Increasing return-on-investment (ROI), and lowering total cost-per-cut (and overall production costs as a result) are the main drivers behind the products manufactured by Swiss sheet metal processing OEM Bystronic. Bystronic’s wide variety of automated capital equipment solutions is available locally through First Cut.
The company’s fiber lasers are well known for exceptionally fast output of finished components. This poses a challenge for the loading and unloading of raw materials – a challenge Bystronic has overcome with the ByTrans, ByTrans Extended and the ByLoader automation solutions. The ByTrans is linked to the Bystronic fiber laser and automatically loads steel sheets onto the fiber laser’s shuttle table. After the cutting cycle is completed, the ByTrans also unloads the finished parts and residual sheets.
The ByTrans requires only 60 seconds in which to carry out the complete loading and unloading cycle. This means that the automation system is always faster than the cutting plan that is being processed. For users, this means that the laser can cut uninterrupted for an extensive period of time. While the ByTrans loads one shuttle table, the fiber laser is cutting components from the raw material on the other table.
The ByTrans Extended features two cassettes, increasing the automatic capability of the system. This option offers greater flexibility as it can not only store and return, but can also handle the removal of large parts. The ByTrans Extended can also prepare plastic protective separators, which are placed between the steel sheets.
The ByTrans Extended is available in 3 x 1.5 metre and 4 x 2 metre options.
The laser forms the ‘hub’ of an extended automation system, which includes downstream processes such as punching, bending and welding. Where space in a manufacturing facility is constrained, the Byloader automation system is a compact loading unit that is positioned on the side of the laser system’s shuttle table. The system supplies raw metal sheets to the laser without taking up unnecessary space.
The ByTrans, the ByTrans Extended and the Byloader are operated using the ByVision Fiber’s touch screen. Bystronic has integrated the control of the two automation systems into the fiber laser’s operating software. This enables users to perform all the operating steps on a single touch screen.
