Williams Patent Crusher is a leading manufacturer of size reduction equipment. The company’s production machinery includes a Tanaka laser along with Messer plasma and oxyfuel while software includes AutoCAD and Inventor.
Bevel Cutting Challenges
Many machines contain a replaceable steel liner attached to interior sidewalls using a metal plug. A beveled countersink ensures a fit that is both secure and flush.
Bevel cutting poses unique challenges. Even a veteran programmer might apply traditional thinking to the process. In these cases the result is often wasted time and material. “We had a real quality problem with bevel cuts,” said Foreman, Jim Colyott. “The process became a prolonged series of manual steps that included cutting, drilling, and grinding. It was nothing short of a three hour operation.”
Automation
A Messer burning table was added to improve the process. But when a third-party recommended a new nesting tool specifically for the Messer, Colyott held his ground. “We were not about to move away from SigmaNEST. We have been using the software successfully for more than eight years and over that time accumulated literally thousands of custom parts in our SigmaNEST parts library. We stood firm in our belief that SigmaNEST was the answer.”
Bevel Cutting Results
- An automated SigmaNEST-based solution was implemented fully maximizing the beveling capabilities of the Messer
- High quality bevel cuts were quickly achieved
- A manually-intensive 3 hour process was reduced to a staggering 3 minutes