2012 State of the Industry: Metal Forming & Fabricating Software

Companies ready and willing to leverage these capabilities are in position to see dramatic increases in services offered, productivity, and ultimately profitability. CAD/CAM nesting programs must support a wide variety of machines and processes. We continue to seek strategic partnerships with software vendors and equipment OEMs to expand and enhance our capabilities and offerings. The open architecture format of the software allows flexibility to customize applications.

But in the CAD/CAM world, innovation is key. We invest heavily in research and development, aggressively pushing the envelope to pioneer new, practical applications that fully maximize the capabilities of the cutting tools of today and tomorrow. These are not just hollow words. You will be hearing about some breakthrough nesting features and functionality in the very near future.

CRITICAL ISSUES
At a high level, consumer optimism remains essential to sustained economic growth. A strong stable economy will continue to have a direct impact on manufacturing. Along those lines there are steps that the government should consider to help stimulate manufacturing growth, such as lifting inter-state manufacturing restrictions. At the same time, rising material cost is always a concern. Even seemingly moderate increases in prices can have tremendous ramifications for the manufacturer – and ultimately the consumer.

Another concern is a very real shortage of skilled manpower. One can never discount the value of quality people. From all perspectives there seems to be a critical need for manufacturing engineers and technicians, software developers and those who will comprise the next generation chartered to advance manufacturing tools, technologies, and best practices. Today’s demand for quality engineers and automation technicians is unprecedented. Unfortunately, many positions are going unfilled as companies strain to find the talent needed. It is therefore essential that we encourage and support the brightest minds to explore such careers. Only in this way can we ensure that future improvement and development will continue without interruption.

For 2012 and beyond it all boils down to the efficient utilization of materials, equipment, and resources – period. Rising material costs can be mitigated by eliminating waste. Powerful nesting functionality maximizes part layout and yield-reducing scrap to the lowest possible amount. Left over skeletons of material can also be reused effectively as the latest nesting software now catalogues used material sheets for re-use.

Our vision is to partner with customers to leverage our expertise in identifying challenges and opportunities and become their solution provider matching their needs with our experience. Manufacturers must be free to focus on what they do best and rely on the experts to provide them with the best tools possible. In this regard, we continue to aggressively pursue the next generation of tools and technologies that will transform the shop floor into an efficient and profitable machine – a competitive advantage.

PERSONAL INSIGHTS
Business as usual is no longer an option for any company in the fabrication industry. All areas of the business must contribute to profitability by streamlining operations, functionality, and adopting the best practices that will truly impact efficiency. We are on the threshold of a new era in manufacturing.  In order to compete, one must be prepared to step outside of their current comfort zone, align themselves with the leaders, and actually put best practices into practice.

Intelligent solid CAD models (Captured intellectual property in digital form), design automation, direct flow through to manufacturing must become more than an ambitious goal. It needs to quickly become standard procedure for even the smallest manufacturer. Manufacturers are investing thousands upon thousands of dollars in equipment, fully expecting a significant and sustained return on that investment. But equipment alone will deliver only incremental improvement. It is only by maximizing the full capabilities of shop floor cutting equipment with leading software and related services that breakthrough results are obtained.

Finally, I believe that it is absolutely essential to bring this full circle back to people. People are the heart and soul of any business or organization, and nowhere is this more true than in the software industry. Software is not a commodity and should never be viewed as simply a CD in a box. When you invest in software, you are putting your trust and future in the experience, expertise, vision, and people of that company – and that is the ultimate bottom line.

SigmaTEK Systems, LLC, 1445 Kemper Meadow Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45240-1637, 513-674-0005, Fax: 513-674-0009, sales@sigmanest.com, www.sigmanest.com.