Ready to slash waste and increase profit margins?
Between protecting margins, and reducing material waste, every manufacturer wants to use raw materials as efficiently as possible. After all, the less waste your production process generates:
- You improve your profit margins.
- You spend less money on materials.
Simple as that.
The Problem:
Sadly most businesses aren’t as efficient as they could be.
Traditional cutting methods waste between 8-12% of raw materials on scraps and offcuts. Over time that really adds up when you’re running orders week after week.
Luckily technology has come a long way. You can now upload laser cutting files and manufacture parts with precision you only dreamed of ten years ago. By uploading laser cutting projects to your trusted custom metal parts manufacturing platform, you can instantly get quotes, optimize designs, and eliminate scrap material before it even enters your production workflow.
Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
- Why Waste Reduction Matters For Your Bottom Line
- How Laser Cutting Technology Minimises Waste
- 5x Proven Strategies To Reduce Manufacturing Waste
- Wrapping Things Up
Why Waste Reduction Matters For Your Bottom Line
There’s a lot more waste happening in manufacturing than most people think.
Industrial manufacturers in the EU produce more waste than residential households, combined. Imagine all of the waste from residential buildings AND businesses everywhere else piled up into one giant heap. Now you’re pretty close to how much material the manufacturing sector throws away every year.
And it’s not just an environmental problem…
Your profitability is being affected. Every chunk of metal that’s thrown in the bin is money spent on materials that don’t get turned into a saleable product. Materials costs are always going up. Limiting waste is one of the quickest ways you can protect your profit margins.
Imagine if you could cut your manufacturing waste by 10%.
You wouldn’t need to spend more on advertising, or hire more employees. You’d simply be spending less money on raw materials while still producing the same amount of products.
Decreasing your waste really does directly equate to increasing your profits.
How Laser Cutting Technology Minimises Waste
Laser Cutting technology has revolutionised product manufacturing over the last couple decades.
Here’s why: Older mechanical cutting methods relied on physical blades or punches to slice through material. These tools required waste space between parts so they didn’t collide when being cut. Laser Cutting doesn’t have this problem. A laser can produce extremely thin slices, allowing you to nest parts much closer together.
In fact industry statistics show laser cutting can reduce material waste by up to 25% over traditional manufacturing methods. When you’re paying top dollar for metals and alloys that’s a huge savings.
Plus…
You can now upload CAD files directly to modern laser cutting software. These programs automatically nest your parts in the most efficient configuration possible (called nesting). By strategically rotating and flipping your parts, nesting software extracts every last bit of material from each sheet.
There’s less room for error too. Computerised laser cutting doesn’t have to deal with incorrect measurements or lost material from human error. And that equals less waste.
5x Proven Strategies To Reduce Manufacturing Waste
Okay, now we’re ready to look at how you can cut down on waste.
Below are five proven strategies to help reduce your waste output. They require minimal effort but can have huge impacts on the amount of scrap material your manufacturing business produces.
Optimise Your Designs BEFORE Production
The easiest place to save material is before you even press the first button.
Here’s why: All your materials waste occurs during the design phase. Before a customer orders your product, go through your design files and see where you can cut unnecessary material. Chances are your business has been cutting away extra material long before your first customer even realized they were being overserved.
For instance, just by rounding your design’s interior corners slightly you can save on cutting time and material stress. Something as small as adjusting your dimensions by 2mm could allow your parts to fit more snugly on a standard sheet.
Implement Smart Nesting Software
Nesting software is massively underrated.
Good nesting software will grab all of your parts and organise them onto a material sheet as efficiently as possible. The goal is maximising material usage while minimizing scrap. Smart nesting software in 2025 will typically reach material utilization rates of over 90%.
Less than 10% of your material goes to waste. Now compare that to old methods where you’d easily lose 15-20% or more of your material.
Choose Your Materials Wisely
All materials don’t behave the same when cut.
Think about it. Scrap from aluminum looks drastically different than steel. Due to material differences some materials will create more waste than others. Others will cleanly slice through your laser allowing for faster cutting times.
Here are some things to consider when choosing materials:
- Sheet Size
- Material Thickness
- Material Type
Batch Similar Parts Together
This one sounds simple, but it can make a big difference.
By batching similar material types and thicknesses together you can nest them onto the same sheets. Everything fits together like a puzzle meaning you use every last bit of material and drastically reduce the amount of sheet changes you make during production.
Bingo. You’ve just minimized wasted material and accelerated production times.
Re-use Offcuts & Scrap Material
Got offcuts? Don’t chuck them.
Big pieces of scrap material can always be used for smaller parts down the road. A lot of manufacturers keep a catalog of scrap material and run small batch orders when they have leftover materials. It’s a great way to get more out of the materials you’ve already purchased.
Design Optimisation Tips That Save Materials
Curious how you can take optimisation one step further? Check out these design tips.
- Simplify Your Geometry: Some parts have crazy shapes with tiny internal features. Try simplifying parts wherever possible. Every millimeter matters.
- Standardise Your Part Sizes: Create parts that fit other products wherever possible. Standardising sizes will allow your parts to nest easier.
- Design With Your Sheets In Mind: Know what sheet sizes you have available and design parts around them. Otherwise you’ll be left with tons of awkward offcuts.
- Reduce Tolerances Where You Can: Tighter tolerances lead to more scrap. Don’t specify tighter tolerances just because you can. Only do so when the part absolutely requires them.
Tiny improvements add up over time. Apply these design optimisation techniques across hundreds, even thousands of parts and you’ll start to see major material savings.
Wrapping Things Up
Reducing manufacturing waste is one of the easiest ways to increase your margins and lower costs.
By simply cutting back on waste you’re saving your business:
- Money – More usable parts are made from every sheet of material.
- Time – Less rework and errors during production means quicker turnarounds.
- Resources – Waste isn’t a thing. Every sheet of material is used as efficiently as possible.
Remember:
- Optimise your designs before cutting
- Use smart nesting software
- Choose your materials carefully
- Batch similar parts together
- Re-use offcuts whenever possible
Businesses who prioritise waste reduction today will be reaping the rewards of higher profit margins tomorrow. Start by uploading your design laser cutting files today and watch how much material you save on your next project run.
