Two reasons to think about choosing laser cutting

How often do you use laser cutting in your production processes? For many years, if you needed to cut sheet metal to create your product, then the only way to do so was by employing a skilled craftsman to cut the metal to your desired shape. Later, it would have to be formed and finished by hand. While that cutting technique is effective, it is far from perfect, and in recent years, laser cutting has become increasingly popular. Laser cutting relies on a laser following a preprogrammed set of instructions to cut the metal to any shape you need. While there are still many companies that cut metal by hand, laser cutting has proved to be especially effective for high-volume production runs. Here are two reasons why you should think about employing laser cutting next time you need to manufacture in bulk.

Adapt to changing production schedules

Everyone who has worked in manufacturing knows that customer schedules can change at short notice. It's common to find yourself with a large order that needs to be fulfilled at short notice. No business likes to have large amounts of stock sitting in their warehouse for an extended period, so when the order comes in, the work will need to be completed quickly. Using traditional techniques, this can be difficult to achieve. Production runs often have long set-up times, and the lead time can be extended further if tooling must be ordered before the job can be completed. With laser cutting, there is no set-up or tooling to be considered. The job is simply programmed into the computer or loaded from the memory, and then the machine is ready to begin production.

Adapt to changing requirements

It's a fact that production jobs can evolve as a product is modified. A version one product can become a version two, three, or four, each with slightly different specifications. Perhaps there may be a different curve to one of the cuts, or a hole may be a different size or in a different place. With each version change, you may need to purchase different tooling to complete the job if you are using traditional methods. With laser cutting, you only need to alter the program to account for the change. You can even save different versions of the program so you can revert to a previous version if you need to produce older versions for refurbished or repaired units in the future.

To learn more, contact a laser cutting company.