Tube laser cutting without compromise

BLM ADIGE excels

The cutting of holes and contours in pipe and tube material using a laser has taken off in recent years. The technology has completely pushed the conventional method of sawing and drilling into the background and makes possible innovative pipe joints that cannot be made in any other way. Logically, many manufacturers and suppliers have expanded their machining technologies to include a tube laser. As a pioneer in this field, BLM ADIGE is at the top of most suppliers' wish lists. What are the reasons for this?

BLM ADIGE has more than 60 years of experience and know-how in tube processing. The manufacturer was the first to develop a concept for cutting tube, tube and profiles with a laser, where the movements of the material and the cutting head are controlled simultaneously. That opened up possibilities for one-sided and complete processing of tube, tube and profiles. The resulting savings in handling and logistics were quickly noticed by companies in the furniture, automotive and mechanical engineering industries. The high precision of the laser also makes snap connections possible, allowing individual parts to be simply clicked together. This provides benefits for all subsequent processes: less assembly, measuring and welding work, resulting in a further reduction in overall production time.

The tube lasers from BLM ADIGE score particularly highly in the market due to the highly optimized way of material handling, process monitoring and optimization with Active Tools, very high productivity in both small and large series, and their lead in CADCAM software. 

Active Tools

The high quality of the final product is made possible in part by the use of Active Tools. In Active Tools, all the expertise of BLM GROUP is brought together to make it possible to produce high-quality parts regardless of the operator's level of experience. For example, Active Scan compensates for axial errors caused by irregularly shaped tubes. Active Speed provides automatic adjustment of all laser cutting parameters. Active Focus provides dynamic focus adjustment, and Active Piercing reduces piercing time and improves process reliability.

Software determinant

BLM ADIGE has developed its own software Artube for tube laser cutting programming. Artube makes it possible to very effectively model tube parts in 3D, making it very suitable for designing complex structures, with the software automatically calculating the connections between multiple tubes. 3D CAD designs are imported as .xt or .step, after which Artube creates the optimal cutting paths and automatically generates the part program.

According to user Stijn Slabbinck of Fisheye in Wetteren, it is precisely the BLM ADIGE software that was the deciding factor in choosing this manufacturer. "We spent a long time looking for the right machine supplier and learned that you have to look especially at the software. BLM is distinctive in this".

Laser cutting of 3D shaped products

BLM ADIGE has further expanded its expertise in tube laser cutting to the cutting of 3D shaped products. With the development of 3D laser cutting cells, three-dimensional workpieces such as curved, hydroformed, cast, extruded, flat and stamped tubes can be completely cut in one process run. That means a process pass along multiple machines for sawing, milling, punching, drilling and deburring that saves on costs for handling, logistics, tooling and finishing. For this, René Hazenberg, managing director of BLM Group Benelux, sees many applications for products in the automotive and motorcycle industries, fitness equipment, household appliances and steel furniture.

Own Benelux office

Since 2019, BLM ADIGE has its own branch office to serve customers in the Benelux directly. "Customer questions are directly helped further by Dutch-speaking specialists by phone. If things get really complicated, there is usually a specialist on site quickly; this is another important aspect for the continuity of production."