Above: Machine settings are controlled through a table-like interface where date fields are labeled with descriptive settings.

A service center pursues greater capabilities and increased orders with the latest high-tech fabrication equipment

March 2019 - What started as a mom-and-pop operation has grown into Logan Steel in Meriden, Connecticut. The second-generation, family owned service center is spearheaded by brothers Howard “Howie JR” and Erik Lohmann.

Logan Steel is a steel service center that offers all the services a large corporate service center can provide, says Howie JR Lohmann of the 175,000-square-foot facility that employs more than 50 people. “We’re actively growing our reach toward bigger and bigger jobs.”

The team at Logan Steel also runs the Bargain Barn, which repurposes scrap  into parts customers rely on. “We’ve been progressing to flame cutting, followed by CNC and finally decided laser cutting was the next progression for us,” Lohmann says. “Each upgrade was a step forward in automating processes while offering high quality and repeatability. That’s where [fiber] laser cutting has been particularly helpful.”

The Optiplex Nexus 3015 6kW model has automatic process monitoring functions, such as burn, plasma and pierce-through detections. It comes with an 8-station nozzle changer.

Lohmann says Logan Steel shopped around at annual trade shows. “We had been looking half-heartedly for awhile, just keeping our eye out for the next big technology available and after comparing a lot of brands, realized that Mazak’s Optiplex Nexus 3015 6 kW fiber laser cutting machine was affordable and flexible.”

In particular, Lohmann says, being able to teach the operator to service the machine was a key selling point.

“When we talked to other laser [machine builders], we were told we would have to bring in a tech specialist to handle problems or servicing. With Mazak, we can service our own machines, the consumables are readily available, and the tech support available to walk our guys through the problem remotely is fantastic and fast,” he says. “We can’t afford to be down for days at a time until someone can get over here. Instead, we can run a code or replace a valve or switch on our own and be back in business within hours, not days.”

Automated and accessible

The Lohmanns wanted to proactively expand Logan Steel’s capabilities. “We didn’t have the work for [fiber laser processing] yet,” he says. “The customer base wasn’t established when we made the purchase, but we bought it anticipating customers would want it—and it’s working.”

The Optiplex Nexus 3015 6kW model has automatic process monitoring functions such as burning, plasma cutting and pierce-through detections. It comes with an 8-station nozzle changer “for optimum machine setup,” says Tim Tapper, applications manager at Mazak Optonics Corp., Elgin, Illinois. The unit also has auto-focus and spot size adjustments, which optimize the beam for each material type and thickness.

Logan Steel’s operators have adapted to the Mazak fiber laser quickly and perform dry runs to avoid making mistakes when inputting job parameters.

Operators participate in Mazak’s five-day training class. As work volume grows, Logan Steel has one full-time operator and a full-time helper as well as two other trained employees who can fill in for either worker when necessary. “It’s a fairly easy machine to run if you take the time to set up the parameters properly,” says Lohmann. “Our guys perform a dry run and take their time and, as a result, we end up with very little scrap. We make sure we know what we’re doing before we cut anything.”

Requiring little maintenance, the fiber source is a solid-state device with no moving parts, pumps, optics or required maintenance, says Tapper. “The machine itself has automatic grease and lubrication,” he adds. “The only maintenance required pertains to the chiller unit and other daily checks the operators can perform themselves.”

The machine has a 10-foot-long panel that opens, allowing operators full access to the length of the cutting table to easily inspect parts and conduct any maintenance work. A nozzle brush can be automated to clean the nozzle based on a predetermined number of cut features. “The machine can also be equipped with a full cutting bed of roller bearings, allowing for scratch-free loading of material up to 1 inch thick,” Tapper says.

The fiber laser can cut most materials with a very narrow kerf, combined with the cooling properties of nitrogen or compressed air assist gas. “This has opened the door for laser cutting to more and more intricate applications,” Tapper says.

Seamless productivity

Raw material storage towers allow the fiber laser to run an entire day’s worth of production on its own. “This is made possible by a scheduling controller that allows operators to create work schedules containing the day’s, or even weekend’s, production schedule. Automatic finished part removal and routing makes moving laser-cut parts downstream to their next process seamless.”

The fiber laser can also be equipped with a full cutting bed of roller bearings, allowing for scratch-free loading of material up to 1 inch thick.

IoT monitoring software allows users to keep track of machine status, run times, job history and uptime efficiency from any smart device. Users do not need to know code programming to run the fiber laser. “All manipulation of any machine settings are controlled through a table-like interface where date fields are labeled with descriptive settings,” Tapper says. “This decreases the learning curve for operation and makes it easier to find capable operators.”

CAD/CAM programming can be run by anyone. As a result, “many companies have operators who perform double duty as both programmers and machine operators,” adds Tapper.

Customers are turning to Logan Steel with essential last-minute jobs. “We had a customer call us on a Thursday to run a job they needed in order to turn around parts for one of their nuclear power plant customers,” recalls Lohmann. “He sent me an electronic file and, within two hours, we had the parts in hand to that customer. Since there’s no need to chip or deburr or perform any extra finishing processes, we were able to turn raw material into the finished product very quickly.”

Logan Steel is performing customer testing and running small production runs. “Customers are coming to us with parts they wanted nested closely together to make the most use of expensive material. A guy will say he needs 100 parts but 10 different varieties,” he says. “As we continue to run these smaller runs and prototype work, we’re moving toward the next step of building up the volume of jobs we take in.” MM