Formed 11 years ago, Redruth-based LaserMaster initially manufactured its own range of carpet-cleaning machines, but the bulk of its business is now sub-contract sheet-metal and fabricated products for a wide range of industry sectors, including aerospace and motor-sport.
Early this year, it invested in a Bystronic BySprint 4kW fibre-optic laser machine with automated sheet load/unload; and having used Lantek Expert CAD/CAM software for the last six years, it installed Lantek Integra ERP software.
CAD/CAM engineer Tim Hicks says: “We upgraded the software to complement the more-efficient cutting we can get from the new Bystronic machine. We have had experience with all the other leading CAD/CAM systems, and they have not been able to touch Lantek for performance and nesting efficiency.”
To fill the available capacity of the new Bystronic machine, LaserMaster needs to produce about 50 quotes every day. Mr Hicks says: “It is vital for us to get the quotes done very quickly. All the parts we produce are different, with only the occasional repeat order. Lantek Integra communicates with Lantek Expert to calculate material usage and cutting times. It also includes information about material costs to give us accurate selling prices. In addition, the system monitors the success rates for our quotations, so we can see how we are performing against our sales targets.
“The new Bystronic and Lantek software combination is 50% more efficient than our previous set-up, and we have the potential to produce four-times more work than before. We are already seeing more quotations turn into orders.”