SigmaTEK's New Convergent Nesting Engine

SigmaTEK proudly announces the release of its new, re-engineered nesting engine that raises the bar in nesting technology once again. The new nesting engine, which uses SigmaTEK’s own Convergent Nesting Technology, will be released in the near future. The new nesting engine promises to deliver more effective nests faster than ever. It also optimizes nests for complex machine applications such as combination machines, multi-torch and other advanced machine features.

The exciting undertaking was lead by Pierre Slabber, SigmaTEK ‘s VP of R&D, who worked with his team of PhD nesting experts to develop what is believed to be the most advanced new nesting engine on the market. SigmaTEK combined 15 years of nesting experience with three years of research done by their Development Team and applied it to a brand new nesting engine.  The ground breaking Convergent Nesting Technology used in the nesting engine improves on SigmaNEST’s previous nesting engine by up to 5%, proving that even the best can become better.

SigmaNEST’s Convergent Nesting Technology was designed with a focus on optimizing material usage with maximum nesting speed. By applying strategic mathematical principles in combination with extensive nesting research, SigmaTEK’s team has built a powerfully complex yet smooth and effective nesting engine.

According to Glenn Binder, VP of Sales, “Our development team has made tremendous strides in expanding and improving the capabilities of the SigmaNEST nesting engine for the benefit of our valued customers.”

 

SigmaNEST Feature: SimTrans

Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems were born into a world where computers were supposed to automate and simplify manufacturing. Since their invention, MRP systems have evolved into a crucial tool for manufacturing, increasing in importance with the advent of just-in-time production. As lead times have reduced, the necessity of planning properly for inventory and material requirements has grown more and more crucial because without the necessary materials could prove to be disastrous.

Many manufacturers have grown to distrust MRP systems due to frequent errors, lack of usable data and unreliable forecasts. In order to mend the situation, SigmaTEK Systems developed a product called SimTrans, which communicates between MRP systems and physical production based on real-time factory events. This takes actual customer demand, not just an arbitrary forecast, and links it with resource availability, run time of the process and the setup time needed to make adjustments in the product. Through the balance of these inputs, production can work smoothly down to the second; an impossibility using stand-alone MRP.
SimTrans goes beyond simple integration with MRP to serve as a platform that continually updates data in multiple business systems, including MRP and order entry systems.  SimTrans acts as the strongest link between multiple software tools, maintaining the most current information and creating a streamlined, efficient work-flow by eliminating duplication of tasks.

Management software is typically maintained on a large, centralized server or mainframe while SigmaNEST is installed on remote workstations. SimTrans links the two systems regardless of the platform used for installation, so the database of work orders and material inventory maintained within SigmaNEST can be accessed and changed from within business management software. In doing so, the communication between corporate operations and manufacturing operations are in one location and are reliably up-to-date. When using SimTrans, SigmaNEST programmers are able to focus more on their area of expertise and less on administrative duties.

SimTrans can also serve as a connection between engineering software such as SolidWorks, Solid Edge, AutoCAD, ProE, and Unigraphics and SigmaNEST. When changes are made to a part’s geometry or properties through SimTrans the modifications can be recognized and updated in SigmaNEST part files.

SimTrans allows your company to save time and money on unnecessary tasks that can be conducted automatically.
If you are interested in learning more about the capabilities that SimTrans offers, please contact our team of professionals at servicesgroup@sigmanest.com

Tech Tip: Importing Drill Properties

The “Import Drill Properties” option offers a simple, easy-to-use solution for machining drill properties that have been assigned during the design process. By extracting information directly from 3D parts into SigmaNEST, accuracy and precision are maintained while the process of drill “tooling” is automated. The Import Drill Properties feature streamlines and integrates the toolpath, which is crucial when the same machine is used to do both cutting and drilling.

To access this feature go to “Tools Help”, click on “Config” in the upper left corner, and navigate to “File Import.” Choose the tab specifying the type of design software you are exporting from and then check the box for Drill Recognition. It’s that easy.

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