The ipLaser (Blackburn, Australia) cutting quotation suite reduces, by half, customer response times by laser service providers, while expanding growth opportunities for business. The ipLaser cloud-based technology suite automatically processes three-dimensional (3D) engineering and production graphics provided by customers, which not only automates business processes and saves time, but also transforms and expands business opportunities. “It does this by enabling laser cutting businesses to respond to customers’ needs more quickly and to reach many more prospective customers than previously in a given time,” says ipLaser Managing Director Ivan Cooper. “So the new process goes far beyond saving time and costs to fundamentally change and improve the way a business built around laser cutting can grow.”
This new process eliminates many previous obstacles to the use of 3D encountered by laser cutting companies whose services are delivered in a 2D sheet metal environment, using surfaces that must be extracted from 3D drawings. Cooper says previous challenges in the conversion included high cost and time demands: “3D packages are expensive, trained operators are expensive, and finding the time to train people (if they have no prior experience) is hard, too.” Simplifying the process makes it more accessible for any operator without 3D experience, in both large and small laser shops. This means ipLaser’s new 3D quotation software takes a customer’s 3D model and automatically identifies all component parts. It separates them out and generates a quote based on materials, labor, and any customized pricing.
The software can handle 3D model quoting sources quickly, driving opportunity and growth ahead of their competitors, says Cooper. The new technology taps into the experience and needs of thousands of ipLaser software users globally, who have contributed their ideas, catering to the needs of laser cutters servicing the world’s major industries, including automotive, aviation, architectural and construction products, engineering electrical, manufacturing, metals, mining and energy, shipbuilding, and textiles.
ipLaser’s latest software ties in seamlessly with a job shop customer’s existing 3D drawings and automatically breaks down their complexity into the myriad of simple 2D shapes that require laser cutting. “No job shop customer wants to be asked to provide differently formatted drawings. In most cases, they’ll just work with someone who can more easily meet their needs. With the latest ipLaser software, job shops can automatically extract their customer’s parts from a 3D model, effectively breaking down roadblocks to getting the job done most efficiently,” says Cooper. “With ipLaser’s product suite, any operator can produce quotes from a 3D drawing, with no 3D experience required, allowing them to meet customer requests efficiently without investing heavily in 3D technology,” he says.
The new technology also enhances accuracy and customer service by automatically using rules involved in the job for consistency. Cooper and his business partner Peter Olle have been involved in profile cutting job shops for more than 30 years. They base their new suite of ipLaser technologies (different parts of which are suitable for different laser shop tasks) on research and practical experience in developing a business management solution to ensure effective control, efficiency and accuracy of the quoting, order processing, and reporting aspects of their own laser cutting business and those of their worldwide user base.