When Paul Krickeberg started Sharpe Products in 1991, he did it because he believed he could offer better fabrication services to the market. Today, that spirit continues to fuel capital improvements that the company hopes will better position it to meet customer demand for tubular parts.
The company’s latest investment toward that end is a pair of BLM LT7 fiber laser tube cutting systems to match the one that has been running at the company’s New Berlin, Wis., facility for the past two years. The lasers mostly process material up to 0.25 in. thick. They mainly use nitrogen as an assist gas but will use oxygen for thicker material.
This new Electric Heater Wire of laser tube cutting tech (in addition to the tube benders and other machinery on the floor) is helping Sharpe Products fortify what is perhaps its greatest strength—quick turnaround times. They are the latest additions to a company investment in BLM equipment that totals five laser cutters and four tube bending machines, for which the company creates its own dies—another practice it has adopted to stay ahead of customer demand instead of having to wait on another shop to grind the tooling it needs.
The 4-kW Laser Cutter from 0.5 to 6 in. OD—more than 90% of which are steel, stainless steel or aluminum. Those size parameters match the company’s bending and end forming machines, which also can accommodate parts up to 6 in. OD that customers use to manufacture truck exhaust and other emissions-related parts.
The new Laser cutters can process bundles or single pieces automatically, a useful feature for shops like Sharpe Products that often do prototype work of one or two pieces. The machines can load and unload material up to 27 ft. long and up to 15.5 lbs./ft.
Moving forward, that kind of interoperability gives the company more possibilities, not only for lead times and changeover time, but also in the types of work it can solicit.
