REPORTAGE - UNIVERSAL LASER SYSTEMS
Investing sensibly in the future From a one-man show to an internationally operating company finding success through constant innovation and forward-looking technology. This is how Universal Laser Systems (ULS) developed into a market leader in the field of digital laser technology. Headquartered in Arizona, USA, ULS offers a wide range of customized laser systems from small desktop systems to large industrial systems for engraving, marking and cutting.
Challenge and Interest ULS manufactures the components of its laser systems inhouse. For reasonably priced modular components and for individual customer needs, ULS requires many single parts, small batches and prototypes. Aluminum alloys and INOX (stainless steel) are the materials mainly processed at ULS which has a high parts- but low volume-mix. This required a lot of setup and changeover time, resulting in a lot of machine downtime. There are approximately 750 part numbers with an average production run of 80 - 100 parts. ULS had standardized with
fixtures to accommodate multiple part numbers to recover as much spindle time as possible. Following their in-house guiding principle of constant innovation, Universal Laser System set a goal of producing more efficiently and doing so with flexible automation. Their own recipe for success of modular construction at a manageable cost was their basis in finding a suitable automation partner. In September 2021, Nathan Zerkle, manufacturing engineer at ULS, first became aware of EROWA - a virtual tour of the company on YouTube featured tooling, workholding systems and automation. He was excited by the possibilities presented, so he contacted the company to learn more. Universal Laser System needed an automation system that was adaptable in workpiece scope and modular in expansion. They found that EROWA had the solution to meet their needs. Soon after, at two Haas UMC500 5-axis milling machines, an EROWA Robot Multi, the ITS148, PC210 workpiece holding and the JMS 4.0 process control system were installed. Preparation during the day, production at night All orders are now generated and processed via the JMS 4.0 process control system. All workpiece carrier pallets are identified via the EWIS chip system and transferred to the cell via the loading station of the Robot Multi using the „Setup and Loading
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