Page 25 - MetalForming April 2014

unique part numbers, all laser cut from seven different combinations of mate- rial type and thickness. Nesting one complete batch of parts with our pre- vious software’s automatic nesting rou- tine laid out the job on 265 sheets. It took 40 man-hours from our engi- neering team to whittle that down to 200 sheets. Now, using SigmaNest we lay out the job on 200 sheets in about 8 hr. This frees up our engineers to focus on more productive and important tasks.”
Where do the firm’s engineers see the difference in nest efficiency from the old software to the new?
“In addition to intuitively combining parts more efficiently on the sheets to minimize web size,” Estep says, “Sig- maNest better-recognizes part features or openings where other parts can be squeezed in. The other software often failed to recognize openings and cutouts in parts where additional parts could fit.
“SigmaNest also stores information on unique part requirements,” Estep continues, “such as grain direction—an important parameter with highly pol- ished stainless steel. If we need to nest these critical parts in one specific ori- entation on a sheet, SigmaNest makes quick and reliable work of that. The previous software required manual intervention.”
The End Justifies the Means
“In the end, since upgrading our nesting efficiency we’ve been able to ramp up our design services,” con- cludes Collette. “With engineers freed up to offer expertise to new as well as existing customers, we’re better able to provide them with optimum fabri- cation solutions, in a timely manner.
“And, when we go to quote new work we can rely on the engineering team to provide their services, whether it’s design or actual creation of nests to estimate materials requirements, faster than ever. This contributes to our dramatic reduction in lead time, from an average of 20 to 25 days before to 15 to 20 days now, and in some cases as little as 10 days from quote to shipment.” MF
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