sections
• Trimming blanked and pressed components
• Producing laminated profiles for short run press and forming dies
• Producing welding fixtures for robot welders more quickly, accurately and economically than previous methods

With a greater flexibility of materials and applications they can process, including steel, aluminium, alloys and non-metallic materials such as plastics, wood, MDF and even cork, all at varying thicknesses and shapes, Great Western have expanded their capabilities with the addition of the highly productive and easy to use Mazak Super Turbo X-510 II Hybrid laser.

May 2009

Read more on Mazak Super Turbo X-510 II Hybrid laser

Last October saw Mazak unveil an extensive range of new technology at the annual JIMTOF 2006 trade show. One such addition to the Mazak laser range was the new Super Turbo-X Champion hybrid laser cutting system.
Building on the proven capabilities and success of the Super Turbo-X family, the Champion is designed for the affordable, high-speed and high-precision cutting of a wide variety of materials with the ease of set-up and operation that we have come to expect from Mazak.

The machine’s constant beam length allows it to uniformly and accurately cut sheets up to: •11.75mm mild steel •4mm stainless steel •4mm aluminium •2mm brass without changing optics, thus eliminating set-up and downtime.

The revolutionary Takumi closed-box frame is designed to provide outstanding vibration dampening to ensure high accuracy, high-speed cutting with excellent edge quality. High-precision ball screws in all axis of motion create smooth acceleration to assure smooth cutting and high quality finished parts.

A 1200mm x 2400mm work table moves smoothly along the X axis while the patented constant beam length system moves the torch in the Y axis for the optimum cutting with no beam divergence.

Mazak’s PREview 640 CNC, featured on the HyperGear 510 laser drives the Champion through a powerful 64-bit processor featuring "look-ahead" capability to predict and prevent cutting problems.

The Champion offers time and money saving technology to manufacturers through its intelligent controls, modular design, sheer cutting power and affordable price tag.

June 2007

To read more on STX Champion click here

In October 2006, John Hart held a special in-house product launch at its Head Office in Clayton, Victoria for the new Mazak HyperGear 510 laser processing machine. The event was an excellent chance for customers, industry representatives and John Hart technical partners to witness the latest in state-of-the-art Mazak 2D lasers to hit our shores. Our specially invited guest speaker and Manager of Mazak Optonics Corp, Japan, Mr. Hideo Awa was present to welcome guests and discuss the latest technology, features and applications of the Mazak HyperGear.

Resident John Hart laser specialist Dang Le who has been specially trained in Japan, and who was  assisted by Mazak factory applications specialist Mr Ueno, were both on hand to demonstrate the cutting capabilities of the machine and to open people’s minds as to the possible applications and projects that could be achieved on this highly cost effective and productive laser machine.

Visitors were impressed by the speed and precision with which the HyperGear processed a number of different shapes using varying materials and thicknesses. Also highlighted as being vital to the successful operation of the machine, was the manner and accuracy with which each job was programmed and Dang was able to demonstrate the ease of use of the PC based programming functions as well as the easy to use Mazatrol PREview controller.

Representatives from Atlas Copco, Linde Gas and Smorgon Steel were also on hand to offer advice and information on how their products were important to the effective use and maintenance of the HyperGear laser, be it using the latest in air filtration technology, supplying the cleanest and purest gas to your resonator, or making sure you were using the best available steel for your cutting projects.

The event was judged as being a very successful and informative introduction to the latest and one of the most advanced Mazak 2D laser processing machines available and offered a great chance for all visitors to witness a fully operation HyperGear laser for themselves.

October 2006

To view more images of the event, click here.
To read more on HyperGear click here.

Mazak’s triple-mode Space Gear laser cutting system is a high-speed 2D & 3D production laser, that can perform 5-axis cutting of pre-formed parts and 6 axis cutting of pipes, tubing and structural shapes. With the 4000-watt resonator, the system can production cut up to 25mm thick mild steel.

In 2D mode, Mazak’s pivot-beam machine design allows precise high-speed cutting of sheetmetal and plate, while a Meehanite cast frame and accurate drive system maintain the Space Gear’s superior accuracy and repeatability with minimal maintenance.

In 3-D mode, the Space Gear can bevel cut flat material and can cut pre-formed parts -- stamped, hydroformed, and spun -- using the same 5-axis cutting head. The operator can program on the machine using the user-friendly teach pendant or download NC code created by Space Cam. This software option generates NC cutting code from a 3-D CAD drawing. In addition, it can automatically design and generate NC code for a workholding fixture.

In rotary mode, the Space Gear can end cut complex contours with weld-prep bevels plus any size or shape hole all in one operation. The machine processes pipe and rectangular and triangular tube as well as C, H, I, and L beams. Programming is quick and easy right on the machine. Space Gear’s NC incorporates illustrated fill-in-the-blank programs which, for example, allow the operator to input only three lines to program the complex 6-axis contours for a saddle joint.

Available with a 120mm x 240mm or 150mm x 300mm cutting table and a 41mm Z-axis stroke, the Space Gear is part of a broad line of CO² laser cutting machines and automated material handling equipment designed for the efficient production processing of sheetmetal and plate as well as preformed sheetmetal and pipe.

September 2006

To read more on Space Gear click here.

When Brad Drury and James Cao founded New Touch Laser in Bayswater Victoria in 2001, they owned just one laser processing machine, which they operated themselves. Now some five years down the track, New Touch Laser employs thirty staff and operates five laser machines, including a new Mazak U44 Spacegear which was recently installed by John Hart.

In the early years New Touch Laser focussed on market niches, specialising in processing long flat sheet and plate work (up to 4000mm), jigging, rotary and RHS (rectangular hollow section) work. They also invested considerable time and effort into refining and perfecting the cutting of thicker plates; 25mm mild steel, 20mm stainless steel and 12 mm aluminium. Brad and James consistently grew their business through their commitment to high quality products and quality customer service.

However by 2003 they realised that to take the next step as a company, they needed to gain a competitive edge. As a result Brad and James sat down with the team at John Hart and discussed the possibilities offered from Mazak’s range of world class technology. Brad and James were impressed with the capabilities and flexibility of the Mazak U44 Spacegear from the outset. With three dimensional cubic, pipe and long piece processing capabilities, the U44 Spacegear offered New Touch Laser the innovation and complex processing capability they were looking for.  

In considering the machine, important to New Touch Laser was the knowledge that they could not only justify the financial commitment and quantify the returns, but also the time and personnel commitments required to prepare for, implement and fully utilise a machine of this level of technology. Being able to successfully market and sell the new capabilities and concepts to their customers also affected the decision making process. Other important considerations included:

• Back up and support
• Product quality and reliability
• The small foot print of the machine
• The strategic move from 2D flat sheet to 3D concepts

Having invested so much time, money and research into what the Mazak U44 would bring to their business, Brad and James were confident the machine would live up to their expectations.

Features of their new Mazak U44 Spacegear include:

• Flexible laser processing of 2D sheet and plate and 3D applications including tube, pipe, and  full 3D laser cutting along an unprecedented 6 simultaneously controlled axes
• Mazak’s innovative compact cutting head with  7.5” focus lens to cope with a wide range of  materials and plate thicknesses
• Mazak’s SPACE CAM software that allows 3D programming to CAD models and automatically programs work piece fixtures
• The ability to eliminate secondary operations such as bending, drilling, countersinking  and  milling on flat plate materials

Currently the only one of its kind in Australia, the Mazak U44 allows Brad and James the ability to offer a diverse range of complex jobs. Some of these jobs completed at New Touch now include:

• Counter sinking of holes and slots on flat plates, and square and round pipe
• Bevel edging of blades
• Mitring of plates for weld preparation
• Full 3D cutting metal pressings and pre-formed non-metal parts
• Creating perfect “monolithic” join points on RHS and tubing

By allowing New Touch the ability to perform these processes, the Mazak U44 is also eliminating multiple, time consuming steps in job shop processing, and thus significantly reducing costs, and production times. Something that was not expected and noted by Brad was that New Touch Laser now has better utilisation of off–cuts from their larger bed machines that are ideally suited to the 4’x4’ bed on the Mazak U44.

New Touch Laser is an excellent example of a small, yet growing company that wanted to improve their capabilities and increase their profits, but were also not afraid of the new technology they required to do so. While some competition companies have not been prepared to make this change, New Touch were willing to undertake thorough research before investing in the technology.

With the support and knowledge of the John Hart team, New Touch have been successful in implementing the Mazak U44 Spacegear and a new way of thinking. According to Brad and James, John Hart were instrumental in the success of the installation, with the training and support they received exceeding all expectations.

With the Mazak U44, New Touch Laser can now take on a much larger range of work, and subsequently are able to boast the tag as “Your One Stop Laser Shop”, by performing all tasks in house with the addition of their Mazak U44 Spacegear.

May 2006

To read more on U44 click here.

With an increasingly competitive market for sheet metal machinery and profile cutting arising from technologies such as high pressure water cutters and plasma cutters, Mazak’s innovative and automated laser cutting machine HyperGear, offers the most intelligent and easy to use 2 dimensional CO2 cutting laser on the market.  

Focussing on increased productivity, efficiency, profitability, and a marked reduction in the amount of labour and skill required to operate the machine, the HyperGear is innovative as much as it is intelligent.

With automatically changeable lens, torch, nozzle and beam mode functions, the lack of manual changeovers means the set-up times across different jobs are now almost non-existent.

The PREview 640 controller and Hyperline Guides provide high speed performance with greater cutting control and accuracy. With a free traverse speed of 120 metres per minute, and acceleration at 3G, the HyperGear uses a predictive feedback system to ensure accuracy, because typical feedback loops are too slow for the machine. The unique air-cooled linear motors and sealed covers are vital to the design of the machine due to heat generated by the speed of those motors.

The automatic quick changing piercing gun means the operator can switch between piercing and cutting operations, again without the need for manual changeovers, providing more significant increases in productivity.

A self maintenance system sees the machine identify and correct any cutting problems, as well as sensors that provide notification of maintenance needed on the machine, both present and in advance, along with part numbers and specific maintenance instructions.

The HyperGear can automatically cut a variety of worksheet materials in a variety of thicknesses, all without the need for a skilled operator, making this machine very appealing in an industry where skilled operators are hard to find.

To see how the Mazak HyperGear can reduce your setup times, increase your productivity and bring you the financial rewards you desire, visit John Hart Victoria’s showroom where a working HyperGear is on site.

May 2006

To read more on HyperGear click here.

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