A global partner makes sense for sheet metal manufacturers

Sheet metal and structural steel manufacture is a niche activity and requires specialist tools and software. In many instances, it can be very competitive, so any advantage that can be gained through increased productivity will enable companies to increase profit margins and offer customers a better quality product in a shorter lead time.

 There are many companies which can offer CAD/CAM systems for sheet metal applications, but few have the ability to automate the process and even fewer have the capability to integrate with or can offer dedicated management systems. When managing large volumes of components, the CAD/CAM software needs to have the ability to integrate with third party manufacturing systems. Schedules are frequently very fluid, changing hourly so the ability to respond effectively to this dynamic situation will make manufacturing highly efficient. Typical complications include managing shortages, rejects and utilising offcut material. On a practical level, especially when processing high value or large volumes of material companies can achieve very significant savings in material by working dynamically and producing nests of parts to suit the ever changing requirements. To achieve a satisfactory dynamic nest, the software needs to consider a range of factors including thickness, material type, grain and surface finish. For simplicity, some manufacturers stick to a static nest which has been prepared in advance. The disadvantage is that if the schedule changes, unnecessary parts will be cut, leading to wasted material and high levels of stock parts, which have to be stored until they are next required. In short, to achieve dynamic nesting the CAD/CAM software needs to be able to integrate with the company’s manufacturing schedule and nest both quickly and efficiently - systems with parallel processing algorithms will have a distinct advantage.

Once parts are produced, especially from a dynamic nest they need to be easily identifiable for subsequent assembly operations. Component marking needs to be part of the cutting process. That way, operators can quickly pick out the parts they need to assemble and match them with the manufacturing schedule. A similar process is needed for the management of offcuts. A good CAD/CAM system will store information about offcuts so that they can be selected and used for the manufacture of small batches, optimising material utilisation.

Ease of use is one of the most important factors for a large proportion of companies when choosing software. There are some sound reasons for this. Complex software will necessarily have a long learning curve, so not only will it require highly skilled engineers to operate it, but it is also likely to remain underused or even fall into disuse. Conversely, easy to use and automatic software is quick to learn, can be used by many more people, increasing its flexibility and, saves programming time enabling engineers to move onto other more productive tasks. For automated systems the advantages are even greater as the expert knowledge of the best engineers can be built into the system. The result is a consistently high standard of programming all achieved with one mouse click.

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