When Prototyping and Production Collide Simulation Breaks the Bottleneck

A great article in The Magazine for Western Metalworking Manufacturing written by Sean Buur

Cascade Corporation employs machine simulation to optimize production and prototyping manufacturing streams on the same machining centers.

Advanced CNC machine simulation software is helping a leading Portland, Oregon manufacturer of hydraulically operated fork lift truck accessories keep pace with aggressive schedules for prototyping and production manufacturing of hydraulic valve bodies on the same machining centers. The software (NCSIMUL from SPRING Technologies) makes it unnecessary to spend valuable on-machine hours single-stepping through first piece CNC programs to ensure that they will run without encountering interferences. As a result, prototype work rarely interferes with production manufacturing and design engineers get their prototype parts faster.

Cascade Corporation’s innovative material handling solutions enable lift trucks to become more versatile and efficient material handling tools. They rely on intricate hydraulic valve designs that make it possible to pull, push, clamp, lift, side-shift and rotate practically any unit load imaginable. These products are made and shipped to Europe, Asia and many other parts of the world from its manufacturing facility in Portland, Oregon.

Prototypes for hydraulic valve bodies critical to the success of the next generation of Cascade products are also made in the same plant and on the same manufacturing equipment as the full production components. Manufacturing prototypes on the same equipment allows the company to transition swiftly and smoothly into production manufacturing when a new design is released. It also means that prototype manufacturing must be conducted in off hours so that it does not disrupt very active production manufacturing schedules.

For the rest of the article go to: http://www.cnc-west.com/When_Prototyping_2.html