Product category:
CAM and software for sheetmetal, punching, profiling, EDM, etc
News Release from: Jetcam International | Subject: Jetcam Expert CAM
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 October 2006
Efficient CAM has flexible MRP
After evaluating three CAM systems a vacuum cleaner manufacturer selected Jetcam Expert, to drive a new Amada Beta 3015 3.0kW CNC sheet metal laser cutting and profiling machine.
Numatic International, based in Chard, Somerset, UK is best known for the Henry vacuum cleaner, although the company offers over 4000 industrial cleaning products in total As their previously purchased CAM system was discontinued, in 2001 Numatic decided to evaluate three CAM systems of which one was Jetcam Expert, to drive their newly purchased Amada Beta 3015 3.0kW CNC sheet metal laser cutting and profiling machine
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Feb 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Paul Kelly, production engineer, said: "We ran a series of benchmarks on all three systems, covering factors such programming time and nesting efficiency.
Jetcam was the only system that met all of our targets, while also showing a significant cost saving to purchase and maintain over the others." He added that one of the other main factors for choosing Jetcam was its ability to easily interface with our Oracle-powered MRP system.
Two licenses of Jetcam Expert were installed, along with the MRP and free form nesting modules.
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After 'benchmarking' five CAM systems, a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer selected one on the basis of better generation of part profile nesting for CNC profiling and routing.
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Immediately, the flexibility of Jetcam's MRP and scheduling proved beneficial.
Andrew Smith, manufacturing manager said: "We cannot forecast too far ahead or hold much stock because of the breadth of our product range - we have over 300 versions of 'Henry' alone.
Our MRP system automatically downloads up to 300 orders per week for Jetcam to process, saving an hour of order entry time.
We then have a visual of what's left to be cut from within Jetcam and can use it as a scheduler to change the priority of parts to be nested - useful when prototyping." Once orders are downloaded into Jetcam the operator simply runs the automatic tooling and nesting modules to generate optimised nests, saving one hour a day over previous programming methods.
Added Kelly: "Overall we are saving around GBP 14,500 per year in labour alone." With many parts constructed from increasingly expensive material such as stainless steel, reducing material was also paramount.
Nesting efficiency improved by around 7%, netting a saving of GBP 30,000 in the first year.
Smith added: "With material costs I'd put this saving at around double at today's prices." As a knock-on effect, setup times decreased, as less sheets were needed to produce the same number of parts, resulting in over 3h/week being saved.
The Bystronic laser replaced the Amada 3015 in 2005, along with an additional postprocessor, with all components immediately available for nesting on either machine.
Said Kelly: "We were impressed with how the postprocessor drove the machine, optimising the cutting path for speed.
It was noted that the head would move on both X and Y axes in an arc between cuts to minimise slowdown." Since purchase, Numatic has seen cycle time reduced further still due to software updates received under maintenance.
Smith concluded: "Our production process is all about mass customisation and short lead-times.
Service has been very good, with only a couple of support calls needed per year." He said: "Although Jetcam Expert met all of our targets the MRP facility and integration has been a greater benefit than first thought, with the system paying for itself within a few months of purchase." Summary of benefits are as follows.
* Benchmark showed Jetcam being more efficient, and more cost-effective to purchase and maintain.
* System paid for itself within months of purchase.
* Prototype parts can be imported, nested, and cut in 20 min.
* Linked MRP to Oracle-based external MRP system.
* Saved GBP 30,000 in the first year due material savings.
* Material utilisation improved by 7%.
* Saving many man-hours in different areas.
* Machine cycle time continually reduced through software updates.
* Minimal support needs - only a couple of calls per year.
* Use the MRP Schedule facility to prioritise parts.
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