Cutting through a sheet of metal and getting a clean, pristine cut, even with intricate designs, may seem fairly straightforward. An arm moves the torch around according to specific directions and parameters dictated by cutting software. But, cutting tubes and pipes and getting straight and accurate cuts is far more complicated. Laser cutting is the ideal medium for cutting through pipes and tubes as The Fabricator points out, “Despite the high capital cost, a laser cutting system provides a range of capabilities and associated advantages. Easily controlled with automation equipment (CNC), a laser allows an operator to cut, deburr, inspect, and even pack material while the laser runs continuously. Lasers, which concentrate a tremendous amount of heat energy into an extremely small area, produce narrow kerf widths, tight tolerances, and minimal HAZs. They cut with little distortion to the workpiece and can cut harder materials, including stainless steel alloys, nickel alloys, and titanium. However, the inside of the tubing must be coated with antispatter fluid. A laser is best as a contouring tool. It can be programmed for a variety of special requirements, such as making small holes (with diameters smaller than the material thickness), etching part numbers, and cutting difficult-to-reach areas.”
At Machitech Automation, we are proud to partner with Alpha Lazer, a leading manufacturer of CNC fiber laser cutting machines. Machitech Automation, along with Alpha Lazer, offer our customers the Fiber 3D. The Alpha Lazer® Fiber 3D is a tube and pipe cutting solution that can handle even the most difficult of cutting needs including round, square, rectangular, H-Beams, C-Beams, U-Beams and La-Beams with incredibly precise details. Using an automatic loading and unloading arm to feed the machine, a laser sensor measures the profile length and sends the data to the system. Additionally, the machine uses a centering mirror to center the profile as close as possible to the cutting head. Further, the unloading unit is capable of releasing cut profile parts according to their lengths since they move forward and backward through the profile cut. The Alpha Lazer® Fiber 3D can fabricate a maximum pipe diameter of 6.5’’ and the maximum material thickness is 0.315’’. It works seamlessly with SigmaTube CAD/CAM software to achieve the most precise cuts possible. We also maximize our customer’s safety by providing a light curtain for security protection and we also use safety and protective measures that correspond to the current local certification guidelines. For metal fabrication shops interested in cutting pipes and tubes precisely and accurately, the Alpha Lazer® Fiber 3D is the best machine available on the market.