Numatic International, based in Chard, Somerset, UK is best known for the Henry vacuum cleaner, although the company offers over 4000 industrial cleaning products in total. As their previously purchased cam system was discontinued, in 2001 Numatic decided to evaluate three cam systems of which one was Jetcam Expert, to drive their newly purchased Amada Beta 3015 3.0kW laser. Paul Kelly, Production Engineer; said 'We ran a series of benchmarks on all three systems, covering factors such programming time and nesting efficiency'.

'Jetcam was the only system that met all of our targets, while also showing a significant cost saving to purchase and maintain over the others'.

'One of the other main factors for choosing Jetcam was its ability to easily interface with our Oracle-powered MRP system'.

'' Two licenses of Jetcam Expert was installed, along with the MRP and free form nesting modules.

JET-Term DNC was also installed on the shop floor to facilitate file transfers.

Immediately, the flexibility of Jetcam's MRP and scheduling proved beneficial.

Andrew Smith, Manufacturing Manager said; 'We cannot forecast too far ahead or hold much stock because of the breadth of our product range - we have over 300 versions of 'Henry' alone! Our MRP system automatically downloads up to 300 orders per week for Jetcam to process, saving an hour of order entry time'.

'We then have a visual of what's left to be cut from within Jetcam and can use it as a scheduler to change the priority of parts to be nested - useful when prototyping'.

Once orders are downloaded into Jetcam the operator simply runs the automatic tooling and nesting modules to generate optimised nests, saving one hour a day over previous programming methods.

Added Paul; 'Overall we are saving around GBP14,500 per year in labour alone'.

With many parts constructed from increasingly expensive material such as stainless steel, reducing material was also paramount.

Nesting efficiency improved by around 7%, netting a saving of GBP30k in the first year.

Andrew added; 'With material costs I'd put this saving at around double at today's prices' As a knock-on effect, setup times decreased, as less sheets were needed to produce the same number of parts, resulting in over 3 hours per week being saved.

The Bystronic laser replaced the Amada 3015 in 2005, along with an additional postprocessor, with all components immediately available for nesting on either machine.

Said Paul; 'We were impressed with how the postprocessor drove the machine, optimising the cutting path for speed'.

'It was noted that the head would move on both X and Y axes in an arc between cuts to minimise slowdown'.

Since purchase, Numatic has seen cycle time reduced further still due to software updates received under maintenance.

Andrew concluded; 'Our production process is all about mass customisation and short lead-times'.

'Service has been very good, with only a couple of support calls needed per year'.

Although Jetcam Expert met all of our targets the MRP facility and integration has been a greater benefit than first thought, with the system paying for itself within a few months of purchase.

Summary of Benefits:.

* Benchmark showed Jetcam being more efficient, and more cost-effective to purchase and maintain.

* System paid for itself within months of purchase.

* Prototype parts can be imported, nested, and cut in 20 mins.

* Linked MRP to Oracle-based external MRP system.

* Saved GBP30k in the first year due material savings.

* Material utilisation improved by 7%.

* Saving many man-hours in different areas.

* machine cycle time continually reduced through software updates.

* Minimal support needs - only a couple of calls per year.

* Use the MRP Schedule facility to prioritise parts.