New ToolBox suite cuts out time waste to give laser job shops a boost

A new laser cutting and fabrication quoting tool suite is being introduced to the Australasia and the Asia-Pacific to save job shops time, and keep quotes accurate and consistent, no matter who is preparing them.

The new ToolBox digital tool kit from Tempus Tools Inc turns a CAD drawing into an accurate quote in seconds, and the time saved can be used to allow laser job shop staff and resources to be reallocated into areas such as business growth.

Toolbox can also provide an innovative 3D unfolding service, whereby it can be fed full 3D schematics of a product and it will select precisely all the 2D sheet metal surfaces required to be cut by a laser workshop.

It's also possible to create the drawing without using any CAD software, using Toolbox's Quick Part parametric parts library. Quick Part has a broad range of customisable parts, including brackets, flanges, gussets, and plates that can be adjusted to the specific needs of the user. (Watch a video showcasing ToolBox here.)

"ToolBox is designed to put the tools in the hands of small laser cutting and fabrication workshops that are looking to grow their business. It helps with cleaning drawings, part creation or extraction, and laser cutting calculations, so the business can quote more jobs and expand its operations," says Mr Felipe Lechuga, President, Tempus Tools.

"With the shift to Industry 4.0, slow quoting processes just aren't competitive anymore, so job shops need new tools to get the job done faster, more accurately, and with total consistency," says Mr Lechuga.

The ToolBox suite includes a number of tools designed to save laser job shops time and cost when preparing quotes and analysing drawings

The laser cutting market is growing due to its importance to vital industries such as automotive, aviation, architectural and construction products, defense, engineering electrical, manufacturing, metals, mining and energy, shipbuilding and textiles.

"Customers in these demanding industries need fast quotes. ToolBox empowers job shops, particularly smaller ones, to win more projects through quicker turnaround times," says Mr Lechuga.

ToolBox allows the user to select shapes, sizes, quantities and materials, and can also provide a folding quotation service by calculating the estimated time to run the press brake for the part's requirements. Key parameters are all configurable by the user.

"Configuring parts for folding can be done either by manually inputting parameters, or by selecting fold or bed lines directly from the CAD drawing for calculation," explains Mr Lechuga.

"Using ToolBox's simple, user-friendly interface, users can feed these useful calculations into ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), MRP (Material Resource Planning) and other systems quicker," he said.

"And, you don't need someone with a highly specialized CAD skillset. Anyone in the business can use ToolBox to create fast, accurate and consistent quotes."

In addition to the suite of new tools being released, Mr Lechuga says Tempus Tools will provide the service and back-up to assist job shops with getting the most out of their new software.

"Just like with any new product, users may have only purchased the software to perform a particular task – and they may not realize it can save them time in several other areas, too. So, the Tempus Tools support team will be on hand to show new users just how powerful the new suite can be," he said.

"Plus, we're consistently working on new tools to further drive efficiency gains for laser cutting businesses, so the Tempus Tool team will keep users updated with new options that will help speed up quoting."

Time-saving Tools

The new Tempus Tools ToolBox suite is comprised of four key time-saving and labour-saving components:

1. Drawing Doctor, which can import, view and interact with 2D CAD files, and can fix most problematic drawings without requiring a CAD system. It can extract parts (even those inside other parts), split multi-part drawings, and remove unnecessary entities like title blocks. Cleaned drawings can be exported as DXF or DWG files.

2. Quick Part, which can create parts using its parametric parts library. Users can select from a wide range of parts and customise them by dimension, diameter and the relative shape of the geometry. Quick Part allows parts to be created without the need for CAD software. Drawings can once again be exported as DXF or DWG files.

3. 3D Model Sheet Metal Extractor, which can view and explode 3D model files within the ToolBox 3D viewer. It can automatically detect material type, thickness, and part quantity. It then extracts all 2D sheet metal components for calculation. Extracted parts are once again able to be exported as DXF or DWG files.

4. Calculation, which encompasses both processing time and pricing, allowing a quick response to customers, without having to laboriously add data manually into an ERP or MRP first.

"The culmination of these tools is that the job shop can create a fast quote, send it out to the customer with their branding, and continue generating more new business," says Mr Lechuga.