Beam drill line becomes obsolete

 For structural-steel specialists, the standard in automation over the past several years has been the CNC beam drill line.
        A beam drill line is a machine tool that uses a conveyor to move a steel beam or 'girder' into position, then drills holes - especially bolt holes - in several locations along the steel work piece, according to the instructions provided in an engineering drawing of what the final section is supposed to look like.
       An automated beam drill line is more efficient that the old-fashioned way of making measurements on the rough piece to mark it as indicated by the engineering drawing, then drilling the holes by hand - typically using a heavy-duty drill press.The automated beam drill line can download the digital drawing file, determine where the holes are to be placed, probe the beam using the drill head and positioners, then drill through the steel at high speeds using hardened carbide drill bits and cutting lubricants.
      The bolt holes are made in very little time and most of the manual work is getting the drilled beams on and off the line and loading the engineering file into the machine's computer 'brain'.Cutting different features (such as copes, notches, bevels), trimming off the end of the steel piece to get it to the required length, and 'writing' different characters and symbols into the steel are additional operations, of which none can be performed by a CNC beam drill line.While a beam drill line helps the fabricator drill structural bolt holes very fast, it does not speed up the other needed operations.
      A fabrication laser processing technology from the plate fabrication trade performs hole drilling operation as fast and as precisely as the beam drill line, but brings this same level of automation to all the other cutting and engraving tasks performed on steel beams.The method uses high-definition plasma cutting to thermally cut through or scribe the work piece.The plasma-based method is similar to the beam drill line in that the steel is moved into the cutting chamber, the engineering drawing is loaded into the plasma laser machine's PC-based control system, and the cutting torch tip touches the work piece to figure out (and remember) exactly where it is in 3D space and what all of its various features are.Then the plasma torch starts cutting bolt holes and notches, copes, cutouts, bevel cuts, miter cuts - the full range of operations associated with structural-steel fabrication.
       Thermal (plasma) cutting technology applied to structural steel can produce all these features, going from one side of the beam to the other.When it's done, all the needed operations are finished - there's no need to transfer the finished beam to a downstream process. (cndgym2015)

       In a way, the plasma technology is a 'full-service' suite for structural steel suppliers.More and more of the plasma-based systems are being developed, with different capabilities and price points.

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Laser cutting seminar highlights cost cutting solutions

Fabricators at a recent laser cutting seminar left the day with ideas on how to improve their laser cutting operation, cut costs and become more competitive.

Approximately 25 fabricators from Southern Ontario attended the seminar on September 30 at a Mississauga, ON, hotel, put on by Rofin-Baasel Canada, Mississauga, ON, and partners SigmaTEK Systems LLC, Cincinnati, OH, Laser Maintenance Group (LMG), Forney, TX, LaserMech Replacement Parts & Service, Novi, MI, and Industrial Solutions LLC, Rockaway, NJ. (cndgym2015)

It’s the first time the event was held in Canada, but the partners plan to hold another seminar in Canada, most likely in the spring and in another province, possibly in Western Canada or Quebec, says Bob Kloczkowski, industry specialist-fabrication with Rofin-Sinar.

“The idea behind this seminar was information gathering for laser equipment manufacturers. We wanted to provide fabricators with some ideas of what you can do with lasers and bring fabricators and suppliers together to discuss ideas to improve their operations.”

Once presentation that caught the attention of Hopeton D’Aguilar, general manager of Symtec Specialty Alloys, was that give by Charles Dickson, owner of Laser Maintenance Group (LMG) on general maintenance and what to look for before you purchase a refurbished machine.

“I’m anxious to get my maintenance person to talk to Charlie. And it just happens that I have my eye on a refurbished TRUMPF laser cutting. I’d like to have Charlie look at it and see if it’s worth the money that is being asked.”

The potential TRUMPF laser cutting machine will join the other TRUMPF machines (three laser cutting machines at the company’s Montreal facility and another at the Cambridge operation) and Mazak Optonics that Symtec uses.

D’Aquilar adds that what interested him in the seminar was “the opportunity to increase some efficiencies. The market is down and everyone is fighting for more business and it’s about working a little smarter. I’ve heard some tremendous suggestions already today.”