London-based CloudNC has opened the first of several planned UK factories offering aerospace-grade quality “at a fraction of the price of existing alternatives”.
In what has been dubbed a step-change for CNC machining, the company has set its sights on rapid global expansion into the £100 billion global industry responsible for the manufacture of parts for everything from the aircraft and automotive industries to consumer, medical, defence, and oil and gas applications.
At the heart of the project is AI software developed by CloudNC that is said to shorten the programming time for the CNC machining of parts from days or weeks to just a few minutes — with no expertise required.
The software also leverages the huge computing power available in the cloud to vastly reduce machining cycle times compared to what is currently possible, resulting in a corresponding reduction in production costs.
These two advantages combine to allow ‘breakthrough pricing’, whether producing a single unit or hundreds of thousands.
CloudNC (
www.cloudnc.com) is focused on building the world’s most-efficient and most-flexible factories, making machining faster, cheaper and of a much higher quality.
Co-founder and CEO Theo Saville said: “Starting with a clean slate means we’ve been able to apply a digital-first approach from the outset, without needing to consider integrating existing legacy systems or technologies.
"Apart from our software, we’re also applying the best Industry 4.0 technology available to make our first factory — Factory 1 — as efficient and flexible as possible; and where that technology doesn’t exist or isn’t mature enough in our sector, we’re designing it.
“CloudNC is on a development curve that has not been seen in the manufacturing space before. Just six months ago, our Chelmsford site was a couple of guys with lap-tops and some camping equipment.
“Now it is a highly efficient and highly automated facility functioning close to capacity, and we are now looking at Factory 2 and beyond, while we continue to implement more autonomous Industry 4.0 technologies at Factory 1 and apply what we learn at every step.”