Improving Quality and Speed with Our Laser Tube Cutting Services
At CAMM Metals, we’re committed to being the most productive, efficient shop possible. This often means addressing gaps on the shop floor as they emerge.
One recent update has addressed our ability to cut tubular structures. In the past, when making large weldments, our team needed to saw cut, machine, and often use other manual tools to achieve the desired end product. Today, thanks to our investment in a top-notch machine, we can cut tubular components in a fraction of the time and in a single setup.
Continue reading to learn more about our rationale for investing in our laser tube cutting services and how this additional capability contributes to our services as a whole.
Why CAMM Metals Added This Capability
In January 2024, the CAMM Metals team added laser tube cutting services to our capabilities. This decision was a response to our team’s attempt to fabricate a tubular structure without this machine. This job became an all-hands-on-deck challenge as our people used many of the tools in our shop to achieve the desired results.
Ultimately, we knew we needed this technology to fabricate more complex products and support our current customers. This added capability would also make the job easier for everyone on the shop floor, as they could simply load the material and let the machine do the rest of the work rather than trying to achieve these cuts manually.
The Value-Adds of Our Laser Tube Cutting Services
Since adding a laser tube cutter to our machine arsenal, CAMM Metals has reaped several benefits, from increased productivity to greater quality to decreased risk.
Range of Sizes
CAMM Metals can utilize our laser tube cutting machine on components of the following sizes:
From 1” square to 6” square or rectangular tubes
From 1” to 8” diameter pipes
Thickness up to ⅜”
Impressive Speed
Before we invested in our laser tube cutting machine, we cut tubular components in approximately 10 minutes. However, thanks to this efficient technology, our average cycle time has decreased to just 40 seconds per part! In addition, we’ve been able to reduce setup times on this capability from two hours to only 30 minutes. This significant time savings dramatically decrease lead times for our laser tube cutting services.
Improved Quality
Quality is critical in everything we do here at CAMM Metals. It’s woven into every step of our processes, from the second we receive drawings and 3D models to the moment we package up components for delivery.
Our team invested in our laser tube cutting machine with quality in mind. This capability produces precise cuts and burr-free, clean edges, reducing or eliminating the need for post-processing steps like deburring.
Less Risk
Using our laser tube programming software, our team takes our customers’ 3D CAD files and develops cut programs for these tubes. This smooth integration of our CAD software, coupled with our ability to cut tubes in a single operation, eliminates any human error that can happen both during the programming stage and on the shop floor.
Efficient Alternative to CNC Machining
Our CNC machining services add value in many ways, but we’ve had much greater success handling tubular pieces with our laser tube cutter. In the past, when we’ve CNC machined tubes, there was a much higher risk of damaging the structure because of the features needed to cut or shape these tubes. Additionally, CNC machining tubes requires a lot of tooling, which is not the case with our laser tube cutter.
Switching from CNC machining to laser tube cutting has yielded significant time savings. A customer once came to us with a tubular part he had been CNC machining with three setups and a processing time of 20 minutes. This part required just one setup and one minute of cutting time on our laser tube cutter.
Greater Efficiency across the Shop
At CAMM Metals, we’ve reached a point where all the pieces we’re making come off a CNC machine, including welding, laser cutting, metal fabrication, and (of course) laser tube cutting. Very few parts we produce are made solely by an operator with hand tools; instead, they are the products of the latest technologies on the market.
What began as an investment meant to fill a gap in our capabilities became an advanced solution that has allowed our entire shop to operate on a higher level. It’s not the first time we’ve made an investment to better serve our customers, and it certainly won’t be the last time.
Interested in partnering with CAMM Metals for efficient, high-quality laser tube cutting services? Request a quote today!