Above: A robot picks and stacks completed blanks off a PivaPunch PCC150-e TTi Compact discharge conveyor.
October, 2025- As manufacturing continues to migrate toward increasing automation and interconnected, data-driven production processes, CNC punching machines are thriving in spaces where their performance advantages are helping fabricators and job shops keep a competitive edge.
“With the rapid rise of fiber lasers, some thought the technology would eclipse punching machines,” says Santy Vongkhamsaeng, North American sales manager for Pivatic. “But that hasn’t been the case. For example, lasers are primarily 2D while punching equipment can add 3D features such as stiffening ribs, louvers and cluster punching of multiple holes with one hit. Punches can also combine operations like tapping, countersinks and extrusions. It’s a faster, more efficient process depending on the application required,” he says.
EFFICIENT OPERATIONS
Pivatic’s PivaSystem provides a fully automated CNC system for fast and flexible punching for sheet metal products like lockers, cabinets, doors, appliance parts and electrical boxes. The system can punch from coil or blanks depending on the customers’ needs and specifications.
The equipment uses advanced tooling for high-speed, precise, material-friendly production. Blank punching lines use the same punching technology as coil punching but are ideal for high mix/low volume jobs or specific product families.
Coil punching lines for raw or slitted coils anchor Pivatic’s PivaPunch, an automated punching center engineered for high-volume sheet metal fabrication directly from a coil of material. It can also be combined with other Pivatic systems like PivaBend to create a fully automated lights-out production line able to punch, cut and bend parts in a single, uninterrupted process.
The new PivaPunch PCC150-e TTi Compact is a fully electric punching system that incorporates a punching center with a two-coil system for quick automated material changeover.
“We are the only company that has integrated punching technology with a two-multi-coil system,” Vongkhamsaeng claims. “Any time you can feed material using coil, your operation is going to be more efficient and reduce overall scrap.”
The new PivaPunch PCC150-e TTi Compact is fully electric and incorporates a punching center with a multi-coil system. Thick turret tooling is used to create a wide range of features from holes, slots and knockouts to extrusions. Other modules can be added for press tooling or specific stations to create notches or custom features.
Once the PivaPunch modules process the material, a shear is triggered to cut the blank to the proper length and to width if needed before a conveyor system moves it downstream for part marking, bending, stacking or assembly.
For example, “if a customer needed rails of a specific length, you would normally purchase those custom blanks from an outside source, but that just increased your lead time anywhere from two to six weeks,” Vongkhamsaeng says. “With Pivatic’s coil and straightening system, you can make your own blanks. Any time a part requires a custom size, you are wasting production time and increasing scrap if it doesn’t fit on a standard sheet size,” he explains.
REDUCED LEAD TIMES
The ability to lower lead times is a top priority for fabricators and job shops, so being able to produce blanks in house gives companies greater control over their lead times and part designs.
“Sometimes a manufacturer designs a part that doesn’t accommodate the material that is available,” Vongkhamsaeng continues. “Bringing these tasks in house means you gain greater flexibility over your design process and reduce the time between design and manufacturing.”
Pivatic’s PivaPunch system can be automated and integrated with robotics. While the core punching machine is CNC-controlled, the system has been developed to be part of a larger, fully automated fabrication line that can integrate robotics for handling and processing materials. The PivaPunch system can also be integrated with a panel bender or feed a roll forming line.
Pivatic automated solutions and software promote greater flexibility with batching capabilities.
NEW CHALLENGES
“We’re always looking at how we can challenge ourselves to make a better product,” Vongkhamsaeng says. “Customers are trying to stay competitive by investing in automated solutions and robotics. Rising utilities, materials and labor costs ultimately reduce margins. Our goal is to create greater efficiency with our automated solutions and software to promote flexibility and batching.”
Customers often come to Pivatic with specific cycle times typically under 1 minute for a completely fabricated part. “With our PivaSystem, multiple work centers can now be run by just one operator,” he says.
Pivatic has been able to track results with customers that are making more parts with higher accuracy and quality while reducing errors and producing less scrap. Their innovative tooling cassettes to punch on both sides of the coil or sheet is unique to Pivatic. Loaded with standardized “thick turret, Amada-style” tooling, the cassettes support a wide variety of punching operations with minimal downtime.
“Customers tell us we are selling a system that no other machine tool company makes,” Vongkhamsaeng says. “That’s what drives us to continue pushing innovation to the next level.”
Pivatic, 847/214-8700, pivatic.com.
