Fiber Lasers...who makes the best? Mazak? Bystronic? Trumpf? Mitsubishi? Other?

[IQRaceworks]

I'm looking for a new 6kw fiber laser that will handle 48"x120" sheets of mild steel and aluminum. I've got quite a bit of experience with Bystronic CO2 lasers, but I've never dealt with Mazak, Trumpf, or Mitsubishi.

How do they all rank as far as machine quality and durability, maintenance, parts, service, etc, etc....

Any info would be great.

Similar Threads:

• Any DIY YAG/Fiber lasers?
• Need Help!- I ran Bystronic exclusively now I need to switch to Mitsubishi
• BYSTRONIC LASERS
• Newbie- Difference between Mitsubishi & Bystronic

[Paul-JB]

They all make good hardware give or take but Amada and Trumpf are probably your best bet as far as service and parts being readily available. Another big factor to consider is the programming software. Depending on the nature of your business this can be a crucial consideration.
Trumpf has something called Trutops, Amada is DrAbe. Not cheap and intimidating at first but let me tell you if you can leverage the capabilities of their software, it will make minor technical differences between machines a relative non issue.
Eg - Our sheet metal fabrication dept churns out 75-100 unique part numbers per day in quantities of 1-1000 and everything in between. All with one Engineer in the office who spends tops 45 minutes of his day jockeying the program that sorts by material, automatically nests and generates the code.

[Hemikiller]

+1 to Paul's response. The nesting software can make all the difference. Dr Abe has a learning curve, but once you're up to speed it's very good software. I used Dr Abe Blank for four years before moving to another company. The newer controls on their lasers look like they have some sort of nesting capability baked in.

When we bought our EMK3612M2, we investigated Trumpf since their US HQ was 45mins away. Nice facility, but after talking to Trumpf owners, their service is terrible for punches and lasers. Amada's service and support is top notch for our turrets the twenty years I've been in sheetmetal.

What are you cutting that you need a 6000 watt machine?

Best advice I can give is to get the reps into your facility and let them do their analysis and see which machines fit your budget and work. Have them get you in touch with other local owners of the machine you're considering. First hand experience is the best.

[Paul-JB]

Sounds like OP could be processing heavier materials? CO2 machines have stayed somewhat relevant with an early advantage on heavier materials but are rapidly becoming dinosaurs at this point. I know there are some still hanging on to them but it wont be long. Same with hydraulic turrets and brakes. Can’t give them away used. Everything but the large tonnage going servo electric. Sorry I sort of drifted iff topic a bit. Also if you are looking at Mazak, they are more open as far as software and you arent locked in to the mfg’s proprietary stuff. Sigma nest or Radan may be what they recommend which can program any machine.

[Hemikiller]

AFAIK, all the Amadas are open and can can accept standard text format programs, so you can use third party programs like Radan, SMP etc. At my current place, I program our EMK with Merry Mech SMP. Not by choice, that's what I was given. Would much rather have DrAbe as it brings in a lot of functionality from the database server. Much of the EMK's special tooling info cannot be written back to the text program, it needs the to pull that from the server.
.

[Pokey_14]

All of the machines you mention have pros and cons. Regardless of which brand you decide on I would definitely investigate your software options. When starting my current position several years ago we were using multiple programs from various manufactures (Mazak FG-CAM for tube and Mazak Smart System plate laser software),( Kinetic Prime Cuts and , SMP Merry Mech for Plasma). All of these did the job but were not compatible with one another and the cost associated with each was extreme in my opinion. I was finally able to convince management on the inefficiency of this and based on my research decided upon using SigmaNest and SigmaTube solutions to program our entire processing dept. (Currently I average about 700 custom programs / nests per month using this current format)

Not only did we minimize future software costs, (new machines only require post update expense as opposed to whole software packages specific to each machine) we maximized efficiency and user training by maintaining a constant format for each machine thru the use of a single software package. In addition the ability to use additional modules will allow you to track and manage parts, sheet inventories, etc.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

[truckparts]

Good info in this thread. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Alpha Laser.

[truckparts]

Good info in this thread. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Alpha Laser.

Correction: I'm talking about the Alpha Lazer and more specifically their fiber laser. They seem to use standard components such as a Precitec head, Siemens controller, IPG laser source, and Lantek CAD/CAM software. If no experience with the complete machine what are your thoughts on the components?

[AMADAJOE]

They all make good hardware give or take but Amada and Trumpf are probably your best bet as far as service and parts being readily available. Another big factor to consider is the programming software. Depending on the nature of your business this can be a crucial consideration.
Trumpf has something called Trutops, Amada is DrAbe. Not cheap and intimidating at first but let me tell you if you can leverage the capabilities of their software, it will make minor technical differences between machines a relative non issue.
Eg - Our sheet metal fabrication dept churns out 75-100 unique part numbers per day in quantities of 1-1000 and everything in between. All with one Engineer in the office who spends tops 45 minutes of his day jockeying the program that sorts by material, automatically nests and generates the code.

All good info. The only thing I would add is resale value. If at some point you decide to upgrade selling off brand equipment can be difficult.