Tampa Bay Steel
“SigmaNEST allows us to focus on our core business while entrusting part nesting to the experts.” Dave Carpenter
Engineering Manager
Tampa Bay Steel
INDUSTRY
Steel Service Center
PRODUCTION
Cutting Machines: Laser, Plasma, Waterjet Software: SolidWorks, Autodesk
A FABRICATION BOTTLENECK
Multiple CAD/CAM nesting software required to drive each machine is costly and time-consuming. “Each machine was operating as an island with its own unique nesting package,” said Engineering Manager Dave Carpenter. “This forced us to learn and use a variety of nesting programs. At the same time these programs varied greatly in terms of functionality and performance.” Time was wasted creating programs and reworking nesting layout. Consequently the steel service center was experiencing excessive downtime and growing bins of scrap due to inefficient nesting. Standardization quickly became a priority.
THE SEARCH IS ON
In addition to spanning all cutting equipment the solution had to provide best-in-class nesting, integrate with other business and manufacturing systems, provide automation, and be easy to learn and use. After thoroughly evaluating the market, three nesting candidates (including SigmaNEST) were selected for further evaluation. “It was quickly obvious that SigmaNEST offered the best overall solution,” said Carpenter. “In addition to the software’s nesting efficiency its flexibility across processes and machines was critical. Now our programmers can work freely on virtually any machine at any time.” SigmaNEST has removed production bottlenecks due to an absence or unavailability while quick transfer of nests among dissimilar processes and platforms is slashing machine idle time.
GOING STRONG
SigmaNEST is allowing Tampa Bay Steel to fully maximize the speed and precision cutting capabilities of their arsenal of machines. Similarly the company is finding that the software’s cost-estimation capability allows for more accurate and ultimately, winning quotes. “Our customers expect quality and quick turn-around,” concluded Carpenter. “SigmaNEST allows us to focus on our core business while entrusting part nesting to the experts. It continues to be a great partnership.”
