We get this question often—what exactly is a 5-Axis Tube Laser? How is that different from a rotary attachment on a traditional flat sheet laser?
Let’s start at the beginning. Laser technology has been around for many years and really started to find its footing in the mid-nineties. The cutting technology was, by any measure, transformative in the metal industry. Today, it would seem nearly impossible to operate a modern shop without laser cutting technology.
Adaptions have been made over the years and laser cutting technology has improved.
One of the many updates has been to add tube cutting capacity on flat sheet lasers. This can be useful, but it requires large setup times, as the machines have to be broken down to change from flat sheet cutting to tube cutting.
Set up becomes a huge cost when the machines are forced to changeover from flat sheet to tube and vice versa.
In addition, lead times are often very long for potential customers as most shops want to, naturally, wait until they accumulate several tube cutting jobs before starting. At that point, it’s much more cost- and labor-effective to break down the flat machine and do all the tube work at once.
Setup costs and long lead times are a significant setback for transforming a sheet machine to tube machine, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Flat sheet lasers can only cut on two or three axes which works sufficiently in some cases, particularly with square tube, but is very limiting when cutting round tube or when you want to cut a bevel (say for pre-welding conditions). Bevel cutting requires 5-axis cutting where the head or nozzle of the laser can actually swivel and/or tilt at an angle not perpendicular to the surface of the metal.
Finally, saw-cutting pieces to length is also a limiting, non-value-added process required for nearly all sheet lasers which usually have beds that are 10–12 feet long. This means that each piece of tube not only has to be saw-cut, but also loaded one at a time into the machine for cutting.
So, can flat sheet lasers cut tube? Technically, yes… but examining the benefits of a dedicated tube laser over a flat sheet laser is absolutely worth considering.
First, as originally mentioned, there are relatively NO setup times involved. Dedicated tube lasers are ready to go without changeover or machine modification. As jobs progress through the tube laser machine, programmers and machine operators are loading new programs into the machine while the current job in the system is still cutting.
What that means is significantly reduced lead times and setup costs.
Second, dedicated tube lasers are designed to cut long lengths of tube. In AMF’s case, the machine will handle 25-foot lengths of tubing.
This, again, significantly reduces setup times. No more back-and-forth of hand loading small lengths of tube into a flat laser modified for tube cutting. Dedicated tube lasers grab an entire 24-foot length of tube and feed the piece through the system until all the pieces are cut from the entire length (handled only once).
Third, 5-axis capacity, as mentioned above, allows for copping and bevel cutting (cutting that isn’t perpendicular or normal to the surface). This is A BIG DEAL downstream when the parts move from cutting to fitup and welding.
Many studies show that welding efficiencies are increased by as much as 50% with tube parts that are cut precisely with ready-weld bevels and perfect intersections.
Now that you understand the huge potential benefits of a 5-axis tube laser over other, more old-school options, it’s time to see one in action. Check out the photos above as you read through what each axis does.
Axis #1: Material is moved from left to right (or right to left) along the horizon, as it were, of the machine.
Axis #2: Tube laser head is moved from front to back (or back to front) across the material, like saw cutting across a two-by-four.
Axis #3: Tube laser head is moved up and down (or down and up) above the material, like a drill press moving up and down to drill.
Axis #4: Tube laser head is pivoting on a radius (or arc) on the same horizontal plane as Axis #1, like sketching an ark with a hand compass.
Axis #5: Tube laser head is rotating on a 360-degree radius above the laser nozzle like an owl’s head, so-to-speak.
Ultimately, with all these axes operating simultaneously, the tube laser can cut a huge array of shapes and sizes with cutting surfaces that are normal, and angle cut to the surface of the metal.
5-axis cutting also allows All Metals Fabrication (AMF) to cut items like Angle, Channel and Custom Extrusion—none of that is possible on a flat sheet laser.
Dedicated, 5-axis tube laser cutting is on the frontier of fabrication. Most industrial engineers have only begun to understand how this technology can change design and engineering. Parts that were impossible before or very expensive in a traditional machining center (mill or lathe), can now be fabricated at very affordable prices.
Take the time to consider how a dedicated tube laser could really transform your work—better prices, better lead times, better downstream fabrication, better design.
Check out our online video of tube lasering on our website and YouTube channel.
Rich Marker is an 18 year, skilled professional in metal fabrication and manufacturing. Co-founder, owner and principal of All Metals Fabrication, Rich has helped to sustain the company’s success over a variety of economic conditions. He has extensive background in continuous improvement, training and process improvement, and emotional intelligence—among other specialized proficiencies. He loves to learn, fly fish, watch college football and devour NY style pizza! He has the best family on earth, loves a good plan, great teaching and the opportunity to get better.
Learn More
