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LAI Southwest:
Phoenix Job Shop Leads the Way in waterjet Cutting Technology
Copyright 1999
At LAI Southwest Inc., priority number one is applying the latest advances in precision waterjet processing to new applications.
This high-tech job shop has used ultra-high pressure waterjets to cut million of parts, ranging from structural steel components for the new Federal Courthouse in Phoenix to sheets of bullet-proof glass for teller windows.
LAI's five-axis waterjet station has processed precisely located cavities in seven-inch thick, 2,500-pound aluminum rings measuring over nine feet in diameter.
Its large two-axis machine has rough-cut landing gear blanks from aluminum blocks over six inches thick and cut carbon-fiber sheets into ready-to-use hose clamps for aircraft.
"waterjet cutting is a versatile and economical machining method," Steve Malcolm, Sales Manager at LAI Southwest, said. "We consult with our customers about their manufacturing problems and determine if there is an appropriate application for waterjet processing."
LAI Southwest opened its manufacturing plant and regional headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., two years ago and is expanding its base of 12 employees as the company grows, Al Brown, Plant Administrator, said.
"We see tremendous growth potential in the Southwest," Brown said.
The climate-controlled plant features state-of-the-art abrasive water-jet capabilities centered around its five-axis waterjet workstation. A second station features a dual-head configuration, and a third machine is dedicated to small parts.
All machines have precision motion control systems, and can achieve repeatability of +/- .001 inches. These machines can cut titanium up to 15 inches thick.
LAI Southwest benefits from a 19-year history of high-technology machining. It is the latest member of LAI, which opened in Westminster, Md., in 1979. LAI opened another manufacturing plant in Minneapolis, Minn., in 1993. LAI International, Inc. is considered the nation's largest waterjet and laser contract manufacturer with 18 waterjet and 16 laser machining stations.
Abrasive waterjet processing has slowly gained-and sustained-solid ground in manufacturing. LAI International, Inc. has become well known as the leader in the development of new techniques, equipment and applications for this technology. For example, LAI Southwest recently developed a new technique to pierce and drill small holes in most laminates, composites, and glass without de-lamination. This process allows greater flexibility in hole drilling and processing interior shapes.
Why Use Precision waterjet Cutting?
waterjet processing has developed from a technology originally used to process paper and food products to cutting the most sophisticated aerospace components.
LAI's engineers and technicians have advanced the precision of this technology by documenting processing parameters and developing its own hybrid waterjet systems from the best components available in the industry.
waterjets can cut any material, including plastics, composites, laminates and glass. LAI cuts these materials, but specializes in metalworking. The company's abrasive waterjet stations can cut aluminum, copper, steel and titanium up to 15 inches thick.
High-pressure pumps and intensifiers force a stream of filtered water through a tiny orifice in a jewel at 55,000 p.s.i. Fine abrasive garnet is metered to the stream to provide extraordinary cutting power. Motion-controlled machines transport the jet nozzles along programmed paths to cut complex shapes.
Since the tool doesn't contact the material and produces no heat, distortion-free cutting in even the thinnest of materials is achieved.
Abrasive waterjet cutting eliminates stress and heat-affected zones in the material and never hardens metals or leaves any re-cast layer. The process never changes the metallurgy of any alloy. Also, waterjets enable close nesting of parts, maximize material usage and eliminate secondary operations in many cases.
These qualities often make abrasive waterjet processing preferable to other machining methods such as plasma cutting and EDM.
Abrasive waterjet cutting also cuts with a narrow kerf or width of cut. This enables close nesting of parts, maximizing material usage. In many case, secondary operations can be eliminated.
Service Excellence
To keep in touch with customers, LAI e-mails project updates to customers and encourages customers to use its web and file transfer protocol (FTP) sites to upload and download files. LAI transfers digital files from incoming e-mail into CAD and motion control programs.
"Many shops simply can't afford to run the latest machines in their own facilities," Brown said. "We expand their capabilities without adding overhead."
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LAI East
1110 Business Parkway S.
Westminster, MD 21157
410-857-0770
410-857-0774 Fax
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LAI Midwest
7645 Baker St. N.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55432
763-780-0060
763-784-4740 Fax
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LAI Southwest
4814 S. 33rd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85040
602-304-1160
602-304-1612 Fax
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Southwestern Laser
975 W. Grant Road, Suite 151
Tucson, AZ 85705
520-807-0433
520-807-0437 Fax
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