LASER BLANKINGIncreased flexibility and efficiency

for your production strategy

LASER BLANKING| 2

INDEXFAGOR ARRASATE

LASER BLANKING LINE CONCEPT

LASER BLANKING ADVANTAGES

PRODUCTIVITY

CUTTING QUALITY

NESTING & STACKING FLEXIBILITY

REDUCING TIME TO MARKET

LASER BLANKING| 3

FAGOR ARRASATE designs, manufactures and supplies Presses

and Stamping Systems, Metal and Composites Forming

Solutions, Coil Cutting and Processing Lines as well as complete

Installations to manufacture Complex Sheet Metal Parts.

FAGOR ARRASATEIN FIGURES

215 MM€ turnover in 2019

850 employees

Exports 85% of its sales

8 manufacturing and assembly facilities

First-class customers

More than 60 years of experience

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FAGOR ARRASATEPRODUCTS

• High Speed Lines

• Transfer presses

• Press Hardening

• Blanking lines

• Composites

• Forging systems

• Tryout presses

AUTOMOTIVE

• Cut-To-Length lines

• Slitting lines

• Press blanking lines

• Laser blanking lines

• Stackers

• Leveler

METAL

Current situation: Under construction

FAGOR ARRASATECLOSER THAN EVER

Operational by mid 2021

We are establishing a new Service facility in Portage.

LASER BLANKING LINE CONCEPT

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EntryDecoiler / Feeder / Straightener / Shear

Cutting CellUp to 3 laser heads

6 KW

Stacking system

PREMIUMLASER BLANKING

LevelerFor steel and aluminum

Cassette extraction

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Cleaning system

Cutting CellContinuous Combined Cutting

2100 wide and 1500mm telescopicityconveyor

Shear drum

PREMIUMLASER BLANKING

Inspection

Stacking systemStacker with lineal robots

with automated flexible gripper

LASER BLANKING ADVANTAGES

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• Increased flexibility:

✓ Manufacturing of complex geometry.

✓ Dies geometrical constraints disappear.

LASER BLANKINGADVANTAGES

• Production is not stopped:

✓ The absence of dies makes possible

almost immediate change of production.

✓ If the material and thickness matches the

same coil can be used by adjusting the nesting.

✓ Not required a specific coil per each die as

in a press blanking process.

✓ Fast change over, just recipe change on the cutting

software, no die changing time dependent from die logistics.

• No cutting Dies required

✓ Significant savings over the life of the

installation

✓ Car model restyling's every 2-3 years, car new

model every 5 years approx., requires new dies

✓ More car models than ever, introduction of the

electric vehicle

✓ More models, smaller batches to amortize the

investment in dies

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• Material mix:

✓ Galvanized Steel

✓ Hot stamping materials (Usibor, Ductibor.. )

✓ High strength steels

✓ Stainless Steel

✓ Aluminum.

✓ Other less conventional materials: Cupper, brass…

• Laser cutting is not conditioned by the material strength.

LASER BLANKINGADVANTAGES

• Increased adaptability:

✓ In a conventional blanking line in case of a die breakage,

the production can no longer continue.

✓ Capability of producing any part at any moment at a facility

equipped with a laser blanking, just the CAD drawing is

required.

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LASER BLANKINGADVANTAGES

• Reduction of production costs:

✓ Fully optimized use of material, the amount of scrap is

reduced.

✓ No need for previous edge trimming process to adapt the

coil width to the die.

✓ Lower energy consumption than a conventional press blanking

✓ Less personnel required, associated to die logistics.

• Reduction of maintenance costs:

✓ Maintenance cost, huge savings.

✓ Unlike conventional press and dies, maintenance complex operations are

avoided, qualified personnel for die fixing is not required anymore.

✓ Due to high strength steels, faster die wearing.

✓ Aluminum processing requires more frequent knives cleaning.

✓ Less maintenance (time) and less expensive, not so costly consumables.

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LASER BLANKINGADVANTAGES

• Reduced cost of installation:

✓ Significant savings in foundation costs, estimated over 600.000€.

✓ No pits are required, nor reinforced floor for the press efforts.

✓ No need to build high bay workshops.

✓ Not required high load overhead cranes for die logistics.Conventional blanking

Laser blanking

• Reduction of space:

✓ Die storage/maintenance area is not required.

✓ Significant space saving, around 400m2.

PRODUCTIVITY-STUDY OF CUTTING TIMES

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Aprox. Up to 25 parts/min.

Inner parts (A-pillar, B-pillar,….)

Radials, Omegas, Trapezoids, ...

Aprox. Up to 35 parts/min.

Aprox. Up to 10 parts/min.

CONCLUSIONS REGARDING PRODUCTIVITY

Large panels (side panel, upper gate, ...)

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Lets take a closer look to some hot stamping parts

CONCLUSIONS REGARDING PRODUCTIVITY

Part Data Cutting parameters 3 Cutting Heads

Description MaterialThickness

(mm)Width(mm)

Pitch(mm)

Laser Power(KW)

Speed(m/min)

Part/Step Parts/min

B-Pillar Steel 1,4 1540 874 6 4,9 2 11,21B-pillar simplified Steel 1,4 1380 785 6 8,1 2 20,64A-Pillar Steel 1,2 1630 306 6 4,5 1 14,71A- Pillar simplified Steel 1,5 1120 215 6 6 1 27,91B-Pillar Steel 1,5 1354 840 6 7,3 2 17,38A-pillar Steel 1,3 1761 234 6 3,9 1 16,67B-pillar Steel 2 1392 960 6 5,1 2 10,63A-Pillar Steel 1,2 1060 157 6 2,1 1 13,38B-pillar Steel 1,5 1354 840 6 7,3 2 17,38

AVERAGE 16,65

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Optimizations due to modifications in blank geometry:

✓ Modifying the path slightly in non critical points lead to a productivity increase of %44 in this case.

✓ In this case deviating up to 1,77mm in small areas from the original shape.

CONCLUSIONS REGARDING PRODUCTIVITY

CUTTING QUALITY

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CUTTINGQUALITY

• Laser cutting results:

✓ Single cutting ± 0.4mm

✓ Combined cutting ± 0.7mm

✓ Linearity: <0,1mm/m

✓ Burr: < 5% (nearly zero in some cases)

• Wide library of cutting set-up for different material-thickness couples

✓ Optimum cutting conditions achieved for the best cutting quality.

✓ Parameters , stand-off, gas assist pressure, focal length…

✓ Library based on empirical values available with the software.

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B-pillar

Measured by a three-dimensional measurement device and compared

with original DXF.

Max. deviation measure= -0,35/+0,1mmMax. deviation in hole= -0.16/+0.016

CUTTINGQUALITY

Combined cutting

Max. Deviation measure= -0,68/+0,35mmMax. deviation in hole= -0.18/+0.34

Single cutting

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What about Taylor welded blanks?Does the laser cutting technology fullfil the requirements??

Max. Deviation measure= -0,5/+0,4mmMax. deviation in hole= -0.139/ 0Linearity= -0 / -0,08

CUTTINGQUALITY

TAILOR WELDED BLANKS

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Max. Deviation= -0,22/+0,35mmMax. deviation in hole= -0.148/ -0.07

Linearity= 0.01 / 0,09

CUTTINGQUALITY

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Die cutting profile Laser edge quality

CUTTINGQUALITY

• Cutting edge quality:

✓ Conventional die cutting edge shape disappears.

✓ Edge microcracks do not occur as in conventional shearing process,

specially for high strength steels.

▪ This could lead to blank fractures in following stamping

processes!!!

✓ Less burr than in conventional cutting process.

▪ Burr excess, in case that is released may get adhered on the

stamping die and generate marks in case of cold stamping.

▪ Burr excess plus oiled blanks may cause difficulties on the

destacking process previous to forming.

✓ Aluminum cutting in conventional die cutting process, material

adheres to the knives (aluminum oxide), what generates edge quality

deterioration and increasing burr. Production interruption.

✓ Optimal cutting control systems are integrated in the laser

head.

▪ Ceramics breakage detection

▪ Window dirtiness detection

Before the edge quality gets worse the system will warn in

order to avoid further consequences.

• Leveling :

✓ Leveling process is also determinant to guarantee a high quality

cut blanks.

✓ Undulations on the strip due to a

poor leveling, force the system to

a continuous stand-off height

positioning, with consequences on

the cut edge.

✓ Additionally, blanks without internal stresses have a better

behavior at stamping process (cold in this case).

✓ High leveling requirements are no necessary for hot stamping.

CUTTINGQUALITY

Stand off control

NESTING&

STACKING FLEXIBILITY

The nesting software allows:

✓ Preparation of the blank nesting in accordance with the available

coil reducing to a maximum the scrap material (compromise

between productivity and scrap).

▪ Different references could be cut at the same time, by defining

a multipiece nesting.

✓ Divide cutting operations between the different laser heads to

optimize productivity. Simulation or display of movements.

✓ CNC programs generation and communication with HMI of the line.

NESTINGFLEXIBILTY

Throughput: 30pieces/min

Material utilization: 74%

Throughput: 28pieces/min

Material utilization: 87%

Nesting examples: Maximum material utilization

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STACKINGFLEXIBILITY

Hot stamping blanks disposal Blanks reorientation Vacuum cups positioning adjustability

The stacker allows:

✓ Presetting the vacuum cups of the gripper (flexible), and management of the

manipulation of the blanks in the stacking area, is communicated with the

nesting.

✓ Picking blanks on the fly.

✓ Picking multiple parts at the same time and locate them in different positions.

✓ Parts reorientation.

• Bundles relocating process for the destacker previous to the hot stampingprocess could be saved, working together with multipiece nesting.

REDUCING TIME TO MARKET

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Laser technology in the launching process:

✓ Blanking die design and manufacturing are not required so the

launching process is shorten several months.

✓ The industrialization of the part is an iterative process until the

optimum is achieved. Drawings for laser blanking can be modified

as many times as wished with a bare impact in time in the tryout

process.

✓ Very appropriate for the actual scenario: increasing car models,

irruption of EV.

REDUCING TIME TO MARKET

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Process optimization:

✓ Geometrical modifications are really easy to carry out during production as well.

▪ Optimization of the forming process is still possible unlike in conventional

blanking:

✓ Looking for better formability.

✓ Material saving.

✓ In a few minutes the new CAD drawing could be modified and executing the new

blank.

✓ Do not require stops in the production process: TIME SAVING.

✓ Additionally, the 3D laser trimming is a bottle neck in the hot stamping process

(piece by piece):

▪ By geometrical modifications and helped by the good tolerances of laser

blanking, the laser trimming area could be reduced in non critical points:

TIME & COST SAVING.

REDUCING TIME TO MARKET

Laser trimming process

THANK YOUESKERRIK ASKO

GRACIAS

Ion Mendia Product Manager, Blanking, Laser Blanking and Cut-to-Length Lines, Fagor Arrasate S. Coop.@ i.mendia@fagorarrasate.comTel.: +34 661 684 287

Mathew MitchellNational Sales ManagerFagor Arrasate USA Inc @ m.mitchell@fagorarrasate.comTel: +34 661 684 287

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