Cutting Control

Get Accurate Cutting Control During Continuous or Semi-Continuous Processes

Manufacturers of aluminum and steel require the accurate length and speed measurements of products to control cutting systems that produce products to exact size specifications.

The LaserSpeed® Pro gauge is ideally suited for controlling cutting operations of continuous or semi-continuous processes. LaserSpeed Pro uses Dual Beam Laser Interferometry to obtain speed measurements without contacting the product. In turn, this measurement is used to determine length.

Manufacturers Are Moving Away From Contact Encoders to Laser Gauging
Historically, contact rollers and tachometers have been used to obtain speed and length measurements needed for cutting control. This method is an indirect measurement of the product. The tachometer is attached to the roller and measures the rotational speed of the roller. The slippage factor between the roller and product and the diameter of the roller needs must be precisely known to obtain the actual product speed. There are two major problems with speed and length measurements obtained from contact rollers and tachometers: (1) errors due to slippage between the roller and the strip and (2) errors due to the change in roller diameter due to wear.

The LaserSpeed Pro gauge eliminates this problem by measuring the speed of the product directly, thereby eliminating slippage and mechanical wear problems. The LaserSpeed Pro gauge delivers an accuracy of better than ±0.03% and a high repeatability of ±0.02%.

The LaserSpeed Pro gauge can be used to control a variety of cutting systems across a range of hot or cold product applications:

• Crop shears in plate mills
• Torch cutters in continuous casting operations
• Shears in rod and bar mills
• Shears for aluminum strip
• Cutting systems for coils
• Saws in pipe and tube mills
• Other custom cut length applications

Check out our LaserSpeed Pro gauge below for your unique process application.