Sheet and Tube Laser Cutting: Two Different Jobs, One Factory

Metal components play many different roles in retail display manufacturing.

Some begin as flat sheets and become panels, brackets, shelves or detailed fittings. Others start as lengths of tube and form frames, supports and structural elements. Producing both efficiently requires different machinery, different handling and different cutting processes.

At Benchmark, both sheet and tube laser cutting take place within our 120,000 sq. ft. UK manufacturing facility in Letchworth.

Cutting Components from Sheet Metal

The TruLaser 3030 is used to cut accurate components from flat sheet metal.

Once the material is loaded, the laser follows a programmed cutting path to produce the required shapes. Several different components can often be arranged across the same sheet, helping make effective use of the available material.

For retail display projects, those parts might eventually become visible features or disappear inside the finished unit as brackets, supports and fixings. Either way, consistency matters – especially when the same display is being manufactured repeatedly for a rollout across multiple stores.

Cutting Metal Tube and Profiles

The TruLaser Tube 3000 performs a different job.

Rather than working with flat sheet, it processes metal tube and profiles. These components are commonly used where a display requires a frame, leg, rail, support or other structural element.

The machine loads and rotates the material as required, allowing openings, shapes and connection points to be cut before the component moves on to fabrication and assembly.

This can reduce the amount of separate cutting and preparation required later. More importantly, it helps produce repeatable components that are ready to fit together accurately.

Different Processes Working Together

Sheet and tube laser cutting are separate disciplines, but they are often part of the same wider project.

A retail display might combine a tubular metal frame with sheet-metal panels, wooden cabinetry, plastics, printed graphics and a specialist finish. Benchmark’s wider capability includes metal, wood, plastics, print, wet spray and powder coating, with project delivery coordinated from one UK facility.

On the factory floor, that means several stages of production can be active at once.

While the lasers cut components for upcoming work, cabinets are being assembled elsewhere. Nearly finished metal units wait for inspection, while prepared parts are stored and organised for the next stage of production.

Each area has a different job, but all of them contribute to keeping projects moving.

The Value of In-House Laser Cutting

Keeping sheet and tube laser cutting in-house gives Benchmark greater control over production.

Components can move directly into fabrication, finishing and assembly without relying on several disconnected suppliers. It also makes it easier to manage revisions, respond to changing requirements and maintain consistency across larger production runs.

For customers, the machines themselves are only part of the story. What matters is how those machines support reliable, responsive retail display manufacturing – from the first component through to the finished unit.

See Our Manufacturing Capability for Yourself

Visit Benchmark in Letchworth to see our machinery, materials and manufacturing processes first-hand.

Call: 01462 633000
Email: hello@bench-mark.co.uk