Big things happen at Laser Central

Laser Central Pty Ltd is a family owned and operated contract laser cutting facility located in the Brisbane suburb of Richlands. Established in 1998, Laser Central’s key capabilities and activities include flat bed laser processing of sheet material, metal folding and more recently tubular laser processing of large pipe, structural and long product materials including mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium.

Over the years, Laser Central’s father and son team of Bob and Rob Newton have enjoyed continual business growth by providing a wide variety of accurate and cost effective job shop solutions to a large customer base.

Broadening their horizons, they travelled to the Euroblech tradeshow in Hanover Germany where they witnessed first hand the impressive Mazak Fabri Gear 300 laser processing machine. They also visited another Mazak Fabri Gear user in Chicago, as well as Calgary and Saskatoon in Canada prior to making the final decision to purchase the Mazak.

With its unique 5 axis head, 4kW continuous laser output, 300mm cutting diameter with a maximum cutting thickness of 22mm, 12 metre material length capability with auto load and unload, the Fabri Gear offered the greatest range of processing opportunities on the market. No other laser processing machine offers true 5 axis cutting with a total of 24 controlled axes as the Fabri Gear does, and with its huge cutting area, Laser Central has a sharp edge on its competition.

Laser Central are now capable of cutting bevelled edges, pipe joints and intersections, true mitre cutting and weld preparations with previously unparalleled accuracy and flexibility. The accuracy with which the FabriGear can process parts and weld preparations has also greatly reduced the time required for further operations such as welding and assembly, and significantly reduced the need for welding jigs due to its ability to process interlocking families of parts that make up an assembly.

The Fabri Gear also has the ability to directly import solid modelled part files and create cutting programs using the Mazak FG-CAD/CAM software package, giving Laser Central another competitive edge. The Fabri Gear 300 was a significant investment for Bob and Rob Newton to make, yet with the assistance and support of John Hart and Mazak, and the proven performance, flexibility and opportunities offered by the Mazak FabriGear 300, the decision now seems easy.

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