Slicing Metal With A CO2 Laser
Compass CEO Gary Holcomb has often been heard to say, “He who dies with the most toys wins”. When asked what this means, Gary grins. If really pressed for an explanation, he offers up his steadfast belief that manufacturers with the latest and greatest equipment are usually the best suppliers as well as the fastest growing and most profitable companies.
Quality Products, Compass’s combo fab and machine shop in Charlotte, NC, recently put its money where Gary’s mouth is, investing in an additional CO2 laser. This high-tech machine increases both capacity and capabilities for precisely cutting metal sheet, plate, and bar. To better understand the benefits of Compass’s latest capital equipment investment, we sat down with Quality Products Operations Manager Greg Donaldson (shown above, second from left), with VP of Sales Jim Miller (left), VP & COO Bill Canning (second from right), and Quality Products Fabrication Manager Al Farrar (right), all standing in front of Quality Products’ new Mazak laser. This is what we learned:
During The Recent Downturn in US Manufacturing, Most Shops Reduced Capital Spending. What’s Going On at Quality Products?
Some parts of our business slowed in 2023, but other customers had record years. This was particularly true with accounts in the power generation market. To put ourselves in a better position to keep up with demand, we purchased and installed a 4KW Mazak laser machine at the very end of last year. We use it to precisely cut various metal alloys, getting the sizes and shapes we need to feed the rest of our fab shop as well as our machine shop.
In Addition To Raising Your Capacity, Are There Other Benefits To This New Laser?
Absolutely. With 4 KW’s of power, our new Mazak is considerably more powerful than the two CO2 lasers we already had, one of which we have since retired. This greater power, plus the underlying advanced technology, allows us to cut faster, with cleaner edges. We have already seen a nice pick-up in our productivity, throughput, and quality. And of course, now we can cut thicker pieces of metal than we could before.
How Long Have CO2 Lasers Been Around?
The underlying technology was first introduced about thirty years ago. I can’t even begin to describe how much better these CO2 lasers are to cut metal sheet, plate, and bar versus mechanical shearing and punching, which is how we did it when I started working in metal fabrication. Before we purchased our new laser, we also investigated other laser technologies, including what are known as fiber lasers which rely on solid state laser diodes as the source of the laser beam. Fiber lasers are really cool because they use high tech, semiconductor-based technology to cut metal. How cool is that? Maybe we’ll get a fiber laser next.
How Many Of The Parts Quality Products Manufacturers Involve Lasers?
Our new Mazak laser is the workhouse machine at Quality Products. We laser cut enough metal material last year to support the manufacture of about 65,000 parts. More than half of our revenues at Quality Products come from products that are laser cut.
OK, Check Mark In Quality Products’ Laser Box. What Is Next?
Can’t tell you what we’ll buy next, but Compass will always keep investing. Purchasing a laser wasn’t on the radar nine month ago. But the need arose and we jumped on the opportunity to get better. More capacity and capabilities, enhanced productivity, continually improved quality… that’s what Compass is all about. I am particularly excited about some new customers in the space and aerospace markets. They were attracted to Quality Products because of the depth and breadth of our capabilities. And mark my words… we are going to keep getting better!
For additional information about Quality Products new laser, please feel free to reach out to Greg Donaldson directly at [email protected]. For general info on Compass and its various shops, or to request a quotation, please contact Compass VP of Sales Jim Miller at [email protected].