Metal cages, or, more generally, structures for the collection or storage of parts or semi-finished pieces are industrial products made from tube and sheet whose design and creation requires specific know-how.

Céline Hugot is the co-founder of Viollet Industries, a French family company based near Annecy that has developed most of its business on this very structure. The right solution for the company’s production is the BLM LC5 combined tube and sheet laser-cutting system.

“In 2008, we had purchased a laser system for sheet metal,” says Hugot. “Although it was very old, it was fine for us. However, when we started running out of parts we had to look around. We saw the LC5 combined laser cutting system for tube and sheet metal and it immediately went on our list of favourites.

“Last year we felt ready to buy it and a very interesting proposal came from BLM Group,” he adds. “It was the right time; we had time to train people and now that the market is exploding we are using the machine at 120% of its capacity.”

The machine has been running for about 9 months and production is 50% tube and 50% sheet metal.

“In general, I don’t really like combination machines because, while one part is working the other is standing still and it seems wasteful, but with our volumes this is the perfect solution,” says Hugot. “A tube laser would have been excessive for our current needs. With this combo laser-cutting system for sheet and tube, we have flexibility, and this is a good mix for our type of production. Even our regular customers have seen an advantage because they see the difference in lead times.”

For further information
www.blmgroup.com

LVD has released CADMAN v8.7, the latest update of its software suite, which introduces several key features such as the ability to integrate foreign operations like tapping, chamfering and painting. There are also updates for CADMAN-JOB (MES), CADMAN-SDI (Smart Drawing Importer), CADMAN-P (punching), CADMAN-L (laser cutting), CADMAN-B (bending) and Touch-i4 (sort and validate). LVD’s software suite helps streamline the sheet-metal fabrication process to make smart manufacturing possible.

The latest version of CADMAN is able to integrate foreign operations – defined as non-core and secondary operations – including tapping, deburring and grinding. This update helps enhance the sheet-metal fabrication process flow by allowing CADMAN to control, monitor and log an order from raw material to finished part. Foreign operations are now visible in the CADMAN-JOB overview screen, and can be tracked and traced in the production process for real-time transparency. Using a single system (CADMAN) keeps the user interface consistent and helps improve process efficiency.

CADMAN v8.7 can now manage the complete sheet-metal production process without the need for an ERP system. Users can create work orders within CADMAN-SDI for transfer to CADMAN-JOB.

Notably, CADMAN-L can destroy internal contours using a spiral cut, avoiding possible collisions and saving processing time. The latest version of LVD’s punching and laser-cutting CAM software maximises material usage with the option to ‘expand parts’. When the sheet is not completely used but there is not enough material to create a remnant, CADMAN can automatically spread components over the entire sheet, providing larger margins between parts for increased stability during cutting.

For further information www.lvdgroup.com

Manufacturing Technology Centre principal research engineer Dr Sundar Marimuthu has been awarded a prestigious UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship. Marimuthu, part of the laser processing team at the MTC, has secured a grant of £1.5m over four years to develop next-generation laser-based manufacturing processes for processing composite materials.

Most existing laser-based manufacturing technologies are for metals and alloys, and are incompatible with composites. Marimuthu will develop two laser-based technologies into fully-fledged manufacturing solutions, underpinning the large scale industrialisation of advanced composite solutions.

The first of these technologies will be a waterjet-guided laser process for cutting, drilling and machining composite materials. Secondly, Marimuthu and his team will develop a solution based on ultrashort pulsed lasers. While the capability of ultrashort pulsed laser machining is proven using low-power lasers for a limited number of niche applications, its low material removal rate limits its viability in the wider manufacturing sector. To address this issue, the MTC and its partners will be developing a high-power ultrashort pulsed laser machining process that will offer productivity and quality in line with industrial requirements.

Skills and technologies developed through this fellowship will support UK industry to exploit the widespread innovation of composite materials in a variety of fields, including zero-emissions transport. Marimuthu says that the two emerging laser technologies – waterjet-guided lasers and ultrashort pulsed lasers – have the potential to transform the use of advanced materials in UK industries.

“The exploitation of these laser technologies will have a significant impact on the ability to machine advanced materials which are essential to develop zero-emission transportation, a key aim in meeting the net-zero ambitions of the Government.”

For further information
www.the-mtc.org