American Industrial Company (AIC) is a true single source manufacturer. With more than 30 years of tool and die and metal stamping experience, AIC has developed expertise in not just metal stamping and tooling but in all of the secondary and value added services that go along with it.

This includes all processes that require laser cutting and other custom formed components.

For all of your laser cutting needs, we at AIC use a VyTek FiberCAB 44 laser cutting system. This machine is one of the most highly advanced laser cutters available today. The 3,000 watt laser quickly and efficiently makes precision cuts in metals of all types.

The FiberCAB 44 uses a fiber optic laser, a type of solid state laser that is ideal for cutting metal. The fiber optic component amplifies the strength of the laser by focusing it. Fiber optic focusing allows a laser to achieve a spot size almost 100x smaller than that of traditional CO2 lasers.

The small spot size of a fiber optic laser provides high quality cut edges with minimal material warping, ideal for the food, medical, and many other industries. With the use of nitrogen, our laser cutting capabilities are perfect for stainless steel, with or without film coatings, aluminum, and steel.

What does this mean for you? American Industrial Company can provide these laser cutting services in house. Your stamped parts can be removed from the sheet cleanly, without having to go through secondary tooling processes to remove burrs.

Our fiber optic laser cutting services and capabilities are applicable in various industries, including the food, appliance, hardware, automotive, and construction industries. Not only are we a precision metal stamper of custom formed components, we can also produce flat metal parts, signs, and stencils. The possibilities are endless – with tens of thousands of digital art, silhouettes, stock illustrations, and clip art designs available.

View Laser Cutting Specs

At AIC we keep lead times short without sacrificing quality; you can rest assured that your parts will be executed flawlessly.

Fiber Optic Laser Cutting Equipment

The VyTek FiberCAB 44 laser is one of the most highly advanced laser cutting machines available. The features of this laser cutting equipment include:

3,000-watt laser that makes precision cuts in a quick and efficient manner in all types of metal.
The fiber optic laser, which is a type of solid-state laser that is ideal for cutting metal.
The strength of the laser is increased by the fiber optic component. This allows the laser to get a spot size that is 100x smaller than that of a traditional laser equipment.
The small spot size of the fiber optic laser ensures high-quality cut edges. This results in minimal material warping
The equipment is an ideal choice for food, medical, and other industries.
The use of nitrogen makes it a perfect choice for aluminum, stainless steel (with or without film coatings), and steel.

Laser Cutting Methods

Different types of laser cutting methods are used to cut different types of materials.

The vaporization method of laser cutting uses the focused laser beam to heat the surface of the material. The material is heated to the boiling point. This generates a keyhole. Absorptivity increases due to the keyhole. It also quickly increases the size of the hole. When the material starts boiling and the hole deepens, the vapor that is generated erodes the molten walls. The ejecta is blown out. This enlarges the hole. Non-melting materials (carbon, wood, and thermoset plastics) are cut using this method.

High-pressure gas is used in the melt-and-blow laser cutting method. The high-pressure gas is used to blow molten material from the cutting area. This decreases the power requirement. The initial process involves heating the material to the melting point. A gas jet then blows the molten material out of the kerf. No further increase in the temperature of the material is required. Metals are cut using this process.

Brittle material is sensitive to thermal fracture. This feature is used in the thermal stress cracking laser cutting method. The laser beam is focused on the surface. This causes heating and thermal expansion. The resulting crack can be guided using the beam. This method is used for cutting glass.

The stealth dicing process separates microelectronic chips from silicon wafers. A pulsed Nd: YAG laser is used to operate it.

The reactive laser cutting process is also known as flame cutting or burning stabilized laser gas cutting. Reactive cutting is similar to torch cutting, but a laser beam is used as an ignition source. This method is used for cutting carbon steel to the thickness of over 1mm. It is used to cut very thick steel plates.

Laser cutting is used in many industries as the possibilities are endless. It helps in keeping lead times short without sacrificing quality. This ensures that all parts are cut and made in a flawless manner.

Materials for Laser Cutting

Laser cutting is an extremely popular and versatile manufacturing process, representing the industry standard for material removal in many sectors. Its benefits and broad applications make it highly desirable for use in industries ranging from aerospace and automotive to medical.

Materials

One of the main reasons laser cutting is so widespread is that lasers can handle so many commonly used materials. American Industrial uses laser cutting across the metal manufacturing process to shape and finish a broad range of products. Regardless of material, lasers are known for their ability to provide clean cuts without the burrs left behind by mechanical cutting methods.

At American Industrial, we primarily use laser cutting services for steel and aluminum:

Steel and Stainless Steel
We use laser cutting to provide precision cuts on a broad variety of steel sheets, steel blanks, and more. Our FiberCAB44 precision laser cutter can cut steel materials up to 0.25 inches thick. Steel can be cut before or after a film coating has been applied.
Aluminum
Laser cutting is especially useful for providing precision cuts on thin or softer metals, such as aluminum. With our laser cutting capabilities, we can accurately cut aluminum sheets, aluminum blanks, and aluminum parts or signage quickly without causing additional damage or stress to the material.

Applications for Laser Cutting

It’s difficult to generate an exhaustive list of laser cutting applications because the technique is so versatile. Still, there are some uses that are more common than others.

Metal
Laser cutting can create structural components and casings of almost any scale, including those necessary for both cell phone and automobile manufacturing. We often apply this technique to metal hydro-formed parts as a way of shaping structural support tubes. Because of these capabilities, applications for metal-cut laser span many industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical, and electronics.
Medical & Surgical
Laser cutting is a crucial method for medical device manufacturing, providing the level of precision necessary to create stents, test tubes, and other crucial tools. That same precision allows lasers to operate on another, very different medium: human tissue. The principles used in industrial laser cutting can now be applied directly to surgical techniques like eye surgery, affording an exactness that is difficult for surgeons to achieve on their own.
Engraving
Marking and engraving are two other key applications of lasers. Rather than cutting completely through to shape a material, lasers can also be used to mark or gouge the surface of a product. This is especially common in the jewelry industry for aesthetic and informational purposes, but its applications are much broader than that. We also use lasers to add barcodes, quality markings, and design elements to almost any component.

Learn More from Our Laser Cutting Specialists

At American Industrial Company, we pride ourselves on our ability to provide turnkey solutions on competitive timelines, delivering a product that exceeds your exacting quality standards.

If you’re interested in precise shaping or engraving of almost any material, you’ll benefit from a laser cutting consultation with one of our team members. For more information on our laser cutting capabilities, contact us today.

Precision Laser Cutting

Laser cutting is quickly becoming one of the most effective alternatives to many traditional metal cutting methods currently available. One of the greatest benefits is the high level of precision it offers. Laser cut edges are cleaner than those cut by more traditional methods, including turret-punch, waterjet, and laser die cutting. In fact, the edges are cut so precisely that no further operations (deburring, etc.) are necessary.

The level of exactitude offered by laser cutting also increases the level of complexity that can be formed and material savings (by reducing scrap). Additionally, such a level of precision and excellence is available at low costs and without increased run times.

Using a 3 kW YAG laser, American Industrial Company can seamlessly cut through cold-rolled steel, aluminum, stainless and steel up to ¼” thick. In order to achieve such an exact finish, we use the FiberCAB44, which utilizes fiber optic technology to focus on the laser beam, and is one of the most advanced systems on the market today. This results in a laser output with amplified beam strength and reduced spot size, creating even better precision and cleaner cut edges.

The machinery is able to increase cutting speeds and accuracy by using a combination of linear motor drives and robust precision grade linear gear drives. In addition, it offers increased energy efficiency, cutting speeds, higher precision, and cleaner cut edges compared to traditional CO2 lasers, as well as tolerance levels as low as ±0.002”.

At American Industrial Company, we take quality seriously and provide our customers with the highest quality of products. Our facility is ISO 9001:2008 certified, and both monitoring and inspection are performed on all runs to verify that all parts match the specifications and level of precision customers expect from American Industrial Company.

Additionally, our testing methods include non-destructive, destructive, and hardness testing. Monitoring and inspection methods include statistical process control (SPC), advanced metrology tracking systems (which ensure that measurement gauges are accurate and up-to-date, infra-red reflective lasers and fiber optics), and visual inspection tools, including a MicroVu optical camera system (an advanced tool designed specifically for the precision measurement of parts and assemblies).

At American Industrial Company, we provide customers with detailed documentation, including inspection reports.

We strive to provide precision services for the following industries: appliance, automotive, construction, dental, electrical, fastening, furniture, government and defense, hardware, heating and cooling, industrial, insert mold, lighting, marine, medical, power tools, solar and green buildings, and sporting goods.

The laser cutting services at American Industrial Company provide precise, quality parts with small lead times (2-4 weeks) and competitive pricing. In addition to this, we also offer product development, precision metal stamping, tooling services, and quality assurance services to provide for all our customers’ needs.

Value-added services include deburring, welding, plating, painting, and more. Contact us today to learn more about our custom laser cutting services.

Custom Laser Cutting

Laser cutting is an essential part of industrial manufacturing. Not only has the process become a valuable tool for hobbyists and the small business sector, but it’s also proven essential to stamped metal manufacturing as well.

The popularity of this type of cutting is in large part due to the high level of precision that it offers, even on complex parts.

Other advantages include high quality edges, low lead times, increased energy efficiency, and reduced workpiece contamination.

This technology is commonly used to support a variety of industries; the automotive industry, for example, uses laser cutting to mark several internal components.

In the medical industry, laser cutting is used to mark parts for tractability and to manufacture medical devices.

Laser cutting equipment is also commonly used to support military and aerospace endeavors.

In a continued effort to provide our customers with the highest quality manufacturing processes, American Industrial Company has recently added laser-cutting technology to the list of services we offer.

Additionally, our team also offers in-house design, reverse engineering, and rapid prototyping services in conjunction with laser die cutting.

Our laser cut parts are tailor made to our customers’ specifications and industry-specific standards.

Additionally, laser cut parts can be made with high levels of complexity and precision from a variety of materials, including stainless steel, aluminum, and steel.

At American Industrial Company, we use the FiberCAB44, one of the most advanced precision laser cutting systems currently on the market.

The FiberCAB44 system uses fiber optic technology to focus the laser beam. It offers increased energy efficiency and cutting speeds, as well as excellent precision and cleaner cut edges, compared to traditional CO2 lasers. The FiberCAB44 system also allows for tolerances as small as ±0.002” to be achieved.

The FiberCAB44 laser provides 3 kW of power and can cut through a variety of materials up to ¼” thick.

The precision and speed of this system dramatically decreases lead times and reduces material scrap, especially on thin materials.

Because of this, the capabilities at American Industrial Company provide customers with efficiency and low cost, high quality products.

Here at American Industrial Company, our custom capabilities serve a variety of industries, including food, appliance, automotive, construction, hardware, and recreational.

Examples of some of our projects include: a spring steel stamped jaw assembly for the tooling industry, a metal stamped latch assembly for the power tool industry, and a shallow draw golf ball stencil for the recreational industry. Visit our portfolio page to learn more about American Industrial Company’s custom capabilities.

The new laser cutting capabilities at American Industrial Company allowed us to increase the in-house custom manufacturing services we provide for all of our customers’ metal stamping needs.

Additionally, our other services include: product development, precision metal stamping, tooling services, and quality assurance; value-added services include deburring, welding, plating, painting, and more. Our facility is ISO 9001:2008 certified, guaranteeing superior quality.

At American industrial Company, we provide our customers with only the best and most effective capabilities available. Contact us today to learn more about our state-of-the-art custom laser cutting services, or request a quote online.