Shop Fabrication Best Practices - Open Discussion

I wanted to start an open discussion to see what everyone’s opinions are towards fabrication and shop setup.

From personal experience, the shop I came from was CNC nested-based. We did not have a saw or point-to-point setup. This was a great and simple setup for us. But, with only one CNC (with a single 5 x 12 bed) there were times when the machine was backlogged. And, if the machine was ever down for maintenance then it could really push projects back.

But, for us, we chose to go this direction because it had the shortest track from cut-out to assembly. Parts came off the machine, went to the edgebander, to prep (hardware installation), and then to a bench for assembly.

In discussions I’ve had with others in the industry, a saw and PTP setup is beneficial when you are needing to crank out work since saws are typically cutting multiple sheets at a time.

I’m curious what others within the industry have to say about their setups: What’s working for them? Flow processes with the different setups… Etc.

I’m not looking to have a discussion on brands, per se, but just overall pros and cons to shop setups.