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Consider the CNC punch press. Just because a sheet metal fabrication technology has been around for a while doesn’t make it a thing of the past. While CO2 and fiber lasers have been coming on strong they are not necessarily the answer to all of a fabricator’s needs. Lasers can indeed do many things such as welding, tube cutting and etching. The product’s application and material thickness may make a laser the right purchase.

Yet, when the objective is to make parts at the lowest cost, the increasing costs of power, consumables, shielding gas, maintenance and flexibility still make the CNC punch press very attractive. Since you can’t form parts on a laser there are many secondary operations that are performed on a press brake, in a stamping machine or by some other means. These add time and money in setup, material handling and create more work in process.

In an article in Shop Metalworking Technology magazine, Mate Regional Sales Manager Peter Visser shared an example of a customer with a laser that was also spending over $1 million annually in secondary spot-welding operations. They were thinking about buying another laser, when Peter demonstrated how a CNC punch press could eliminate their spot-welding and other high-cost secondary operations. His customer purchased the punch press, which paid for the investment in just five months, saving it almost $1 million during the first year. Other punch press advantages include: a lower purchase price, longer life span and less downtime for maintenance.

So, if you’re considering investing in a new machine, be sure you to take your total process requirements and costs into consideration, and keep the CNC punch press on your shopping list. They can really expand the flexibility and capacity of your shop while potentially producing product at a lower cost.

Download a PDF of Peter’s article, “Punch Press Vs Laser: A Business Case” from Shop Metalworking Technology magazine.

For ideas on eliminating secondary operations and other possibilities with a punch press, visit our Customer Solution Gallery.

Visit Shop Metalworking Technology magazine.