At 1987 Machinery, we specialize in upgrading and modernizing aging laser cutting tables to deliver the speed, stability, and reliability today’s fabrication shops demand. One of our recent retrofit projects involved a customer whose Production Products, Inc (PPI) laser table was not meeting their expectations for cutting speed or production efficiency.
The results of this retrofit speak for themselves— 2X the cutting speed, reduced operating costs and maintenance, easier operation, and a more efficient cutting system.
Customer Challenge: PPI Laser Table Not Meeting Customer Expectations
The customer noticed that their PPI laser table could not achieve the cutting speeds they expected, even though the laser source itself was capable. The root cause:
- The table’s bulky, heavy gantry enclosure caused excess wear and tear of the table drive components at the full operating speeds the customer expected.
- Customer derated the table to 50% operating speed (600 IPM) to minimize the excess wear and tear the gantry enclosure was putting on the table.
- Excessive enclosure weight caused motors, gearboxes, and drives to fail prematurely.
- These failures created significant downtime and rising maintenance costs.
- Operators struggled with the ergonomics of the machine, feeding sheets under the full gantry enclosure, slowing production.
After purchasing a 1987 Machinery laser table, the customer immediately experienced the benefits of our design—speed, stability, reliability, and ease of use. They approached us asking:
“Can you make our PPI table perform like the 1987 Machinery table?”
The answer was YES!
Our Retrofit Solution
Our engineering team designed a custom version of our patent-pending laser safety enclosure specifically for the customer’s PPI table. The retrofit included:
- Removal of bulky gantry enclosure
- Replaced 1.2kw laser source with 3kw laser source
- Upgraded the original manual focus laser head with an auto-focus laser head
- Engineered and installed custom laser safety enclosure (PATENT PENDING) featuring:
- Automatic safety shut-off
- Laser viewing window
- Automatically adjusts with the height of the laser head enclosure
- Installed upgraded chiller
The entire process was completed in just 3 days, minimizing production disruption.
Retrofit Results: Before vs. After
| Feature | Before Retrofit (PPI Table) | After Retrofit (1987 Machinery Upgrade) |
| Cutting Speed | 600 ipm | 1200 ipm (2X increase) |
| Traverse Speed | 1000 ipm | 2000 ipm (2X increase) |
| Laser Source | 1.2 kW | 3 kW |
| Laser Head | Manual-focus | Auto-focus head with precision height control |
| Enclosure/Safety | Heavy, cumbersome PPI enclosure causing instability and component wear | Lightweight Laser safety enclosure (patent pending) engineered by 1987 Machinery |
| Wear on Drive Components | Burnout of motors, gearboxes, drives | Greatly reduced wear, extending component life |
| Operator Workflow | Slow sheet transitions | Fast, ergonomic operation with open access |
| Maintenance Costs | High—frequent part replacements | Lower maintenance costs, easier access, reduced consumable wear |
| Overall Performance | Limited by structure; unreliable at higher speeds | Fully optimized, high-speed, high-reliability production |
| Downtime for Upgrade | Ongoing downtime due to failures | 3-day turnaround (2 day retrofit + 1 day testing/training) |
