First Laser Blanking Line for North America
Automotive supplier SET Enterprises orders 12.000 watts Schuler
blanking line with three laser cutting heads for its Chicago site
Using innovative material processing solutions
to go above and beyond customer expectations
is the foundation of SET Enterprises’ vision as
an Advanced Metal Processing Technologies
company. The highly versatile Schuler laser
blanking line recently ordered by the U.S.-based
automotive supplier for its facility in Chicago
(Illinois) gives SET exactly what it takes to
make this vision a reality. The new line will be
the first high-output system of its kind used in
North America.
SET Enterprises based Sterling Heights (Michigan)
is a major supplier of blanks and slit multiples to
the domestic automotive industry and boasts over
29 years of experience in the industry. Its list of
customers includes several major automotive OEMS,
Tier 1 stampers and large automotive producing
sheet mills. In addition to SET’s Chicago facility, the
company is ideally positioned for direct customer
access with steel processing and service locations
in New Boston (Michigan), Jackson (Alabama) and
North Vernon (Indiana).
SET Enterprises will use the laser blanking line
from Schuler with its combined laser power of
12 kilowatts to produce blanks for exposed and
unexposed automotive stampings beginning in 2019.
The automotive supplier ultimately chose the Schuler
Laser Blanking system because of its demonstrated
high output capability and flexibility offered by the
DynamicFlow Technology. This features three laser
heads with the ability to simultaneously cut blank
shapes of all types with straight line cutting speeds
of over 100 m/min from a coil-fed, continuously
forward-moving strip of coiled metal, itself traveling
at speeds up to 60 m/min. This high output
feeding and cutting capability makes conventional
blanking dies unnecessary and, as a result, allows
for optimization of blank shape and nesting
optimization to achieve improved blanking yield and
support formability.
Installation of the line will begin this summer, with
the operational handoff scheduled for the spring of
next year. With this equipment in place, a total of
five Schuler laser blanking lines with three lasers
will be in operation, producing class A blanks for the
European and US-American automotive industry.
.
www.schulergroup.com
TUBE NEWS June 2018
17