MAXITEC has launched a technique which can speed up the sheetmetal cutting process by eliminating the need for engineering drawings.
According to the company, the automated sheetmetal cutting has traditionally been done according to hardcopy engineering drawings.
When a test piece is cut, it would be compared to one of these drawings. If the piece failed, the drawing would have to changed and tested again, until a workable finished product was produced. The company says redrawing could take about eight hours.
The ‘re-engineering’ tool is a digital interface which can carry out the entire job design before a piece is produced. It carries out a single accuracy test to detect any anomalies, which can be adjusted without affecting production.
According to the developer, the technology is suitable in most sheetmetal machinery, such as punches, presses and lasers. It will deliver a report on a test part within 15 to 20 seconds of its production.
The system provides an instant ‘snapshot’ of the work so the operator can keep working instead of sending away checks against engineering drawings.