Page 30 - MetalForming September 2019

Fabrication: Laser Cutting
LSP PresSpray
• Manysizestochoosefrom
• Pinpointlubricantapplication • Spraylightorheavyoils
• Non-foggingairlessspray
See how LSP can help your operation!
Newer software provides more powerful algorithms, including the ability to nest parts within parts. “Fabricators, perhaps those producing appliance parts such as refrigerator or oven doors, for example, work with parts having internal cutouts for the glass or for some other feature,” says John Parenzan, software product manager with Amada America, Inc., says. “Nesting parts within those cutouts reduces material waste and handling, and adds more parts to a sheet.”
glass or for some other feature,” Paren- zan says. “Nesting parts within these cutouts reduces material waste and adds more parts to a sheet...it’s like producing those parts for free, at least from a material standpoint. A 20 by 20-in. square may have a 10 by 10-in. internal cutout. Not taking advantage of that means wasting a 10-in.-sq. piece of scrap.
“A 48 by 96-in. sheet may be set for 10 parts,” he continues. “But a fabri- cator can not only use the internal cutouts, but also use filler parts to increase sheet utilization. Users with parts manufactured on a regular basis can add these parts to nests to increase sheet utilization and green-light time on the laser cutting machine.”
Of course, an experienced program- mer can achieve high sheet utilization and optimal sequencing, but how much programming time is too much?
“Do you want a programmer to
spend an hour to gain perhaps 5-per- cent sheet utilization for a program that will be run one time? Parenzan asks. “The programmer could have pro- grammed five other jobs in that time.”
Meshes with ERP Software
To better integrate with company- wide ERP systems, laser-machine pro- grammers can import and export CSV files.
“There is no need for an operator to spend time navigating through a network drive to find part A, then part B, then part C.” says Parenzan. “With our software, for example, the CSV file contains part data, such as material type, thickness and quantity, that load directly into the nesting engine, for automatic nesting. It’s a time-saver. Most ERP systems can generate these types of files that load right into the nesting software. It eases the job of a programmer.”
28
MetalForming/September 2019
www.metalformingmagazine.com