CL-7A Provides Edge in Cutting Intricate Climbing Gear

Black Diamond's first laser, the CL-7A brought out-sourced laser work in-house and enables production of a new design of ice-climbing crampon. Bill Reimann (left), Director of Manufacturing and Process Engineering, checks a part dimension with Brian Crawford, Manufacturing Technician.

The world's leading producer of equipment and accessories for "on-the-edge sports" - rock climbing, ice climbing and backcountry skiing - Black Diamond sharpened its manufacturing edge with a new CINCINNATI CL-7A laser cutting system. Delivered in December, 2002, the 3300-watt laser with twin 5 x 10 ft. pallets is boosting productivity to meet strong sales growth. The Salt Lake, Utah company's first laser, the CL-7A enabled Black Diamond to produce a new design of ice-climbing crampon, bring out-sourced laser work in-house, and reduce manufacturing noise to allow multiple shifts of production without disturbing residential neighbors.

Employee-owned, Black Diamond is structured so its people can live and work near where they play. Its headquarters and manufacturing operations are located in a residential "Swiss Village" at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in a 25,000 sq. ft. building converted from a shopping mall. "We're primarily made up of climbers and outdoor enthusiasts," says Bill Reimann, Director of Manufacturing and Process Engineering. "That gives us an edge in that we use and appreciate our products."

Looking to expand production, the company considered adding another stamping press, but had a noise agreement with neighbors to run presses only during the daytime shift. The low-noise laser allows Black Diamond to be a good neighbor while achieving greater operating flexibility. Black Diamond is able to run the CL-7A more hours per day and to use the laser for prototyping and product development as well as production parts, helping speed time to market. Going from press blanking to laser nesting saves about 25% on material usage, Reimann estimates.

Two months after installation, Black Diamond was already running 100 different parts on the laser. Besides the nine different crampon components, the laser cuts a variety of climbing aids such as safety pins, grappling hooks, tools to help remove gear from rock cracks, and ski-binding parts that are cut from stainless and aluminum plate. It has recently started to use the laser to cut nylon fabric for ski skins, which users attach to the bottom of downhill skis to improve traction and make it easier to climb uphill.

Feature Avoidance software and the magnetic breakaway head give Black Diamond the confidence to run with the head down, maximizing productivity.

Laser cutting brings superior capabilities to a complex, new design of crampons - ice-climbing "spikes" that clamp onto boot soles. Black Diamond manufactures 50,000 pairs of crampons per year. The sharp points have always been a manufacturing challenge, according to Reimann. With the laser field's tightest focus spot, the CL-7A's 3300-watt diffusion-cooled resonator provides superior edge finish and point sharpness. Nitrogen assist gas ensures clean edge finishes and reduces edge hardening so that annealing may be unnecessary before bending and coining operations, he notes.

Black Diamond compared lasers from various manufacturers before selecting the CINCINNATI laser. "We liked the CL-7A's rigid construction and the Rofin 3300W resonator," says Reimann. "And, the service and support we experienced with our CINCINNATI OBS press was also a big factor in the decision. We had virtually no experience with laser cutters, but the easy-to-use control, programming and nesting software, and CINCINNATI support flattened the learning curve. We were running full production in only one month. The CL-7A is helping take our production and R&D capabilities to a new level."