Spring Sales Team is ready for 2013

Spring Sales Team welcomes 2013 and is ready for all challenges ahead.

Richard Childress Racing Puts CNC Machining On Fast Track With NC Simulation

Affordable NCSIMUL cuts hours from first piece production cycle

Richard Childress Racing (RCR), one of the predominant names in NASCAR Sprint CUP racing, knows a little bit about the value of getting on track and up to speed quickly. It is part of the organization’s culture. So when its machine shop, where custom parts are manufactured for RCR race cars, was losing four to eight hours of machine cycle on critical “first piece” parts, it was a detriment to that culture of speed.

Rick Grimes, Manufacturing Manager for RCR, said, "We have to turn parts quickly in this business. We are a week-to-week operation. Our shop is frequently asked to program a part from scratch and get it out to the machine, then get the parts made and out to the track before the next race. Naturally, we are eager to do whatever it takes to reduce the time between creating the model and having the completed first piece in our hands."

Ironically, to speed things up the shop was in the habit of slowing processes down to avoid potential crashes that could scrap a part and miss a deadline. Tedious hours were spent at the CNC machine controllers, meticulously stepping through first piece part programs, one line at a time, to avoid a potential cutting tool crash.

Of course, the obvious solution was to use some sort of process simulation package. RCR's PTC Pro/Engineer software came with a basic simulation utility that allowed the programmer to view movement of the tool around the part. However, it did not simulate the path of the tool and holder in relation to the machine itself or the vices and fixtures set up on the machine’s table. During product research, the programming team found highly sophisticated software available to do this, but also discovered that those complex packages can cost far more than the CNC machine itself. In addition, learning to use this high-end, complicated simulation software was a time-consuming proposition. This was not an option for an organization that must turn new part design and production around in less than a week.

Giant Step

First piece manufacturing took a giant step forward at RCR in 2010 when its CAD software reseller, 3HTI, suggested that they take a look at a new simulation software package called NCSIMUL, developed by Spring Technologies, a French company that had just established a North American subsidiary organization headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. NCSIMUL is an affordable yet comprehensive software solution for simulating, verifying, optimizing, and reviewing CNC machining programs. It can be used in conjunction with CAD/CAM software. In the case of RCR, it was PTC Pro/Engineer.

Clifton Kiziah, Manufacturing Engineer at RCR, was assigned the task of learning and implementing the software.   Training sessions were divided into small, digestible modules that he was able to fit into his hectic schedule. Total time spent in training took less than two days and these hours were spread out over several weeks.

He was then ready to apply the software, which is designed to improve CAM generated CNC manufacturing programs in three ways: First, the software analyzes the CAM program itself, so that coding errors in the program can be corrected before the postprocessor generates G-Code that is sent to the machine. Second, the software analyzes the G-Code itself to see how the program performs in relation to the part, the machine setup, and the machine itself. Errors are flagged so that the user can correct the code and eliminate any potential crashes. Third, the software verifies the part geometry against the model, based on the toolpaths themselves and a kinemetric model of the specific machine tool that the part is to be cut on.

Grimes said machine model and machine-specific license for NCSMUL was part of the purchase price. He said that ensuring that the NCSMUL's machine- specific features operated flawlessly was a team effort between RCR, machine tool builder Okuma, and Spring Technologies.

Lost Time Recaptured

Kiziah said that performing a complete simulation with NCSIMUL takes about 15 minutes. All of this happens at the PC computer desktop, so that no machining time is lost while the next CNC manufacturing program is being analyzed. Grimes said that his shop might be called upon to manufacture unique first piece parts several times a week. Before the company installed NCSIMUL, many hours of machining time were lost while painstakingly slogging through the code. This lost time has now been recaptured.

For example, RCR was called upon to machine a heavily revised Oil Cooler Valve Body for the Inline Oil Filter Assembly, a critical part of a race engine’s oiling system.  RCR had machined the original Revision A part several years earlier, but, Revision B had extensive changes to it.  The Valve Body part runs on the 4-axis Okuma MA-500HB Horizontal Machining center because of its complexity.  There are two operations with multiple B-axis rotations.

RCR faced some challenges with this new revision.  Due to the extreme complexity of the part, some surfaces had to be partially machined in the first operation and then completed in the second operation.  “Before NCSIMUL, we had no way to program and simulate the second operation using the stock that remained from the first op” said Kiziah.  NCSIMUL allowed RCR to accurately know how much stock remained for removal in the second operation.  RCR was even able to export the Op 1 remaining stock from NCSIMUL for use in Pro/Engineer.  Once the second operation was programmed and posted, both operations were simulated together in NCSIMUL.  This was done to verify that all surfaces of the part had been properly finished without any program errors or collisions between tooling and fixturing.  In the past, without NCSIMUL, RCR would have had to blindly proof the program out on the machine. If some surfaces didn’t clean up, the operator and machine would have had to wait around until the programmer re-worked the program. This would in turn waste several hours of machine time.  Without NCSIMUL, the original Rev. A 1^st piece part took 8 hours to proof out.  This time around, with the power of NCSIMUL, the Rev. B 1^st piece part was proofed in only 4 hours.

Similar savings are accumulating throughout the week, saving time, reducing costs, and making RCR even more competitive at the track.

For more information on NCSIMUL go to: www.NCSIMUL.com

For more information on RCR go to: www.rcrracing.com

For more information on 3HTI go to: www.3hti.com

SPRING wishes everyone Happy Holidays and a Great Happy New Year 2013

CUST 2012: delivering the state of the art and major innovations for users of NCSIMUL

 

Drawing over 130 user representatives, the 2012 edition demonstrated

the growing interest in SPRING Technologies solutions

SPRING Technologies, vendor of solutions to enhance production processes, announces that its latest User Club conference, CUST 2012, held on November 9 in Frankfurt and November 20 in Paris, was an outstanding success for SPRING Technologies and its customers, beating expectations with over 130 attendees. In the world of machining, this annual gathering of the NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS user community has become a marquee event, providing an opportunity for SPRING Technologies and its customers to get together to exchange ideas, news and experience.

Each year, customers volunteer to present first-hand accounts of how they are using the solutions in the SPRING Technologies portfolio, and explain, with figures, the benefits and ROI they are drawing from their applications.

In France, CUST was honored to be invited by SAFRAN Group and was supported for event logistics by the ASTECH technology cluster.

KEY FIGURES:

·        2 events: Paris and Frankfurt

·        Over 130 representatives, +75 companies of all sizes, from SME to major groups

·        6 thematic workshops focusing on the main modules in the NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS offering

·        A global satisfaction rating of over 16/20*

·        100% of attendees said they would come back or be willing to come back next year

*figures taken from the analysis of attendee satisfaction questionnaires at CUST 2012.                                                                          

HIGHLIGHTS: SPRING Technologies presented its vision of the process/value chain, from CAD/CAM to the Workshop, and explained how its NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS offering fitted into this process. The company demonstrated its technological leadership and consolidated its position as a major developer and vendor, specializing in processes for the Workshop.

“We made a number of announcements, previewing the technologies that we’ll be releasing in 2013,” explains Olivier Bellaton, General Manager of SPRING Technologies, “notably, the upcoming version of NCSIMUL, NCSIMUL Machine 9, whose cutting-edge technology has been demonstrated on the new Intel PC Ultrabook running in the Windows 8 Pro environment, a development that reflects our close partnerships with Microsoft and Intel. NCSIMUL Machine 9 makes optimal use of today’s standards in ergonomics and hardware capability, delivering an even more comfortable user experience. We’ll be releasing full details in January 2013 at our annual press conference.”

Process-oriented workshops focused on themes that are central to manufacturing expertise. This included key state-of-the-art manufacturing processes such as machining simulation, cutting tool management, cutting optimization, post-processors, technical content publication and real-time monitoring of CNC machine status.

“These process-oriented sessions help users to clearly identify the benefits delivered by the solutions in our portfolio, dedicated to their business areas, and reveal the added value from our synergistic solutions. This synergy is what makes our offering unique on today’s market”, adds Philippe Solignac, Corporate Marketing Director of SPRING Technologies.

The last word goes to Gilles Battier, CEO, SPRING Technologies: “CUST has been designed for our customers and they are the people who make it what it is. This year again, the event was a huge success. We are proud that over 130 people came to our sessions in France and Germany.

We develop innovative and reliable technology that is an asset for manufacturers all over the world, in any sector of industry. Our mission is to offer our customers “smart” solutions that are Instrumented, Intelligent, Interconnected, and process-oriented to enable them to make the best possible use of their CNC machines in real time and for the duration. In a word, our aim is to help them maximize their productivity and safety in the workshop.”

Medical Manufacturer Adopts NCSIMUL for Machining Simulation

To verify and optimize its machining operations, medical products supplier Paragon Medical, Inc., Pierceton, IN, has selected NCSIMUL, the CNC machine simulation solution from SPRING Technologies, Cambridge, MA.

Paragon Medical is a Tier-1 turnkey manufacturer of cases and trays, surgical instrumentation and implantable components. Paragon established its Global Design Center to enable the company to close the loop between development and manufacturing via project management, design, research, analytical testing and prototyping.

NCSIMUL, a component of SPRING Technologies' NC software offering of CAM software and services, is a comprehensive machine simulation software for simulating, verifying, optimizing and reviewing machining programs meant for CNC machines.

For the complete story click here 

“Unleash the Power of NC Simulation”. NSCIMUL 9.0 - Coming in Q1 2013 Trailer

In order to support the upcoming release of NCSIMUL Machine 9, SPRING Technologies is glad to share with you the trailer of NCSIMUL Machine 9, named “Unleash the Power of NC Simulation”.

BOBST adopts NCSIMUL for its machining simulation

NCSIMUL cuts out mudas in the workshop, saves 50% of machine time,

and fits seamlessly into BOBST’s comprehensive Lean Manufacturing policy

As a supplier of solutions for the production environment, SPRING Technologies invites users to share their success stories. BOBST has implemented NCSIMUL, the machining simulation solution that is an integral part of SPRING’s NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS offering, and talks about its experience.

The Company:

BOBST is the world's leading supplier of equipment and services to packaging manufacturers in the folding carton, corrugated board and flexible materials industries. The company designs and manufactures special machines, either standard or customized.

Founded in 1890 in Lausanne (Switzerland) by Joseph Bobst, the company now has operations in over 50 countries, 11 production plants across the world and a workforce of 5,000. In fiscal 2011, it generated 1.27 bn Swiss francs of consolidated revenue (around €1.06 bn, $1.4 bn).

Since January 2010, the group has been organized as three Business Units, the first two, Sheet-fed and Web-fed, offer equipment for a range of manufacturing sectors targeted by BOBST. The third, Business Unit Services, offers its customers full service, via BOBST’s global network of support centers, guaranteeing optimal operation of production resources.

With a portfolio of over 1,520 patents worldwide, BOBST invests 7% of its revenue each year in R&D, as well as high-performance technologies in order to maintain its rank as a top player on the packaging market.

The Challenge:

In Switzerland, BOBST has concentrated all its product development cycle processes at a single site, Mex near Lausanne, and has introduced the TEAM (Tous Ensemble A Mex) project to develop tight bonds and collaboration at the site. One of the measures it has taken is the acquisition of new 5-axis Mill-Turn NC machine tools and has reorganized its production tool around a Lean Manufacturing philosophy. Its goal is to optimize its production processes and resources in order to increase the share of added value for customers.

“Back in 2010 we started to anticipate the needs of our future production centre”, explains Pascal Fuchs, CAM system Manager at BOBST’s VPLM Group Competence center.

“We use CAD software ─ Dassault Systèmes CATIA ─ to create all our NC machining programs, to ensure that we could get our production resources operational as quickly as possible.”

BOBST evaluated and pilot tested other software on the market before opting for the machining simulation solution that best matched its environment: NCSIMUL from SPRING Technologies.

“We needed a solution that would integrate seamlessly with our CATIA CAM applications to ensure that our NC toolpaths would be reliable, and check our ISO codes, before the machine tool was even installed”, adds Pascal Fuchs.

This is why BOBST intends to improve its overall equipment effectiveness (OOE) in the workshop by reducing and even eliminating the checks on the physical NC machines.

NCSIMUL cuts out mudas in the workshop, and fits smoothly into our comprehensive Lean Manufacturing policy.

The Benefits:

The NCSIMUL solution from SPRING Technologies has proved to be an indispensable asset for the introduction of new production resources at the Mex site, and is part of the TEAM project. This has enabled BOBST to validate its new manufacturing concepts on complex machine kinematics, notably featuring 5 axes, multiple heads and collinear axes.

The simplicity and user-friendliness of the software, and above all the quality and reliability of the results have made it easy for all the engineers and technicians to take the machining simulation solution on board.

Currently, all the NC programs without exception are checked with NCSIMUL before deployment on the machine “and we have a maximum success rate”, says Pascal Fuchs.

“Previously, to bring a new 10-hour machining process for a part on stream, we spent four times longer, with the production machine tied up to set up and check the program”, he explains. “With NCSIMUL, we save 50% of machine time, i.e. 20 hours for the first machining run.”

Summing up his experience Pascal Fuchs says: “we have been working with SPRING Technologies for two years and our close partnership has enabled us to take NCSIMUL forward to match our needs. A truly win/win relationship.”

For more information on BOBST go to: www.bobst.com 

For more information on NCSIMUL or SPRING Technologies go to www.springplm.com