The next time you get behind the wheel of a car, think about all the real-time information that we’ve come to take for granted.  We instantly know how fast we’re traveling, when to stop for fuel, service the engine, or change the oil. Newer models will not only alert you when a tire is low on air but will pinpoint exactly which tire needs attention.

Information is king, and dashboards are all about centralizing and providing up-to-date information. Real-time (and accurate) data allows for better decisions – whether you’re responding to immediate threats or planning for long-term success.

In recent years dashboards have become integral to such industries as manufacturing, power generation, supply chains, and many others.  Such systems have evolved to the point where even the smallest business can leverage their benefits. And now there is a dashboard developed specifically for fab shops, job shops, and metal service centers.

Read more here.

Here’s an interesting post from SecturaSOFT that discusses laser head crashes.  For those not in the metal fabrication industry, damage to laser cutting heads is expensive in terms of repair/replacement and downtime.  SecturaSOFT has some interesting posts like this on its Blog. Be sure to check it out.

Laser Head Crashes

During the cutting process the laser head is traversing to its next cut often very fast and close to the material surface. If a piece of material is protruding above the surface area (has tipped upward) , a collision is likely to occur.  Damage to the laser head is often considerable and costly.  Tipping is most common when processing thinner materials.

Fortunately, most crashes are avoidable. With a preview of the nest, an experienced operator can often recognize where there is potential for an issue. The operator can pay extra attention when the machine is cutting in that area and take steps to avoid trouble. This can include slowing the cutting process slightly. A few seconds lost in cutting speed is better than hours of machine down-time replacing a laser head.

In addition to reducing the cutting speed, part tip-ups can often be avoided by implementing micro-tabbing. Most laser programming software today offers an auto-tabbing feature where one or more small tabs (typically about 0.020 in.) are placed in the profile of the part to secure the part to the sheet skeleton.

Once the entire nest is complete and the skeleton is off-loaded, the parts can be easily released from the skeleton. With good quality, flat material and parts that are large enough to lay on two or three of the table grates, the need to tab parts is usually unnecessary. When in doubt, micro-tabbing is a smart approach to avoid laser head crashes, especially when lasers are automated and operating in a lights-out environment.

While you’re there be sure to check out the SecturaSOFT video library.

What keeps the lights on, sparks flying, and people working? The obvious answer is sales, of course. Sales is after all a company’s lifeblood, and quoting is at the heart of it all.

Unfortunately, what isn’t so obvious to many fabricators, job shops, and metal service centers is that if they are still using spreadsheets, the quoting module of their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, or a semiautomated quoting system, they are waging a losing battle. These companies are handicapped by the very quoting processes and tools they relied on to grow their businesses.

Companies can double or even triple the number of quotes they’re sending out and do it faster without adding resources. They just need the right software tool.

Read the article here.