Matt Fazekas, of Derby-based Promach 3D, says learning how to use the very latest software technology to its full potential, is essential if manufacturers are to stay efficient and profitable. The owner of this engineering sub-contractor — specialising in complex, unusual components — discovered his company was missing out on 22 features of Edgecam
(www.edgecam.com) during a typical application of milling just one part.
“We always have the latest release, but we haven’t had time to attend training courses or user group meetings; that’s going to change now. We ‘saw the light’ when we were shown just how far we’d slipped behind in terms of using Edgecam to its full potential, and what we were missing out on.”
He says it is a tricky balance between running a business from day to day and keeping up with the fast pace at which CAM systems such as Edgecam are developing, but understanding what the software can do is an “absolute priority” from now on.
The company’s three main areas of expertise are small-batch projects for the motor-sport, aerospace and rail industries. For Formula One cars, it manufactures a range of structural and aerodynamic parts that are attached to the engine or gearbox, or support wings and carbon-fibre parts; and with Derby being a national centre for the aerospace sector, Promach 3D is regularly called on to machine full mock-ups of parts such as turbine blades and drums — for both development and testing. Derby is also at the hub of the UK rail industry; the company manufactures fixtures, gauges, calibration equipment and brackets for testing and maintaining track.
Mr Fazekas says: “We just couldn’t produce the parts we do without Edgecam. A lot of our work is for as few as five-off parts, yet the software allows us to produce what could be perceived as five-axis jobs on a three-axis machining centre. It involves a few more set-ups than we’d have on a full five-axis machine, but the surface capability that Edgecam provides more than handles that.”
The fact that Promach 3D was only using part of Edgecam’s capabilities came to light during a site visit from Edgecam engineer Mike O’Neill. Mr Fazekas recalls: “When we showed him a typical milling scenario using Edgecam with one of our three-axis machining centres, it was apparent that there were many features we weren’t using properly — or didn’t even know about. Edgecam was doing everything we wanted it to, but there are so many short-cuts and more-efficient ways of working. We’re always asking ourselves how we can do things better without spending too much. We’ve got the machines and we’ve got the software. Now we need to invest some time in fully understanding the software’s potential and working smarter with it.”
The 22 items highlighted by Mr O’Neill in the single machining application assessed included ‘render by slope’ — being able to see at a glance whether a surface that appears to be flat has a slight curve — and ‘update stock.’ “Where there are a lot of machining instructions and we just want to prove out part of it, we can now do so much, then update the stock, and we don’t have to revisit those machining instructions. This saves a lot of time on the simulator,” says Mr Fazekas.
“As for loading IGES to Edgecam as a solid model, I wasn’t previously aware of that possibility. I always loaded it into Part Modeller first and created the solid model there, so that’s saving us a lot of time. STEP files go straight into Edgecam, too. Another feature I was not familiar with was ‘background processing’. If we’ve got a lot of machining to do, with a lot of data, we now switch the background processing on before we start, and that saves a lot of time.”
Edgecam provides a number of avenues for users to learn about the enhancements and new functions in the twice-a-year updates. These include: training courses on ‘What’s New’; Webinars; User Group Meetings; and the support desk/customer ‘portal’.