Mark Williamson

U.S. Steel approached Olympic Steel about forming Olympic Laser Processing, a 50/50 joint venture formed in 1997, says Mark Williamson, OLP's general manager.OLP produces laser-welded blanks.Olympic Steel oversees the operations, while U.S. Steel is in charge of the sales and marketing.Olympic, already a significant customer of U.S. Steel's, had experience in laser cutting but not laser welding.

Fewer customers, bigger risksMany of these investments rely on just a few customers.
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Because of U.S. Steel's ownership of OLP, "you don't have finger-pointing when there's an issue at the stamping plant," Williamson says; there isn't debate about whether a problem is weld- or steel-related.Olympic Laser Processing functions as a toll-processor for the steelmaker.

OLP is implementing a quality-assurance system in which each weld is inspected at the plant and can be tracked through the stamping and painting process.The operation uses an ultrasonic post-weld inspection system that records the results of each weld.Each blank receives a unique number; previously, the blanks were identified by pallet number.Some facilities use ink-jet printers to identify parts, which means the identification is lost during painting.OLP engraves the serial number on each blank; this allows traceability through painting.

Building trust
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At its customers' direction, Olympic Laser Processing holds two weeks of finished material on the floor to protect against downtime because of major equipment repairs, Williamson says.OLP also maintains one to two weeks of work-in-process and raw-materials inventory.Williamson is comfortable with the current inventory levels; there are no plans to reduce them.

Pricing practices and a company's sales goals can muddy the waters as well.When steel companies announce price increases, service centers often start building inventories, distorting the demand picture.Steel mills sometimes stockpile low-priced scrap.

By next year, the U.S. industry will be producing more than 32 million such blanks, up from 2.5 million seven years ago, says Mark Williamson, who manages Olympic Steel Inc.'s laser processing operation in Michigan.His company, as well as Cleveland-area firms including LTV Corp. and Shiloh Industries Inc., see the new technology as a chance to defend market share against the inroads of lightweight materials such as plastics and aluminum.

Teaming with an established player like U.S. Steel provides the framework for combining the strengths and resources of both steel supplier and processor to enable both companies to better serve the customer, says Mark Williamson, OLP general manager.

Two welding lines

Built in Van Buren Township, near Detroit, Olympic Laser Processing is conveniently situated to serve the large concentration of automotive stamping plants in that area.OLP began commercial production in April 1998 with its first line.Since then, it has been awarded four additional contracts covering the Big Three automakers, for blanks that will be used as door inners, liftgates, rails, and bodyside apertures.

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The Nd : YAG laser uses fiber-optic cable to deliver the light beam to the weld joint, Williamson says.

This type of beam delivery allows us to weld a wide variety of different shaped and sized parts within the same process, as well as the ability to focus two laser beams on the weld joint.We call this the twin spot, " Williamson comments.

Our research has shown that welding with one or two Nd : YAG spots improves the gap-filling ability of the laser process, compared to the more commonly used CO2 laser, he explains.This makes the edge preparation less critical and allows for lower-cost blanking methods that eliminate the need to re-shear the edge of a blank prior to welding.This reduces overall processing costs and increases design flexibility..