LANTEK is releasing a new function for its Lantek Expert nesting software: The Modify Machine feature is designed to keep sheet-metal processing running smoothly when machines go down or become unavailable. Modify Machine reads existing nesting and cutting plans, adjusts them automatically to work with a selected machine, and applies them to that unit. It eliminates downtime due to manual reprogramming and maximizes machine utilization.
When machines inevitably need maintenance – or worse, crash – Modify Machine is programmed to port CNC programs to other machines. It excels when a specific machine has been taken out of commission, although that machine may be the default unit for manufacturing a specific project. Manually adjusting every parameter of a program to fit the new machine means time spent programming along with wasted machine uptime.
Instead, users choose a new machine from a drop-down menu and approve Modify Machine’s new program. What could take hours is reduced to minutes.
Although invaluable in emergency situations like the one described, Modify Machine bolsters a shop’s overall resiliency. A program can be written once, with one machine in mind, but then applied to any machine available via the Expert system. In a traditionally organized shop, jobs wait in a line in a predetermined order at a specific machine. There are usually several of these lines, each at one machine. If one job fails to progress, it holds up the whole line. Modify Machine introduces flexibility to this arrangement. When almost any project can be run on almost any job, machines rarely sit unused.
Users interact with Modify machine in Lantek Expert’s 2D and 3D nesting technology and will find pivoting to a new machine as easy as selecting a new one from the drop-down list. Modify adds new lead-ins, places micro-joints, adjusts parameters, and more. It takes these calculations and applies them to all selected nests. If desired, operators can drag and drop nests as needed for added customizability.
Lantek Expert nesting software takes users from start to finish in creating production plans. Expert’s automated algorithms optimize nesting layouts and apply advanced cutting approaches. Programming time, machining time, and material waste are all slashed.
With the combined technology of the larger Lantek Expert platform the Modify machine feature, users are primed to accelerate their day-to-day manufacturing as well as smoothly side-step some of the most frustrating hurdles in production.
Learn more at www.lantek.com/us.