Presented at Great Designs in Steel

Transcription

1 The Real Cost of Laser Welding Presented at Great Designs in Steel Stan Ream, Laser Technology Leader Jim Tighe, CFO EWI

2 Outline How do you measure cost? How does your boss measure cost? The ABCs of laser welding costs. Blank welding study cases How important is the laser in the laser system? Other factors that influence welding cost.

3 How to you measure cost? - or how are you graded? - Cost of the laser Cost of the motion system Cost of associated automation Operating consumables Number of staff on the line

4 How do Controllers look at cost? Sunk Cost Can t we continue using what we have? Cash Outlay What s this going to cost? ROI / Break-Even When are we going to be ahead? We need to speak a common language to come to the right answer The ABCs (activity based costing) Meaningful discussions on making investments

5 Cost Elements Process Elements Operational Cost Summary Accountant Speak Production Speak

6 Accountant Speak Production Speak Cost / Productivity Cost Elements Process Elements Operational Cost Summary Capital Equipment Other Costs Tooling Process Time, Load/Unload Time, Maintenance Cycles, Useful Life Custom Fixturing, Useful Life Fully Burdened Cost per Part Direct Variable Consumables Payroll Employees Air, Gas, Electricity Staffing Quantity and Level, Shift Routines Cost of a Part Overhead Sunk Costs Allocated Floor Space

7 O/H Payroll Long-Term Parts New Equipment Direct Variable Much to Consider - don t even try to read this now - Welding Process Cost Calculator: User Input - Variable with Process User Input - Infrequent Calculated Output - Metrics Calculated Output - Cost Need to "fix" to become part of the model Cost Elements Input Units Operation Elements Operational Cost Summary Output Units Compressed Air - $ $/100cf standby compressed air usage - cfh process compressed air usage - cfh $ $/100cf laser helium gas usage 1.70 cfh Helium Gas (laser) Consumable Cost (laser and process gas) $/hr helium plasma assist gas usage (60 cfh x 2) cfh $ $/100cf laser nitrogen gas usage 0.35 cfh Nitrogen Gas (laser) 3.95 $ $/100cf laser CO2 usage 0.07 cfh CO2 Gas (laser) 3.90 Argon Shielding Gas 6.54 $ $/100cf welding trailing shield gas usage - cfh $ $/100cf Other Gas - $ $/lb. Wire - filler wire diameter - inch filler wire speed - inch/min $ $/(kw-hr) Runtime electric power 120 kw Electric Power $ Runtime Electric Power 6.34 $ Standby electric power 50 kw Standby Electric Power 0.36 Total Electric Cost 6.70 $ $/hr PROCESS EQUIPMENT - 6kW CO2 Laser 400,000 $ $ process equipment space 5,000 ft.2 Avg. PROCESS EQUIP. - Depreciation 7.81 $/hr % load time 0 sec Avg. FIXTURING EQUIP. - Depreciation 0.00 $/hr PROCESS EQUIPMENT - Salvage Value % 10 Avg. PART HANDLING EQUIP. - Depreciation $/hr FIXTURING EQUIP. - - $ Travel speed 260 in/min Average Total Equipment Depreciation $/hr $ 6.5 m/min % Weld length inch/weld 1.5 m Average Interest on Equipment $/hr FIXTURING EQUIP. - Salvage Value % 10 number of welds per part 1 welds/part Average Depreciation & Interest (8 years) $/hr PART HANDLING EQUIP. - 2 Station Clamp Line 3,500,000 $ indexing time per part - sec/part Asset Value at End of 8 Years $390,440 $ % unload time - sec PART HANDLING EQUIP. - Salvage Value % 10 1st YR PROCESS EQUIP. - Depreciation $/hr 1st YR FIXTURING EQUIP. - Depreciation 0.00 $/hr 1st YR PART HANDLING EQUIP. - Depreciation $/hr Total Equipment Depreciation $/hr First Year Equipment Interest $/hr First Year Depreciation & Interest $/hr Cycle Time seconds/part Output Coupler 2,000 $ $/ea. Output Coupler life 1,000 hours $ $/ea. Cooling Water Filters 1,000 hours Cooling Water Filters 1,000 life $ $/ea. Blower life 4.00 yr Blower 5,000 $ $/set Focusing Optics 1,000 hours/set Focus Optics, 2 sets 6,000 Life Long Term Parts Costs $/hr $ $/set Beam Delivery Optics 10,000 hours/set Beam Delivery Optics 10,000 Life $ $/ea. Beam Trap 500 hours Beam Trap 1,000 $ $/ea. Clamp feet 3,000 hours Clamp feet 1,000 $ $/ea. Belts 1.50 yr Belts 1,000 $ $/item RF tube 1.60 yr Laser RF Tube 22,000 life $ $/item Vacuum Pump 2.50 yr Laser Vacuum Pump 2,500 life Operator Burdened Wage ( req'd) $ $/hr Operator Loading 2 operators/line $ $/hr Handler Loading 4 lines/handler Handler Burdened Wage $ $/hr Supervisor Loading 6 lines/supervisor Supervisor Burdened Wage Maintenance Burdened Wage $ $/hr Maintenance Loading 6 lines/maint tech Direct Labor Cost $/hr Tool Maker Burdened Wage (indirect) $ $/hr Tool Maker Loading (indirect) 12 lines/tool maker $ $/hr Engineering Staff Loading, including 6 lines/engr. Engineering Support Staff burdened wage (indirect) QA Indirect Labor $/hr Maintenance Functions Laser Tuning 2.00 hrs/month Focus Optics Cleaning hrs/month Beam Path Alignment 6.00 hrs/month Other Maintenance hrs/month Total scheduled maintenance hrs/month Unscheduled maintenance hrs/month Total Maintenance hrs/month Process Utilization 88% % of possible meals & breaks 0.73 hrs/shift Plant Space Cost with Utilities $ $/ft.2/yr facility schedule 3 shifts/day Plant Availability 720 shifts/yr yearly schedule 240 days/yr Plant Availability 5,760 hours/yr %/yr Process Availability 5,232 hours/yr Cost of Money 5 Direct Facility Cost $/hr

8 Blank Welding Cost Theme - already a very well known laser welding application - shock absorber A-Pillar B-Pillar roof reinforcement lift gate inner wheel house wheel house engine rail side ring bumper rear door inner front rail floor pan front door inner

9 The Example Welding System - circa 1995, courtesy TWB -

10 Base Case System Features 2 Machine Operators 2 Moving Clamps 6kW CO 2 Laser Mechanical Beam Switch Semi-Robotic Loading Full Robotic Unloading Operator Beam Alignment

11 Laser Blank Welding Process Notes Quality and Productivity Are Driven by: Edge Preparation Fit-up Process Alignment Ideal Mismatch Concavity

12 Many Things Can Go Wrong Mismatch Mismatch Concavity Convexity Lack of Penetration Lack of Fusion

13 Steady Trend to Thinner Gauge - greater process precision required mm to 1.9 mm 0.7 mm to 1.2 mm

14 Cautionary Cost Comments! Consumable costs used in the following cases are not absolute or necessarily current. Equipment costs are amalgams of past and current information, not highly accurate. Welding speeds are conservatively stated. Calculated cost comparisons are believed to be directionally accurate but not absolute. Please don t sue us!

15 Baseline System Cost - for analysis only not current or actual - 6kW CO2 laser: $500,000 Includes portion of plant-wide chiller system Includes beam delivery to both stations 2 Station Clamp Line: $3,500,000 Includes robots Includes conveyors Includes de-stacking pallets

16 Baseline System Consumables Electricity Laser Chiller Machine Gas Laser: helium, nitrogen, CO2 Welding process: helium, argon, CO2 Beam path: nitrogen or clean, dry air

17 Replacement Components - short and long term examples only - Laser Output coupler and/or output window (3-6 mo.) Cooling water filters (3-6 mo.) Blower (3-6 yr) Beam delivery Final focusing mirror (3-6 mo) Beam path mirrors (2-5 yr) Clamp line Beam trap (1-3 mo.) Clamp feet (9-12 mo.) Belts (1-2 yr.)

18 Baseline Optics Maintenance Time - example for analysis only - Laser Resonator tuning (2 hr/mo) Output coupler/window cleaning (2 hr/mo.) Beam path Mirror cleaning (2 hr/mo.) Mirror alignment (2 hr/mo.) Focus mirror cleaning (15 min/day)

19 The Cost of Floor Space Portion of building depreciation Lighting HVAC Maintenance Expressed as $/ft 2 /yr

20 Cycle Time Elements* - one of two 6 m/min weld speed- 1. Pick & Place Part A 2. Index Part A Into Fixture 3. Clamp Part A 4. Pick & Place Part B 5. Stage Part B to Part A 6. Clamp Part B 7. Cycle Start 8. Weld Head Move into Position 9. Weld (part length / travel speed) 10. Cycle Stop 11. Unclamp Fixture 12. Switch Beam to Station Lift Welded Part & Exit 14. Retract Fixture * Example Values Only Single Station Cycle Time = 36 seconds Beam-On Percentage = 42%

21 Cycle Time Elements* - both 6 m/min weld speed- Same parts & operating sequence 2 Operators No down-time included Dual Station Cycle Time = 19 seconds Beam-On Percentage = 79% * Example Values Only

22 New Equipment Direct Variable Some of the Inputs to the Base Cast Cost Elements Input Units Operation Elements Compressed Air $ - $/100cf standby compressed air usage - cfh process compressed air usage - cfh Helium Gas (laser) $ $/100cf laser helium gas usage 0.80 cfh helium plasma assist gas flow per station cfh Nitrogen Gas (laser) $ 3.95 $/100cf laser nitrogen gas usage 0.20 cfh CO2 Gas (laser) $ 3.90 $/100cf laser CO2 usage 0.04 cfh Argon Shielding Gas $ 6.54 $/100cf welding trailing shield gas usage - cfh Other Gas $ - $/100cf Wire $ - $/lb. filler wire diameter - inch filler wire speed - inch/min Electric Power $ $/(kw-hr) Runtime electric power 120 kw Standby electric power 50 kw PROCESS EQUIPMENT - 6kW CO2 Laser $ 500,000 $ process equipment space 5,000 ft.2 PROCESS EQUIPMENT - Salvage Value % 10 % Cycle Start gas flow 1 sec FIXTURING EQUIP. - $ - $ Travel speed 240 in/min 6 FIXTURING EQUIP. - Salvage Value % 10 % Weld length inch/weld 1.5 m number of welds per part 1 welds/part PART HANDLING EQUIP. - 2 Station Clamp Line $ 3,500,000 $ Beam Switch time per part 2 sec/part PART HANDLING EQUIP. - Salvage Value % 10 % unload time 0.5 sec Beam-on Time Per Part 15.0 sec

23 O/H Payroll Long-Term Parts More Inputs to the Base Case Output Coupler $ 2,000 $/ea. Output Coupler life 1,000 hours Cooling Water Filters $ 1,000 $/ea. Cooling Water Filters life 1,000 hours Blower $ 5,000 $/ea. Blower life 4.00 yr Focus Optics, 2 sets $ 6,000 $/set Focusing Optics Life 1,000 hours/set Beam Delivery Optics $ 10,000 $/set Beam Delivery Optics Life 10,000 hours/set Beam Trap $ 1,000 $/ea. Beam Trap 500 hours Clamp feet $ 1,000 $/ea. Clamp feet 3,000 hours Belts $ 1,000 $/ea. Belts 1.50 yr Laser RF Tube $ 22,000 $/item RF tube life 2.00 yr Laser Vacuum Pump $ 2,500 $/item Vacuum Pump life 2.50 yr Operator Burdened Wage ( req'd) $ $/hr Operator Loading 2 operators/line Handler Burdened Wage $ $/hr Handler Loading 4 lines/handler Supervisor Burdened Wage $ $/hr Supervisor Loading 6 lines/supervisor Maintenance Burdened Wage $ $/hr Maintenance Loading 6 lines/maint tech Tool Maker Burdened Wage (indirect) $ $/hr Tool Maker Loading (indirect) 12 lines/tool maker Engineering Support Staff burdened wage (indirect) $ $/hr Engineering Staff Loading, including QA 6 lines/engr. Maintenance Functions Laser Tuning 2.00 hrs/month Focus Optics Cleaning hrs/month Beam Path Alignment 6.00 hrs/month Other Maintenance hrs/month Total scheduled maintenance hrs/month Unscheduled maintenance hrs/month Total Maintenance hrs/month meals & breaks 0.73 hrs/shift Plant Space Cost with Utilities $ $/ft.2/yr facility schedule 3 shifts/day yearly schedule 240 days/yr Cost of Money 5 %/yr

24 Cycle Time seconds/part Operational Cost Summary Output Units Consumable Cost (laser and process gas) $/hr Base Case Outputs Total Hourly Cost $ $/hr Net Productivity 171 parts/hour Total Laser Welding Cost per part $ 1.38 $/part Runtime Electric Power $ 6.34 Standby Electric Power $ 0.36 Total Electric Cost $ 6.70 $/hr Avg. PROCESS EQUIP. - Depreciation 9.76 $/hr Avg. FIXTURING EQUIP. - Depreciation 0.00 $/hr Clamp Line & Material Handling $/hr Average Total Equipment Depreciation $/hr Average Interest on Equipment $/hr Average Depreciation & Interest (8 years) $/hr Asset Value at End of 8 Years $400,452 1st YR PROCESS EQUIP. - Depreciation $/hr 1st YR FIXTURING EQUIP. - Depreciation 0.00 $/hr 1st YR PART HANDLING EQUIP. - Depreciation $/hr Total Equipment Depreciation $/hr First Year Equipment Interest $/hr First Year Depreciation & Interest $/hr

25 Modify the Base Case Elements Add Seam Trackers ($100k) Increase Welding Speed to 9m/min Modify load sequence No Other Changes flat mirror helium assist gas welding laser beam input focus mirror focusing beam fiber optic to detectors collimator output to control tracking camera assist gas nozzle blank travel visible laser plasma light

26 Modified Cycle Time Elements* - one of two 9 m/min weld speed- 1. Pick & Place Part A 2. Index Part A Into Fixture 3. Clamp Part A 4. Pick & Place Part B 5. Stage Part B to Part A 6. Clamp Part B 7. Cycle Start 8. Weld Head Move into Position 9. Weld (part length / travel speed) 10. Cycle Stop 11. Unclamp Fixture 12. Switch Beam to Station Lift Welded Part & Exit 14. Retract Fixture * Example Values Only Single Station Cycle Time = 25 seconds Beam-On Percentage = 40%

27 Modified Cycle Time Elements* - both 9 m/min weld speed- Same parts on each clamp Operators need improved timing Dual Station Cycle Time = 12 seconds Beam-On Percentage = 66% * Example Values Only

28 Impact of Seam Tracking 37% Increase in productivity 27% Cost Reduction per part $1.01 vs $1.38 per part Total Hourly Cost $ $/hr Net Productivity 235 parts/hour Total Laser Welding Cost per part $ 1.01 $/part

29 Upgrade the Laser Replace the 6kW CO 2 Laser with 8 kw fiberdelivered laser (disc or fiber laser) Eliminate helium gas shielding Eliminate beam switch time Keep seam tracking Increase welding speed to 12 m/min No net increase in system cost, i.e. assumes alternate initial design with this laser

30 Fiber-Delivered Cycle Time Elements* - one of two 12 m/min weld speed- 1. Pick & Place Part A 2. Index Part A Into Fixture 3. Clamp Part A 4. Pick & Place Part B 5. Stage Part B to Part A 6. Clamp Part B 7. Cycle Start 8. Weld Head Move into Position 9. Weld (part length / travel speed) 10. Cycle Stop 11. Unclamp Fixture 12. Switch Beam to Station Lift Welded Part & Exit 14. Retract Fixture * Example Values Only Single Station Cycle Time = 23 seconds Beam-On Percentage = 33%

31 Fiber-delivered, 8kW Laser* - both 12 m/min weld speed- Clamp functions and manual loading become greater portions of cycle time. Dual Station Cycle Time = 10 seconds Beam-On Percentage = 75%

32 Impact of Change to 8kW Fiber-Delivered Laser 54% Increase in Productivity 39% Reduction in Cost/Part Total Hourly Cost $ $/hr Net Productivity 363 parts/hour Total Laser Welding Cost per part $ 0.62 $/part

33 Summary Conclusions Fiber-delivered (1 um) lasers are a better choice for laser blank welding. Strong return on welding system performance can be achieved with improved process precision. Understanding the true cost and value of production solutions requires detailed analysis.

34 North American Light Vehicle Metallic Material Trends PRESENTATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE MAY 3 Use your web-enabled device to download the presentations from today s event Great Designs in Steel is Sponsored by: w w w. a u t o s t e e l. o r g