From using innovative materials like carbon fiber and composite to reduce vehicle weights to augmenting the Advanced Driver Assistance System for better navigation and collision-prevention, the automotive industry has evolved at a lightning speed. Technology adoption has been done across all segments of the industry, including manufacturing and fabrication. And laser cutting indeed tops the list!
Offering a host of benefits over other conventional material cutting practices, it has facilitated transformation and automation in the automotive industry. Whether it’s the optimal level of accuracy and precision or the enhanced operational speed, automotive manufacturers can leverage the technology to overcome a series of bottlenecks in no time. To provide further insights into the goodness of laser cutting in the automotive industry, this article will illustrate the major trends and applications of the same.
How laser cutting has revolutionized the automotive industry?
It is imperative for all automotive manufacturers to understand the major benefits they can enjoy by adopting laser cutting practices over other conventional methods like plasma and water cutting. Considering this, we have listed a couple of advantages of laser technology in the automotive industry.
- The high amount of heat generated by the laser machine can cut through almost all materials with higher levels of accuracy and precision. Therefore, achieving minute detail work in the vehicle parts and other internal components won’t be difficult anymore for the manufacturers.
- Since most laser machines come with CAD/CAM software, it is now possible to automate different manual tasks, including loading and unloading of the materials and movement of the cutting arm. As a result, time consumed will be less and there won’t be any labor exhaustion.
- With an exceptionally high operating speed, laser cutters can produce maximum cuts in the sheet metals within one cycle. This not only increases productivity but also allows the manufacturer to maintain optimal quality in the produced results.
- Compared to other types of cutting equipment units used in the automotive sector, laser cutters are compact in size. They do not occupy too much of floor space, which is why manufacturers won’t have to worry about a cluttered space with higher chances of workplace injuries.
- Laser cutters are equipped with the latest security and safety features to ensure operators won’t have to worry about injuring themselves during the tasks. As a result, automotive manufacturers won’t have to deal with safety compliance and workplace risks any longer.
In what ways laser technology has facilitated automotive trends?
Now that we have discussed the advantages automotive manufacturers will be able to enjoy with laser cutting technology, it’s time to focus on a few trends that have set the standards high.
- Advanced material handling
The automotive industry has shifted its focus on sustainability to reduce its carbon footprint and use energy in the most efficient manner. Apart from this, the intent of reducing vehicle weight has also become a priority for several manufacturers. Owing to these, they no longer rely on the traditional materials like stainless steel or iron. Instead, the manufacturers have adopted innovative raw materials for fabricating vehicle chassis, internal components, and other parts.
A few of these materials include fiber optics, composite materials, and polymers. The conventional cutting practices do not have the space to accommodate such advanced materials, which is why adoption of laser cutters has become imperative. They can easily cut through different materials while maintaining the quality and structural integrity. Furthermore, different laser cutters have varying energy requirements, which further provides a way for manufacturers to attain their goal of sustainable production. - Advent of fiber laser cutting
Another latest trend in laser cutting technology that has helped the automotive industry is the introduction of fiber lasers. It uses the fiber optics to prepare a guided path for the electromagnetic radiations as they travel from the source to the extruder. The fiber optics not only reduce energy loss but also amplify the energy, thereby ensuring the laser beam can cut through different materials or varying thicknesses with ease.
Compared to CO2 lasers, these have higher operational and cutting speed, thereby increasing the overall productivity and deliverables. One of the notable benefits of fiber laser cutters is the reduced heat generation along the cutting zones. It not only prevents material distortion but also prevents warping and any other form of metallurgical changes. - Micro cutting with fine detailing
From fuel injection systems to actuators and sensors, there are several components that require micro cutting practice for generating an exceptional level of precision and resolution. Achieving such granular detailing and operational finesse with conventional cutting practices is nearly impossible. That’s why manufacturers opt for laser cutting in the automotive industry since the laser beam can be focused to a spot-sized hole, having a radius of a few micrometers.
Usually, once the beam is focused on the key area, it generates a high amount of heat that melts the material and creates a narrow kerf. Material damage or distortion is minimized by keeping the laser beam frequency under control. - High-precision welding
Due to the increasing dependency on welding setups, several laser cutters come integrated with a welder module. It allows manufacturers to join the cut surfaces with higher accuracy and precision while ensuring no different setups are needed. Since a single machine can handle both functions, the cost incurred is much lower than using two different units for cutting and welding the sheet metals.
Furthermore, laser welds created are more precise and retain the structural integrity of the sheets. The strong beam can join micro parts also, like those of sensors, fuel injection systems, and so on. - Automated robotic laser systems
The integration of robotic systems with the laser cutting machine has made it possible for manufacturers to automate several processes and increase the overall productivity. For instance, the robotic arm in the laser cutters can easily load and unload the raw materials without requiring any human intervention. Similarly, the cutting arm that generates and focuses the laser beam onto the metal follows a preset cutting path and automatically processes the operation.
Conclusion
In this article, we have described the major trends that laser cutting technology has brought forth in the automotive industry. Following these, many manufacturers have already replaced their old sheet metal cutting practices with modern and innovative strategies. Laser cutters not only increase productivity and drive higher revenues but also add more value to the business.
