What’s that noise coming from your shop floor? That’s the sound of your equipment running, parts bending, and money being made—and fabricators who have adopted offline programming are hearing a lot more of it these days.

Your press brake operation has been doing things the same way for as long as you can remember. The good news is the process seems to be relatively efficient and profitable. The not-so-good news is that machine-based programming robs you of production.

You likely invest heavily in your press brake department, and you want those machines to work all day. The minute a job is done, the next program should be loading. That simply isn’t practical when programming on the machine’s console. By many estimates, traditional on-machine programming cuts a press brake’s throughput potential by half.

A growing number of fabricators are finding the answer in offline programming. Unfortunately, adopting this approach isn’t as easy as flipping a switch. A smooth transition hinges on a willingness to change perceptions and challenge the status quo.

Read the entire article in The Fabricator here.