FSI Fabrication

With the purchase of a new plasma table, FSI was persuaded to consider a new nesting program. And so a direct comparison pitting incumbent SigmaNEST against challenger ProNEST was held.

Going Head-to-Head

Mechanical Engineer, Silas Curfman vectorized a drawing and ran it through both programs. “I couldn’t simulate what the kerf was going to do in ProNEST. Only SigmaNEST allowed me to preview what was going to happen before cutting. With SigmaNEST the piece came out great the first time.”

Unlike ProNEST, SigmaNEST allows parts to be added to existing nests without complete re-nesting — a significant time and material saver. Curfman also pointed out that SigmaNEST was the only program that allowed combining auto nesting with manual nesting. Finally, from a data management perspective, SigmaNEST proved superior at handling FSI’s 2,100+ unique plasma CNC files. A multi-level tree-type Parts Library and robust Costing tools made SigmaNEST the best back office choice as well.

Bolt hole quality was another consideration. With the old plasma table FSI burned the outside contours then had to send the plates to the machine shop to have the holes punched. “Now we can burn holes down to a 1:1 ratio. ½” diameter bolt holes in ½” thick A-36 mild steel plate,” said Curfman. “They come out great.”

Other Key SigmaNEST Advantages

• Superior parts nesting
• Allowed for combining auto and manual nesting
• Performed more thorough checks on detailed geometry
• Provided superior simulation
• Delivered more complete costing capabilities
• Provided more comprehensive reports
• Allowed adding of parts to existing nests
• Provided a tree-type library structure
• Allowed users to work easily at the parts level without custom reports

Still the Champ

“We performed an extensive comparison between SigmaNEST and ProNEST,” said Curfman. “It was clear that SigmaNEST was the production-ready tool for handling our volume of data. At the end of the day, production efficiency is what we need, and we chose SigmaNEST.”