Software takes metal fabricators to global standard
The power and ease of use of today’s CAD/CAM technology has provided far better utilisation of blank sheetmetal, precise product design, accurate mould design, fine accuracy of bends and folds.
In short, the gains are such that the high-grade interoperability between metalworking software and different brands of machine tools has all but eliminated prototype testing.
Denis Colusso, director of plm , the distributor of NX CAM software, believes the metal industries of Australia NZ stand to gain more from software developments than most other industries.
“The metalwork industry is predominantly small to medium-sized enterprises, so the positive effects of software are being felt right across the two countries,” Colusso said.
“For a company with several machines, and perhaps 25 employees, to spend time designing a mould or factoring a sequence of bends for a press brake using actual product will take up so much time and cost high amounts of money.
“CAD/CAM software has changed all this. Designers work very quickly on a computer, they do this precisely, and once the design is finalised the in-situ testing is simulated in the digital environment.
A growing list of our customers have benefited from NX CAM as it provides a way in which they can streamline shop floor operations and actively reduce the number of steps from design to production.
“Moreover, software like NX CAM has capabilities that rely on far less CAD input – sometimes none at all – so what it does is highlight the true potential of CAM software.
NX CAM provides benefits both as an element of a standalone CAD/CAM solution or in a multi-CAD environment where data may come from a variety of CAD sources.
One plm client chose NX CAM in order to remain competitive in the challenging cutting tool industry. The organisation commenced training on the software product predominantly to move away from a longstanding dependence on CAD software. It saw this as a way of speeding productivity on the workshop floor.
The scenario proved that CAM software can be taken up as part of a national group standardisation.
“The company was only using CAD software but wanted to unify and use CAM to give it that direct digital step from design to manufacturing, basically bypassing that CAD step,” Colusso said.
“The digital design environment is crucial to productivity as the commercial pressure is always on to manufacture special tooling for the cutting industry through a multinational organisation, but it also needs the scope to specialise in specific solutions as they arise.”
Essentially bypassing what was formerly the company’s CAD process it was possible to ensure no ‘collisions’ on the production line before jobs go onto the machine.
For many companies, the ability to centralise control is a huge asset on their production line. With the high level of automation now responsible for making almost everything we use in society, a major aim of manufacturing managers is to remain on top of what is happening on the factory floor.
“In another example of how software upgraded procedures, an Australian company that specialises in precision tooling to make caps and tamper evident closures such as hinged and unscrewing bottle tops wanted a greater level of streamlining,” Colusso said.
“The company doesn’t mould these products; it builds the tools that manufacture these plastic parts. Often these are quite large intricate jobs.
“The company’s main CAD operator says that prior to the introduction of NX CAM, the CAD room was performing everything including modelling, drafting, and cutter paths.
‘But now it links a file through the main assembly to the shop floor where cutter paths are produced.”
The result is more simplified control over the entire job, with staff on the shop floor unable to inadvertently make model changes. Updates in the CAD room are also automatically linked to the shop floor.
Product Lifecycle Management Australasia 02 9410 4701.
13-Mar-2006