March 2008 Edition

fabricating strategies

Laser cutter, shuttle table bring boost in productivity

Located in the spacious flatlands of St. Joseph, MI, Liberty Steel Fabricating Inc. rejects the notion of impossibility. That's because owner and founder Andrew Gantenbein embraces change as a business strategy: Converting risk into opportunity is what his manufacturing company does best.

"Rejecting but not fearing failure is an integral part of the evolution of this business," he says. "It's a part of my own evolution. It's how we've grown."

Touring the facility, with its myriad of machines as diversified and sophisticated as the finished parts waiting for shipment around them, a visitor appreciates Gantenbein's vision. Founded in 1998, the 2,200sqm (23,500sqft) facility has handled an average of over 800 different orders per month with an average lead-time of eight days per job. Impressively, the majority of the projects handled have been prototypes. Specializing in the medical, transportation, automotive, food, and aerospace industries, Liberty Steel's objective was to remain flexible and fast so it could handle any type of job without compromising overall efficiency.

To achieve this, Gantenbein sought technology that would simultaneously curb set-up time while expanding plant capabilities. A new laser-cutting system, a Bystronic 4.0Kw Bystar with shuttle table, was installed in December 2002 to remedy the previous system's excessive downtime. With this in mind, Gantenbein was concerned why so many users had to return their laser-cutting system's resonator back to the manufacturer for maintenance.

"This means that the resonator returned to you was not the original resonator you purchased with your system," he explains. "After a rebuild, you essentially have a resonator in your machine that has been used by another customer."

Gantenbein set out to make Bystronic's technology not only reliable but also repairable, so as in this case the laser's resonator could be maintained at the facility.

Enhanced capabilities

Processing materials up to 12" (up to 0.5") stainless steel and up to 10mm (0.375") aluminum, the Bystar with shuttle table has evolved into a powerful asset for the company. Following installation, operators were cutting 6mm (0.25") aluminum in eight- to 10-hour shifts around the clock to keep up with demand. Despite the highly reflective nature of aluminum, they were able to run the job lights out – and they did so effortlessly for years.

"We simply loaded up the machine and let the pallet changer cycle once during the night. We would come in the next morning, unload and reload the tables, and the machine would continue processing. Our productivity was absolutely amazing," Gantenbein says.

They became so productive that local competitors began outsourcing to Liberty Steel. "One neighbor outsourced nearly all of their laser work to us. Eventually they purchased a 4.0-Kw, 1.5- by 3-meter (5- by 10-foot) laser system from another manufacturer hoping to eliminate their need to outsource. But even after they purchased a second 4.0-Kw laser and soon after a third, they were still outsourcing a tremendous amount of work to us." He says it was not until the company purchased a fourth 4.0-Kw laser-cutting machine that the level of outsourcing decreased. Gantenbein specifically attributes this to the superior productivity of his Bystar. "Between the cutting speed, lights-out capability, and the software's part-nesting technology, this machine has given us a serious advantage over the competition."

Forming asset

Eventually, a new challenge appeared by way of a particularly complex part for the food industry. When the customer approached Gantenbein, the unit was being manufactured overseas with a lengthy four-month turnaround time. Accepting the job meant that Liberty Steel had to acquire a pressbrake that could form 0.74mm (0.029") thick, waffle-textured stainless steel into a precise, outwardly sloping circular shape. Gantenbein visited every major pressbrake manufacturer with the part in hand, but only Bystronic was able to create it in high quality. "All that I heard was, ‘Impossible!' That is, until I visited Bystronic," he says. "When I showed Bystronic's product manager the part, he said that it would not be a problem on the Beyeler PR series." Soon after, in December 2004, Liberty Steel had a Beyeler PR 150-ton pressbrake installed.

With only a 2-D print of the part available, the company went into prototype mode. A model was made out of composite that was laser-scanned to acquire more data. The information was imported into CAD, and from there it was programmed into Bysoft. The software then simultaneously created a flat profile for laser cutting and a complete pressbrake programming including suggestions for necessary tooling. After the profile was cut on the Bystar laser cutting system, it was automatically transferred to the Beyeler PR. Bybend, a specialized Bysoft software bending module, established the precise degree of each bend that was needed to complete the part's 360-degree formation.

"The cutting and bending was absolutely seamless," Gantenbein explains. "We did not scrap a single piece of metal. In less than five hours the part was finished, and it was perfect the very first time." The part had such tight tolerances that it was able to be microlaser-welded with 0.4mm (0.015") filler wire. Given the fact that it was previously soldered (a process that can impart trace amounts of tin and lead), the part could now be considered virtually medical grade.

Avoiding limitations

For a company that likes change but refuses to accept any margin of failure as an option, waterjet technology seemed a natural progression. In December 2006, a Byjet 4022 waterjet cutting system with shuttle table was installed. "Now there is really nothing we cannot cut. We are not afraid to look at any project. We are not afraid of material thickness, type, sheet size, or the job quantity," Gantenbein says. He has always shunned limitation, and the water-jet cutting system has given him the opportunity to sell a tremendous range of new capabilities to his customers.

"We are a strategic solutions provider. We specialize in prototype runs less than five parts," he says. "However, with the waterjet we now truly have the choice and the ability to manage anything." The Byjet's shuttle table has also meant that the machine can process certain jobs lights out. In the past, the company has even processed up to four sheets of stacked material on each table. When the machine was finished with one table, it automatically switched to the other and continued cutting without operator intervention.

Immediately following installation, a customer requested a cut of 127mm (5") titanium plate. It was the machine's first job, and the Byjet processed the material flawlessly at a rate of 0.64cm (0.25") per minute. Gantenbein says he was pleased to learn that the system's capability was equally matched in performance.

Costs to run the waterjet cutting system have seemed very much in line with that of the laser-cutting system.

With all systems in place, Gantenbein anticipates a future with even greater challenges on the horizon. He adds, "I see every day as a risk, and each risk as an opportunity to grow."

Bystronic

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