Manufacturing’s new road map

Figure 1
Fabrication-based MRP systems can generate quotes from geometry by importing a DXF file and assigning properties.

Not long ago, when planning a vacation, we probably broke out a map and plotted a route to our destination. We identified potential side trips, investigated places to stop along the way, and perhaps added up all the miles to determine how much it was going to cost with current gas prices. All of the information for this was available. We just had to put in some time and effort to collect and calculate it.

Today this same task is performed with the push of a button. Google instantly maps the journey and allows us to evaluate alternative routes. We know travel time and can see where detours, traffic delays, or construction will be encountered. We can identify gas stations with the best prices. It may show points of interest and instantly provide information to us about those attractions. Theoretically, we can even upload the map and route to our car’s GPS.

While the trip may be no different than it would have been back in the good ol’ days, leveraging the capabilities of computers, databases, intelligent algorithms, and data linkages allows you to understand the route, its issues, attractions, and costs faster and more accurately. The same applies to metal fabrication. Applying intelligent algorithms to part geometry and linking in appropriate sources of other required information make it easier and faster to generate good, competitive quotes (see Figure 1) and production instructions.

Quoting: Same Tool, Same Results

Traditional quoting processes, based largely on experience and best guesses, are mired in manual, calculation-intensive steps; inconsistencies; and inaccuracies. Part drawings are manually inspected and measured to estimate the amount of material and the machine time needed to run the job. This is followed by a quick estimation of raw material costs based on last known material prices.

Next, secondary operations such as grinding, bending, and welding (see Figure 2) are estimated and added to the quote. Quantity-based discounts are provided to incentivize customers to purchase more. Finally, shipping costs are estimated and added to the quote. Basing quotes on gut feel rather than on standard rules creates a number of problems as the quoting process—and ultimately the final bid—will often vary greatly from salesperson to salesperson. Worse yet, we can never be certain that a quote created in this way will be profitable.

Today, employing manufacturing resource planning (MRP) systems created especially for the fabrication industry, you can create quotes using real-time access to up-to-the-minute material costs, labor rates, machine run-time, finishing operations, and other information. (The flexibility of such systems allows you to customize quoting per your unique standards or requirements.) An automated and centralized quoting system allows sales to generate accurate and consistent quotes, based on known variables that can be monitored and adjusted by management. However, most of today’s MRP/quoting software systems still rely on you to provide very basic information such as perimeter length, surface area, and number of holes. To get that information, you are expected to load the geometry of the parts into a CAD/CAM system to have it generate potential cutting paths and nesting strategies and then plug the results back into the quoting software. This takes a lot of time that you could use in more productive and profitable ways.

Get Your Head in the Cloud

Connected and cloud-based systems can make information sharing more efficient and save metal fabricators some headaches. Doing business today requires flexibility, and web- or cloud-based software systems offer a number of advantages:

• Accessibility. Virtually anyone at any place can access web-based quoting. Quotes can be generated on any device—from laptops to tablets to mobile phones. An estimator may not even need to be in the office.
• Simplified Interface. Dashboards may contain fields that, once populated, launch behind-the-scenes calculations for things like rates, material costs, machine run-time, secondary operations needed, and associated costs.
• Fast and Accurate Quotes. A web-based quoting system greatly eliminates the need to transfer values between systems, which eliminates errors associated with manual typing of redundant information. The automated sharing of information also greatly simplifies and speeds the quoting process.
• Consistency. Forms can be customized, providing a common template that ensures that all quotes are consistent and profitable.

Affordability. Maintenance of a web-based system is relatively easy as updates are performed at a single location. An IT staff isn’t needed to make updates to multiple systems. Also, cloud-based quoting is often available as an affordable subscription service.

Geometry-based Quoting

Why not pull the required CAD/CAM capabilities into the MRP/quoting

system (see Figure 3)? Geometry-based quoting allows you to upload files and extract multiple parts from one CAD file. If you do not have a file, smart shapes can be used to approximate the geometry that you need to quote.

Such systems should employ a built-in nesting engine to nest the parts on different sheet sizes (see Figure 4). This helps you to determine actual material requirements and cutting time.

Figure 2
When quoting is based on part geometry and standard rules set by a seasoned estimator, secondary operations, such as welding, can be quickly and accurately added to a quote.

And in a world where the fastest quote often wins, estimation time is slashed dramatically. Using native CAD, neutral files, or smart shapes, you can create accurate quotes for lasers, plasma cutters, waterjet, oxyfuel, and other profile cutting equipment. Additionally, cutting plans for long parts, such as bars, structural beams, pipes, and tubes, can be generated for more accurate quoting.

At the same time the integrated process examines inventory to determine if enough stock is available to complete the job. Up-to-the minute material pricing is accessed to calculate costs for any additional material that might be needed. Furthermore, the process boosts efficiency and profitability by allowing work orders to be combined to fully utilize material and production run-time and costs.

On to Production

Putting CAD model geometry to work streamlines the process from quoting through production (see Figure 5) and invoicing. A quote that the customer has accepted has already been analyzed for production and can be converted into a work order and routed on to financial and production team members to track.

Production managers often juggle multiple responsibilities. Being able to monitor the flow of parts through production from the relative quiet of the office enables improved customer service.

This is complicated when parts from multiple customers are in process at the same time. A good MRP system is able to track all of the parts for individual work orders and tell shipping when all the parts for a particular shipment are complete. It also is able to tell finance to go ahead and invoice as the parts are shipped.

Nesting and Inventory

An MRP/quoting system needs to be integrated with the existing nesting CAD/CAM software. This allows data to be transferred directly to the CAD/CAM system after a quote is converted to a work order. Now the nesting programmer can focus on creating CNC programs rather than tracking down the CAD files and filling in part properties.

The plate and sheet stock database of the nesting system is synchronized with the sheet and plate library, which also includes remnants. Now everyone, including the sales staff and management, can view the available sheets and plate at any time.

As CNC programs are created, the nesting data is stored, which gives you the power to track job status and progress for every order. This visibility simplifies management of sheet and plate, as well as inventory of long parts such as bars, beams, pipe, and tube. Additionally, tight integration with nesting CAD/CAM software creates an environment where remnants generated by the nesting software are more easily tracked.

Leveraging CAD Geometry From Start to Finish

If CAD geometry is to be truly leveraged, it must be supported by a platform that conforms to all areas of the business yet is easy to use. From quoting through production and shipping to invoicing, one system should be able to synchronize the shop floor with the front office, providing automatic updates, reporting, and invoking next steps.

And let’s not forget the customer. Such systems can even interface with customer relationship management (CRM) systems. This allows the import and linking of contacts and organizations from CRM or ERP systems without re-entering the data. In this setup, payment terms can be defined along with credit limits and discounts per organization. To speed quoting and ordering processes, customer information can be completed automatically. Again, because it is web- or cloud-based, all of this information can be readily accessed via any web-enabled device.

Slide Show | 5 Images