Quality Tool Inc., a Minnesota metal fabricator recently installed a turret punch/laser system. The company has plants in St. Paul as well as in Brookings, S.D., and produces fabricated sheet metal parts, stampings, laminated bus bars, CNC machined parts, weldments and mechanical assemblies. It also performs design and prototype work.

The Amada^® EMLK3610NT it installed recently is powered by an energy-efficient servo-electric drive system. It makes possible high-speed, tight-tolerance punching and laser cutting in combination with forming capability and automated load/unload material handling systems.

The installation is unusual because of specially programmed software that Quality Tool developed for integration with the EMLK3610NT. It makes real-time dynamic nesting possible and minimizes production cost by reducing setup and production time. Scrap and lead times are cut, too, while the system achieves precise tolerances for accurate, high-quality finished products.

Quality Tool said the EMLK3610NT is designed for producing short-run and complex sheet metal parts. It is capable of 500 HPM on 1-inch centers, “the highest hit rate available today,” according to Quality Tool. The turret/laser handles up to 8-gauge material in 10-foot sheets (8 feet without repositioning.)