Coil cutting is a process that does not involve the use of a metal sheet, with resulting savings in time and money. Let us see how this technique works, what the advantages are, the related machinery, and why you should choose coil cutting for your company.
Coil cutting is a metal cutting process that consists of feeding the machine from the coil and not from metal sheets. Processing from the coil requires specially designed machines, an investment that leads to substantial time and money savings in the medium to long term: by feeding from the coil, the machine works without interruption for several days. In coil cutting, the coil-fed machine unrolls the coil and performs the cutting in the same process, producing the semi-finished or finished part, ready to move to the next step in the assembly line.
Coil cutting occurs in several stages:
The process of cutting itself works by passing a targeted and precise laser beam through the material to be processed. Laser optics and CNC (computer numerical control) are used to address the laser beam generated. A material-cutting laser uses a motion control system to follow a CNCcode of the model to be cut on the material. The laser basically melts the material on which it is directed, so the concept is more similar to fusion than to the actual cutting in a traditional way. This means that the cut can be easily done from lightweight materials such as fabrics, to stronger metals and precious stones such as diamonds.
As the machine is equipped with a laser, the working area is fully enclosed, according to current safety regulations. Coil cutting improves sheet metal processing by cutting faster than punching machines and with significant production autonomy due to continuous feeding, reduced maintenance requirements, and optimized unloading of cut parts.
Cutting from the coil does have numerous advantages. Even if the purchase of a coil cutting machine requires a greater investment, this is widely paid off in the medium to long term. It may be seen as an initial disadvantage; actually, we know that without investment in new technology, companies would not grow.
Here is a list of pros why you should choose coil cutting technology:
Produtech’s coil cutting process uses optical fiber laser technology to cut. Compared to the CO2 laser, optical fiber has many pros. In particular, fiber lasers require less maintenance and produce more precise outputs.
How does laser cutting work? In fiber laser cutting machines, cutting is done by transmitting the energy beam directly from the diodes and fiber cables. Due to its reduced wavelength, it has better beam absorption of the cut material, allowing the cutting of metals such as brass and copper.
With a wavelength of just 1,064 micrometers, fiber laser cutting machines produce an extremely low cutting point (up to 100 times smaller than CO2) making it ideal for cutting reflective metal material. This is one of the main advantages of fiber over CO, along with reduced processing time, minimal maintenance, and increased productivity at equal cost.
Produtech is a supplier of coil laser cutting machines. Operating throughout the European and North American markets, we aim at helping companies achieve high production standards, reducing costs through the adoption of metal processing. Coil cutting is specifically suited for several industries:
Produtech has specialized in coil cutting by developing state-of-the-art coil cutting machines.
A top-tier product of the company is the punching laser cutting machine EffiCOIL which combines coil punching and cutting in the same process. This hybrid technology offers a remarkable adaptability to the most diverse industries, allowing to perform both procedures optimizing the overall production efforts.
The EffiCOIL machine working principle is simple: the electric punch outlines the desired shapes while the fiber-optic laser cuts with accuracy the metal sheet handling both internal and external contours. This synergetic procedure offers an unparalleled level of efficiency and excellent results without compromising the aesthetic of the overall project.
Another important feature consists of resources’ management. In fact, this coil cutting machine doesn’t need to load and unload raw materials, facilitating the entire process and making it even more swift.
Our coil straightening cutting machines entail two main lines of equipment that can handle different width dimensions and non-linear coils using the power of fiber laser cutting technology.
The ISEO A1 machine by Produtech is capable of working coils through a coordinated movement. As a matter of fact, while the coil sheet with variable dimensions and length advances through special pliers inside the feed system, the required cuts are made within each band.
With such equipment, the workflow is more linear, without having to restart the whole process to load and unload material, even when handling exceptionally long components.
The ISEO A2 automatic coil straightening system can easily manufacture components maintaining a high-speed production rate. A groundbreaking feature which differs from the ISEO A1 equipment is the presence of an additional Xa axisthat enhances the machine’s precision for impeccable results.
Produtech supplies equipment for steel and stainless coil cutting as well. This material demands specific know-how because of its hardness, which requires specific parameterization of the optical laser and the machine. For this reason, Produtech has designed three coil cutting machines that can effectively deal with the hurdles that steel and stainless steel coils can present.
