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11 March 2008

Prima demonstrates competitive advantages of automated laser cutting at MACH 2008

Prima Industrie's Platino laser cutter18 February 2008: The speed, accuracy and productivity benefits of Prima Industrie’s Platino laser cutting and CompactServer work handling technology will be demonstrated on Stand 4766 in Hall 4 at the MACH 2008 international machine tool show, which takes place at the NEC between 21st-25th April.

Available with 2.5, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 kW heads and work areas of 3000 x 1500 mm or 4000 x 2000 mm, Platino laser cutters achieve cutting speeds of 140 m/min and head acceleration of 12 m/s2, making them ideal for rapidly profiling a wide range of materials up to 25 mm thick mild steel.

The Platino’s high dynamics are backed by exceptional precision – achieved through a fixed workpiece design and the use of advanced flying optics. As a result, the machine will consistently maintain positional accuracies of 0.03 mm across its entire work area, along with a repeatability of 0.03 mm. Its productivity and performance are also enhanced by off-line programming capabilities, optional nesting software and an in-built anti-collision safety device.

Suitable for flat sheet or the processing of round, square or rectangular tube – with zero changeover time – the Platino has proved to be equally cost-effective for short batch or extended production runs, with more than 1000 machines sold to date worldwide.

The equipment’s versatility and productivity are further enhanced by a series of advanced work handling solutions. Prima’s presentation at MACH will feature the company’s CompactServer system, which enables Platino, Syncrono and Domino series machines to be operated as independent, unmanned manufacturing cells.

Equally suitable for OEM and sub-contract manufacturers, the CompactServer is designed to integrate with the laser cutter’s pallet changer to provide highly efficient automatic operation, even under ‘lights out’ conditions.

With all components fitting above the machine’s pallet changer, the new CompactServer requires no additional floor space. It is available as a factory-supplied equipment option or can be quickly and simply retrofitted to existing installations without the need for floor reinforcement or special foundations.

In operation, the new unit uses vacuum cup grippers to transfer unprocessed sheets to the pallet changer during the machine’s cutting cycle – enabling downtime during the load/ unload sequence to be minimised. The CompactServer is controlled directly by the machine’s CNC system and incorporates a wealth of safety, referencing, sheet separation and measuring features to ensure trouble-free operation over an extended service life.

Suitable for standard sheet sizes up to 1500 mm x 3000 mm and up to 20 mm thick, the CompactServer offers a maximum single shelf payload of 3000 kg, with a maximum raw or finished material stack height of 150 mm. In addition, each of the unit’s two shelves can be replaced by guide-mounted motorised pallets to allow stack handling by a bridge crane.

“The ability to run our equipment unattended under lights out conditions allows customers to dramatically increase their competitiveness, particularly against suppliers from low labour rate economies,” says Prima UK’s managing director, Joe Attuoni. “The Platino’s versatility not only allows them to produce high quality profiled products with minimal operator input, it also enables them to meet demanding delivery lead times that simply could not be achieved by sourcing overseas.”


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