CINCINNATI CL-6 laser system creates originals for Lexmark printers

Long a leader in the fast-paced, hotly competitive computer printer market, Lexmark maintains aggressive new product development at its Lexington, Kentucky integrated engineering and manufacturing facility. In evolving new designs, Lexmark engineers constantly seek to drive out costs while adding more performance and customer-desired features and capabilities. A full range manufacturer with comprehensive ink jet, dot matrix and laser printer product lines, Lexmark recently installed a new CINCINNATI 2000-watt Model CL-6 laser cutting system to strengthen prototyping capabilities.

Lexmark's sleek new Z65 inkjet printer was developed using prototype parts - both metal and non-metal - created on a CINCINNATI CL-6 laser cutting system.

Replacing an older laser cutting system in the Tool and Modeling Services Department, the CINCINNATI CL-6 boosted productivity several ways. Its larger 4' x 8' pallet size allowed more parts to be processed per cycle, while eliminating the need with the older laser to cut down material to fit the smaller table. Lexmark ordered the CL-6 with dual pallets, enabling the operator to unload finished parts and prepare the pallet for the next job, while the other pallet is being processed. Downtime is limited to a few seconds for pallet exchange.

Lexmark laser operator Sylvester Hale inspects parts cut from 2 mm stainless steel before sending them on to Product Development Engineering.

Lexmark products are strong competitors across all levels of the printer market - from economical printer-copier-scanner combinations for the home and small office to sophisticated, high-volume document processors that can route hard copies, emails or faxes. The CL-6 laser cutting system gives Lexmark the engineering flexibility to respond with innovative products to rapid market changes. The laser's cutting versatility makes it ideal for prototyping of printer components. Materials processed on the CL-6 range from Lexan, polyurethane and rubber to mild steel, stainless steel and aluminum.

CNC laser cutting avoids the costs and time delays for tooling and dies. Laser programming is done off-line and sent to the CL-6 using Ethernet. Lexmark found CINCINNATI Programming and Nesting Software easy to use and well supported by CINCINNATI application engineers.

The high-flex, high-volume laser processing helps Lexmark maintain technology leadership through rapid product development. The laser lets Lexmark create prototype parts of "real" materials and properties, while realizing production-level efficiencies.