15/05/2011
For some years now Top Tubes has played a leading role in the revolution that is laser tube processing.
Employing BLM Adige equipment we’ve been pioneering the use of steel tube in place of sheet metal in component manufacture. With state of the art computer aided design we’ve developed processes whereby components which previously required operators to use multiple steps to produce the finished item, can now be produced in a single operation.
We can manufacture components straight from a customer’s Cadcam files in Solidworks or other packages. This has huge benefits for the customer, often shortening a process which might have taken the customer several weeks into one that can take just hours.
The LT 8 is renowned for its flexibility. It has a tube diameter range from 12 to 220 mm which together with its 35 kg bar weight capacity means that it can produce larger and heavier finished pieces and can do so without any loss of productivity. It comes equipped with a fast moving 3D cutting head which easily processes larger diameter tubes. The machine’s ability to combine multiple manual operations such as sawing to length, drilling, milling, notching, punching and deburring into a single operation produces dramatic savings in time, labour and waste.
The LT8 has a unique multi loading system including a bundle loader which automatically loads production quantities of tube and a single bar loader for doing single part and low volume work. This provides the flexibility to interrupt the processing of large runs to enable urgent small runs to be produced at the same time. The loading system can also prepare one production batch whilst an earlier one is still being processed.
Managing Director Adam Bradley says that the special facilities of the LT8 will have a tremendous impact for Top Tubes. He expects immediate benefits to be reduced costs and improved lead times. The larger and thicker tube diameters the system can cope with will mean that Top Tubes will have an even better offering and can broaden its customer base.
