Speed, quality and flexibility - Delcam · Using PowerMILL has helped wheel manufacturer, Rimstock,...

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ISSUE 1 2013

P5“Fir-tree” machiningNew turbo-machiningmethod replacesbroaching

P840,000th CustomerLifetime Productsadds PowerMILL andFeatureCAM

P3Solid history rewindNew editing flexibilityin PowerSHAPE

Using PowerMILL has helped wheel manufacturer,Rimstock, boost its production to over 350,000wheels per year while maintaining the company’s reputation for high quality and rapid delivery times.

Rimstock is based in West Bromwich nearthe centre of the UK’s automotive industry, withsubsidiaries in Germany, France and the USA.The company has grown rapidly by developing a world-leading facility for the production offorged aluminium alloy wheels, alongside itshigh-volume business in cast alloy wheels. Thiscombination of manufacturing techniques hasenabled the company to expand into a widerrange of markets.

“We have been able to spread our sales acrossdifferent markets – racing, high-performancecars and speciality vehicles – to help expand

Rimstock has used two seats of PowerMILL for all of its CAM programming for the last fouryears. Andrew Colbourne, Forge Shop Manager,had previously had programs prepared externally for his machines or subcontracted out themachining work completely.

The move to PowerMILL was prompted by Rimstock’s purchase of its first five-axismachine, a Haas VF5, five years ago. Thecompany now has six five-axis Haas machinesthat are used mainly for finish machining, plus three Doosan machines for finer three-axiswork. It has kept its six older Cincinnati three-axis machines but these are now used mainly for roughing.

“All our programming and machining is nowcompleted in-house, which gives us much morecontrol over scheduling and quality,” commentedMr. Colbourne. “We use CATIA and Pro/E fordesign but have never had any problems inimporting data into PowerMILL.”

Mr. Colbourne chose the Delcam software after a visit to the company’s Birminghamheadquarters. “None of the other suppliers hadanything that could compare with the supportthat Delcam could offer,” he remembered. “We already knew that Delcam had a goodreputation, plus it is close to our site.”

the business,” explained Rimstock MarketingManager, Matt Neal. “These are all nichemarkets that value high quality and the fastresponse we can provide.”

The use of forged aluminium gives acombination of high strength and low weight.While this has obvious benefits for Rimstock’smotorsport customers, it has also been essentialin developing applications for military vehicles. The 30% weight reduction in the wheel that is possible extends the life of the suspensionsystem and means that the vehicle is able to carry a heavier payload.

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All our programming andmachining is now completed in-house, which gives us much more control overscheduling and quality,”commented Mr. Colbourne. “We have been able to achievemuch lower cycle times bymoving to five-axis machining.

Speed, quality and flexibility

Continued on page 2PowerMILL helps Rimstock achieve outstandingsurface finish on its wheels

0505 DEL News1_2013_AW2 Q9_Delcam News 11/01/2013 11:27 Page 1

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20-yearpartnershipwith AutoVAZDelcam has extended its 20-year partnership withRussian automotive manufacturer, AutoVAZ, with an agreement covering support and maintenancefor the coming year.The new agreement with Delcam’s Samaraoffice was signed during a visit to Russia byDelcam Director, Hugh Humphreys, as part of a trade mission led by UK Trade and InvestmentMinister, Lord Green, and John Cridland,Director-General of the CBI.

AutoVAZ, which is generally known by its Ladatrade name, produces 700,000 cars per annum.It is unusual as an automotive company in thatmost of its components are manufactured in-house, in one of the world’s largest car factories.

AutoVAZ was one of Delcam’s first customers in Russia and remains one of its largest users in the country. A combination of PowerSHAPE,PowerMILL and PowerINSPECT is used by the

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We are pleased to extend ourpartnership with AutoVAZ andlook forward to helping thecompany in its drive to improveproductivity and quality”commented Mr. Humphreys. “The contract is anotherlandmark in a very successfulyear in Russia for Delcam.

company. The design and machining software is used primarily in the pre-production and pilot-production plant, especially for toolingmanufacture. PowerINSPECT is used to controlover 50 inspection arms and co-ordinatemeasuring machines throughout the plant.

“We are pleased to extend our partnership with AutoVAZ and look forward to helping thecompany in its drive to improve productivity and quality” commented Mr. Humphreys. “The contract is another landmark in a verysuccessful year in Russia for Delcam.”

Evgeniy Shmelev, Vice-President of Technical Development at AutoVAZ (left), shakes hands withDelcam Director, Hugh Humphreys, on the new agreement, watched by Minister for Trade andInvestment, Lord Green, and Tim Barrow, the UK Ambassador to Russia

Constant improvements in PowerMILL over theintervening years have convinced Mr. Colbournethat it was the correct decision. “PowerMILLgives us exactly what we need,” he said. “Itallows us to get a level of finish from the

mills that was previously only possible by grinding. In addition, you can

edit the leads and links so that the five-axis

transitions can be positioned in areas of thesurface that won’t be visible.”

“We have been able to achieve much lowercycle times by moving to five-axis machining,while Delcam and Haas have worked togetherwell to solve any problems we have

experienced.”

“We have also benefited by replacing theuse of electrodes with direct machining.This change saves us the cost ofgraphite as well as the time needed to manufacture the electrodes.”

Rimstock specialises in wheels for racing and high-performance cars

All machining at Rimstock is programmed with PowerMILL

Speed, quality and flexibilityContinued from page 1


SolidhistoryrewindThe 2013 R2 versions ofPowerSHAPE and PowerSHAPEPro have been launched with new tools and enhancements for solid modelling and formanipulating point clouds. The two sets of developments will speed the production ofdesigns ready for manufacturing,whether starting from importedCAD data or from scanned data.The main enhancement in PowerSHAPE isthe ability to rewind the solid history tree of amodel to any position using a graphical slider.Edits can then be made, either by applying theSolid Doctor to repair problematic data or byusing the full range of direct modelling tools inPowerSHAPE, without losing the history of themodel. Once the required edits have beencompleted, the rewind point can be moved or deleted; the complete solid history is then re-built automatically.

A simpler change, which will also save significantamounts of time, is that clicking the right mousebutton now has the same effect as pressing“Apply” or “OK” on all forms. This is particularlyuseful when carrying out repetitive tasks such asfilleting around a complex model. The user cannow select each edge to be filleted, click theright mouse button and then move on to thenext edge. Similarly, a series of holes can becreated more quickly just by selecting theposition and clicking the button for each hole.

Other solid modelling enhancements include anew dialogue for the solid-split command, amore flexible replace-face option that now allowsfaces of one solid to be replaced with faces from a separate solid, and new hole typesallowing faster creation of holes for standardmetric and imperial cap-head screws and bolts.

In addition, the Solid Doctor has been mademore flexible with the ability to relax or tightenthe linking tolerances on specific edges. This is important for subsequent modelling astolerance issues can affect the reliability ofBoolean operations.

Improvements to PowerSHAPE Pro will make re-engineering from scanned data quicker andeasier. A set of new modelling tools will allowusers to extract selected points from within acloud of point data to make a new one, or tocombine separate clouds into a single set ofdata. In addition, separate clouds, or areaswithin a cloud, can be given different colours for easier identification.

1 – Features within the part are recognised, including holes(blue), pockets (orange) and cuts(green). The pockets and cutshave been associated with thefront corner of the part

2 – The history is rewound to before the recognition. Any features are suppressed

3 – The front face of the part ismoved using direct modelling

4 – The history is restored.Note how the features thatwere locked to the front cornerof the part have updated and moved accordingly

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Supporting sophisticationA combination of FeatureCAM and Delcam for SolidWorks ishelping the Sutter Instrument Company to manufacture someof the world’s most sophisticated research and inspectionequipment. University laboratories all over the world useSutter’s instruments to do research into illnesses includingParkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, cancer and infertility.

The company had its origins in 1977when Dale Flaming, a scientist working at the University of California, San Francisco, was having difficulty in producing micropipettes for his studies of retina cells in the eye. Hedeveloped the first electronically controlledmicropipette puller to help facilitate his research.

Additional demand for the device fromcolleagues prompted the formation of SutterInstrument Company.

Today, Sutter has grown to become a world-class manufacturer of biomedical and life science research instrumentation.Customisation of the optical product line forunique applications has extended the company’scustomer base beyond the biomedical industryinto such diverse industries as aerospace,semiconductors, electronics, atmosphericresearch, astronomical imaging, fusion researchand material analysis.

The company’s engineering and manufacturingfacility occupies over 50,000 square feet andemploys more than 70 staff, most of whom have been with the company for more than a decade. The machine shop, which is staffed with 14 employees, is one of the finest precision-machining facilities in Northern California,employing state-of-the-art CNC machining and turning centres for volume production of precision mechanical components.

Fred Siedenburg, a Vice-President at Sutter,oversees the research and developmentactivities in the machine shop together with Ron Davenport, Research and Developmentmachinist, who has more than 30 years of

Sutter Instruments uses eight seats ofDelcam software to produce its components

experience in precision manufacturing. Both of them have tried nearly every CADCAMsoftware package on the market. For more than a decade, they have been committed to Delcam software. Today, Sutter Instrumentsowns five seats of Delcam for SolidWorks and three of FeatureCAM.

“When we first got our FeatureCAM software,we picked up the basics almost immediately,”remembered Mr. Davenport. “Over time, wehave learned the more intricate features. We do call Delcam from time to time with questionsand the technical support team is outstanding.”In fact, he admits that, when they were firstevaluating FeatureCAM, it was the technicalsupport they received that convinced them to switch to Delcam.

More recently, Sutter has added Delcam forSolidWorks. “Delcam for SolidWorks is abouttwice as fast as anything else on the market,”claimed Mr. Davenport. “It became so easy tomachine parts when Delcam for SolidWorkscame out – it was literally inside the SolidWorksprogram that we use for design. We can get aprototype into the hands of our decision makersvery quickly. In manufacturing, we are able tofine-tune the design very quickly and easily,cutting production times.”

Ron Davenport rates the support from Delcam as “outstanding”

University laboratoriesall over the world useSutter instruments


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Delcam is working with Iruba, a German provider of engineered solutions, and machine-tool manufacturer Hermle to develop a novel five-axis machining method, programmedwith PowerMILL, for the creation of “fir-tree” profiles in components for turbo machinery.The new process, which provides an alternative to broaching, was demonstrated to anenthusiastic response during last year’s IMTS exhibition in Chicago.

The milling approach, which is basedon the trochoidal machining strategies inPowerMILL, has been patented by Iruba. Itallows complex “fir-tree” profiles to be producedon milling machines, such as the Hermle C60five-axis machining centre, rather than having to use specialist broaching equipment.

The use of trochoidal strategies gives a numberof benefits, in particular giving high materialremoval rates with lower, and more consistent,cutting forces. The more consistent cuttingforces also ensure higher accuracy in theposition and in the shape of the slots, withminimal thermal effects on the surface of theprofiles. The process also reduces the number of specialist cutting tools that are required, and cuts the machining time in steel alloys by between 30 and 40 per cent, compared to alternative standard milling solutions, giving a time almost equal to broaching.

Commenting on the process, Brett Hopkins,Manager of Delcam Professional Services NorthAmerica, said, “We are pleased to be workingwith other leaders in manufacturing technologylike Hermle and Iruba to develop this innovativetechnology. The collective collaboration began

several months ago and was received with great enthusiasm when we presented theprocess at IMTS.”

Mattias Rutschinski, Managing Director of Iruba,added, “At IMTS, we presented, with Hermleand Delcam, a world premiere by milling small fir-tree geometries in IN718, a typical material for aero-engine parts. The presentationimpressed our visitorsand made it very clearthat milling is the moreeffective technology, sincewe could mill even curvedslots, deburr them andmeasure them in oneprocess on Hermle’ssmallest five-axismachine, the C22.”

“In our latestdevelopment, we arestepping up to the greenagenda by using CO2

coolant for fir-tree milling,and blisk and blademachining. We arecreating and developing

not only smart high-tech tools but, incooperation with Delcam, also offering completesolutions from the best available technologies for a better environment. Water should be kept as a resource for humankind and, wheneverpossible, not used for cutting operations. Iruba’s technology, when applied to energycomponents, will be the best solution tocombine “green” turbine technology with “green” manufacturing technology.”

“Broaching is a technology developed at the end of the 19th century,” concluded Mr. Rutschinski. “Many applications can be completed today with much lower powerconsumption and oil waste, by much moreintegrated and flexible solutions, fitting theproduction demands of the 21st century.”

Using PowerMILL ensures a high-qualitysurface finish for fir-tree profiles

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We are pleased to be workingwith other leaders inmanufacturing technology likeHermle and Iruba to developthis innovative technology. The collective collaborationbegan several months ago and was received with great enthusiasm when wepresented the process at IMTS.

New machining methodfor “fir-tree” profiles

The new turbo machining processoffers an alternative to broaching


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The decision was taken to stay with Delcam, and we have now, following many, many,machining hours, been verypleased that we decided tospecify the Delcam software.

PowerSHAPE and PowerMILL have been chosen by MonsterCAMto drive the UK’s largest independently owned, continuous five-axismachining centre. The company’s EEW machine is 45 metres long,7 metres wide and 4 metres high and has a volumetric cutting space of 1,260 cubic metres.

MonsterCAM was conceived by theDirectors of two well-established companies:modelmaking and patternmaking specialists,Curvature Group, and plug and productionmoulding company, Marine Concepts. The three Directors, with over 75 years’ combinedexperience in machining, mouldmaking andcomposite moulding work, saw the need to have an integrated business that could make

the investment required for such a largemachine, as well as combining the skills andexperience each company was able to offer.

The basis of the technical partnership wasequally important in being able to maintain andcontrol the costs so MonsterCAM could offer itshighly skilled CNC plug/patternmaking servicewithin the expected cost parameters that themarine sector had already been paying for workthat had previously been contracted out for handmanufacture. This was seen as pivotal to thebusiness’s success, especially due to the current

and certainly foreseeable global economyand how it has been affectingMonsterCAM’s target clientele.MonsterCAM wanted to be able to bring this resource to the sector,and offer a better and more accurateservice that their clients couldeffectively “turn on and off like a tap”when required, rather than setting uptheir own facility, which, more often than not, would not be cost-effective.

The need for such a large piece ofequipment was driven mainly by requests for larger and larger patterns from the twocompanies’ marine customers. However,demand for the new capacity has also comefrom the wind energy and architectural sectors,and even from two customers that wanted full-scale replicas manufactured of two verydifferent space shuttles!

Nick Phelps, one of the founder directors ofMonsterCAM and owner of Curvature Group,stated that he had been using Delcam softwarefor that company’s own large five-axis machiningcentres for some years. However, this newinvestment was dealt with through fresh eyes,and he and his fellow directors in MonsterCAMassessed many different software systemsbefore deciding which one they would ultimatelyuse. Mr. Phelps commented, “The decision was

taken to stay with Delcam, and we have now,following many, many, machining hours, beenvery pleased that we decided to specify theDelcam software.”

On asking Mr. Phelps more about what hisdecision was based upon, he further stated,“Curvature Group is using a variety of CAMsystems so the decision to use Delcam withinMonsterCAM was also supported because EEW had the software in Germany. Also, it was felt that Delcam offered the best support. Most enquiries were handled immediately, and, whenever the support team needed to ring us back, they really did ring us back. That certainly hasn’t been true of some of the other CADCAM suppliers that we use.”

This support has been vital for the new companyas the size of the EEW machine meant thatMonsterCAM would be machining on a scalenever attempted in the UK before. Also, theoperator, Carl Perry, who had been seconded toMonsterCAM from Curvature Group and trainedto operate the machine, had worked previouslyusing three-axis machines only.

An advanced training course in PowerMILL soonput Mr. Perry on the right track. “PowerMILL was very easy to pick up compared to some of the packages I have used; it is much moreintuitive,” he commented. “I needed a bit of

A completed deck-house in the EEW machine

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Monster 5-axis machining centre

The EEW machine allows MonsterCAM to produce large items like the deck mould


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Curvature Group is using avariety of CAM systems so thedecision to use Delcam withinMonsterCAM was also supportedbecause EEW had the software in Germany. Also, it was felt thatDelcam offered the best support.Most enquiries were handledimmediately, and, whenever the support team needed to ring us back, they really did ringus back. That certainly hasn’tbeen true of some of the otherCADCAM suppliers that we use.

experimentation to get the results I wantedimmediately after completing the course but now I can do everything I need, from three-axiswork to continuous five-axis milling, both quicklyand easily. With PowerMILL, I can consistentlymachine to within 0.2 mm over the wholeenvelope of the machine.”

PowerSHAPE has also proved invaluable formost projects. “Nine times out of ten, our clientswill send a product design with either no run-offsurfaces or no draft angle applied,” said Mr.Perry. “I need to manipulate this data withPowerSHAPE to complete the tooling designbefore I can start on the programming.”

MonsterCAM has grown its clientele significantlyin the 18 months since the company firstcommenced machining. Two further machineoperators have now also been trained at Delcamand, of course, have furthered this training in theworkplace. Now MonsterCAM is fully capable of handling any projects and the pressures thatthese bring with them, while continuing to counton the valuable support provided by Delcam.

MonsterCAM specialises in plug and mouldmakingfor the marine industry

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Large-scalecarvingBy using ArtCAM to drive aCNC router, Joe Valasek’scompany, Carveture, canproduce carved artwork andarchitectural pieces that were in the past only accessible to very rich individuals andorganisations. He can nowproduce breathtakingly largeand detailed murals, doors andother carvings for customerswith even modest budgets.Mr. Valasek started his career as a sculptorover 30 years ago. For the first few years of hiscareer, he worked purely with hand-carvingtools. “When I was sculpting and carving byhand, I found myself feeling jealous of bronzeartists who produced a model and then cast 200 copies,” Mr. Valasek remembered. “So Ispent eight years searching for the right toolsthat would marry the power of the computer andCNC machinery with the freedom and creativityof manual sculpting. I tried a number of differentsoftware packages but ArtCAM is the only one I have seen that can do what I was looking for. I found a CNC router made by Precix with twoheads that can quickly produce large jobs.”

In his early years working with CNC, Mr. Valasekteamed up with a couple of other designers tocarve grapevines onto the ends of wine barrelsto make decorative faces for clocks sold througha wine-accessories catalogue. With almost twodecades of experience under his belt, he is nowtaking on much larger projects for corporate and individual clients.

A screen that would have taken six months can be produced in two months with ArtCAM

ArtCAM allows high levels of detail, even in very large designs

For one project, he produced two twelve-footwide by six-foot high murals, with enormouslevels of detail and a wide range of differentscenes. These would have taken six months to carve with traditional methods but weredesigned in only two months using ArtCAM.

Another example was the series of murals that he produced for PeaceHealth, a group of hospitals in the Northwestern United States.The murals represent the healing and nurturinginfluence that the PeaceHealth family ofemployees has on the wide regions of theNorthwest, stretching from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Cottage Grove, Oregon, served byPeaceHealth clinics and hospitals. The hospitalis now planning to have Valasek build two more murals. By reusing components from the first project, he estimates that the newmurals can be designed in only two weeks.

“Besides saving large amounts of time inproducing the first iteration of your design,ArtCAM also lets you reuse parts of your art,”Mr. Valasek explained. “You can also buyartwork on the web and incorporate it into your design. The result is that carved artworksand architectural pieces that were formerly out of the range of all but the most lavish budgetsare now becoming affordable. My hope is thatmy carvings will add delight, charm and value to my customers’ homes and businesses formany years to come.”


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40,000th customer

– Lifetime Products Inc.Delcam recently added its 40,000th customer – Lifetime Products Inc. “Lifetime Products is a world-leading manufacturer, with products sold in more than 70 countries. We are honoured to be able to add such a prestigious company to our list of customers. They are a true US success story,” saidDelcam North America President, Glenn McMinn, who announced the landmark sale during the IMTS exhibition held in Chicago last September.While the average American may not knowwho Lifetime Products is, the chances are they own one of its products. The companymanufactures a number of outdoor productsfrom swing sets and basketball hoops, to lawnfurniture and storage sheds, to kayaks and tenttrailers, all designed and manufactured largely in the United States. Founded in 1986 andheadquartered in Clearfield, Utah, LifetimeProducts has applied innovation and cutting-edge technology in plastics and metals todevelop innovative products with superiorstrength and durability.

It all began in 1972, with the founder of LifetimeProducts, Barry Mower, wanting a sturdierbasketball pole for his backyard. This grew into a business that was named American PlayWorld.Several years later, in March of 1986, LifetimeProducts was created to concentrate specificallyon manufacturing the patented adjustable-basketball systems.

Today, Lifetime Products employs over 1,300staff in 2.6 million square feet spread overtwenty-one separate buildings. LifetimeProduct’s commitment as a global manufactureris to produce high-quality, innovative productsthat are strong, durable and environmentallyfriendly. To meet its goals and to keep costsdown, Lifetime Products continually looks for solutions to speed up time to market, to increase value to its customers and todecrease waste.

The Lifetime Products machine shop, staffed by 21 experienced machinists, is an integral partof the company’s success. The machine shoppurchased its first Mazak machine tool morethan 20 years ago, which was just recently soldto make room for a new and bigger Mazak.Today, the company owns four Mazak verticalmachining centres, two Nexus VNC-510Cs, a Nexus VCS-410A and a VTC-300C, plus aMazak QuickTurn Nexus 300 turning centre.

Lifetime Products also has four HAAS VF-9machines for milling its moulds. The company is expanding this department further to meet the growing demand for moulds.

“We have largely maintained our US productionand it is growing,” says Dennis Norman, MoldDesign Engineer at Lifetime Products. “Weproduced 30 moulds in Utah last year and areworking to complete 36 this year. All of our bigproducts for the US market are made here andwe will continue to keep it that way.” Whenasked about expanding further, Mr. Normanadded, “Lifetime Products will continue to addmore state-of-the-art machines and technologyto our US production facility because it is our

main point of operation. Our US manufacturingis growing and we will continue to grow as themarket demands.”

Lifetime Products expanded its offerings recentlyto include kayaks in its line of outdoor products.The company uses PTC’s Pro-E for the designbut wanted a state-of-the-art CAM product togo alongside it. Since the company’s designscan be quite complex, the machine shop had to find something that would take the large files without difficulty, something that couldcomplement its current processes but extend its CAM capabilities. After reviewing a number of CADCAM companies, Lifetime Productsdecided on Delcam.

“What attracted us to Delcam first was thespeed with which PowerMILL can calculatetoolpaths,” said Mr. Norman. “It is notuncommon for software companies to say theyhave fast toolpath calculation but PowerMILLbacks this up with multi-threading andbackground processing.” This functionality isunique to PowerMILL – both foreground and

background processes that use fully multi-threaded functionality so NC programs get to the machines in the shortest possible time.

In addition, PowerMILL has a comprehensiverange of patented high-speed machiningstrategies that increase the speed of production.“With our previous manufacturing CAM software,we were cutting way too much air,” Mr. Normancontinued. “By using PowerMILL’s stock modelsfor rest machining, we can be confident that weare constantly cutting metal and minimisingwasteful air moves.”

PowerMILL’s streamlined and well-designed user interface allowed Lifetime to take onmachining of the kayak mould quite quickly.“Once the project was done, we were veryimpressed,” said Charles Monsen, LeadProgrammer. “We had never had a mould comeoff the machine that looked that good. It wasquite a project to take on for our first time butworking with PowerMILL made it easy. Thetoolpaths looked impressive and the finishedproduct was very smooth.”


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Lifetime Products has been so impressedworking with Delcam that the company has also purchased FeatureCAM for its shop-flooroperators. Kelly Martinez, the Machine ShopManager, said, “We were impressed with thediversity the company could offer us and howattentive the people there are to our needs.”Most of the job-shop parts machined by LifetimeProducts had been programmed using the off-line programming system.

“We spoke with our account manager, Blaine Duke, about our machine programminglimitations – he said, why not try FeatureCAM?”remembered Mr. Martinez. “We had a fewpeople try it out and I was really impressed with how quickly they picked it up.”

Operators at Lifetime Products are now doing all of their own programming with FeatureCAM.“Before we added FeatureCAM, our shop-flooroperators could only program with the machine-tool control. Now that they have picked upFeatureCAM so quickly, they can easily take a program and put it on another machine ifnecessary or program a part themselves, evenparts with complex surfacing.”

Due to the ease of use of FeatureCAM, LifetimeProducts has really increased productivity on itsshop floor. “Previously the shop-floor operatorswould have to get one of the programmers, whoare very busy programming complex moulds, todo work on smaller surfacing projects. Now, withthe help of FeatureCAM, we can do a lot moreprogramming right on the shop floor,” explainedMr. Martinez.

Examples of the newkayak range fromLifetime Products

Part of the kayak mould that was the first projectundertaken at Lifetime Products with Delcam software

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What attracted us to Delcam first was the speed with which PowerMILL can calculate toolpaths,” said Mr. Norman. “It is not uncommon for software companies to say they have fast toolpath calculation but PowerMILL backs this up with multi-threading and background processing.

Lifetime Products supplies a varietyof garden furniture, such as thistable (near left) that requires a very complex mould (far left)


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Asian update

TechnicalSummit in Indonesia

This year’s meeting, which was againsponsored by HP, was the twelfth in the annualseries. Over 120 delegates attended, many from Indonesia but with representatives also at the event from 12 other countries.

Guest speakers alongside the Delcampresentations included Debbie Clark, UKTIDirector of Trade & Investment for Indonesia,Seiji Niwa, Manager, HP Workstations – AsiaPacific and Japan, Andrew Collins, fromautosport engine manufacturer Noonan Race Engineering, and Jordan Thomson, from Oscar-winning special-effects companyWeta Workshop.

Delcam held its Asian TechnicalSummit in Indonesia for the firsttime in September, presentingits latest technical and financial news to customers,academicians and the technicalmedia from the region.

Chinese Sales Partner Meeting

Like its parent company, Delcam Chinaserves many industries across the country,including automotive, railway vehicle, aerospace,footwear, healthcare, electrical/electronicappliances and many more. As well as over2,000 manufacturing organisations, DelcamChina supports Chinese educational institutes,with over 100 institutes using Delcam softwarefor training and research.

More than 120 delegates attended Delcam Greater China’s Sales Partner Meeting

Delcam Greater China’s AnnualSales Partner Meeting, whichlast year was held in Xi’an, one of China’s most historic and cultural cities, on August2nd and 3rd, attracted over 120 delegates, includingrepresentatives from HongKong, Taiwan, Changchun and many other areas of the region.Delcam Taiwan

20th anniversary

Over its twenty-year history, Delcam Taiwanhas developed into the leading supplier of CAMsoftware to the local manufacturing industry, with an unrivalled reputation for the quality of its technical support. It operates six offices – four in Taiwan in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, plus two on the mainland inKunshun and Dongguan supporting Taiwanesecompanies that have added manufacturingfacilities in China. A total of 35 staff supportaround 1,200 customers.

Delcam Taiwan celebrated its 20th anniversarywith a user meeting for over 240 delegates

Delcam Taiwan celebrated its 20th anniversary in Taipei in October with a record attendance at itscommemorative user meeting of over 240 delegates. DelcamTaiwan, one of Delcam’s earliestinternational Joint Ventures, was established in 1992 inpartnership with ManagingDirector, Jack Lin, and two local businessmen.

Alongside the latest developments fromDelcam, new technology was described fromHankook Delcam, which introduced theHankook Delcam Automation Solution thatenables innovation across the entiremanufacturing process. This groundbreakingtechnology attracted great interest fromattendees wishing to improve their productivityby automating their existing processes.

Over 1,200 delegates confirmed the status of the Hankook DelcamUser Conference as the world’s largest meeting for CAM users

Delcam’s South Korean joint venture, Hankook Delcam, held its 23rd User Group Conference in August with thetheme “Innovation – Breaking the Wall”. Over 1,200attendees set a new record for the event, reinforcing its position as the world’s largest meeting for CAM users.

More than 120 delegates attended Delcam’sAsian Technical Summit in Indonesia

Korean User Group Conference


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Turkey visit with DeputyPrimeMinisterDelcam’s Commercial Director, Bart Simpson,was among a business delegation to Turkeylead by the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, in October. The visit coincidedwith the Maktek Eurasia exhibition in Istanbul,where Delcam’s new subsidiary, Delcam Turkiye, participated for the first time, and came a week after the formal launch of the subsidiary at a reception at the British Embassy.

Turgay Oğuş of Delcam Turkiye, David Reddaway, British Ambassador to Turkey, UK Business, Innovationand Science Minister, Michael Fallon, and Bart Simpson from Delcam

Commenting on the visit, Nick Clegg said:“Turkey is Europe’s seventh-largest economyand is one of the world’s largest markets. Wehave an ambitious aim to double bilateral tradeby 2015. It has increased by 40% since 2009 so we are making good progress towards thetarget, and this visit will bring us even closer.”

Mr. Simpson emphasised Delcam’s willingnessto contribute towards this target. “We enjoyedour most successful year so far in Turkey during2011, with sales increasing by over 20%,” hesaid. “Even so, we expect to increase our salessignificantly in the coming years. This visit, andour presence at Maktek, has confirmed the sizeof the opportunity there is for our manufacturingsoftware in Turkey.”

Jim Duggan, the founder ofAtlanta-based Ice SculptureInc., claims that, with ArtCAM,he can produce the highest-quality ice sculptures in half thetime that would be required tocarve them by hand.Ice Sculpture Inc. produces bars, weddingsculptures, corporate logos, sorbet dishes, shot glasses and many other designs in ice for corporate events, weddings, retirements,birthday parties, anniversaries and other specialoccasions. The company began using CNC ice-carving equipment from its early days inbusiness, with the goal of producing moreaccurate and more realistic ice sculptures in less time.

“ArtCAM was recommended by the companythat made my ice-carving machine,” Mr. Dugganremembered. “I started using it from my earlydays in business. Over the years, I have lookedat many other programs and repeatedly madethe decision to continue with ArtCAM. ArtCAMmakes it easy to create complex designs andgenerates code that our carving machine usesto produce very crisp and exact ice sculptures.The time savings are even greater when we areable to reuse an existing design as the basis for a new creation.”

“ArtCAM produces CNC programs that result invery crisp and exact cuts. Our carvers are verygood but, when you compare a hand-cut logoside by side with one produced on a CNC router,you can easily see the difference. The lines areabsolutely straight and everything lines upperfectly. With ArtCAM and a CNC router, wecan produce a job in about half the time thatwould be required using the traditional methodof making templates and cutting it out by hand.”

“Every time that I have revisited my decision towork with ArtCAM, I have confirmed the wisdomof my original choice because of its exceptionalcombination of power and ease of use,” Mr.Duggan commented. “For example, it was veryeasy to teach the program to my assistant.When I need technical support, I never have towait more than thirty minutes for a call back.”

High quality in half the time

Jim Duggan was part of the team that created this design for the World Ice Art Championships


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OrthoticSelector is unique in that it can even accelerate thedevelopment process in manycases when a new design ofcustom orthotic insole isrequired. It can be used to select an existing design from the database that best fits the pathology of the patient.

12 | ISSUE 1 2013

DentMILL

Delcam has introduced a newversion of its DentMILL dentalmilling software tailoredspecifically for the production ofcrowns and bridges in zirconia,wax and PMMA on the RolandDXW-50 desktop machiningsystem. ‘DentMILL for Roland’incorporates dedicatedtemplates for the automatedgeneration of three-axis andfive-axis toolpaths specificallyfor the Roland equipment,together with libraries of proventooling and fixturing.

DentMILL for Roland is tailored specifically forthe Roland DXW-50 desktop machining system

OrthoticSelector for custom insolesDelcam has added a new program, OrthoticSelector, to its range ofsoftware for the design and manufacture of custom orthotic insoles.OrthoticSelector provides a lower-cost solution for practitioners andlaboratories by allowing them to identify, from a library of existingdesigns, the prefabricated orthotic or cast that best fits a patient’srequirements. It also enables faster development of new designswhen the patient needs fully-customised insoles.OrthoticSelector is Delcam’s first softwarethat can also be used in the retail orthoticmarket, either for sports or medical applications,as well as by practitioners and laboratories. It provides a scientific method for the selection of the most appropriate orthotic design to matcha patient’s foot anatomy and needs from a stockof existing devices.

This approach is often more cost-effective thandeveloping a customised orthotic since standarddesigns for frequently-found problems can bemass-produced. In addition, using standarddesigns means that patients can have theirorthotics off-the-shelf rather than having to waitfor them to be made to order.

OrthoticSelector can also be used to select the most appropriate cast positive to match apatient’s pathology, again from a set of existingdesigns covering the most common pathologies.It is ideal for laboratories that have developed a physical database of casts covering thespectrum of foot conditions they need to treatmost frequently. Vacuum-forming the orthoticfrom an existing cast again reduces costs andspeeds up delivery to the patient.

In both cases, the process starts with a scan of the patient’s foot, from which key anatomicalfeatures are extracted. These features are thenused to select automatically the appropriateorthotic or cast design from the database. The software always lists the “ideal” fit for thepatient, plus a range of suitable alternatives on either side, giving the practitioner orlaboratory complete clinical control over the selection process.

OrthoticSelector is unique in that it can evenaccelerate the development process in manycases when a new design of custom orthoticinsole is required. It can be used to select an existing design from the database that best fits the pathology of the patient. This design can then be scaled to match the size of the

individual’s foot and the keyanatomical features, beforebeing passed for manufacturing.If required, the design can be added to the database to expand the laboratory’s offering to future patients.

“The OrthoticSelector offers a way to provide relief for apatient more quickly and at a lower cost,” claimed Delcam’s Healthcare BusinessDevelopment Manager, ChrisLawrie. “It will be of most benefitto those patients with relativelyminor problems and thoserequiring additional support, for example, from sportsorthotics. However, it will alsomean that patients with moreunusual or more extreme needscan have their custom orthoticinsoles made more quickly.”

The OrthoticSelector places the scan in the correct alignment automatically (above)and then selects the appropriate orthotic (below)

ShoeMaker is the only software that combines the design and modelling of uppers and

soles within the same 3D environment

Delcam CRISPIN has launchedthe 2013 versions of theShoeMaker concept designprogram and the Engineer Propattern development andgrading software. DelcamCRISPIN is the world’s largestsupplier of CADCAM software to the footwear industry and is the only supplier able toprovide a complete solution for the design and manufactureof lasts, uppers and soles.


ISSUE 1 2013 | 13

for Roland

environment. The softwarehelps users to producerealistic 3D footwear modelsfor design and marketingreviews, whilst reducing the number of samplesproduced, improvingcommunications betweenthe design andmanufacturing teams,and reducing overallproduct time to market.

New functionality for ShoeMaker 2013 includes user-definedflattening for Offset Concept Lasts,improvements to the last import with automaticdetection of the centre lines, and better control for the positioning of image stencils, including a three-point alignment tool. There is a newFlattening Parameter File editing tool foradjusting specific aspects of the flattenedformes, plus some additional fine controls to change the shape of the flattening.

Engineer Pro helps users to produce 2D sampleand graded footwear patterns for manufacturingin the fastest possible time, whilst also assisting

in the management of tooling costs. Advanced tools like 'Edge Templates' reduce patterndevelopment times dramatically, so improvingthroughput and reducing time to market.

New functionality includes Single ClickBoundary, a new way to create boundarieswhere a left-click in a closed area creates aboundary from the enclosing lines. An option has been added to the Radius/Chamfer function,allowing a radius to be quickly added to anyintersection of a part.

There are also improvements to the speed withwhich the Boundary, Chain and Join functions,are used, and an easier way to convert cornerpoints to curve points.

The combination of Engineer Pro and ShoeStyleprovides a powerful combination of 3D and 2Dtools to ensure that any manufacturing issuesare detected earlier in the development cycle byimproving communication between the designand patternmaking departments. This reducesthe number of design iterations and so allowsthe time to market to be shortened significantly.

Latest software for footwear

Further details on the software range arepresented in a new Learning Zone within the www.delcam-crispin.com website. Thisincludes videos introducing the various designand manufacturing software programs, a rangeof brochures detailing the benefits of usingCADCAM for footwear manufacture, and accessto an evaluation version of the ShoeMakersoftware for concept design.

ShoeMaker is the product of choice for 3Dconceptual footwear design and is the onlysystem to combine the design and modelling of uppers and soles within the same 3D

DentMILL for Roland uses part-to-part pinning to optimise material utilisation

Like the DentMILL program on which it isbased, DentMILL for Roland benefits from themany proven strengths of PowerMILL for high-speed and five-axis machining. These include arange of advanced strategies that offer smoothermachining to give the best possible surfacefinish, plus flexible five-axis techniques that can produce even the most complexrestorations quickly and accurately.

In addition, background-processing capabilitiesmean that toolpath calculations can be startedon the first items added to the block while theremaining restorations are still being positioned.The technology also allows work to beundertaken simultaneously on a number ofprojects. Both capabilities can reduce the overall calculation times significantly for a series of restorations.

DentMILL for Roland includes all the majordevelopments in the DentMILL 2012 release.These include the completely redesignedinterface, with a reduced number of toolbars to allow the maximum screen space for toolpathgeneration and simulation together with bolderand clearer icons.

The efficiency of material use is optimised withautomatic nesting tools to position the variousrestorations within the block. In addition, theability to apply part-to-part pinning is nowavailable, which allows restorations to be nested

more closely together. As well as beingpositioned in the most efficient 2D arrangement,the restorations are oriented in the optimumalignment so that the most cost-effectivethickness of material block can be used.

DentMILL for Roland also incorporates amaterials stock-management system that allowsthe user to select only sizes of material blockthat are currently in stock. The software thenselects the fixture appropriate for that block from the library supplied with the software, and applies automatically the shrinkageallowance and milling templates for the material.

Partly-used blocks can be added back into the stock-management system so that the

remaining material can be used on futureprojects.

While DentMILL for Roland can accept data from all the main dental CAD systems, it can be supplied with Delcam’s DentCAD designsoftware as part of a complete dental CADCAM system.

Close integration is also possible betweenDentMILL for Roland and Delcam’sOrderManager workflow management softwareso that the management system can be updatedautomatically with manufacturing data as it isgenerated. This high level of integration makes iteasy to track the progress of individual ordersand the centre’s total order status.

A new Learning Zone has been added to the www.delcam-crispin.com website


14 | ISSUE 1 2013

Orthotics productionboosted at SaltsUsing Delcam’s CADCAM software to design and manufacture its custom orthotic insoles has allowed Salts Techstep to increase dramatically the number of devices that the company can produce. Over five years, the volume increased from around 50 pairs per month up to 1,000 pairs each month.

Salts Techstep is part of the SaltsHealthcare Group, one of the longest-established family businesses in the UK with a history stretching back over 300 years. TheBirmingham-based company is the establishedUK leader in the design and manufacture ofcustom-made footwear and appliances. As well as the large range of insoles, its productsinclude surgical footwear, orthopaedic shoesand sandals, special shoes for patients withdiabetes and rheumatism, and paediatric school shoes and boots.

Phil Wells, Technical Support Manager at SaltsTechstep, was an early enthusiast for the use of CADCAM in the orthotics business. Hestarted out by customising Delcam’s standardengineering software, PowerSHAPE for designand PowerMILL for machining. With thisexperience, he was an obvious choice forDelcam when it was putting together a panel of experts to guide the development of itsdedicated OrthoModel software for orthoticsdesign.

In addition to making the most of the Delcamsoftware, Mr. Wells has built up a variety ofmachine tools to optimise productivity. “With the Delcam software and the size of the machinetools that we use, we can keep costs muchlower and we can manufacture much highervolumes,” he explained.

Mr. Wells has introduced a number ofdevelopments to reduce manufacturing times,including making a series of dedicated jigs forthe standard-sized blocks of material and addingvacuum beds to the machines to simplify andspeed up the loading of the blocks. He alsospent considerable time experimenting withdifferent tooling before finding cutters that couldrun for up to twelve months without needing to be replaced.

The latest addition to the equipment at SaltsTechstep has been Delcam’s iQube scanner. Mr. Wells described the iQube as “the best footscanner I have ever seen.” He is encouraging his customers to add their own scanners so that they can email the scans to Salts Techstep for the design and manufacture of the requiredorthotics. Alternatively, podiatrists can add the Delcam design software and then send their completed designs to the company formanufacturing.

The move to Delcam’s digital productionmethods has also enabled other developmentsin the production of the orthotics. The finer finishthat is possible with milling means that the topcover needed for hand-made orthotics can oftenbe eliminated, further reducing costs and savingmore time.

Milling has also allowed a wider range ofmaterials to be used, so enabling a greatervariety of properties to be incorporated into theorthotics. Initially, polyurethane materials wereused alongside the usual EVA. Although they are around 20% more expensive, PU materialsare more durable, lasting up to five times longer,and so can be more cost-effective. In addition,different grades of PU can be used in a singleorthotic to give different properties in differentregions of the device.

Mr. Wells has also experimented for many yearswith polypropylene orthotics, including the firstproduction of standard Root-style devices usingCADCAM methods. The material is more durableagain than PU and is also more rigid, which canbe important for some treatments and for somesports orthotics.

Delcam software has dramatically reducedthe time taken to design orthotic insoles

Salts produces the full range of types of orthotic insole


ISSUE 1 2013 | 15

Sales partner newsNew subsidiary for Australia and New ZealandDelcam has converted the software division of its Australian reseller,Camplex, into a wholly-owned subsidiary, Delcam Australia, coveringthe sales and support of Delcam software products in the country.Similarly, the Camplex office in Auckland has become Delcam NewZealand and will operate as a branch office of Delcam Australia.

The staff at Camplex will becomeemployees of Delcam Australia and Delcam New Zealand, so ensuring that any impact of the change for customers will be minimal. The new subsidiary will operate from the sameoffices, and the staff will have the same officeand mobile phone numbers for existing andpotential customers to contact them.

In the longer term, being a full subsidiary ofDelcam will enable additional investment in the sales and support operations in Australia and New Zealand. This will probably include amove to new offices for the Melbourne operationand an increase in staff so that the 500 Delcamcustomers in the countries can be provided with an even better service.

Robert Simunic, Sales Director (right), and Fred Carlstrom, Communications Director, at Delcam Australia

Joint Venture in Denmark

Extra officesin PolandDelcam’s subsidiary in Poland,Delcam Polska, has opened asecond office in Katowice anda third in Bydgoszcz.

The formation of the new company is acommitment by Delcam to invest further in themarket, to support existing customers moreeffectively and to increase its sales in thecountry. The new company will be based in theArena Syd premises in Vamdrup near Kolding.Being based on this site will give DelcamDanmark the facilities to provide training andseminar events.

Søren Friis has many years of experience inCADCAM sales and support, having previouslyworked for CADCAM suppliers in the Aarhusarea. With his background in support, he is wellaware of the importance of experienced, localassistance for customers in Denmark.

“Katowice is the capital of the Silesiaregion, one of the most industrialised areas of Poland,” explained the manager of theKatowice office, Adam Rogaliński. “In addition,many of our industry partners have offices in the city, including Mazak, KUKA, Askla,Oberon 3D, Iscar, Sandvik and Schunk. We launched the new office with a jointseminar with Mazak, Iscar and Schunk.”

“The main benefit of the new office will be the closer contact it will give us with ourcustomers in the region,” added Mr.Rogaliński. “We have a conference room for up to 16 people, where we plan to offermonthly training courses for our customers to help them gain the maximum benefit from using our software.”

While Katowice is in the South-West of Poland,Bydgoszcz is in the North-West. The regionhas a high concentration of mouldmakers, oneof the key markets for Delcam in the country.

Søren Friis is the Director of the new Delcam Danmark Joint Venture

The first training course run at DelcamPolska’s new office in Katowice

Delcam has established a new Joint Venturecompany in Denmark, Delcam Danmark, inpartnership with local CADCAM specialistSøren Friis, who will be the Director of thenew company. Delcam has been active for many years in Denmark through resellers and has a number of largeinternational companies as customers,including LEGO, ECCO, Siemens WindPower, Vestas and Danfoss, as well as many smaller subcontract manufacturers and toolmakers.


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Raster-based inspection hasbeen made more flexible with theability to edit the measurementvolume graphically. This is inaddition to the previous optionsto use typed dimensions, or a CAD surface or group ofsurfaces, as the boundary.

16 | ISSUE 1 2013

For more news, go towww.delcam.com

www.delcam.tv

www.delcam.comNews.Delcam is written and produced by Delcam plc, Small Heath Business Park, Birmingham B10 0HJ, UK.

Tel: +44 (0)121 766 5544 Fax: +44 (0)121 766 5511 Email: [email protected]

Delcam, the Spider logo, PowerSHAPE, PowerMILL, PowerINSPECT, CopyCAD, ArtCAM,FeatureCAM, PartMaker, PS-Team, ShoeMaker, CRISPIN, SwissCAM, DentCAD, DentMILL, OrthoModel, OrthoMill and Delcam Exchange are all registered Trade Marks of Delcam plc.

Dual-deviceinspection

The 2013 release of PowerINSPECT offers unique dual-deviceinspection options that allow measurement with two portabledevices at the same time. PowerINSPECT is believed to be theonly inspection software that supports simultaneous operationof different types of device, including laser scanning, fromdifferent manufacturers.

PowerINSPECT can also combine measurementsfrom two different types of device. For example,a laser tracker can be used to check the long-range accuracy of a large component while aportable arm is being used to measure specificcritical features in a confined space.

Labels from one part can be regenerated automaticallyfor subsequent parts when using laser scanners

The new dual-device option is related to thedual-column module for CMMs, which is alsofurther improved. In particular, it has been madeeasier to switch between single-column anddual-column operation, so making it practical toinspect two small items independently with thetwo columns, as well as to inspect separateareas of a single large object.

A new function that will simplify programming for all PowerINSPECT CNC and OMV users is a new ‘Probing and Parameters’ item thatmodifies the probing parameters of subsequentprobed features. For example, if a different probeor measuring speed is required, the new settingcan be applied to any group of measurements or even the complete inspection sequence with

a single action. An extra benefit is that similaredits can be made to any programs read intoPowerINSPECT 2013 that were originallycreated in earlier versions of the software.

Raster-based inspection has been made more flexible with the ability to edit themeasurement volume graphically. This is inaddition to the previous options to use typeddimensions, or a CAD surface or group ofsurfaces, as the boundary.

Laser scanning of a series of parts has alsobeen made easier. Labels applied to the resultsfrom the first part, for example to identify criticalpoints, are now regenerated automatically in the results from subsequent parts so repeatedinspections are more automated. In addition, the picking of points for alignment of scan data has been improved, with points beinghighlighted as they are selected so it is easier to spot any that have been missed.

Finally, improvements have been made forcompanies using PowerINSPECT for claymodelling, for example in automotive designstudios. New time-saving features make it easier for users to display the details of digitisedcurves, to switch between curves, and to select,edit and mark out points within the curves.

Other enhancements in the new versioninclude improved handling of point-cloud data,group editing of probing parameters, graphicalediting of boundaries for raster-basedinspection, more flexibility in programming dual-column CMMs, and easier measurementand marking out when using PowerINSPECT for clay modelling.

The ability to provide simultaneous measurementfrom two devices is an extension of thefunctionality for dual-column CMMs included in the 2012 R2 release of PowerINSPECT. The main benefit is the same – the ability toreduce inspection times both by measuring a complete object in a single set-up and bytaking data simultaneously from two sources.

Dual-device operation works around the line-of-sight limitations of laser trackers and otheroptical measuring devices. The new version of PowerINSPECT enables both sides of thesame object to be measured simultaneously with two laser trackers. This could have hugetime savings in any production line as it wouldminimise the need to reposition the object ormeasuring device when inspecting all around the component.

PowerINSPECT can now be used withtwo devices simultaneously


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