Released on: July 11, 2008, 8:48 am

Press Release Author: Thomas R. Cutler

Industry: Software

Press Release Summary: Manufacturing Journalist TR Cutler Profiles Optimation and
Benchmarking the Best Nest

Press Release Body: Benchmarking against a current method of producing parts using
real world requirements is the only efficacious way to determine if new methods,
such as Vision Emulation and Multi-Dimensional-Combinatorial-Nesting technology, are
indeed improvements. Always having the highest level of automated productivity and
cost cutting technology is quantifiable. Quantify a specific number of parts that
are actually used in production; only then can optimized manufacturing metrics be
compared and the best nest discovered.

Past methods of nesting have followed rules that reduce the very large number of
combinations to a manageable few. The purpose of a heuristic rule set is to
eliminate most of the calculations required to obtain a solution. Most nesting
heuristics use some variation of the "First Fit" heuristic. The "First Fit"
heuristic uses the following general steps:

1. Order the parts from largest to smallest.
2. Place the largest part on the raw material.
3. Rotate the part to the orientation that brings it closest to the nesting corner.
4. Place the next largest part on the raw material.
5. Rotate the part to the orientation that brings it closest to the nesting corner.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all parts are nested or until no more parts will fit.

In the current issue of AutomationMedia.com, manufacturing journalist Thomas R.
Cutler profiles Optimation and the need for benchmarking the best nesting solutions.
The article, titled "The Test: Benchmarking the Best Nest" can be read in entirety
at http://automationmedia.com/TRCutler.asp?ID=%2056.
This method is modified by adding fewer or more rotations, placing some parts in
holes of other parts, reordering the list by other attributes such as longest or
greatest perimeter. According to Michael D Lundy P.E. and President of Blue Springs,
Missouri-based, Optimation, "In all cases heuristics are blind. In order to prevent
the heuristic from selecting a nest that is infeasible, constraints are applied to
the list. A filter is applied to prevent parts that are due in the future from being
considered. Another filter will limit the list of parts to insure that too many
tools are not required by the set of parts in the list. These filters limit many of
the possibilities that are feasible. The result is a sub-optimal nest that is
feasible but wastes material and productivity."

Lundy's company approached this problem with a dynamic method of evaluating optimal
results. Multi-Dimensional-Combinatorial-Nesting technology (MDCNT) is a new
technology which transcends previous nesting methods. Unlike heuristics, the
combinatorial nesting approach uses fathoming to eliminate infeasible solutions and
sub-optimal solutions. When Vision Emulation is applied with MDCN, the part
selection process is greatly enhanced and brings a powerful toolset for finding and
placing the right parts in combination with other parts to achieve the optimal nest.

For thirty years Optimation® (www.optimation.com) has been the world leader in Part
Nesting for Optimized Material and Labor utilization. Consistently providing product
advancement leadership to industry, the company's new Nesting Technology, AxiomVE
make previous nesting methods obsolete. The new technology, Vision EmulationT,
allows the system to "see" the shape of parts, just as human eyes would view them.
When a person looks at a part, they see the whole shape and any special features on
the part. This information is then used to determine if the part will fit in an
area of the nest. Vision Emulation eliminates excessive trial and error as well as
excessive rotation.
Optimation offers benchmarking against any other method of part nesting; recent
benchmarks have show improvements up to 15% in material efficiency alone.

Optimation
www.optimation.com
Michael D Lundy P.E.
Opti1@optinest.com
877-827-2100


Web Site: http://www.optimation.com

Contact Details: Optimation
704 NW Mock Street
Blue Springs, MO 64015
816-228-2100