Laser Cutting of Custom Fireplace Enclosures

In the project highlighted here, we again showed our ability to not only provide quality laser cutting services, but also to exhibit an innovative process approach that we developed to enhance productivity. At North Eastern Water Jet, we have developed long-term relationships with many of our customers because they know that they can rely on us to provide a level of service unmatched in the industry.

The custom fireplace enclosure shown here represents an innovative and highly efficient manufacturing process that would be the envy of many a lean manager. The client was offering customers a fireplace enclosure that was custom built to fit their fireplace; this was not a one size fits all product. Custom dimensions combined with the various styles offered meant that there would be thousands of combinations.

The key to making this a viable effort on our part meant that we needed to find a way to minimize set up time. The variable dimensions for the enclosure doors ranged from 24″ x 24″ up to 72″ x 120″ and were cut from 16 gage, 11 gage, and 3/16″ low carbon steel. After looking at the problem, we decided that the best route would be to develop an order/programming macro for use in our CAD software. This bit of automation cut the programming time for each unit down to seconds. Our TRUMPF CO₂ laser did the rest; we now produce hundreds of these parts each week that go to retailers across the country.

For our part, the customer has rewarded us with over 10 years of repeat business, and we continue to improve and develop the systems to accommodate more and more styles and size combinations.

To learn more about this project, or the processes used to complete it, contact us directly.