• Advanced Manufacturing

SHEET HAPPENS III: How to use nesting explorer

  • Advanced Manufacturing
When tackling a CNC job at Lantek, the first thing I am asked to do is create the complete job, which includes programming all the parts in sub-jobs on the different machines in the workshop together with the qualities, thicknesses, and sheet metal formats of the material.

Which cutting technology is the most suited to your plant?

  • Nesting
Thirty years ago, the global distribution of sheet metal cutting machine-tools was dominated by the oxycut variety (large thicknesses) and, to a lesser extent, the plasma variety (small thicknesses). There was a niche for punching machines along with water jet and laser machines. The latter were aimed at thicknesses less than 5mm and were expensive. Since then, the trend has shifted, shrugging oxycut in favor of other technologies according to thicknesses.

When automation opens the door to advanced manufacture

  • Advanced Manufacturing
It has taken more than two centuries for us to travel from the First Industrial Revolution to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and be able to truly refer to advanced manufacturing. Yes, manufacturing which generates and applies knowledge and experience, combined with state-of-the-art technology and innovations that enable products, production processes and high-value-added services to be created. We’re not really discovering anything new now, just making all the refinements we can since the ultimate aim is to increase the company’s productivity and hence our competitiveness in the market.