Page 35 - MetalForming-May-2018-issue

Nesting Advancements Are Key to
Equipment Optimization
As fabricators look for more from their nesting software, providers are delivering, says this industry expert.
From lasers to plasma, punch, warterjet and beyond, metal- processing equipment repre- sents a significant investment for any job shop, fab shop, steel service center or manufacturer. Maximizing and accelerating the return on investment is critical, and it only makes sense to drive such advanced equipment with sophisticated software designed to leverage the machines’ capabilities.
To this end, more fabricators are replacing basic software with more advanced nesting applications. Glenn Durham, vice president of engineer- ing for SigmaTek, recently took time to share what fabricators need to know.
Scrap reduction and accelerated cutting cycles are a few of the obvi- ous benefits of nesting programs.
Information for this article was pro- vided by SigmaTek Systems, LLC, Cincinnati, OH; www.sigmanest.com.
Where else do nesting programs make a difference?
Durham: Nesting not only is about scrap reduction. It also is about part placement for manufacturability. Com- panies such as ours want to help man- ufacturers reduce scrap by providing tools that make it easier and more effi- cient to track and reuse drops.
There are situations in which opti- mization of the part’s location is required before considering material utilization. For example, vacuum-table routers have the strongest suction in the center of a sheet. Therefore, nesting must prioritize placement of the largest parts, which need less suction to remain stable during cutting. Nesting of larger parts occurs around the out- side of the sheet and farthest from the
center of the table. Nesting of smaller parts occurs toward the center of the sheet, where table suction is greater.
Another example: nesting for machines that drag the sheet. In these nests, we must lay the largest parts down closest to the clamps and then cut parts farthest from the clamps. Design for manufacturability means understanding machine specifics to produce the best nest and apply a prop- er toolpath.
Cutting machines generally come with a pre-installed nesting program. At what point should a fabricator con- sider upgrading to more advanced software?
The basic software packages deliv- ered with new cutting machines help most smaller shops get up and running
FABRICATION
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