Over the last year we’ve had a number of customers join ipLaser who had previously used Sectura FAB for the laser cutting quoting needs of their business, so we thought we’d do a quick side by side comparison of the two products to help you decide which might be best for your business.
ipLaser and Sectura FAB both have the benefit of being specifically designed for profile laser cutting, which is essential for ensuring you are quoting properly in your business. Too many generic quoting services, or ERP/MRP systems with a quoting module bolted on, simply don’t have the sophistication or workflows required ensure you maintain operational efficiency and profitability in your business.
Both products have many similar core features: the ability to import and unfold a wide variety of file types, clean drawings, generate quotes based on pricing rules (including for secondary processes), and email and other integrations to keep your factor moving, plus dashboards and reporting to better understand your business.
But as ever, the devil is in the detail, and there are four key differences customers leaving SecturaFAB have cited when converting to ipLaser:
Pricing - ipLaser uses usage based pricing, which means you pay based quote volume. Or if using the 24/7 online ordering and payments portal, your customers can quote for free, and you only pay when you win the job. This makes it a perfect piece of companion software that can be used by an unlimited number of users, for as much or as little work as suits your business. SecturaFAB charges an expensive, recurring per seat fee that can run into the thousands of dollars year per employee.
Drawing Management- both services allow you to upload and manipulate customer drawings, but ipLaser allows you to use this same upload all the way through to production on your laser, plasma or water jet machine. ipLaser uses the Drawing Doctor to check and correct drawings, and will provide pricing only when it is feasible to actually produce the product. SecturaFAB also allows you to manipulate the drawings to fix problems, but does so in a way that may not align with the customers intent, or in a way which is not actually feasible for production, which can lead to costly production mistakes down the line.
Manual Nesting - ipLaser automatically manages nesting, and provides sensible, efficient nests without intervention. SecturaFAB requires users to rotate parts to change the way they nest to seek out more efficient options which are unable to generated automatically.
Multi-Part Nesting Inefficiencies - ipLaser uses a best in class nesting algorithm to provide highly efficient multi-part nests in just a few seconds. Former SecturaFAB customers have reported to us that multi-part nests are not optimised for material usage, and multiple attempts are required to achieve an effective nest, driving up the time and resources required to generate a quote.
In conclusion, while both ipLaser and Sectura FAB offer valuable features for laser cutting quoting software, ipLaser stands out due to its speed, efficiency in nesting processes, flexible pricing and implementation options, and the ability to better integrate with the rest of your factory using production-ready drawings.
For businesses looking to enhance their quoting processes while minimizing errors and maximizing efficiency, ipLaser presents a superior choice for laser cutting estimating software. By choosing ipLaser, companies can ensure they remain competitive in a fast-paced industry while providing exceptional service to their customers.