The Business Advantages of Laser Cutting Machines for Manufacturers

Many manufacturing business owners balk at the idea of investing in cutting-edge laser processing equipment, despite the many benefits they can provide. After all, why waste money on buying new equipment when you’ve already got a turret punch or blanking press that does the job? However, sticking with older and less efficient methods could be preventing you from maximizing your profit margin. If you’re still not convinced that laser processing could prove advantageous to your business, then read on to learn more. For this particular article, we’ll focus on laser cutting, one of the most popular and beneficial applications of these types of systems.

You’ll Make the Most of Your Materials

With a blanket press or turret punch, you would need a half-inch border around the actual part so that you could make a decent cut. This results in lots of material scraps and more money down the drain. However, with a laser cutting machine that relies on precision motion systems and linear stages, this border can be shrunk down to as little as 1/16 of an inch. This means that the rest of the material can be used to produce more parts instead. In fact, if you have parts that share a common outline, you can make a single cut without producing a single scrap at all.

Not only can you make better use of your materials, but you’ll produce much higher quality output, too. Turret punches and blanking presses work by shearing through the material in order to cut them out. In other words, they forcefully stretch the edges of the parts until they finally break off from the material. Unfortunately, this process usually results in a rounded edge on the part’s top side. Meanwhile, the bottom side ends up with sharp, stretched ribbons of material. For a cleaner finish, manufacturers have to use abrasives to remove these unwanted bits and finishes. That means additional processes for your company, and with those extra procedures come extra expenses.

You can avoid all this with a laser cutting machine. Since the tools don’t have to come into direct contact with the material, the laser can cut the edges without warping the material. Thus, you’re guaranteed to end up with parts that have smooth surfaces.

You’ll Have More Flexible Operations

Typically, with a blanking press, you’ll have at least one tool for each part that you want to cut out. Unfortunately, each tool that you’ll need will cost you quite a hefty sum of money. Depending on the shape of the tool, you might end up paying tens of thousands of dollars–and that’s just for one tool! Though turret punches are a little more flexible, you can only modify your design based on whatever tools you already have. Otherwise, you’ll have to buy a new tool that can replace an available slot on your turret. Though they don’t cost as much as a blanket press’s tools, you’ll need someone to regularly maintain them, meaning higher labor costs for your company.

With laser cutting machines, though, you can modify the cutting profile whenever you want, even on the spot. You won’t need to buy any new tools just to get the shape you need at any given moment. Plus, it won’t take very long to set it all up. You’ll be done reprogramming the machine in less than an hour, and all for an average cost of $50 each time you do so.

Your Employees Will Be Safer

The last thing that your business needs is an employee that has been hurt on company premises. Should any of your staff members get injured, you’ll lose yet another valuable set of hands.  As a result, you’ll end up with lower output as well as considerably lower sales. To make matters worse, your employee may file a worker’s compensation case against you. If that happens, you’ll have to cover the costs of your employee’s injury, which could skyrocket depending on the damage that was done. That’s why you’ll want to get equipment that can be run as safely as possible.

Unfortunately, with turret punches and blanking presses, there’s a good possibility that an employee’s hand could get caught in the machine. On the other hand, lasers cutters can operate without the need for human intervention. This is because the laser is usually enclosed inside a light tight box. The only times any of your employees would need to touch the machine is when they have to inspect or repair it. Thus, you drastically lower the chances of your workers getting hurt, and you can keep your operations running with fewer risks involved.

The Takeaway: Laser Cutting is Worth the Investment

Don’t let the initial costs discourage you from investing in laser cutting systems. Over time, you’ll easily make back what you spent on new equipment thanks to speedier and higher-quality parts production.