“Being a small company means that we have to be very flexible,” says Harald Keller. Ever since 2003 he has captained the Keller Metallbau GmbH, located in the town of Endingen, and is the fourth generation to run the company, now employing a staff of thirty. Enduring ties to customers and suppliers are, to his mind, the foundation for a viable company. “We don’t want to get bigger, but rather to become more attractive and simply better,” is his watchword. That also means thinking outside the box and trying out new ideas.

For him, that also includes cutting tubes with a laser beam. Keller had already installed the earlier RotoLas version on his old TruLaser 3030. Since March of 2010 he has undertaken additional fledgling steps. He has been designated a test customer and is using the improved chuck in conjunction with the new TruLaser 3030 flat-bed laser cutting machine. “You have to learn to walk before you try to run,” is how Keller justifies his decision in favor of this unit. With RotoLas he mostly manufactures “exotic items” at present - with larger-diameter profiles, in short production runs. “In this way we have occupied a niche that is not being served by the larger laser-based tube cutting machines.”

He can now process tubes up to three meters in length and 370 millimeters in diameter. “That significantly increases our flexibility,” he points out. The four kilowatt TruFlow laser in the TruLaser 3030 can cut mild steel sections up to twelve millimeters thick, stainless steel to a maximum of six millimeters or five-millimeter aluminum - both cleanly and reliably.

The newly-developed RotoLas has thoroughly convinced this young businessman, just 31 years of age. “Set-up is now significantly faster, meaning time savings of about twenty percent,” he explains. Machine accessibility plays a central part, especially in a semiautomatic process such as the RotoLas concept. “That was improved substantially with the new machine design incorporating a wide conveyor belt,” is how Keller sums up his experience. He uses RotoLas above all to make up profiles for machinery frames and stands. “And this means we don’t need to saw or chamfer anything. That cuts the number of manufacturing steps.” An extension for the cutting head adapts the head exactly to the diameter of the particular profile.

The additional axis with the NC stop has proven to be a major advantage for Keller. It ensures exact positioning of the tube along the X axis, once it has been slid into the chuck, at accuracy of ± 0.5 millimeter. “The new rests also help ward off scratches,” Keller adds. They provide additional support for the workpiece, regardless of whether round or rectangular. Sliding the rests along the pallet conveyor chain makes it possible to work the dead zones previously obstructed by the fixed positions of the tool carriers.

RotoLas makes it possible to cut tubes and profiles on 2D laser machines. The new version of this chuck is at present available exclusively for the new generation of the TruLaser 3030 cutting machine. Integrated into the machine’s frame, it enables quick conversion from working flat material to processing profiles. Sections at lengths of up to three meters and twelve millimeter gauge can thus be worked quickly and easily — at diameters up to 370 millimeters.

The rotation unit is flangemounted to the left-hand stand and is supported on the front crosspiece. A highly dynamic torque drive ensures the correct rotation action while the circular shaft with chucking device fixes the workpiece in place. Up to three rests provide additional support for the workpiece and prevent scratches on the parts being manufactured. There are jigs in two sizes, to carry round and rectangular tubes. The NC stop on the crossbeam ensures exact location of the tubes — and positioning accuracy of ± 0.5 millimeters makes for precise work. Also included among the available accessories are extensions with which the cutting head can be matched exactly to the tube diameter. TruTops Tube software is the basis for simple control of the RotoLas unit. The programming system also helps when preparing complex 3D tube designs or when working the edges of rectangular tubes.