Renishaw is one of 15 dental market suppliers sponsoring the British Dental Health Foundation's production of 'Feed your smile', a free DVD providing information and advice on oral health.
To mark the 30th Anniversary of National Smile Month, Renishaw, a world leader in industrial measurement and dental CAD/CAM systems, plus 14 other dental market suppliers, are sponsoring the British Dental Health Foundation's production of 'Feed your smile', a free DVD providing information and advice on oral health. The DVD includes facts about how to look after your smile. This includes practical advice on how to floss and how to use an electric toothbrush correctly, together with information about oral health campaigns in the UK and around the world.

The DVD also includes Pathe News footage of dental students from 50 years ago and excerpts of Mr Bean's trip to the dentist.

The DVD includes a promotional video for Renishaw's new incise metal-free dental CAD/CAM system, which will be the only process that certifies the quality of fit for manufactured ceramic restorations.

This development of the incise process has drawn on the company's 33 years of experience in precision measurement, 3D digitising and machining, plus pioneering research into the relationship between the clinical impression and the master model.

Speaking about Renishaw's sponsorship of the National Smile Month DVD, Bryan Austin, Director of Renishaw's Dental Products Division said: 'We are keen educate the wider community about the positive contribution that the latest dental technology can make to oral health'.

He continued: 'Using Renishaw's technology, experience and expertise, we are showing how inaccuracies produced at each stage of the crown and bridge manufacturing process can be measured, and how our new incise process minimises or even eliminates these errors'.

'Our overriding aim is to supply our customers with precision fit frameworks that eliminate remakes, guaranteeing an easier life for patients, dentists and dental technicians'.

Speaking about National Smile Month, Dr Nigel Carter, Chief Executive of The British Dental Health Foundation said: 'Between 14th May and 13th June 2006, literally thousands of dental practices, schools and oral health educators will be getting involved in making National Smile Month one of the biggest events of its kind in the world'.

At the Metalworking Production (MWP) Awards ceremony held during the MACH 2006 exhibition in Birmingham, UK, Renishaw sponsored the new category of 'Best research and development project'. The winner of this inaugural award, judged by a panel of metalworking industry experts drawn from the worlds of academia, industry and journalism, was Agie Charmilles for its Agietron Nano development project, which led to the development of a spark erosion machine for use in micro-machining applications. At the awards ceremony held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel on Tuesday 16th May, Sir David McMurtry, Chairman and Chief Executive of Renishaw, presented the award to Dr Hans Peter Gruber, Agie Charmilles' Competence Centre Applications Manager.

Also commended in this award category was Sandvik Coromant for its titanium surface integrity project, from a shortlist that also included Hirschmann Engineering UK, Electrox, the University of Birmingham and Hydra Clarkson Tools/Sheffield Hallam University.

Speaking about his company's sponsorship of the Research and Development category, Sir David said: 'The key to Renishaw's commercial success has been a sustained investment in research and product development, which has provided a stream of innovations'.

'Each successful product provides a flow of margins that fund the development of future products and processes'.

He continued: 'We are therefore delighted to be able to support an award that recognises the spirit of innovation within the metalworking industry, and congratulate Agie Charmilles on their success with the Agietron Nano project'.

Organised by Metalworking Production, one of the UK's leading publications for the engineering sector, the biennial MWP Awards feature a total of 18 different award categories recognising the best new developments in products and processes, excellence in subcontracting and toolmaking, and best environmental practice.

Delcam is to sponsor the Future Aerospace Congress at the Sheridan Hotel in Laval Montreal from 4th to 6th June 2006.
The Future Aerospace Congress is designed to help manufacturers overcome today's challenges and work towards tomorrow's solutions by bringing together some of the industry's top minds from companies such as NASA, Airbus, FAA, Boeing, BAE, Lockheed Martin, Siemens and Honeywell just to name a few. For three days the congress will explore the future in flight with presentations in topics like leveraging lean/six sigma practices and collective systems to manufacturing solutions and safety.

Case studies will be presented on global sourcing and how to meet engineering challenges that will satisfy market demand with panel discussions on the latest technologies in coatings to enhance performance and extend aircraft systems to developments of composites that are reducing manufacturer's overall costs and increasing the life cycle and reliability of components.

At this event, Delcam will showcase how its range of CADCAM software can help both designers and manufacturers in aerospace.

Like other areas of manufacturing, aerospace companies and their subcontractors are under pressure to increase profitability and reduce cots.

Delcam's software can give significant improvements in two main areas- the machining and inspection of components.

As the developer of PowerMill, the world's leading specialist CAM system Delcam can offer the latest in five-axis machining strategies suitable for a range of aerospace applications, such as the production of aerostructures and the machining of blades and blisks.

Delcam also has specific technology in inspection with PowerInspect, the worlds leading hardware-independent inspection software.

A combination of both PowerMill and PowerInspect offers unique solutions which include on-machine verification and adaptive machining.

Both these technologies are extremely valuable to the manufacturing of aerostructures and other large components.

Changing to Delcam's FeatureCAM software has produced big savings in both time and money for precision machining specialist Future Fabricators based in Phoenix, Arizona. The majority of the machining is 2.5D type work, such as milling, drilling and boring of components for the aerospace, pipeline and semiconductor industries. Future Fabricators has also developed a niche in manufacturing parts used in fuel control and hydraulic/pneumatic systems.

After development work on its existing software was halted, Future Fabricators needed to replace it with a more advanced CADCAM system.

Owner Ray Rubin decided that the new system had to be easy to learn and easy to use.

More importantly, it had to be able to run the variety of machines out on the shop floor, which includes vertical and horizontal mills, turning centres and a turn/mill machine.

Since purchasing FeatureCAM in October 2001, the time it takes a new CNC programmer to become productive has been reduced dramatically.

In training costs alone, FeatureCAM has produced big savings in both time and money.

'FeatureCAM did everything the competitors' products could, but was much easier to learn'.

'Even when I haven't used the software for a while, I can sit down and start designing a custom fixture without a problem', said Rubin.

Another cost saving is the quick turnaround from the time a drawing or CAD file is received to the time a program is sent to the shop floor.

The ability to customise the software has been a further benefit.

For example, the programmers have found that it is incredibly easy to customise posts from within FeatureCAM and see the results immediately.

FeatureCAM organises the post parameters in drop-down menus and dialogue boxes, so the usual guesswork involved with customising a post is eliminated.

When the NC code is reposted, the changes are immediately visible on the screen.

It's just as easy to customise manufacturing parameters, tool libraries, and feed and speed tables.

Customised manufacturing parameters are saved in unique configuration files, so preferred machining attributes, like step-over, and lead-in and lead-out moves, can be saved and used for similar types of parts.

Even though Future Fabricators primarily works with aluminium and stainless alloys, the company has been perfecting its knowledge of the best strategies for machining plastics.

'It's easy to add customised feeds and speeds to the tables in FeatureCAM.

Whenever we work on a new material, we update the table', explained Mr.Rubin.

With fewer than 30 employees, Future Fabricators proves that companies of any size can adopt the latest technology to improve both productivity and quality.

The people at Future Fabricators pride themselves on their high-quality work and on-time delivery, which explains why so much of their work is repeat business from customers who have stayed with them for years.

Vericut 6.0 has many new features designed to increase the ability of CNC manufacturing engineers to simulate, analyse and optimise the entire CNC machining process.
CGTech has released a new version of its Vericut CNC machine simulation and optimisation software. Vericut 6.0 has many new features designed to increase the ability of CNC manufacturing engineers to simulate, analyse and optimise the entire CNC machining process. 'Due to global competitive pressures on our customers CGTech is increasingly challenged to simulate more complex processes and more complex machines', said Product Marketing Manager Bill Hasenjaeger.

'Vericut 6.0 ties these complex processes together with the ability to simulate multiple setups in a single simulation session'.

Vericut 6.0 also includes enhanced collision checking that monitors spindle states for milling and turning simulation, enabling Vericut to trap common programming errors with spindle and cutting tool usage.

Additionally, significantly enhanced simulation of complex cutting tool shapes commonly used in production processes shows the user exactly what will happen when using a tool.

'The result of this work is a tightly unified environment for simulating complex mill/turn multifunction machining centres for production processes', said Hasenjaeger.

Vericut 6.0 leverages the results of simulating these complex processes with the ability to create inspection instructions, CNC inspection programs, and automated process documentation using the simulated workpiece.

Because of Vericut's accurate feature-rich in-process model, the inspection and process documents utilise and accurately reflect the state of the workpiece at any stage of the process.

To ensure Vericut's machine tool simulation is as accurate as possible, CGTech has partnered with many key machine tool builders and control manufactures.

CGTech's Technology Partner Programme establishes a co-operative working relationship with a goal of helping mutual manufacturing customers maximise their success and productivity.

Vericut can be integrated and used with all CAD/CAM/PLM systems including Catia, UGS and PTC.

With the new Project Tree, the user can organise all the NC process steps in one place and the workpeice(s) transition from setup to setup automatically during the simulation session.

Each setup has its own CNC machine, fixtures, tools, NC programs and simulation settings.

The cut stock moves from setup to setup, with automatic orientation.

Once the user selects the CNC machine configuration, the stock, fixture and design component information is attached to the machine, ready to simulate the entire set of machining operations.

Vericut 6.0 now offers the capability to synchronise up to 32 machine 'channels' or machines with multiple synchronised CNC controls.

Vericut's virtual machine is organised into multiple subsystems that can all synchronise together seamlessly.

Vericut's NC program optimisation module - OptiPath - is easier to implement thanks to a redesigned Tool Manager.

OptiPath tooling data is now stored inside the Tool Manager.

This simplifies the implementation by placing all relevant tool information in one place.

The new tool assembly wizard simplifies tool creation by using an interactive dialog panel.

Model Export creates CAD models from the Vericut 'in-process' cut model generated by simulating an NC program.

The model includes machined features exactly as it is cut on the CNC machine.

In Vericut 6.0, Model Export outputs features where possible and also 'synthetic features' when individual features are not possible or desirable (such as 'scallops' created by a ball endmill).

Vericut is an ideal place to create probing routines because of the 'in-process' model which is not available anywhere else in the CNC manufacturing process.

Rather than having to create additional 'manufacturing' CAD geometry that 'hopefully' represents the as-cut workpiece, using Vericut's simulated in-process feature geometry to create the CNC probe program makes on-machine in- process inspection a practical reality.

In addition Vericut 6.0 allows the creation of customisable inspection reports in HTML or PDF format for use by machine operators and quality control staff.

Vericut runs as a 64bit application on Windows XP64.

This increases virtual memory access from Windows XP 2Gbyte application limit to the hardware's maximum.

Amplicon is pleased to announce the appointment of Leon Mengot as Product Manager to its Industrial Computing Group. Mengot's principal responsibilities will include the top level design and implementation of Amplicon's industrial computer roadmap. Formerly with Sony storage solutions, Mengot brings substantial IT expertise to this position.

He has over 6 years' experience developing, selling, configuring, implementing, installing and supporting IT solutions.

Fluent in French and conversational in Spanish, Mengot's language skills will be a strong contributor to Amplicon's expansion into the European marketplace.

Gina Citroni, Commercial Director, commented: 'We welcome Leon to Amplicon'.

'His knowledge and experience will be a great asset to our existing team of product managers, and will aid the continuing growth and development of industrial computing at Amplicon'.

Mengot will work closely with the sales teams and distribution network, enabling Amplicon to grow its existing reputation as a market leader for industrial systems both in the UK and Europe.

Having studied at Aston University, Birmingham Mengot obtained a masters in electronic systems engineering with French.

He was the top engineering student in the first year of his degree.

The latest NC Software and Related Services Market Assessment from CIMdata shows that Delcam moved up to fourth in the rankings.
More widespread use of five-axis machining and increased sales into the aerospace industry have improved Delcam's position in the latest NC Software and Related Services Market Assessment from renowned US consulting and market research firm, CIMdata. This shows that Delcam moved up to fourth in the rankings based on end-user payments and is now the world's leading specialist supplier of CAM software. Delcam's Managing Director, Hugh Humphreys, attributed the company's improved performance to its success in the fast-growing market for five-axis machining and to its increasing market share in the aerospace industry.

'Five-axis machines are becoming more affordable, even for relatively small companies', he commented.

'The ease of programming with our PowerMill software has made it very popular with companies that are moving into five-axis operation'.

The increased popularity of PowerMill in the aerospace industry has resulted from the new emphasis on efficiency and productivity in the sector according to Humphreys.

'Traditionally, aerospace companies have simply used the CAM system that comes with their choice of CAD software', he claimed.

'With the high level of competition now present in the industry, those companies are looking at their choice of CAM system much more carefully'.

'This closer examination often shows that PowerMill can give significant savings, both in programming times and in machining times'.

As a result of its growing sales, Delcam has moved from being practically unknown in the sector five years ago to being the sixth largest supplier to the aerospace industry in the 2005 rankings.

Whereas Delcam software was once used almost exclusively in the toolmaking industry, the company is now the only CAM specialist to appear in the top ten in all of CIMdata's key industry sectors - mould, tool and die; automotive and aerospace.

'This diversification has been a key part of Delcam's strategy', stated Humphreys.

'For a number of years, we have been the only CAM specialist to appear among the top ten suppliers in all three geographic regions'.

'To also be represented amongst the top ten in each industry sector is another important achievement for the company'.

Looking to the future, Humphreys predicts that Delcam will soon displace one of the three integrated CADCAM suppliers that currently occupy the top three positions in the CIMdata list.

'We were again the fastest-growing of the top ten suppliers', he commented.

'With our faster growth, we hope to continue our move up the rankings'.

Both WorkNC and WorkNC-CAD are used on the shop floor at Brandstatter, bringing autonomy to the users who also operate the machine tools.
Children and parents around the world are familiar with the popular Playmobil toy figures. The Brandstatter Group, the company behind the brand, has its headquarters in Zirndorf near Nuremberg, manufacturing facilities in Dietenhofen, Germany, and overseas production in Malta, Spain and the Czech Republic as well as Playmobil subsidiaries in 11 countries. The company can trace its roots back to 1876, when it began manufacturing cabinet fittings and locks, before moving into toy manufacture in 1921.

Horst Brandstatter, the current sole owner recognised the threat of competition from low-price economies at the beginning of the 1970s and so initiated the development of a new range of toys.

This led to the launch of Playmobil, small moveable plastic figures with matching accessories.

Since 1974 nearly 1.9 billion have been produced.

The Playmobil brand's rapid success was remarkable, and Brandstatter has become the largest toy manufacturer in Germany, with a 2005 turnover of Eur 377 million.

Quality and innovation are important factors in the brand.

Reiner Merkel, Head of Mouldmaking at Zirndorf, said: 'Playmobil figures do not break and lose their attractiveness'.

'Therefore our products are not thrown away, but tend to be kept for the next generation'.

'The various product ranges are carefully co-ordinated so that the figures go together well'.

'There is now a considerable collectors market for them, which contributes to their success', added Gerhard Ammon, Mouldmaking team leader.

Time is a major factor for the production of new Playmobil figures, which need to match current topical themes such as the football World Cup, making mould design and construction of major importance.

Merkel said: 'Over the last ten years the throughput time at Playmobil has been drastically reduced'.

'Whereas we used to produce one new product line per year, now it's five or six'.

'We manufacture up to four new moulds each week'.

'This is only possible because we use the latest tools, including powerful 3D-CAD and CAM systems'.

Brandstatter's existing CAM system could not keep up with the increase in demand, and its lack of machining strategies forced the company's engineers to programme manually, leading to errors and delays on the machine tool.

Following a WorkNC demonstration, Gerhard Ammon commented: ' It opened up new possibilities allowing us to achieve more than we had ever anticipated'.

'Ease of use has resulted in faster training, and we have succeeded in greatly increasing our electrode production rates using the software'.

'An additional big plus for us is the stability and reliability of WorkNC'.

Both WorkNC and WorkNC-CAD are used on the shop floor at Brandstatter, bringing autonomy to the users who also operate the machine tools.

Jurgen Holler one of the users explained: 'With error free 3D CAD data, the machining strategies are applied and the calculation started - that's it'.

He continued: 'Through the combination of the simple programme operation with the intelligent processing strategies, a high level of accuracy is guaranteed, enabling us to minimise costly errors in our CNC programs'.

The automatic features in WorkNC save effort, while giving the operator more time and the flexibility to respond to the special circumstances which arise in some of the company's more complex tools.

WorkNC-CAD has also had a major impact on productivity.

By importing the IGES file the programmer is able to check for model integrity.

If the model needs repair or closing, functions inside WorkNC-CAD allow this to be completed with a few mouse clicks.

Previously this task had to be referred back to the design department, adding to its workload, and causing delays in the two shift system operated in the workshop.

Holler added: 'Frequently, we used to have to wait until the next day to have a model repaired'.

'This bottleneck, which had huge time-loss consequences, no longer happens'.

'Since the introduction of WorkNC-CAD we have not had a single case where we could not take remedial action ourselves'.

Other WorkNC features which are particularly valued by the company include the automatic production of HTML workshop documentation which allows clear communication between shifts, and the tool and toolholder libraries which keep track of available cutters.

Ammon said: 'Using WorkNC on the shop floor makes sense, as the machine operator understands the important elements of setting and operating the machining centres, so he is in the best position to optimise the performance of WorkNC'.

Ten years after the decision to purchase WorkNC from Sescoi, the Playmobil managers see it as the best decision that they could have taken for machining.

'The software is worth its weight in gold', said Ammon.

'Many processes are easier thanks to WorkNC'.

'It paid for itself in less than a year'.

He concluded: 'The calculation is easy - today two WorkNC workstations ensure that five work machines are in use simultaneously'.

'That's what I call productivity'.

Delcam USA will demonstrate new toolpath editing functions within FeatureCAM Version 2007 on Booth D-3228 at IMTS in Chicago, from 6th to 13th September 2006. The increased ability to make edits to the automatically generated toolpaths can reduce cycle time on the machine. In many cases, even a few minor changes can save significant amounts of time when production machining large runs of parts.

With toolpath editing, users can make changes to part toolpaths after they have been generated, without needing to retrace their programming steps back to the feature setup.

Users simply click on the section of the toolpath they want to edit and indicate the desired change.

Examples of edits include changing a rapid move to a linear feed move, changing a linear move to an arc, setting or changing the feed rate, deleting a move, inserting a toolpath from another operation, reversing the path, combining two moves into a single move, as well as several other options.

Tom McCollough, Vice President of FeatureCAM Software Development, explains: 'We work very hard to make a product that is easy to use by novices and infrequent users, yet with the all the power needed for advanced part programming'.

'For us, powerful means the ability to control the product to do exactly what the customer needs it to do while utilising advanced technology to free the user of the burden to specify obvious manufacturing information and techniques'.

'FeatureCAM has long been a leader in CADCAM automation'.

'With the addition of our new toolpath editing functions, we have extended the range of options that provide precise control for our customers'.