Raybestos Powertrain Cuts Costs, Maximizes Efficiency by Incorporating Fiber Lasers at Sullivan, IN Plant

By updating operational practices such as the introduction of fiber optic lasers, the Raybestos Powertrain Sullivan, IN plant has saved approximately $1.4 million. Initial performance results show that outputs range from two to five times that of the previously used CO2 lasers.“The reduced cost of operation, speed and feed increases, and the repeatability and cut quality improvements that the new lasers provide have proven to be exponentially better that our CO2 lasers and have far exceeded my initial expectations, said Gearbox, LLC Director of Operations, Dean Decker.” “They have also improved our capabilities with complex geometries that had proven to be very challenging in the past.”Fiber laser light is created by banks of diodes, in which the light is channeled and amplified through fiber optic cable similar to that used for data transfer. The amplified light, upon exiting the fiber cable, is collimated or straightened and then focused by a lens onto the material to be cut. The Fiber lasers will be used to produce friction and steel clutch plates for numerous automotive and heavy-duty applications across the company’s OE and aftermarket business channels.Creation of the light is 200% more efficient than via a traditional CO2 laser, and delivery is far simpler, with no expensive optical mirrors. The focusing lens, unlike on a conventional CO2 laser machine, is sealed in the cutting head and thus not a consumable item.The benefits of a true fiber laser source include:1. No moving parts or mirrors in the light-generating source, unlike a conventional CO2 resonator or disk laser. This has a distinct advantage in terms of reducing maintenance requirements and operating costs.2. Much higher electrical efficiency, resulting in considerably lower running costs. A 3-kW fiber machine uses one third of the power of a 4 kW CO2 machine of average across-the-board performance.3. Higher speeds when cutting thin material. Compared with the same 4 kW CO2 machine, the fiber laser is three times quicker in a straight line cutting of 1 mm mild, galvanized, or stainless steel and twice as fast when cutting 2 mm.4. An ability to cut reflective materials without fear of back reflections damaging the machine. This allows copper, brass, and aluminum to be cut without problems.5. 50% longer servicing intervals and 50% lower servicing costs.About Raybestos PowertrainRaybestos Powertrain is a brand of Gearbox Holdings and is a manufacturer and supplier of premium OE and aftermarket automatic transmission parts, providing innovative solutions to domestic and international customers. Located in Sullivan and Crawfordsville, Indiana, Raybestos Powertrain is proud to supply made-in-the-USA parts to the automatic transmission industry. With nearly two-thirds of Raybestos Powertrain’s yearly revenue coming from OE and service business, the company uses its knowledge of manufacturing OE automatic transmission parts to provide innovative solutions to transmission rebuilders in the aftermarket. For more information, visit www.raybestospowertrain.com