MTD Audiobook

Additive Manufacturing with hyperMILL

OPEN MIND Technologies presented a ground-breaking addition to the hyperMILL® CAD/CAM suite at the EMO exhibition.

As a leading CAD/CAM solution provider, OPEN MIND presented its hyperMILL® ADDITIVE Manufacturing suite for satisfying the requirements of industrial 3D printing processes.

As a universal software solution, hyperMILL® – together with this option will provide efficient hybrid processing with simultaneous additive and subtractive processing on one single machine platform.

hyperMILL® ADDITIVE Manufacturing opens up flexible options for Directed Energy Deposition processes or D-E-D and Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing or W-A-A-M in terms of highly complex 5-axis simultaneous processing.

Both laser-based powder nozzle machining heads and wire arc additive manufacturing can be controlled using the software from OPEN MIND for selective material deposition, as well as conveniently programmed and automatically simulated for collision avoidance.

hyperMILL® now allows the potential of additive manufacturing to be truly exploited using Powder Bed Fusion or P-B-F.

If 3D-printed parts don't offer the desired precision or support structures have to be removed, the parts can be machined afterwards by means of 5-axis machining.

Even hard-to-reach areas can be machined in a secure manner using hyperMILL®.

As an integral part of the process chain, the CAD/CAM system from OPEN MIND supports reworking of this nature. The printed components are analysed, milled to size and examined.

Volker Nesenhöner, is CEO at OPEN MIND Technologies AG. He says “Our early work on industrial additive manufacturing processes is now bearing fruit.

hyperMILL® ADDITIVE Manufacturing allows us to boost the efficiency, precision and process reliability of additive and hybrid manufacturing.

We want to integrate these new procedures in established process chains, thereby increasing their efficiency and opening up potential applications.”

“We are able to contribute to many innovative solutions and significantly expand the range of applications for these new procedures.”

Important applications will include repairing damaged components, such as in mold-making and toolmaking or repairing turbine blades in the aerospace industry.

This also opens up totally new options for combining different materials, such as when high-quality material layers have to be applied to carrier materials.

At the EMO show, Tebis introduced its latest developments that included applications of Digital Twin and CAM Automation with CNC Process Standardisation.

Understanding that customers machines, tools and clamping devices are sophisticated and expensive, Tebis is fully focused on optimal utilisation and avoiding collisions and damage that can halt production.

To focus on these factors, Tebis has been developing and offering the capabilities to allow customers to build Digital Twin models into Tebis CAM software.

With Digital Twin models, Tebis completely simulates and checks NC programs against collisions to ensure the highest level of CNC machining safety.

The Tebis Digital Twin models are complete mirrors of the physical machines, tools and clamping devices, including multiple machine heads, machine kinematics, tool change movements, toolpath links and machine control macros.

With all these simulated and checked in the virtual world, workshop managers and machine tool operators can have the confidence to run machines unmanned.

Furthermore, Tebis' MES solution ProLeiS provides customers with production planning and control tools.

This means that machine and operation data on the shop floor can be acquired in real time and used for production planning and control.

Managers can have a detailed overview of all manufacturing projects and operation status of all machines.

With CAM Automation and CNC Process Standardisation, Tebis now replaces traditional, repetitive manual programming steps by automatically accessing stored manufacturing data.

The software evaluates the digital CAD part model and accesses structured images of the company's existing manufacturing environment and standardised manufacturing process data to calculate NC programs.

The Tebis manufacturing data libraries include machine tools, cutting tools, machining parameters, machining features and machining process templates.

All the information can be stored and managed across company wide computer network and possibly on the cloud.

This allows the best machining practices to be shared among CAM/CNC engineers.

MRP/ERP why do you need it

Many companies struggle with Excel spreadsheets and paper or they are battling with an MRP/ERP system that never really meets their needs.

So, when it comes to considering MRP for the first time or replacing what you already have, what are the considerations?

In the first of a two-part article 123 Insight’s Martin Bailey reveals a tried and tested formula for selecting, evaluating and implementing a manufacturing system.

What kind of business are you?

Before you can decide what type of system you require, you need to define your business. There are generally four types of manufacturing business:

Make to order: Typically producing low volumes of a range of products, often for other companies with a high variation in the production cycle.

Quoting can be an issue and converting quotes to sales, works and purchase orders can be time-consuming.

If demand changes, it can be difficult to see the impact on stock, purchasing and production.

Subcontractor: Similar to ‘make to order’, subcontractors specialise in small quantities of tailor-made parts or custom-built assemblies where each job is finished before the next one is started.

Orders are less likely to be repeated and your company is not in control of product design.

Subcontractors often find it difficult to schedule production due to the wide range of products and a fluctuating production flow.

Volume production (often making for stock): This is a company often manufacturing its own products.

The range diversity is likely to be smaller, but with larger repeated runs.

Traceability is often key, as manufacturers often have to track serial numbers of components and the finished product.

Bespoke Project Manufacturer: Low quantity production that is unlikely to be repeated, often with massive bills of materials.

Traceability of serialised components is frequently important.

Such projects often have a service element to them and may need to track initial product performance as well as the unit being returned for service in the future.

It should now be clear that all manufacturers need the same thing – a framework to build their business upon with the necessity of tracking the flow of information.

MRP versus ERP

Many companies mistakenly believe (or are steered by consultants) that they need ERP over an MRP system.

But what is the difference and where do you draw the line?

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning and is defined as ‘an information system designed to coordinate the resources, information and processes within an organisation’.

Depending on which definition of MRP you follow, there are different interpretations – Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), which then evolved into ERP.

Some ERP systems have moved away from their manufacturing roots, resulting in failed implementations as the chosen system no longer matches requirements.

ERP covers areas such as accounting, HR, manufacturing, supply chain, CRM, project management and data warehousing.

The perceived benefit is to have a single vendor solution to manage an entire company's information structure and processes.

Where does MRP stop and ERP start?

MRP systems focus on the processes from sales forecasting through to invoicing but traditionally tend to exclude processes such as CRM and accounting.

Some systems have evolved through the acquisition of companies that produce one element and try to integrate/rebrand it into the core product.

The result can then be a mixture of a potentially unstable system with a different user interface.

Due to its breadth of coverage, the problems associated with implementing ERP over MRP will be greater by default.

A more flexible implementation approach is to allow companies to roll the system out to specific departments first, rather than forcing the entire company to go live from day one.

Before MRP – your current problems

Presently you will either be using a collection of Excel spreadsheets and/or paper-based systems, you may have outgrown a bespoke system or have invested in a ‘packaged’ system which is no longer fit for purpose.

Excel Spreadsheets/Paper-based

Firstly, only one person can work on a spreadsheet at any given time. Many staff print reports daily, which are quickly outdated and fragment your data.

A great example is quality audits, where data is scattered across your company and takes hours or days to compile.

The problem gets worse with paper as it takes a lot of manpower to ‘push’ it around a factory.

Documents are often in multi-part format, which also has an environmental impact.

Bespoke System

Companies often go down the bespoke route because they have already experienced ‘Excel Hell’ and a member of staff has written something themselves, highly customised to meet their needs.

As the business grows, the system needs to be able to cope.

However, it’ll generally be one (often senior) person within the company that has enough experience to develop something.

It might cover stock control, quoting or basic production management, but rarely does it cover true MRP.

One day the developer decides to leave….and suddenly your company is on borrowed time.

Any required changes either need expensive subcontracting or simply get ignored; and god forbid if the system falls over!

New systems (often Excel and paper) spring up to compensate, and as data continues to grow the problem just multiplies.

The Packaged System

A packaged system is an off-the-shelf product that should meet most of your needs.

Traditionally, the software is purchased up-front for a large sum, with similar implementation costs and around 15-20% of the software cost every year for maintenance.

There will be further costs for customisation, plus version upgrade and installation fees.

A common issue is ‘the tail wagging the dog’.

Companies implement a system and find that they must negatively modify their processes to accommodate it.

A good system will meet the needs of its users with minimal or no customisation.

You may have considered evaluating software designed for your industry, but this is no guarantee of a better fit.

Often, such systems have been developed by a similar company for themselves and someone then had the idea to market it.

These are bespoke products that claim they are better than generic solutions, however, generally they were designed to meet the needs of just one company.

Another regular problem is the ‘rusted handcuffs’. Companies implement a system only to find that the product is discontinued a few years later, or the vendor has gone out of business.

There are many well-publicised horror stories of MRP/ERP implementation failures, such as Montclair State University and Oracle.

Montclair claimed that they contracted Oracle for a system worth US$4.3m, but due to mistakes by Oracle, it would now cost up to $20m more.

Oracle counter-sued and they eventually settled out of court two years later.

123insight falls into the ‘packaged system’ category but differentiates itself through its flexibility, low vendor dependency, low monthly subscription, no-risk approach to implementation and no hidden extras.

Every single customer is using the same system without any core customisation due to its versatility.

Planning – What NOT to do

There are often common errors made at the start of the selection process:

It’s a Business System, not an I.T. System

Your I.T. department will have the skillsets to handle the hardware and software implications of the project but may have no idea of the needs of each individual department.

The project encompasses four main areas:
• Software, (plus associated IT hardware)
• Data – exporting, cleansing, re-shaping and importing
• People – training, managing expectation and ensuring commitment.
• And Processes – what you do today versus what you need to do going forward.

Team effort, not a one-man project

By having managers from all departments, you ensure that the needs for each area of the business can be addressed.

You’ll also embed a ‘level of redundancy’, so that knowledge is not confined to one individual.

Top-level commitment

Senior management need to fully understand what any proposed system is aiming to do and be involved at every major step to ensure goals are met.

Unrealistic time estimation

It is vital that management appreciate that the project will require resources. Staff will need training and time for data migration and testing.

Allow too little time, and staff are overwhelmed – allow too much time and the project simply fizzles out.

Don’t force a square peg into a round hole

Your current processes may not actually be the most efficient and customisation of a new system moves it away from being ‘standard’, making future software upgrades more problematic and inevitably, more costly.

Don’t set false barriers on implementation timing

Many companies delay implementing MRP believing it'll be better to do it after a certain deadline such as year-end.

It simply exacerbates the problems that made you consider a system in the first place.

Allocating the right people, time and resources from the start will ensure that you set-off on the right foot.

Now that you know why you need a manufacturing system and some of the things to watch out for, you are ready to consider the selection and implementation process.

In the next feature, we’ll be looking at how to select the best solution for your business and the various stages of implementation.

This article is taken from the book ‘How to implement a manufacturing system’.

You can pick up a free copy of the book at one of 123 Insight’s local Evaluation Workshop events, held around the UK each month.

Visit 123insight.com for dates and locations.

Following a management buy-out in 2014, Bright Engineering has flourished with business turnover almost doubling in the last two years and over £1m spent on machine tools in the last 18 months. The Lancashire subcontract manufacturer that produces precision components, sub-assemblies and supply chain management solutions is having somewhat of a purple patch, which can be attributed to its business strategy, highly energetic team and a continuous investment strategy.
Producing components for the aerospace, defense, semi- conductor and electronic industries to name a few, the solution provider to high-tech industry sectors has also invested in CAM software from Autodesk. The Nelson based machine shop has no fewer than 17 CNC machines from the likes of Mazak, Doosan and Citizen with capability ranging from twin-pallet horizontals, mill/turn twin-spindles and sliding head turning centres right down to more conventional CNC machine tools. All these machine tools are now driven more efficiently, thanks to Autodesk’s FeatureCAM software.

The Managing Director of Bright Engineering, Mr Jon Hoyle, says: “Since we invested in Autodesk, we’ve been able to grow our order book by over 100% and even in the last 12 months in a more uncertain climate, we’ve grown our order book by 20%. Throughout this, Autodesk has been there for us as a partner and this is really what we were looking for when we were choosing our next CAD/CAM software supplier.”
“We first came across Autodesk a few years back at the Southern Manufacturing trade show and then we followed this by meeting the Autodesk team at the Mazak Open House event. That is where we had our first proper introduction to Autodesk and some of its packages like FeatureCAM.”
“One of our biggest challenges as a business is reacting to the demands of customers in a timely manner. We are building long-term agreements in a number of sectors, which is helping, but we still need to be reactive in certain markets. Getting the right skills, capacity and technology is the biggest challenge. We are using FeatureCAM ultimate as our main CAD/CAM solution and this is supporting us in tackling these challenges,” continues Mr Hoyle.

Continuing the positive reference to Autodesk,
Production Director at the AS: 9100 (rev D) and ISO: 9001 business, Mr Nigel Jenkins says: “Now that we have the FeatureCAM software, it enables us to program parts, plan our workflow and pre-plan our tooling configurations a lot quicker than we previously could with our old system. Generally, it’s a lot easier to use and staff are finding it a lot faster to pick-up, learn and integrate with.”

“We can verify our models and the toolpaths very quickly before we put it into the machine, hence avoiding any potential collisions. The tool processing on the CAD/CAM package and the actual tool pass offers us more flexibility on how we tackle the job compared to how we previously have.
So, depending upon the tools available, the vices and workholding and even the machines that are available, FeatureCAM enables us to change around quickly and flexibly.”

Affirming this, Mr Jenkins continues: “Autodesk has helped us to produce a particular marine part by generating
programs very quickly as well as creating tooling and planning sheets that our engineers and setter/ operators can pre-plan and get things in place before the material is even ready to go on the machine. FeatureCAM enables us to take a model of the part and also create models around the part for fixtures and workholding. We can also use those models and produce the parts on other machines whilst one machine is doing something else. We can also use FeatureCAM to verify and cut the part to ensure there are no collisions on the machine.

In all, the step by step cycles are taken up in one large chunk, whereby the machine is left available for other parts and the time from actually programming to cutting the parts is significantly reduced.”

When asked why Bright Engineering made the decision to invest in FeatureCAM, Bright Engineering’s Production Manager, Mr Andy Webb was quick to explain: “FeatureCAM offers a range of useful programming tools to help our engineers create NC code quickly. Our team was particularly impressed with the Automatic Feature Recognition (AFR) functionality, as it allows them to produce toolpaths really quickly. We start by defining some simple machining rules that determine how we like to work. This includes things like the tools we are using, the materials we’re cutting, the machines we use and how we like to cut certain features. FeatureCAM then applies the templates to automatically identify all of the slots, pockets, bosses and holes on the job and produce all of the necessary NC programs in just a few minutes. This is something that could have taken us hours with our legacy system. Not only are the programs produced quickly, the use of these templates means we have more consistency. This results in safer, more efficient and predictable production on the shop-floor.”

To emphasise this point further, Mr Jenkins continues to explain: “Historically, a job would take 3-4 days to programme, get the material and put into the machine and cut the part. Now, what we do is get ready for the part and produce the fixtures quite simply on a lesser machine. Then we are fully prepared and capable of making the original part within a couple of hours from programming. So, the set-up and programming time is reduced by 50%. The actual cycle time on the machine is probably reduced by around 30% because of the FeatureCAM programming.” Looking toward the future, MD Mr Hoyle continues: “In the near future, we have a number of investments in mind. We’ve recently purchased a twin-pallet Mazak Variaxis machine and we’re looking forward to working with our supply chain to get that off the ground. We’ll be looking to FeatureCAM to really drive the benefits of that machine. That is likely to result in more seats of software and more collaborative work with people like Autodesk.” 

“What Autodesk has now offered us is the closest thing to a turnkey package in collaboration with the machine tool builder. So, over a period of months, Autodesk have been working very closely with one of our engineers and the machine tool builder to help us get a very crucial aerospace contract up and running in a swift and timely manner.”

“Over the last few months, we have seen some really impressive set-up time reductions and improvements to programming. We have seen upward of 50% efficiency in how long it takes for us to program a part. Further to that, Autodesk has also helped us to remove bottlenecks from our programming and setting processes. So, previously with the legacy system we were using, we had very few staff capable of programming complex parts. Autodesk has been a springboard for us with FeatureCAM. We are getting apprentices involved in programming and really moving the business forward and this is allowing us more scalability, so we can expand for the future,” concludes Mr Hoyle.

A s a company that provides a wealth of services from product development and design support to full manufacturing and product life support, ANR Manufacturing specialises in electronics and PCB subcontract manufacture. The Buckinghamshire business offers specialist services that include cable assembly solutions, PCB manufacturing and box builds with full management services and technical support for CNC milling, CNC turning and manufacturing services. As you would imagine, co-ordinating production, creating traceability and ensuring orders are produced and delivered to tight deadlines can be a challenge – a task that PSL Datatrack has certainly excelled at since its introduction to the company. Not only does the 25-year-old company have a busy machine shop with a series of Mazak Integrex and Hurco machine tools with Erowa automation systems, it also has an electronics department that produces PCBs. Using automated technology to apply the correct diodes, connectors, resistors and other miniscule electronic components to the correct PCBs is no small feat, but PSL Datatrack has undoubtedly streamlined the process. Looking at the job card for just one particular PCB, Geoff Gartland from PSL Datatrack says: “We have a job card for this particular job that come direct from the quotation. The quote details the process for building the PCB as well as the full bill of materials for the PCB. Whilst the quote is very comprehensive, it can also be copied quickly to other jobs to minimise data input and save time. In an average machine shop, there will be one piece of materials and possible a few other components to complete an assembly. This PCB has 912 components that makes it a huge logistical challenge that is easily dealt with by the system.”  “This information will link into other modules such as the scheduler that works through the workflow. There are a vast number of jobs running through a machine shop at any one time and all jobs have their own processes and materials and all of that can be scheduled and followed through the workshop with PSL Datatrack.” Purchasing is another challenge that PSL Datatrack takes in its stride. At ANR, there are over 27,000 line components and to discuss how PSL is used for the purchasing function, ANR Manufacturing’s Dan Avery says: “PSL Datatrack allows us to run reports and status reports for any part that I need, whether it’s a minimum order requirement or parts for a specific project. As pricing can be a huge element that could lose to losses on jobs, we have to ensure the price on a purchase order adds up to what is on the quote and if it doesn’t, it gets picked up by accounts and it then comes back to me to determine why there is a discrepancy. We have to ensure we are buying the right components that vary from month to month and PSL helps us to effectively do that. If we didn’t have the PSL Datatrack system, we just wouldn’t be able to run.” Commenting on production in the machining department, Mr Nick Wilson says: “PSL is now the backbone for our business. If you take it away, ANR stops. This is because it ties-in every aspect from quoting and invoicing through complete scheduling of workflow.” Looking at the Bill of Materials (BOM), ANR Manufacturing’s Mike Garside says: “For our PCBs, a BOM will typically be around 1000 components and we just take data that the customer provides us and what they want us to use. We convert this to Datatrack part numbers, we then create a BOM to quote the customer and if we are successful that then transfers into purchasing and they then buy the parts for us. Through the BOM module we can control things, so if a customer wants to change quantities or even the specification of the part. It gives us the ability to check if that part is used on any other customer equipment and who uses it. So, we can advise customers pro-actively if there are any changes.” The shop floor also has data boards, which are monitors that provide and collect data on shop floor workflow. Referring to this, PSL’s Mr Gartland says: “The idea is that from the PC, staff can clock on or off different activities whether its setting, production and even non-productive times. The board has a live feed of everything clocked on and the colouring is specific to the status of each job, this gives a complete overview of each job to make sure the shop floor is as productive as possible.” The company has eight different status boards in the office, and these are specifically for management information. As Nick continues: “These boards allow us to just glance up and see that we have the materials, the jobs are being invoiced, what the next few months forecast are. It also incorporates the CRM information, but the core theme is giving people information. We have 20 different configurations that have been developed by using PSL Datatrack over 17 years.” The latest 2019 version of PSL Datatrack has now been released and it fulfils 227 ‘Wishlist’ ideas, which has added 131 new operational options to the system, taking the system to over 1300 options. For details on the latest version, contact PSL Datatrack.

As part of the global BMT Group, BMT Aerospace is a multinational designer and manufacturer of gears and mechanical components for the aerospace industry. Active in five key market segments that include high lift actuation gears, turbine engine gearboxes, shafts and couplings, high-precision detail gears and gears. To produce these precision components to tight deadlines while avoiding expensive mistakes, BMT Aerospace relies on CGTech’s VERICUT machine simulation software. No workshop wants to crash any of its CNC machine tools, as production suffers while the machine is down for repairs. Additional costs include the scrapping of parts, broken cutting tools and even toolholders and workholding vices being damaged. The cost and downtime can be enough to disrupt a company’s growth trajectory, sometimes permanently. This is especially true for a Swiss-made, 5-axis machining centre that is one of only a few in the United States. Vitaliy Tsisyk, gearbox engineering manager for BMT Aerospace International, a division of the Belgium-based BMT Group, was part of the team that decided to install the high-end machine tool. He knew the stakes were too high for the traditional ‘push-the-green-button-and-hope’ approach to program prove-outs, so he contacted CGTech for help Based in Michigan, Illinois, BMT Aerospace is one of three plants responsible for precision machining of gears and transmission components for the aerospace industry. With the other sites in Romania and Belgium the customer list includes names like Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce and United Technologies Corp (Raytheon Technologies Corporation). These customers demand zero defects and have no tolerance for supply chain disruption. Two of BMT’s three plants use VERICUT toolpath simulation software from CGTech, with the third coming online shortly. “We were the first ones to launch VERICUT,” Vitaliy Tsisyk recalls. “That was five years ago. Belgium began using it a couple years after that, and we are currently working with the Romanian plant to get it implemented there. For us, the main reason was to avoid any issues on our 5-axis machining centres. You simply cannot afford any mistakes when you are producing expensive parts on very expensive machinery.” A DMG-Mori Dixi DHP 80 II horizontal machining centre (HMC) installed on the shop floor boasts a volumetric accuracy of 25 micron and positioning accuracy of 0.9 micron. The HMC primarily machines gearbox housings such as the gearbox mounted accessory drive (GMAD) used on Saab 2000 twin-engine passenger jets and Lockheed Martin C-130 military transport aircraft. It also machines other parts from aluminium, magnesium, stainless steel, and titanium that demand extreme accuracy. Bought for the Dixi machine, the use of VERICUT software has expanded to other CNC machine tools at BMT Aerospace, including a recently installed UMC-750 5-axis HMC from Haas Automation. Vitaliy Tsisyk says the machine cuts chamfers on the bevel gears used in power take-off (PTO) boxes and similar gearbox assemblies – applying extremely complex kinematic motion that would have been difficult to visualise without VERICUT. The software also prevented a near certain crash after a drive block for a right-angle head was improperly mounted on the machine tool. “Luckily, I have a very experienced guy on the shop floor who told me he didn’t think it would clear the part,” Vitaliy Tsisyk says. “I brought the program into VERICUT, updated the model to reflect the block’s placement and size, and sure enough, it would have crashed.” In one example, an angle head was set-up to mill a series of internal grooves within a cylindrical part. Vitaliy Tsisyk had the accessory’s specified dimensions validated on one of the shop’s co-ordinate measuring machines, then used those values to model the head in VERICUT. “In this case, the gap between the two was especially critical, because if you crash a head like that, deep inside a workpiece, it only takes one small mistake to break a machine, break confidence levels and disturb the production that could delay final product delivery to our customers,” Vitaliy Tsisyk explains. “With VERICUT, I don’t have to worry about those situations.”

Its acknowledged that not all parts are created equal, and in some industries, parts made from standard issue materials just don’t have what it takes to perform or last for any prolonged period. This becomes more critical depending on the specified industry and application; sometimes you need a part capable of withstanding more challenging conditions – and that’s where Winsert excels. Winsert develops, casts and machines a number of heat, wear and corrosion- resistant alloys into parts that can withstand high-pressure loads, corrosive fuel environments and high temperatures. These products include valve seat inserts, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), engines, brakes and turbo system wear components and assemblies; and valves and blades for various applications used in the medium to heavy-duty engine, food and chemical processing industries. The company casts Cobalt, Nickel and Iron based heat and wear resistant alloys using induction melting and shell sand processes with pour capacities up to 750lbs and casting weights range from a few grams to 20lbs. Equipment used at Winsert includes spectrometers, extensive heat treatment capacity, on-site non-destructive testing and x-ray inspection. Most production work is fully machined using grinding, turning, mill and mill-turn along with complete assembly processes. Customers rely on prototyping capabilities from casting to fully machined parts in as little as 3 days to 1 week from simple to complicated geometries. Putting this all together, Winsert’s evolving product range is furthering customer competitive advantages regarding cost and service life. Nearly 40% of the company’s projects begin in the prototype and sample department, that creates pre- production parts from Winsert’s proprietary cobalt, nickel and iron-based alloys. The very thing that makes these materials so special is also what makes them difficult to manufacture. Because the materials are developed to address specific customer needs, there are also no standard cutting recommendations. But Winsert can’t compromise on the robustness or uniqueness of its materials. “We can never relax or do what our competition does with industry- standard materials,” says Paul Dickinson, VP Special Projects at Winsert. “We have to machine cast alloys that easily rival the most challenging cobalt and nickel base materials.” While Winsert’s parts vary in complexity, foundry patterns require very clean toolpaths that will generate the required finishes at a consistent draft without conducting non-productive ‘air cutting’. Confidence in the code and simulation is a must, as many of the programs have long cycle times and often machine only one part. It is here that ESPRIT has stepped up to the challenge, especially as Winsert is often asked to commit to short lead times on projects that require foundry tooling. The Winsert machine shop runs more than 70 proprietary CNC 2-axis lathes, three Miyano BNE and BNA series 6-axis lathes, a Hurco 3-axis mill and a Kitamura 3XiF vertical mill. While it was still a lathe shop, Winsert began running ESPRIT in the late 1990s, due to its ‘impeccable’ lathe CAM capability, flexibility and customisation. When the company added milling operations in 2009, ESPRIT continued to deliver, even though other brands were evaluated. “ESPRIT became the clear choice,” Dickinson says. “And yes, we would have changed to a better system if we’d found one because productivity is that important!” ESPRIT enabled the company to save processes and improve toolpaths. The system also provided better options for 3D machining and clean, accurate G-code. “The proof is when I am talking shop with other professionals, listening to their frustrations and limitations with their CAM system,” Jeff Kubash, new product technician machinist at Winsert says. “They explain how much time is spent generating toolpaths, editing code at the machine, and their complete lack of confidence with the code. It is nice to be on the other side of that coin with ESPRIT.” Kubash says that the special features ESPRIT have developed over time — including templates, tool libraries and saved processes — have all helped Winsert to reduce time spent on front-end programming. Cycle times have been reduced by as much as 90 minutes through superior roughing toolpaths and enhanced 3D processes. ESPRIT also allows the company to control cycle times and eliminate extra tool movements that once left tool marks on the work piece. The future of Winsert lies in expanding its heavy-duty alloy success into new industries. With new product lines being introduced all the time, Winsert and its prototype sample cell are working to become even more responsive and flexible in order to accommodate exacting customers with highly specific needs. “We create our future by excelling at what we do every day. The future of Winsert is to continue to diversify our portfolio, both inside and outside the engine. We’ll do that by consistently exceeding customer rapid-response requirements. And that’s why we choose to use ESPRIT,” concludes Dickinson.

Being able to import completed NX assemblies into G-Code simulation software is proving to be a valuable time-saver for the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC). The Nuclear AMRC is part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult and is a partnership between academia and industry, supporting manufacturers in winning work in the nuclear industry. This is achieved by assisting manufacturers to apply advanced and novel manufacturing techniques to drive up quality and drive down costs in high value components. NCSIMUL, part of Hexagon’s Production Software portfolio, guarantees that finished G-Code sent to CNC machine tools, is 100% accurate and collision free at the Nuclear AMRC. “It gives us an exact representation of what’s happening on the machine. Having this digital twin is absolutely vital in ensuring cutting paths are correct,” says Tom Parkin, Production Engineer at the Nuclear AMRC. NCSIMUL is being used as part of the Nuclear AMRC’s philosophy of assisting manufacturers to have zero prove out times on their CNC machines and analyse toolpaths in depth before putting them on to the shop floor. Principal Production Engineer Andrew Wright says: “As it’s new to the UK market, it appealed to us as another strand in our simulation capability” he says. They currently have one seat of the software, which runs on their Mazak Integrex i-200 5-axis mill-turn machine tool. NCSIMUL gives the Nuclear AMRC total assurance that the toolpath data they supply to their clients is the very best to optimise their processes. The software’s ability to import full NX assembly files is an added bonus. “CAM and simulation systems generally aren’t particularly user-friendly when it comes to positioning individual models. But being able to take an NX assembly and its fixture, stock model and the final part, is particularly beneficial. Without it, we’d have to import single models one at a time, import the fixture by itself and position it, and import the stock model and position that in relation to the fixturing. But NCSIMUL allows us to import a full assembly file from the NX package straight into the simulating environment. From there, I can select where my datum positions are, select the tooling, put the NC program in, and run the G-Code simulation. This is a great benefit to us.” As Andrew Wright says: “Some of our set-ups are quite complex, in that they have multiple pieces of stock and work pieces, plus fixture items. So, being able to take in a file containing full assemblies which have been designed in CAD and not have to manipulate them, saves us considerable time.” Hexagon products have featured extensively in the Nuclear AMRC’s machining and metrology sectors since the centre opened. “We use a large amount of inspection and non- contact inspection equipment such as scanning and structured light systems. And EDGECAM is one of our principal CAM systems for generating NC files for all our machine tools. It has multi-platform support, so we can bring models into EDGECAM from any format, quickly and seamlessly,” says Andrew Wright. Wesley Tonks, Hexagon Production Software’s Strategic Partnership Manager, says: “Nuclear AMRC have been an Edgecam product user for many years and it is great to see the benefits of further product adoption as the Hexagon product portfolio grows. This is a fantastic example of how multiple products have been positioned whilst providing a manufacturing solution; enhancing product quality. “Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence helps industrial manufacturers develop the disruptive technologies of today and the life-changing products of tomorrow. As a leading metrology and manufacturing solution specialist, our expertise in sensing, thinking and acting – the collection, analysis and active use of measurement data – gives our customers the confidence to increase production speed and accelerate productivity while enhancing product quality.” And Tom Parkin explains how he has two different ways of using NCSIMUL. As well as importing full assemblies, he also uses the direct EDGECAM interface. “I simply export the EDGECAM file into NCSIMUL, check everything’s in the right place, that the tooling and datum are both correct, and then run the simulation. If all’s well, the program goes to the shop floor.” In line with the Industry 4.0 philosophy of smart manufacturing, the NCSIMUL G-Code simulation gives CAM programmers accurate information and technical assistance by building a virtual copy of the real-life machining environment. This digital twin eliminates errors, decreases set-up time, reduces manufacturing costs and increases shop floor productivity. Both CAM and simulation are involved in their work with the nuclear Small Modular Reactor sector, in which they’re helping companies with product development. They’re also working with manufacturers as part of the 30-year nuclear decommissioning programme, which involves looking at ways of reducing machining time on up to 100,000 individual waste containers funded by UK taxpayers. Summing up the importance of NCSIMUL to their operation, Tom Parkin says: “When we’re working on a prototype part with a client, we need to verify that the toolpaths we send to the machine are 100% accurate. And if we’re developing a process, NCSIMUL gives is confidence that it’s going to work.”

A name established from the Japanese term for craftsman or artisan, ‘Takumi’ Precision Engineering has been delivering both in abundance to the shores of Ireland for over 20 years. The Limerick based company has invested heavily in recent years with a recent factory expansion that has taken floor space to 50,000 ft2 and over €5m Euros invested in new machine tools and CAM software to further extend its market leading position on the Emerald Isle.
Takumi Precision is a prominent figure in the medical device, pharmaceutical, aerospace and precision engineering sectors in Ireland. The company manufactures orthopaedic implants and instruments, cardiovascular assembly aids, medical grade rasps, balloon moulds and delivery system components as well as aluminium wing, brackets and fuselage components for the aero industry and electrical, electronic, mechanical and optical engineering parts for the industrial precision machining sector.
Down the years, Takumi has invested in turning centres from Tornos, Doosan and Miyano with 3 and 5-axis machining centres from Doosan, Spinner and most recently Matsuura adding to the plant list. One of the company’s core investments has been hyperMILL CAM software from OPEN MIND Technologies, and this was driven by the onset of barrel tool technology, an influx of 5-axis machines and challenges with previous CAM systems.
Commenting on the changes at Takumi, Managing Director Mr Gerry Reynolds says: “Only five years ago, 90% of our work was in the medical industry with the remaining work being across a number of sectors including the aerospace market. We had an opportunity to enter the aerospace market in a more positive way, increasing volumes from 1 to 3-offs to continuous batches of 10-15-off on the Airbus A220, previously known as the Bombardier C-Series. We had to invest in 5-axis technology to accomodate the ramping-up of complex aerospace work and we have bought 13 5-axis machines in the last five years to support this.“

The investment has paid dividends with aerospace work increasing from 5% of turnover to almost 60% in less than five years. However, this is not to the detriment of the medical business, As Gerry continues: “Our business has doubled in size in the last three years due to the increased aerospace work, but the medical sector remains crucially important to our business. Medical components are now 40% of our business, the volume of work has not reduced, it just hasn’t grown at the level of aerospace work. We now have 87 staff and are targeting a monthly turnover of €1m Euros.“

The Influence of CAM

“Ten years ago, I didn’t understand CAM and would have argued against it. However, there was a necessity for CAM to run our machines and at the time I called it ‘finger CAM‘, as we were programming at the machine. We progressed to a more comprehensive CAM system and eventually installed eight seats of software. However, a visit to the AMRC introduced us to Ceratizit’s barrel tools and OPEN MIND’s hyperMILL CAM system – this changed the game for Takumi.”
After investing heavily in CAM software, Gerry was apprehensive at the prospect of changing CAM systems. “Over the last 5-6 years, we had spent a lot on CAM packages and what we had, worked relatively well; but there were a few issues with processing speed, occasional crashes and some feature limitations. It was the barrel tool machining features within the hyperMILL MAXX High Performance Strategy that appealed to me, but I wanted my team to take the lead, as they would be the ones using the software.”

It’s on its way..

“The team did their due diligence, taking in hyperMILL demos and then asking our existing CAM vendor if the barrel tool feature and the mirroring package were available. Our CAM supplier and other vendors all said ‘it’s on its way’ or ‘it’s in development’ regarding more than just these two features in hyperMILL That told us all we needed to know about the various vendors in the market, but it told us a lot more about hyperMILL. They are clearly streets ahead of the other CAM developers. We have rapidly moved to hyperMILL. We bought our first seat 18 months ago and now we have 6 seats of hyperMILL. We are now phasing out our previous CAM system,” continues Gerry.

The benefits of hyperMILL

The primary reason Takumi Precision invested in hyperMILL was the potential of barrel tools to significantly improve productivity. Commenting on this, Gerry says: “The hyperMILL MAXX Machining High Performance Package and the respective barrel tools with their innovative geometry allow us to step-down 5 to 10mm as opposed to 0.4 to 0.8mm when finishing pockets, walls or profiling features. This has instantly reduced finishing cycles by at least 70%, giving us a minimum overall cycle time improvement of 30% on every component.”
However, the benefit is not just the cycle time improvement. “We have historically had a number of staff undertaking finish polishing of parts to ensure our surface finishes exceed customer expectations. Despite the increased speed and step-over rate with hyperMILL MAXX High Performance Machining, the surface finishes are much better than before. This is because the barrel tool has a higher engagement rate that keeps the tool in constant contact with the workpiece.”
Another feature that persuaded Takumi Precision to invest in OPEN MIND was the mirroring feature. As Gerry continues: “In the aerospace industry, almost everything is manufactured with a left and right hand component. The mirroring feature in hyperMILL is remarkably comprehensive and with just a touch of a button, we are reducing our programming times on most components by 50%. We have 8 programming staff and the mirroring feature in hyperMILL is effectively doubling the productivity of this team.”

Better overall CAM system

Whilst hyperMILL has reduced cycle times on the shop floor by over 20% and reduced programming times by upwards of 50% in the office, the benefits reach much further. “hyperMILL is much faster than previous CAM systems and it handles ‘big data’ much better than we have previously witnessed. This has eliminated unforeseen PC crashes and massively improved the reliability, processing and delivery of our data to the shop-floor. Furthermore, hyperMILL has so many ‘obvious’ features and short-cuts that generate savings for the end-user; these ‘obvious’ features don’t appear on other CAM platforms. One feature that simplifies the throughput of programs and parts is hyperCAD. The OPEN MIND CAD system that is integrated into hyperMILL is an excellent platform that has now eliminated our reliance on CAD packages like Inventor. We can now expedite jobs through hyperCAD to hyperMILL with seamless ease – yet another feature that is making life easier for our programming team,” concludes Gerry.

The automotive industry is renowned for demanding ever faster turnaround times and tighter tolerances. To meet such demands, Clacton-on-Sea subcontractor Tridan Engineering has made EDGECAM a major part of its manufacturing processes.
EDGECAM programs a total of 16 Mazak CNC machines, of which six are 5-axis, including a Variaxis i-500 with a Palletech automation system. It is with the 5-axis work that EDGECAM is proving particularly valuable. One of the biggest challenges facing their production process is keeping up with ever-changing tooling. Commenting upon this, Tridan Engineering’s Machine Shop Manager, Mr Paul Coupland says: “We manufacture a range of automotive components, mainly for Ricardo, along with some F1 test parts. We work with two main tooling suppliers, ITC and ISCAR, they are both improving their tools all the time. EDGECAM provides us with the optimum machining strategies every time the cutting tool is updated. For example, we produce a number of gearbox transmission systems for Ricardo, and some diff cases for world rally cars. We’re currently working on a rear differential case for an off-road race car.”
“EDGECAM programs all our machines to their absolute top tolerances – we regularly have a 2-micron tolerance on most of our jobs, and we can guarantee that they’re manufactured to that required high precision every time.”
The CAM software’s powerful Waveform Roughing Strategy has been a major influence on the Essex Company and how they machine their automotive components. Everything is now done with the Waveform trochoidal milling and tooling strategies to take full flute length cuts and optimise tooling performance. Lead Production Engineer Mark Proctor says they’ve had some spectacular results with it, but admitted they were at first nervous about the prospect of ramping up feeds and speeds and using the full flute length. “When we were told we could machine a piece of S143 stainless steel at eight metre a minute, we thought the cutting tool wouldn’t last two seconds.”
But he says once they saw the resulting faster cycle times, and that the tool was safe from damage, they made the decision to do all their Waveform roughing at the machine’s fastest feed rate. “For instance, we needed a finished component that’s only 20mm thick, coming from a six-inch S143 round billet. That means there’s an awful lot of metal to cut away. For that job we used a 12mm cutter for a 24mm depth of cut at a feed rate of just under nine metres a second, and the job ran for ten hours before the cutting tool needed replacing.”
Tridan ships around 9,000 parts a month to customers around the world – anything from small components to workpieces up to 1.6 metres, both as single units and in large batches. Almost every automotive part they produce goes through EDGECAM.
“When we get the model from the customer, normally as a STEP file, we load it into EDGECAM, select the stock, devise the machining strategy, add the tools and toolpaths, and run the program through the simulator. When it comes through that, we use the NC editor to post the program out to the machine via a DNC wireless link, and explain the job to the operator. He then goes to the shopfloor with a setup sheet that shows which tools he needs, and runs the machine.”
Mark Proctor says EDGECAM is even better since it included a button to unhide the stock underneath. “In earlier releases it wouldn’t see the stock underneath, but it’s now an even better cycle with this option.” Describing 5-axis machining and automation as the way forward for Tridan Engineering, Paul Coupland says their recent acquisition of the Mazak Variaxis with a Palletech automation system adopts both of those aspects. “5-axis is definitely the future for us, as it enables us to machine much faster than 3-axis can, through the ‘Done In One’ capability, without the need for additional set-ups. And the automation system on the Variaxis can manage six pallets, which is perfect for our needs. We can add six pallets at any stage of the operation to keep it going. It also means we can carry out lights out machining. Depending on the job, it can run constantly for between eight and 14 hours without any manual intervention.”
Currently operating from 26,000 square foot premises with 66 employees, growing order books mean the company, which was founded in 1968 and now owned by the Langham Group, are now looking to take what he describes as their next natural step. “We’ve recently bought a third of an acre next door, and are planning to double the size of our machine shop.”