FOCUS ON CAD / CAM
Key benefits of JETCAM Expert
ASCO Power Technologies cited the benefits below :
■ Replaced several systems driving multiple technologies with JETCAM nesting software .
■ Now the standard nesting software for ASCO ’ s future machines .
■ Programming time up to 75 % faster than other systems in use .
■ Up to 14 % more efficient in nesting benchmark tests .
■ Tool teach makes auto-tooling for complex parts much quicker .
■ High-performance nesting which is up to 4 % more efficient that original free form nesting .
■ Tight integration with Aquila DMM MES software .
■ One programmer 95 % repurposed after Aquila DMM started programming JETCAM .
■ In use since 1997 .
■ Rapid training , backed up by the JETCAM University .
■ Further benefits received under maintenance .
■ Strong local support .
Above : ASCO 7000 Series Automatic Transfer Switch ( ATS ) with sheet metal enclosure .
Multiple nesting systems , each driving specific machines , caused their own issues , as staff would be less knowledgeable on some systems than others . This also caused issues during the holiday season or for sick leave . Re-tooling jobs for other machines often meant going back to DXF and starting again .
Hunley noted : “ One system was unreliable at applying tooling if the part was not created perfectly in CAD . This meant that we ’ d have to go back to the engineering department to get changes made to the CAD file before trying again .”
Steve Gandy ( manufacturing technician ) and Susan Krohn ( IT ) sought to expand on this : “ We started to wonder what else it could drive . It was the most user-friendly system , and financially it was cheaper than other systems . Why , when we can do things faster in JETCAM , would we not use it for everything ?”
Around 2005 , the decision was made to standardise on JETCAM Expert for all new machines . Hunley noted : “ We had run a number of benchmark comparisons over the years and JETCAM outperformed other systems every time , both in terms of overall speed of programming and nesting efficiency . Programming was up to 75 % quicker , and nesting efficiency could be as much as 14 % better . The machine path optimisation allowed jobs to run faster with code generated by JETCAM .”
In addition to new machines running with JETCAM , Hunley also set about replacing the remaining nesting systems , talking with JETCAM ’ s U . S . distributor , NestOne Solutions , about postprocessors .
“ We needed a stable and consistent solution for all of our machines . After we initially got JETCAM , we quickly identified that we were seeing bottlenecks on other machines . When we purchased posts for other machines , such as our Wiedemann , we were able to move work over to it in a matter of hours , whereas previously it would take three days .”
The JETCAM evolution
After using JETCAM Expert alongside other systems , James Hunley along with
Technology-specific functionality has also allowed ASCO Power Technologies to save time
ASCO power management solutions . On the shop floor at ASCO Power Technologies .
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