Original Posted By: rhartwig11(at)juno.com
DJ wrote->I shouldn't be allowed to do more than one piece per drawing, but I>emailed them and asked..... they said it was ok to do it that way>to save $$.I don't know that this is the case, but in many processes involving programming and setup of an automated process such as CNC operations, it is far more efficient to prepare the drawing with parts 'nested' to minimize waste and maximize tool travel efficiency. It may be that loading your drawing and a sheet of stock into the cutting machine takes just as much setup time for one part cut from one piece of stock as it does for a nested array of parts all cut from one piece of stock. In an operation of any size, the raw material for each part is pennies on the dollar of the total cost; it's the setup, prep, labor, and handling that amounts to the bulk of the cost of the part.Please do let us know how you come out on this, DJ. It's a little bit exciting when you think about it: an automated cutting process that produces precision fittings from drawings prepared electronically, nested to minimize waste and maximize accuracy, ordered and paid for online without one human ever talking directly with another, packaged and shipped across the U.S. in a few days, brought to your door, and ready to install on your airplane with a little light smoothing and some protective primer and paint. All for an airplane design that is almost as old as flying itself! In a way it's a desecration not to make the parts by hand, but in another way it's a thrill to see how we can use modern methods to bring the drum of taut fabric and the hum of flying wires back into our lives, eh?Oscar ZunigaSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 10:42:55 -0500Subject: Pietenpol-List: Laser cut 4130 fittings