Overview
An athletic-bracing brand was hand-cutting EVA foam pads in-house. Variation in cut parts, material waste and operator time made costs unpredictable. We moved production to a steel die process on a traveling-head press, then re-nested the geometry to maximize sheet yield.
The result: 28% less scrap, a clean edge suitable for downstream laminating and a 19% reduction in per-part cost at a steady 15k/month cadence.
Process Highlights
- Die design & first article: tuned rule height and radii for EVA compression and edge quality.
- Optimized nesting: rotated parts and adjusted web spacing to raise sheet utilization.
- Traveling-head press: consistent stroke and pressure for repeatable cuts across shifts.
- QC & sign-off: in-process checks on OD/ID with go/no-go gauges; lot labeling for traceability.
What This Means For You
If you’re cutting soft-goods by hand or on a slow CNC path, moving recurring SKUs to steel dies can stabilize quality and meaningfully cut cost. We’ll review your parts and show exactly how nesting changes affect yield.