A Birmingham-based tool maker — Elkington Brothers — has completed its first 25 years as a user of Delcam’s CAD/CAM software (www.delcam.com). Looking back at the moment when the company decided to move on from the traditional methods that it had relied on for its first half-century, managing director James Kelly says: “It was a big decision, as the software cost tens of thousands of pounds, plus the computers and CNC machines were much more expensive than they are now. Subsequent years have proved that it was the right decision. I’m certain that if we hadn’t invested in CAD/CAM, we wouldn’t be here now.

“There were far fewer systems to consider in those days, but we still did a thorough evaluation. Delcam seemed to have a different focus, with its emphasis on tooling design and machining, while other systems were more appropriate for component design. Its location in Birmingham was also an important factor, as we knew we would need a lot of support in the early days.”

Elkington now has seven staff using Delcam software: three doing design with PowerShape, two programming with PowerMill and two switching between the two programs. Two of them also use PowerInspect for quality control on a CMM. “The software has gone from strength to strength over the time we have been a customer. We started out using a lot of typed commands, whereas everything is now done through the user interface. In addition, calculation times are a fraction of what they used to be.”