TPT-January-2015

Industry News

Laser specialist reports further growth in the US market

manufacturers were in survival mode because the construction industry was totally devastated,” Mr Hofmann remembers. “The crisis seems to have been overcome since the beginning of the year; the manufacturers are looking optimistically to the future and are even investing in a more efficient production.” LAP has developed the Composite Pro laser projection system specifically for the manual production of CFK components. “In contrast with the previously used templates, the work with laser lines is cleaner, faster and easier to control,” said Mr Hofmann. In the near future, LAP expects an increased demand on the part of aircraft manufacturers, who constantly endeavour to increase their production efficiency. Mr Hofmann said: “Due to their full order books, Boeing has set itself the ambitious goal of finishing one machine of the Dreamliner type every three days and is currently experimenting with various production methods.” LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen – Germany/USA Email: t.armbruster@lap-laser.com Website: www.lap-laser.com Travelling underground or hundreds of metres below sea level, they transport the resources that are part of everyday life, such as water, gas or oil. The decision to bring the event forward from November to May will allow TubItaly visitors to take advantage of another exhibition: EXPO 2015. With close proximity to Milan, TubItaly will benefit from the strong international appeal of EXPO, and this will help to increase the number of visitors to the exhibition in Piacenza. The exhibition is supported by Federacciai, Istituto Italiano del Rame, and Fondazione Promozione Acciaio.

USA. “In order to meet the increasing demand for the Straightness Check system for measuring the straightness of pipes as well, we have already added four employees to our sales team.” LAP systems optimise quality in pipe production. The laser systems of LAP are particularly used by manufacturers who produce pipes for fracking companies. “The RDMS system measures the geometry of the pipes in two to six axes. Straightness Check checks the straightness with laser scan micrometers according to specified parameters,” explained Mr Hofmann. With both systems, software provides visualisations that allowworkers to check tolerances on monitors almost in real time and to document finished products for quality assurance. Mr Hofmann added: “This concerns compressive strength, among other things. After all, the fracking companies pump a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into deep layers of rock at high pressure to produce the freed natural gas. For this enormous stress on the pipes, the quality has to be absolutely perfect.” American manufacturers of building materials are also increasingly relying on LAP systems. “In the past years, the

THE production of natural gas through fracking has helped the laser specialist LAP to achieve its position in the US market for high-precision pipe measurement. Purchasers include pipe manufacturers that are suppliers to the fracking companies. The laser systems allow them to ensure the required consistently high pipe quality. A further important market segment is the revitalised American construction industry, which is showing increasing willingness to invest. The US aircraft industry also has full order books and relies on laser projection for optimisation. LAP USA has supplied more than 50 RDMS systems for the measurement of pipe profiles in the USA and Canada so far. “We have thus achieved a leading market position in this sector in North America,” said Karsten Hofmann, president of the LAP subsidiary in the

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TubItaly 2015 FOLLOWING the positive results of the first event, which took place in 2013, TubItaly has set ambitious new targets to further establish the importance of the sector.

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TubItaly, which will show the best of tubes, rods, pipes and profiles, and technologies for their production and processing, will be held in Piacenza, Italy, from 20 to 22 May 2015. Unlike the previous event, TubItaly will not be held simultaneously with EXPOlaser, and this will allow the organisers, Piacenza Expo and PubliTec, to put the entire exhibition area at exhibitors’ disposal. The slogan chosen for the promotional event, “Piping all forms of energy, we nourish life,” emphasises the fundamental role of pipes and pipelines, and everything that turns around them.

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Piacenza Expo SpA – Italy Email: info@piacenzaexpo.it Website: www.tubitaly.it

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J anuary 2015