SafanDarley Blog

Technology and automation are changing sheet metal fabrication at a blistering pace. Innovations like Autopol software for offline press brake programming are changing the game, and it’s natural for them to get a lot of press. However, relationships still matter in our industry. In fact, I would say that partnering with the right OEM is as important now as ever.

Owners and managers of sheet metal fabrication companies are painfully aware that it is hard to find good operators in the current economic climate – and it’s even harder to find operators who can reliably program production software at the control panel. This dynamic creates a production bottleneck that could easily be avoided.

Some of my colleagues just came back from visiting several large distributors’ open houses, where they spoke with many SafanDarley customers. The U.S. labor shortage was the topic that dominated conversations for the entire event, and it seems like every company in our industry is short on talent.

Automation sounds complicated and expensive, right? Many of our customers have this impression, and it's based on experience. For decades — really, up until the last five years or so — automation was complicated and expensive. In the past, it required massive capital investment in custom equipment and specialized labor from engineers and programmers, both for implementation and long-term operation and maintenance.

Your company's return on investment (ROI) for sheet metal production technology is a function of improved safety, increased productivity, and reduced operating costs associated with the new equipment you've purchased. After implementation, your operation should be safer and more productive in terms of efficiency, quality, and consistency. If your operation is safer and more cost-efficient than it was before, your company will be more profitable.

User-friendly graphical robot programming has taken automation mainstream and made it accessible to small and growing companies. You don’t need massive capital, a team of engineers, or any experience with programming. With a relatively small amount of investment and training, your company can produce a higher quality, more consistent product, be more resilient, and be less vulnerable to labor shortages.