Trumpf tool boosts laser 3D cutting speed by up to 60%

17 Jan 2022

“BrightLine Speed” technology makes 3D laser cutting more efficient; and cuts parts with 15% less gas.

High-tech company Trumpf says it has developed a new laser technology that increases the speed and efficiency of sheet-metal cutting.

Known as BrightLine Speed, the solution offers benefits for the 3D cutting of hot-formed parts – such as those used to produce B-pillars and door frames in auto manufacturing.

“BrightLine Speed allows us to increase cutting speed by up to 60 percent for sheets up to four millimeters thick,” said Trumpf product manager Ralf Kohllöffel. BrightLine Speed also consumes around 50 percent less cutting gas per part than conventional laser cutting.

“It makes the cutting process up to 15 percent more productive with the same laser power, so each part requires correspondingly less energy to fabricate.

“Our new cutting technology is faster and uses less gas – and that translates into tangible cost savings and a real boost in productivity for our customers,” he added.

Two fibers in a single cable

At the heart of BrightLine Speed is a new, Trumpf-patented laser light cable (LLK), a two-in-one design with an inner and an outer fiber core.

A TruDisk disk laser couples the laser light into the LLK and distributes the laser power to the inner and outer cores using a device known as a wedge switch. This allows users to adapt the laser power and beam profile more precisely and flexibly to the thickness of the sheet currently being processed.

BrightLine Speed offers real benefits, particularly for the 3D laser-cutting of hot-formed parts such as those used to produce B-pillars and door frames in auto manufacturing. At the heart of BrightLine Speed is a TRUMPF-patented, 2-in-1 laser light cable (LLK) with an inner and an outer fiber core.