The Silicon Valley mantra of “move fast and break things” might not apply everywhere in custom metal fabrication, especially when it comes to new equipment. Columnist Caleb Chamberlain just found this out the hard way with a tube laser.
If you follow my monthly columns, you’ll know that we recently purchased and installed a new laser tube cutting system. In my December 2023 article, I wrote about the new machine and the software we designed to support it. Unfortunately, it was far more expensive and challenging to get started than we anticipated. The machine arrived damaged, and we made some big mistakes. But we also did a few things right. What follows is an honest take on what we’ve learned. As we dive in and discuss what happened, some of you will shake your heads and wonder what we were thinking. You should. In retrospect, we are doing the same.
