Single solution for multiple applications

At first glance, it is easy to underestimate this small, compact, almost inconspicuous machine. But the fact is that this 3D laser cell packs a powerful punch, offering precision cutting, 3D cutting, welding and laser deposition welding – without the time-consuming need for retooling. Maximum versatility is par for the course for this 5-axis all-in-one system from Ditzingen, so adapting the system to different batch sizes, parts, materials and tasks is both quick and easy.

And laser users can pick out exactly the right tool for their needs: The system offers a choice between the TRUMPF solid state lasers TruFiber, TruDisk, TruDiode and TruPulse with up to 8 kilowatts of power – enough to reliably cut through even non-ferrous metals.

Putting the all-rounder through its paces

At LICOS, the TruLaser Cell 3000 has had plenty of opportunity to prove that it can cope with the most extreme conditions. The company’s 70 employees develop and produce electromagnetic fans and water pump clutches for commercial vehicles.

Franz Biegert has been putting the laser cell through its paces for the last five months – and he is determined to push it to its limits: “We use a two-kilowatt TruDisk disk laser to cut 6.5-millimeter-thick mild steel,” says Biegert, who heads up the supply chain and laser technology sides of the LICOS business. “That’s right at the threshold of what you can do with that kind of laser.” The fact is that sheets that are four or more millimeters thick would normally be handled by a CO₂laser – but the compact TruLaser Cell 3000 has proved it is up to the challenge.

In the future, Biegert intends to use the new machine to produce an initial batch of 70,000 core components for the LICOS water pump clutch. The prize-winning LICOS clutch has won the Baden-Württemberg Innovation Award for its fuel-saving capabilities, which Biegert estimates at an average of 500 liters per truck.

Unlike other auxiliaries, the clutch only operates when it is required and does not run permanently in tandem with the engine. That pays off for customers – and for LICOS, too: “They are in high demand,” says Biegert.

If everything goes according to plan, the Markdorf-based company could soon be supplying some 100,000 of its clutches to truck manufacturers worldwide, and Biegert is confident that the new laser cell can keep pace: “We chose a machine that would be able to handle the capacities we expect to face over the next 3 to 4 years, including any increase in demand. And we’ve already seen that the cell is robust and durable enough to do the job,” he adds.

Flexible focus

“The TruLaser Cell 3000 really excels in cases where part geometries are regularly changing,” says TRUMPF Product Manager Thomas Kirchhoff. “The variable beam shaping technology enables the machine to automatically adjust the focus diameter and focus position to different types and thicknesses of material.”

Using parameters defined by the TRUMPF technology tables, the continuously adjustable dual-lens zoom optics make the necessary adjustments smoothly and reliably. “The focus spot can be expanded to four times the fiber diameter,” says Kirchhoff. So for a fiber with a core diameter of 100 micrometers, the spot size on the sheet can go as high as 400 micrometers – with no need for time-consuming manual intervention.

To deal with different sheet thicknesses and applications, two beam sources with different characteristics can be connected up to the system – for example a TruDisk laser for welding work and a TruFiber laser for precision cutting of delicate, intricate structures. The machine operator can easily switch from one beam source to the other at the push of a button. “That eliminatesNIKE