Page 32 - MetalForming April 2012

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Magazine
New Nesting Software
Carpenter particularly appreciates a new multi-torch optimization module introduced by SigmaTek early in 2011. The module, designed specifically for steel service centers or job shops using multi-torch machinery (such as the oxyfuel-cutting machine shown here working at Tampa Bay Steel), balances the conflicting desires of getting the most efficient use of material and fastest multi-torch machine cutting path, according to Sig- maTek literature.
ter also highlights how simple it is to import SolidWorks part files into his new nesting software.
“While other software packages also offer this feature,” he says, “SigmaNest seems to do it better, with just a couple of clicks.” This feature proves particu- larly important when the shop decides to cut a part originally programmed to run on one type of machine (a plasma- cutting machine, for example) and, perhaps for scheduling or capacity rea- sons, decides to cut the part on anoth- er machine (say a laser). Carpenter explains.
“Prior to installing SigmaNest, if we needed to laser-cut a part that origi- nally had been programmed for plasma cutting, I’d have to reengineer the nest. That not only added time to the job, but meant that we had to store multiple cutting programs for the same part, which created file-management prob- lems if part designs changed. We’d have to be sure we updated every cutting program.”
Now, Carpenter can simply update the single SolidWorks file for a part, and when he brings it into SigmaNest
he can automatically develop the opti- mum cutting program for the machine he expects to use for cutting. Each machine—laser, plasma, waterjet and oxyfuel—has its own set of variables contained within SigmaNest that affect how parts are to be nested, accounting for differences in kerf, cutting speed, and cornering parameters such as speed and acceleration.
A Step up in Efficiency, Accuracy
It’s also easier and quicker to per- form dynamic nesting (combining parts for different orders onto one set of blanks) than before, says Carpenter, which boosts material utilization. The company can better track material flow through the shop, and provide opera- tors more details about the jobs they’re to run, reducing the likelihood of errors.
Carpenter also says that quoting accuracy has improved with the new software, by as much as 15 percent. In the past, estimators would program a job to run one way, and down on the shop floor the operator might set the job up another—and perhaps less effi-
30 MetalForming/April 2012
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