The Laser Cutting Co (TLCC) has installed a new flat-bed fibre laser system that can also bevel part edges and cut countersinks, eliminating time-consuming second operations.
The company says that the new machine, a Trumpf TruLaser 5040 featuring Trumpf’s EdgeLine Bevel feature will be a “strong addition to its existing customer offering”.
With origins that date back nearly half a century, TLCC has the capability to cut round and square tube, structural open sections, beams, and flat/bent metal components.
It also offers in-house bending, welding and sub-assembly, as well as having its own design team of CAD technicians, who provide the company’s highly effective and popular Smart Design Production service.
“We’ve been growing significantly since the pandemic, both in terms of our customer base and month-on-month revenue,” said Sales Director Charlie Day. “This prompted investment in the Trumpf TruLaser 5040 fiber 10kW flat-bed laser, which positions us for further growth as we can now process a significant volume of work in comparison with our competitors.”
The new machine arrived at the end of February 2022. It is the second Trumpf model on site, where it joins a TruLaser Tube 7000 CO2 machine, installed in 2020.
“One of our older flat-bed laser cutting machines was a 6 kW model from a Trumpf competitor, which was proving slower than the general market demand,” said Mr Day. “The faster TruLaser 5040 fiber has provided a lot more capacity and is generally a much better machine. Our lasers are key to delivering on our short lead-time promises without compromising on cut quality.”
The EdgeLine Bevel function automatically inserts chamfers up to 45° and countersinks of various sizes, eliminating the need for secondary processes. The benefit: faster, more efficient, more flexible and simpler processes with fewer errors.
Mr Day added: “We want EdgeLine Bevel because many of our customers request countersinking and weld preps. Whilst we can provide this service manually EdgeLine Bevel will prove to be much more efficient, accurate and productive. As a large proportion of our customer base is essentially fabrication, engineering and welding oriented, the ability to offer countersinks and bevels on all parts will provide us with an even stronger proposition.”
The company also offers its ‘Smart Design Production’ to support customers by redesigning parts in a way that reduces subsequent fabrication and assembly times and associated costs.
“Customers achieve approximately 50% time and cost savings on average through Smart Design Production” continued Mr Day, “and EdgeLine Bevel will have a similar positive impact on our customers. If they need to weld the part after laser cutting and require a bevelled edge, it will simply arrive at their premises ready to process. If they combine that with tube from our TruLaser Tube machines then suddenly they can have a whole kit of products from us, complete with all countersinking and weld prep work already completed. It’s a great addition to what our customers are requesting on a daily basis.”