Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Friday, November 14, 2008
Laser Cutting of Sculptures at Fedtech
So we have a couple sweet projects we've done this week so I wanted to focus on those in an entry this week, after all it's been a little while since I updated our blog!
Sooooo first, I will start with this trumpet sculpture because, c'mon, it's really cool lookin! The company who did this is pretty well-known in the Twin Cities area. The sculpture they designed here will go in a park where the pieces of steel are to be spaced equally apart from each other. When you look at the sculpture from different angles, it's equally interesting. But when you look at it from straight on, it looks amazing. Isn't it crazy what some people can come up with? I'm just glad we could help out on such a cool project! I can't wait to see it outside where it belongs in the park!
Technical notes: To complete this project, these pieces were laser cut from 1/2" 304 Stainless Steel.
Stay tuned for my next post, I'll talk about another cool project :)
Thanks for reading, see you soon!
Sarah
Sooooo first, I will start with this trumpet sculpture because, c'mon, it's really cool lookin! The company who did this is pretty well-known in the Twin Cities area. The sculpture they designed here will go in a park where the pieces of steel are to be spaced equally apart from each other. When you look at the sculpture from different angles, it's equally interesting. But when you look at it from straight on, it looks amazing. Isn't it crazy what some people can come up with? I'm just glad we could help out on such a cool project! I can't wait to see it outside where it belongs in the park!Technical notes: To complete this project, these pieces were laser cut from 1/2" 304 Stainless Steel.
Stay tuned for my next post, I'll talk about another cool project :)
Thanks for reading, see you soon!
Sarah
Monday, October 6, 2008
Where can I learn about waterjet cutting?
Learning about waterjet cutting is very easy. It's getting up-to-date, quality information that is the hard part. Be critical when reviewing information online. It's difficult to research accurate information as capabilities are continuously changing and improving.
A good rule of thumb is to check the credibility of the source you are referrencing. Though this might be a given, alot of the time people tend to forget this when they are desperate to find information on a certain topic.
I know while I've been doing research on what other manufacturing shops are doing, I've come across different statistics and capabilities that might very well be true, but could also be very false. Do your research, and you'll find the information you need.
Some good resources for learning about waterjet cutting include:
Wikipedia
ThomasNet (This is also a good resource for finding a service provider near you)
Wardjet (A leader in sales of waterjet machines)
The Fabricator (Top magazine for fabricating/manufacturing industries)
Fedtech (An established manufacturing shop in Minnesota)
When it comes to laser cutting, you often hear: Where can I learn more about laser cutting?
Well, here are some excellent resources for laser cutting:
Fedtech
Global Spec
CNC Information
Wikipedia
ThomasNet
Another great source that you can take with you is an informational podcast about manufacturing. Each episode features a different manufacturing process and serves as an educational learning tool for listeners interesting in finding out more about waterjet cutting, laser cutting, finishing, forming, welding, drilling, tapping, and more. You can find that podcast at www.modernmanufacturing.mypodcast.com or search for "Modern Manufacturing" in iTunes.
Hope this helps! If you have any questions feel free to send me a message at sarahw@fedtech.com and I will do my best to answer them in my next posts!
As always, thanks for reading!!! Have a good day :)
A good rule of thumb is to check the credibility of the source you are referrencing. Though this might be a given, alot of the time people tend to forget this when they are desperate to find information on a certain topic.
I know while I've been doing research on what other manufacturing shops are doing, I've come across different statistics and capabilities that might very well be true, but could also be very false. Do your research, and you'll find the information you need.
Some good resources for learning about waterjet cutting include:
Wikipedia
ThomasNet (This is also a good resource for finding a service provider near you)
Wardjet (A leader in sales of waterjet machines)
The Fabricator (Top magazine for fabricating/manufacturing industries)
Fedtech (An established manufacturing shop in Minnesota)
When it comes to laser cutting, you often hear: Where can I learn more about laser cutting?
Well, here are some excellent resources for laser cutting:
Fedtech
Global Spec
CNC Information
Wikipedia
ThomasNet
Another great source that you can take with you is an informational podcast about manufacturing. Each episode features a different manufacturing process and serves as an educational learning tool for listeners interesting in finding out more about waterjet cutting, laser cutting, finishing, forming, welding, drilling, tapping, and more. You can find that podcast at www.modernmanufacturing.mypodcast.com or search for "Modern Manufacturing" in iTunes.
Hope this helps! If you have any questions feel free to send me a message at sarahw@fedtech.com and I will do my best to answer them in my next posts!
As always, thanks for reading!!! Have a good day :)
Friday, September 19, 2008
How do I cut this stuff??
A familiar question to me now is; How do I cut steel?
(Other versions of this question include; How can I cut stainless steel? How can I cut through copper? How can I cut stuff from thick aluminum? etc.)
The obvious answer is; Superman. But when he's not available the next best thing is waterjet cutting (or laser cutting) depending on the thickness of the metal that you want to process.
Typically stainless steel that is over 3/4" thick should be cut using abrasive waterjet. But anything less than that is fair game for laser. Unless you really do want to use waterjet cutting, you can go that route too. Waterjet cuts materials as thin as .001" and as thick as 12" which is pretty amazing in itself.
Now I know what you're thinking, what if I'm not cutting stainless steel? What if I'm trying to cut thick aluminum, or copper, or a cheese pizza?? Well... in that case, aluminum can be cut using waterjet (not so much the choice project for laser, but it could be I guess) and for copper, that is straight up an abrasive waterjet cutting job. And cheese pizza? You could opt for water-only cutting, as this video demonstrates... But that's besides the point.
To see a chart demonstrating the difference between waterjet and laser cutting, you can visit Fedtech's website and compare the two.
Either way... good luck with that! At least you know what you're doing now :)
(Other versions of this question include; How can I cut stainless steel? How can I cut through copper? How can I cut stuff from thick aluminum? etc.)
The obvious answer is; Superman. But when he's not available the next best thing is waterjet cutting (or laser cutting) depending on the thickness of the metal that you want to process.
Typically stainless steel that is over 3/4" thick should be cut using abrasive waterjet. But anything less than that is fair game for laser. Unless you really do want to use waterjet cutting, you can go that route too. Waterjet cuts materials as thin as .001" and as thick as 12" which is pretty amazing in itself.
Now I know what you're thinking, what if I'm not cutting stainless steel? What if I'm trying to cut thick aluminum, or copper, or a cheese pizza?? Well... in that case, aluminum can be cut using waterjet (not so much the choice project for laser, but it could be I guess) and for copper, that is straight up an abrasive waterjet cutting job. And cheese pizza? You could opt for water-only cutting, as this video demonstrates... But that's besides the point.
To see a chart demonstrating the difference between waterjet and laser cutting, you can visit Fedtech's website and compare the two.
Either way... good luck with that! At least you know what you're doing now :)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wonderful World of Waterjet (www)
Well it's as if I can't explain how wonderful waterjet cutting is. Before taking this job here (you can see our full homepage at Fedtech.com), I always thought of the manufacturing world as a very dirty, hard-pressed territory (and elsewhere it might be) but boy have I proven that to be so wrong.
I think the neatest thing here is that these waterjets can cut through materials never even thought possible before. The first project I took pictures of was abrasive waterjet cutting through 10" thick copper rounds without any taper or edges... and sure enough when all was said and done, there it was. (You can see more about this story here...)
And then the next day they cut 9.25" aluminum blocks... leaving the drop in one clean piece that was both much cleaner but even more important, had the ability to be recycled or reused (saving a lot of money). This was equally impressive, if you want to see pictures of that one, you can see the case study here...
I think my favorite project yet though, was processing these tiny titanium strips (.025" thick) that would be used for a conducting electricity in a line of vacuum cleaners. This was so cool because 13,200 pieces were cut in a matter of a day (obviously it takes a bit longer in the process of things though since we had to make the CAD file, order the material, and then figure it into the schedule of the waterjets) but it was very cool to see these parts cut. The coolest part of it, was that when waterjet cuts through titanium, sparks just fly! It's really cool to see, but kind of scary when you see it for your first time... I was definitely worried for the waterjet operator's fingers but he laughed and assured me not to worry they do it every day... I guess! (You can see pictures of that project here!)
Anyways, I just had to share the details. I'm sure I'll have more fun things to say as time goes on, so I'll keep you all posted. Until then, keep on cuttin on! (Get it, waterjet cutting? Haha...)
I think the neatest thing here is that these waterjets can cut through materials never even thought possible before. The first project I took pictures of was abrasive waterjet cutting through 10" thick copper rounds without any taper or edges... and sure enough when all was said and done, there it was. (You can see more about this story here...)
And then the next day they cut 9.25" aluminum blocks... leaving the drop in one clean piece that was both much cleaner but even more important, had the ability to be recycled or reused (saving a lot of money). This was equally impressive, if you want to see pictures of that one, you can see the case study here...
I think my favorite project yet though, was processing these tiny titanium strips (.025" thick) that would be used for a conducting electricity in a line of vacuum cleaners. This was so cool because 13,200 pieces were cut in a matter of a day (obviously it takes a bit longer in the process of things though since we had to make the CAD file, order the material, and then figure it into the schedule of the waterjets) but it was very cool to see these parts cut. The coolest part of it, was that when waterjet cuts through titanium, sparks just fly! It's really cool to see, but kind of scary when you see it for your first time... I was definitely worried for the waterjet operator's fingers but he laughed and assured me not to worry they do it every day... I guess! (You can see pictures of that project here!)
Anyways, I just had to share the details. I'm sure I'll have more fun things to say as time goes on, so I'll keep you all posted. Until then, keep on cuttin on! (Get it, waterjet cutting? Haha...)
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