Manufacturer relies on fiber laser for fast cutting of parts that display customers’ visions.
Above: At the Carnegie Observatories, this half-pipe design curves 162 degrees above viewers.
January 2023- Manufacturer relies on fiber laser for fast cutting of parts that display customers’ visions.
Smart spaces combine architecture and technology to create engaging, immersive or personalized user experiences. Before the explosion of smartphones, people didn’t expect to interact with screens—televisions were for watching, not for touching. Immersive technologies give designers a fourth space to work with, beyond height, depth and width, and they’re exploding in popularity as many businesses reinvent their storefront models in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and companies engage employees both in-office and virtually. According to AV industry organization AVIXA, professional A/V represented a $258 billion industry in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 7.2 percent through 2026, outpacing the broader economy.
Kern’s proprietary KCAM software contains money-saving features, such as the ability to turn off the gas assist while the laser head is moving between parts.
UNFORGETTABLE INTERACTIONS
Video walls are one major element of smart spaces, allowing retail stores to showcase their products (and real-time online commentary on those items) and companies to engage shareholders and work in new ways. Mechdyne is one company helping companies create spaces that compel, educate and deepen connections.
The Marshalltown, Iowa-based collection of technology businesses uses its experience with displays, software, computing and networks to develop turnkey solutions.
“We manufacture commercial A/V structures,” says Jon Crook, production manager. “This can include everything from in-wall display supports to very large-scale video walls and projection systems. We also manufacture commercial virtual production and esports displays.”
Structures to hold massive displays are often built in Marshalltown. The manufacturing team has designed and built 3-story-tall constructs to create six-sided, 10-foot cubic, walk-in virtual reality rooms. These steel structures must enable accurately mount and keep rigid massive data projectors, screens, mirrors, and heavy, aquarium-glass floors that the stereoscopic projectors shine through.
A data visualization center in the United Kingdom, at the Allied Manchester Business School, needed a structure to hold and align 72 full HD flat panels in a 320-degree cylindrical matrix. To help build high-quality steel mounts for large, commercial LCD/LED displays, Mechdyne recently acquired a new laser.
The FiberCELL has a Class 2 safety enclosure, which allows it to reside in high-traffic areas.
FAST AND FLEXIBLE
To take a concept from rendering to reality, Mechdyne’s fabrication team uses a FiberCELL laser system from family-owned and -operated Kern Laser Systems, Wadena, Minnesota. Crook says Mechdyne first began working with Kern after hearing about the company and visiting its booth at a trade show.
“Originally, we cut parts on a CNC plasma table,” he says. “The need for accuracy and a better cut led us to Kern’s CO2 laser, which was a massive improvement.” To continue to meet customers’ needs, however, “we needed more speed, which led us to purchase the FiberCELL. The increase in speed allowed us to bring more manufacturing in-house so that we could have greater quality assurance and control over our production timelines.”
The FiberCELL is a flexible piece of technology, capable of cutting a variety of metals stainless steel, mild steel, aluminum, brass and copper. It has a Class 2 safety enclosure, which allows the system to reside in high-traffic areas, such as busy factory floors, and special polycarbonate windows to ensure harmful wavelengths are filtered. The FiberCELL also features Kern’s next-generation HyperDual motion system, which has a rack-and-pinion driven by servo motors on each side, resulting in smooth cuts and quick acceleration. The CNC laser software enables common-line cutting, bridge cutting and lead-in/tab generation.
“A key feature of the FiberCELL is its ease of use and its reliability,” Crook says. “We run our machine 24 hours a day, five days a week and rarely experience downtime outside of scheduled maintenance. Kern ensured the installation went smoothly.”
He points out that Mechdyne does a lot of research and development work “constantly pushing the limits and trying new things with the machine.” A two-day training course at Kern’s facility is included with the purchase of a system; however, Crook notes that for Mechdyne, “additional training was minimal outside of the operation of the machine. Kern’s support and availability has been amazing, so when we need anything or have questions, they are always available.” -FFJ
