Paperless Parts, Online Metals Partner to Create Materials Pricing Tool
Engineers and custom part manufacturers will have access to a fast and simple quote tool with built-in materials pricing and geometry engine. Paperless Viewer will close a technology gap and solve one of manufacturers’ biggest bottlenecks, says CEO.
Posted: April 30, 2020
Paperless Parts (Boston, MA) has formed a partnership with Online Metals, combining its own expertise in how part geometry drives materials selection with Online Metals’ instant materials pricing. Together their new tool, Paperless Viewer, will help engineers and custom part manufacturers streamline one of the first steps in every quoting process – materials pricing, a notorious pain point that slows the quoting process.
Online Metals will provide its customers who sign up for Paperless Parts with access to this tool free for one year.
Manufacturers have historically focused on the efficient delivery of their products, not the frontend processes that are critical to business success. But as the world becomes increasingly digital, job shops have had to keep pace – and for many, that means improving their quoting capabilities. However, this shift has been stalled by two critical components of the quoting process: the ability to quickly determine the required amount and price of materials to manufacture the part.
By integrating Online Metals’ materials expertise with Paperless Parts’ patent-pending technology, Paperless Viewer, estimators will have access to a powerful engineering tool that analyzes part manufacturability, allowing estimators to deliver more accurate, comprehensive quotes with the right pricing in minutes, rather than days or weeks. Not only does this solution address key challenges related to selecting and pricing raw metals, but through the Paperless Viewer users have access to an engineering tool that also analyzes part manufacturability. With this tool, they can now answer another key question in the quoting process: “Can I make these parts?”
Using the Paperless Viewer, engineers and custom part manufacturers will have the ability to quickly:
- View and securely store all 2D and 3D CAD file formats
- Calculate optimal materials requirements (bars, rods and nested sheets) for every job and get instant pricing and purchasing options from Online Metals
- Determine if a part is manufacturable based on configurable manufacturability thresholds
- Securely and digitally chat with their teams and share design feedback with customers
“In today’s supply chain, engineers have access to modern solutions that allow them to design parts using advanced technology,” said Jason T. Ray, co-founder and CEO of Paperless Parts. “Many manufacturers, however, are still working in Excel or – in some cases – pen and paper, creating a significant technology gap that leads to bottlenecks within the supply chain. By providing both engineers and manufacturers with access to the Paperless Viewer and instant materials pricing from Online Metals, we are leveling the playing field, allowing them to collaborate more effectively and deliver an accurate product to their customer more quickly than ever.”
“At Online Metals, our mission has always been to bring our customers faster ways to price and purchase metals regardless of the quantity or size required,” said Greg Raece, president of Online Metals. “This partnership with Paperless Parts is a logical extension of what we set out to do 22 years ago. Not only can our customers now calculate the material requirements of a specific job and seamlessly order materials, they can rest assured that they have the ability to accurately manufacture that part – a game changer for purchasing materials online.”
“The integration between Paperless Parts and Online Metals has been significant for our business,” said Justin Quinn, president of Focused on Machining. “Within a day of being onboarded to the solution we were able to more quickly, confidently and seamlessly calculate our materials requirements and visualize it. The tool makes it easy to order materials from Online Metals when we need them.”
www.paperlessparts.com/onlinemetals