A new tube laser is transforming productivity and overall product quality at Olicana Products, which supplies tubular metal products to the high-end office furniture, automotive and bath-manufacturing sectors.

At the same time, these improvements are opening up new potential sales opportunities for the Ilkley-based business.

With 90% of its turnover coming from just 10 customers, Olicana has to focus on maintaining close and positive relationships with them. The company achieves this by helping with designing for manufacture, and meeting the diversity of technical challenges customers present it with.

Managing director Rupert Pearson says: “We are competing against some of the best suppliers of tube product from around the world, so we have identified customers that are forward-thinking and that we want to work with. We provide them with our expertise in manufacturing difficult-to-make products — and they continue to challenge that expertise.”

With the furniture and automotive sectors generating significant growth for the company, Olicana embarked on a project to enhance its manufacturing capability.

This saw it buy an Adige LT5 Fiber Laser from Ampthill-based BLM Group UK Ltd (www.blmgroup.com) — a machine that has allowed the company to take better control of existing processes, bring more work in-house, and develop new manufacturing strategies that will give it a distinct advantage over its competitors.

Most of the work undertaken by Olicana is based on processing thin-walled tube for which the Adige LT5 is particularly suitable; by using nitrogen as the assist gas for the Fiber Laser, the company is producing components with very clean cut edges and with an accuracy of cut that results in overall improvements in product quality.

Furthermore, this accuracy is having a significant impact on the later welding processes, which can now be automated thanks to the consistent quality and accuracy produced by the LT5.

“The purchase of the Adige LT5 Tube Laser wasn’t just about fixing one specific area of our manufacturing, it was part of an on-going strategy designed to deliver improvements throughout the manufacturing process. Bringing in technology of this kind forces you to revise your thinking in order to achieve the maximum benefit. We are now witnessing productivity improvements, not only in the cutting of tube, but also in every process after the tube has been cut, thanks to the improved quality and accuracy of the cut tube.”


The Adige LT5 is the most compact machine in the Tube Laser family and has been developed to process tubes with thin and medium-thick walls. The use of a 1kW fibre laser means that the running costs are low and up-time is maximised. The fibre laser also allows a wide variety of materials to be cut.

The LT5’s six axes are digitally controlled via the Siemens 840D control; together with a maximum tube length capacity of 6,500mm (the maximum finished workpiece length is 4,500mm), this makes it extremely versatile. Key to the machine’s effectiveness is its ability to synchronise all of its sub-systems, such as tube handling and measuring, without any time loss.

Furthermore, the LT5 only requires relatively simple adjustments to change from one job to the next, making change-over extremely quick (all important functions are located close to the operator station).

The LT5 also comes with Artube, BLM’s dedicated CAD/CAM software that assists with design, programming and process/production management. Artube features many user-friendly menus that allow the user to move from drawing to finished part in a matter of minutes.

During the component design phase, the software also allows the designer to exploit all of the machine’s functions to ensure that correct design-for-manufacture is implemented.

Full 3-D simulation then confirms that all is as it should be — plus it provides cycle time and cost-per-part estimates before the file is transferred to production. At that stage a second piece of software, Protube, can be used to optimise production.


The reliability of the fiber laser combined with the large-capacity tube loader (which can handle round, oval, square and rectangular tube) — plus the LT5’s ability to measure each tube during pre-loading — means that the machine can run for extended periods unmanned. The measurement of the tube is also used by the machine control to optimise part nesting and reduce waste material.

During the entire process, from loading to cutting, the tube is fully supported and guided, ensuring maximum accuracy of cut parts and protection of the tube surface. As well as offering ease of use, the Siemens control can be positioned to give complete visibility of the cutting process at all times.

Furthermore, the large double doors at the front of the machine provide ready access for setting and maintenance; the LT5’s electrical cabinets are also positioned to ensure easy access.

Olicana is making full use of the machine’s capabilities on a wide range of small tubular assemblies that it produces for the automotive sector (including truck, tractor, off-road and yellow goods), plus the tubular frames that it makes for its furniture customers.

The precision of the cut and the ability to cut a true circle in tube have improved overall component quality. The initial success of the LT5 at Olicana means that the machine is already running two shifts; and with new components being added to the company’s inventory every day, the cost benefits are adding up rapidly.