In the years previous to our getting the MultiCam CNC plasma cutter we spent many, many thousands of dollars having a local machine shop cut steel plates which we used in the building of our features. The plates are mostly used to bolt welded steel frame sections together and for mounting the features in place when they get to their final home. With EnRoute software and the MultiCam plasma cutter now handy we can create the plates on demand and in any shape of size we might need. We also make hundreds of other pieces that are used throughout our creations and sometimes in all welded steel features. With the use we now get out of the software and machine going back to having someone else do the cutting would be impossible now.
Thither than simply throwing a 4'x8' sheet of steel on the machine and fill it with plates, we now make our plates with scrap steel. The plates now only cost what it takes to run the machine, a few consumables and the man to run it. The fact is that when we cut parts for the Viking Ships (or whatever else we might be fabricating) the irregular sized and shaped leftovers add up in a hurry. These scraps need to be taken care of one way or other and they can't simply sit out in the weather gathering rust until we need them for some small piece. Shop space is too valuable and in short supply to store the bulky pieces there. The solution is to create three or four files of the various sized and shaped brackets and plates we use most often and cut them from the scrap. The rest of the waste steel will go into the recycle bin.
