When SSC Laser Cutting (
www.ssclaser.co.uk) — one of the UK’s largest and most successful laser profiling and fabrication sub-contractors, with sites in Stafford, Derby and Bristol — wanted to enhance its CAD/CAM capabilities for press-braking operations, it turned to Amada UK (
www.amada.co.uk).
After introducing Amada’s Production Designer CAD and VPSS 3i BEND software packages, the company has reduced its press braking cycle times by up to 50%.
Although it was using a number of Amada press brakes, SSC was restricted until recently by the use of basic CAD/CAM software.
Group production manager Julian Till said: “To be honest, the software capability for our press brakes was a little ‘old school’.
“It was slow, and not enough information would reach the press brake operator, which in turn would lead to occasional incorrect developments.
“In addition, time studies told us that we were spending longer setting up the machines than actually bending parts. With this in mind, off-line programming and planning ahead were the clear next steps for our business.
“We’ve had Amada press brakes for many years, and although we looked at other options, it was apparent that using Amada software was the way to go.
"It is designed for use with Amada machines, so it is future-proofed, and it ‘handshakes’ nicely with many other software packages.”
Following an in-depth analysis of the software, SSC purchased two Amada software packages for its Stafford headquarters.
They both work to reduce production time with their easy-to-navigate user interfaces and automated functions that help to minimise manual activities.
The press-braking process is also streamlined by a 3-D simulation of the bend sequence and tooling set-up. SSC now has three seats of Production Designer and VPSS 3i BEND — one for each production site.