Tube lasers are starting to come online now with regularity.
These are very big, very complex and very expensive machines—hence they have not hit the manufacturing market with the same force tradition flat sheet lasers did in the past.
So, what is a tube laser?
Tube Lasers are setup to laser cut light structural shapes which would include the following:
Round Tube
Round Pipe
Square Tube
Rectangular Tube
Angle
Channel
Custom Shaped Extrusions
Tube Lasers vary in size but the machines, generally, are meant to handle typical 20-24’ lengths of these before mentioned shapes and sizes.
In addition, most machines are designed with auto-loaders or semi-auto-loaders which allow the machine to move bundles of material through the laser cutting process extremely fast.
Typical tube lasers will cut tube from 1” OD up to about 8” OD. Larger tube lasers can cut materials up to 14” OD.
The complexity of the machine is hard to describe in writing but try to imagine these big machines grabbing a piece of tube, moving the tube laterally (left to right), spinning the tube rotationally (around and around) and also cutting the tube at multiple angles.
Even more, imagine the rigorous programming that is involved when trying to cut round, verses square, verse angle, verses channel shapes.
Most would consider these tube lasers as 5-Axis laser cutting machines—watch them work and you will see that there is a bunch going on simultaneously.
Needless to say with all this complexity the end result is amazing to watch.
Any potential customer that is using traditional methods of saw cutting, coping, drilling, milling or iron-working, should really consider what a tube laser might do to help them gain efficiency.
AMF’s rule of thumb is that if any piece of light structural material requires two of the above processes, like saw cutting and saw mitering, or saw cutting and drilling, then there is way more efficiency to be gained with the tube laser.
Even further, if a person has a job that required anything beside just a straight saw cut, they should be using a tube laser. That includes miter-cuts, holes, slots, taps or even high precision straight cuts—the tube laser will easily out pace traditional methods.
Of course, these machines are expensive and take up a very large foot print so not everyone is willing to make that investment. AMF works with many fab shops that do not have the space or capital necessary to purchase their own machine.
Typical lead times for AMF’s tube laser are 3-5 days—these machines crank through material at an amazingly fast pace!
Many people are tentative to outsource labor and materials from their own shops—this reluctance stems from dozens of reasons: fear of losing work, fear of losing control of the job, fear of long lead times, fear of change.
The reality is most of these fears are unfounded. AMF is a great partner and will work tirelessly to make sure all of our customers get what they need to be successful.
We have the Tube Laser Challenge which you can find at https://www.allmetalsfab.com/tube-laser-cutting/ where we offer our customers 20% off of their first order.
Most are shocked by quick lead times, less than a week, and great prices which will save you money.
In the end, this tube laser technology will transform the industry just like the flat laser did in the nineties.
What is a tube laser—the best cutting technology on the market for tube, channel, angle and other structural elements.
Find out more by contacting us and don’t forget to ask for your 20% discount on your first order!
