Press Release
For Immediate Release
1st August 2013
IMSCORP save 15% on material, halve programming time, see <8 month ROI
Programming time cut by half, and on-time deliveries improved to 96-100%
IMSCORP, is based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The corporation includes two subsidiaries – SourceOne, Inc. and Bison, Inc. SourceOne is a custom contract manufacturer and powder coater and also markets its own line of outdoor power equipment including PLUGR cam-driven reciprocating turf aerators. Bison manufactures sports equipment as well as outdoor site furnishings and custom gymnasium structure. In 2007, the company ran two Amada Vipros Queen turret punch presses and one Mazak Champ 1500w CO2 laser, each running software supplied by the vendor.
To make the sheet metal fabricating process more cost-effective, a corporate cost center was created in a new facility to handle sheet metal operations for both companies, and also implemented an MRP system. In order to improve their shop floor efficiency and to allow them freedom to select any brand of machine in the future, they decided they would need to investigate alternative nesting systems and programming software. Said Michael Kreuzberg, IMSCORP Production Supervisor; “I visited many machine tool manufacturers' facilities. They all had their own software, of course, and encouraged customers to purchase it with the machines they sell. However, we did not want to have to use multiple software products to program different machines. We wanted one solution for everything.”
IMSCORP selected JETCAM Expert with high performance nesting, supplied by U.S. distributor NestOne Solutions and purchased postprocessors for each of their machines. Mike was surprised at how quickly the system was up and running; “I started as a programmer with no background whatsoever in laser or turret CNC programming. After we decided on JETCAM, there was a two-day installation and training program and we were producing parts within hours.”
After going live, the most noticeable benefit was that of material efficiency. Sheet utilization increased by 15% or more due to JETCAM's high performance nesting module. This allows a time limit to be specified to allow the system to continually try to create more efficient nests. More efficient nests also meant that fewer sheets had to be loaded onto the machines. JETCAM can also store remnant sheets for future use, further reducing waste.
Programming time also improved dramatically, with IMSCORP taking advantage of JETCAM's automatic component creation, tooling and nesting. CAD files could be automatically imported using JETCAM's SCAP (Single Component Automatic Processing) function, with component files being created and tooled, ready for nesting in seconds. Automatic nesting could then be run for any given machine, material and thickness, with NC code of the highly optimized nests immediately available. As tooling and/or profiling information can be stored on the component for any machine, parts can be moved between machines very easily without retooling - useful if a machine was running over capacity or down for maintenance.
The company takes information from their E2 Shoptech MRP system into JETCAM to combine orders of the same material and thickness. Another benefit was an improvement in on-time delivery. Mike explained; “Around 50% of our workload is for higher volume repeat orders, with the remainder being much smaller jobs with very short or immediate turnaround. As we were able to go from CAD file to nest very quickly, our captive shop lead-times went from several months to weeks or days, and our smaller job shop lead times went from weeks to days-even hours."
For any company relying on a system, good support is paramount. Mike cites that the support he has received has exceeded his expectations. “NestOne has done a superb job and I can get 24/7 support from JETCAM. I can't get that kind of technical support from the machine manufacturers. The maintenance support has been outstanding – we rarely need to contact them – but, for the few issues we've had, most were resolved in the same day. Our maintenance costs have also been reduced slightly.”
The company purchased a Mazak HTX 5X10 4000w laser in 2011 and only had to purchase a new postprocessor for JETCAM to be up and running. All components could be run through SCAP to be tooled for the new machine. Mike summarized, “JETCAM enables our company to explore all options for future equipment purchases since it can be tailored to fit the equipment we choose. It's MRP-friendly, is easy to use, has excellent technical support and is a low cost solution for the savings it delivers.”
Benefits achieved:
- 15% or more increase in material efficiency
- Programming cut by 50% (30 hours per week)
- On-time delivery improved from 70% to 96-100%
- System paid for itself in 6-8 months
- Producing parts within hours of installation
- Driving CNC punches and lasers of different brands
- Much easier interface than other systems
- Lower annual support costs
- Excellent local dealer support, backed up by global vendor
JETCAM software in use at IMSCorp:
- JETCAM Expert Premium
- High Performance Nesting
Machines:
- Amada Vipros Queen Punch x2
- Mazak Champ 1500w CO2 Laser
- Mazak HTX 4000w Laser