The explosion of fiber laser cutting machines over the last decade has forced people to rethink their fabrication operations. Laser-cut parts are produced at rates that can easily create a backup in the bending department that doesn’t have the latest press brake technology or might be understaffed. It can be hard for a shop to keep up.
In some ways, that’s motivated some fab shops to look at the punching machine from a different perspective. Fabricators are seeing that a lot of forms can be made on a punching machine, creating a piece that can go straight to deburring or painting and out the door to the customer. You can have those parts bypass the bending department completely, eliminating the frustrating scene of having laser-cut parts sitting on a pallet in front of the press brake waiting for someone to get to it.
What type of forms can be done on the punching machine? Let’s look at some of the ways that fabricators are discovering more versatility in their punching machines.
Read the full article in The Fabricator.
April 28, 2020