A computer system for small-batch sheet metal manufacture

Historically, manufacturing methods for thin sheet metal components have been governed by the machine tool technology available. The advent of integrated CADCAM systems makes possible new methods that encompass production control geared to automation and the minimisation of batch sizes. This article describes a computer system that makes it possible to manufacture sheet metal components to order in small batches, without wastage of material, additional manpower or loss of production priorities. The machining sequence for a component is defined against a job number, and is queued in priority order according to material, thickness and tooling requirements. From these queues the system automatically generates NC programs for nested sheets with optimised machining across the sheet.