Emil Somekh (pictured), CEO and founder of SolidCAM (
www.solidcam.com), recently visited the Brazilian Stock Car manufacturer JL Racing. The visit, organised by SolidCAM’s distributor in Brazil (IST Sistemas), was aimed at strengthening the partnership between the companies. Since installing SolidCAM in November 2013, JL Racing has cut the cycle times for its machined metal components by some 50%.
JL Racing was founded in Brazil in 1990, and its initial involvement in motor-sport was the production of racing karts (it won major championships five years in a row). In 2000, the company began manufacturing parts for Stock Cars, which included developing new tubular chassis for several categories of Stock Car and expanding its engine operations.
Explaining how JL Racing started with SolidCAM, engineering co-ordinator Gustavo Lehto Gomes said: “We developed a new sleeve component last year. Initially, it seemed that to deliver the part in time, we would need to out-source its manufacture, which would increase its cost.
“Before making a decision, we spoke to IST Sistemas; the company’s engineers explained the advantages and benefits of SolidCAM and how its iMachining technology could cut machining times by 70% — and give dramatically extended tool life.
“We tested the software and were impressed with the results; we were able to reduce the manufacturing time by about 50% and still keep the quality we wanted. SolidCAM iMachining made it possible for us to finalise the project on time without having to out-source it.”