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Producing sheet metal parts economically in small quantities - that is the strength of laser job shops. This is made possible by the laser as a particularly variable tool. However, other units in the process chain must also be flexible. For this purpose, ARKU presents the EdgeBreaker® 6000 deburring machine.
When no two parts should be the same, laser job shops are in demand. Because with their most important tool, the laser, they can cut sheet metal just the way they want it. They can also do it without the cost of changing tools or retooling.
However, laser cutting can produce a burr under certain conditions. This burr must be removed because most customers now want burr-free parts. Therefore, how can a deburring machine be as flexible and handle as much part variety as the laser? ARKU provides the answer with the EdgeBreaker® 6000.
The Baden-Baden-based machine manufacturer deliberately designed it as a universally deburring machine. To make this possible, a vacuum table is used as a workpiece support. In this way, the EdgeBreaker® 6000 can also accommodate small parts. Even workpieces the size of a 2-euro coin can be securely fixed and processed with repeatable accuracy.
A rotor equipped with rotary brushes is located above the vacuum table in the center of the machine. The advantage of this design is the fact that the sheet edges are rounded more evenly than with any other deburring machine. This is because the brushes always hit the sheet from different directions. This means that they remove the material very evenly, both on the inner and outer contours of the workpiece. Even a radii of up to 2.0 mm is possible.
The rotor with the rotary brushes is joined by a grinding belt for deburring and a fleece belt for surface finishing. Together, these three units of the EdgeBreaker® 6000 enable significantly improved sheet metal quality. This is important, for visible parts made of high-quality stainless steel.
In addition to laser cut parts, the EdgeBreaker® 6000 also processes stamped parts, whether small or large. If required, the deburring machine can even handle material thicknesses far beyond the thin sheet range.
Users are also enthusiastic about the EdgeBreaker® 6000. One of them is MBengineering: The company from Dürbheim manufactures, among other things, perforated parts for sieve baskets in hospitals. Their surfaces must be easy to clean and disinfect. To prevent dirt and bacteria from settling in the first place, there must be no scratches or unevenness.
In the case of the screen baskets, this became a problem. "Our older belt grinder, which we used for deburring, does not provide sufficient edge rounding for perforated parts," reports founder and CEO Manfred Butsch. However, customers would expect complete edge rounding, not just on the outer contour.
Therefore, another machine had to be procured; MBengineering decided on the EdgeBreaker® 6000. "We needed a machine that sufficiently deburrs and rounds our perforated parts. With their size, our workpieces fit perfectly into the machine's spectrum," says Simon Köhler, authorized signatory and responsible for metal processing at the company, explaining the decision. "Due to the complete processing on the EdgeBreaker® 6000, we were able to save an additional work step." In addition, the automatic wear control and compensation of the tools lead to a very high process reliability. "The deciding factor for the purchase was, in particular, its easy cleaning and maintenance. In operation, the EdgeBreaker® 6000 is characterized by simple and fast replacement of the tools," Köhler continues. This is made possible by a quick-change system that reduces setup times - an important aspect, especially for small batch sizes.
An easy-to-understand user interface also helps the user to set up the EdgeBreaker® 6000 correctly. Tips on operation or maintenance of the deburring machine are also available to the operator.
"With laser cutting, burrs are more likely to form as the material thickness increases. Sooner or later, you have to rework. This is more ergonomic and less expensive with the EdgeBreaker® 6000 than by hand," adds Daniel Gabriel, Head of Laser Technology at Autz + Herrmann in Heidelberg. The quality is also right, as he reports.
Robert Stansell, co-founder of manufacturer "The Router Mill" in Lawrenceville, USA, is also enthusiastic: "Perfectly deburred and rounded edges are crucial for our part quality," he says. After a colleague told him about ARKU, it didn't take him long to decide on an EdgeBreaker® 6000. "The machine can process a wide range of parts from 1 to 25 millimeters thick. That's exactly the flexibility we need." His conclusion: "The EdgeBreaker® gives us a strong competitive advantage over many other laser job shops. With this machine, we are setting a trend."
See the advantages of the EdgeBreaker® 6000 live at Blechexpo 2023 in Stuttgart!
