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Knowledge: Sheet metal quality Savings that can cost you 16 TruServices <strong>Journal</strong> 02|08 Trying to save money when buying sheet metal stock often means paying more in the long run. Our grand- mothers knew: You need good ingredients to make a good cake. And only good sheet metal makes for good processing. // Today more than 2,000 varieties of steel, with widely divergent properties, are being manufactured in Germany alone. Regrettably, the quality often fluctuates considerably and even the best laser cutting machine cannot turn out good results if the material being processed fails to meet certain minimum requirements. Michael Weller, technology expert for laser and tube processing at the TRUMPF Demonstration Center in Ditzingen, is often confronted with this problem in practice: “Some of our customers buy cheap material in order to save costs, but, that often turns out to be a mistake.” It is not just the prospect of saving money that tempts us to purchase low-priced material. Despite higher steel prices due to exploding raw materials costs, the demand for steel has remained high. Increased delivery times are becoming another significant problem. “The customer sometimes has to wait six to eight weeks for laser-cut material,” Weller declares. In this situation, people sometimes reach for readily available and seemingly “cheap” alternatives. However, the money saved and the time advantage literally “go up in smoke” if the material has to be pre-processed to prepare it for working. If plate is rusty or scaly, or has been sandblasted or painted, it is necessary to pre-treat the material with a laser beam to clean the surface. This requires investment in gas, power and time — translating directly into money. You then have clean sheet metal, but pre-treatment does nothing to improve its inner qualities. That is because the chemical composition bears the primary responsibility for sheet metal quality. “We recommend using the laser alloys for sheet metal upwards of 15 millimeters thick. These materials contain
TRUMPF technology expert Michael Weller knows what’s important when shopping for sheet metal. less silicon, which would hamper the heating of the material,” Weller explained. These “inner values” ensure ideal cutting results, good part quality and trouble-free subsequent machining. When a TRUMPF machine is delivered, the accompanying technical literature includes detailed recommendations in regard to the material to be processed. Sheet metal quality is a recurring topic when machines are demonstrated and during training sessions. “We give our customers all of the critical information. We recommend certain steelmakers, specify material properties and describe the factors that can have a negative effect on processing. In our technology tables we list all of the major magnitudes appropriate for processing certain types of sheet metal: gas pressure, laser power, adjustment settings, and feed rate. This data can be applied one-to-one. Unfortunately, it is all too seldom that the customers read that completely,” Weller regrets to note. If a customer tries to process low-quality sheet metal, then determining the cutting parameters can become quite costly. It is necessary to invest both material and the knowledge of an experienced employee in order to achieve presentable results in spite of poor sheet metal quality. It is usually necessary to accept considerable losses in part quality. In the worst case, all of this preliminary work has become so time-consuming and expen- “Reworking sheet metal costs money and ultimately does not improve the quality.” sive that the ultimate customer simply turns down the proposal. The situation is even more precarious for a job shop when the material to be processed comes directly from the customer. Turning down an order is something only a few shops can afford to do. The attitude is often: “I will manage to cut it somehow. Where there is a will, there is a way.” When dealing with large parts, Michael Weller concedes, processing lower-quality sheet metal is not quite so difficult. The delicate pieces cause the problems. Rough edges, erosion and burrs usually cannot be avoided. The worst scenario is that a part will not be entirely cut away because slag and melted metal do not burn completely during cutting or cannot be blown away with the stream of gas. All in all, it is worthwhile to use good material from the start. It can be processed without unnecessary delays, and that reduces operating expenses. All of the major steelmakers and processors offer information about ideal sheet metal qualities on their websites. Every purchasing agent can and should make use of these resources. “In case of doubt, it’s better to ask TRUMPF before placing an order for materials,” Weller recommends. That is a call that can save a great deal of time and money — and that’s good for everyone in the end. >> info@de.trumpf.com TruServices <strong>Journal</strong> 02|08 17
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