Boost sales and cash flow with PSL Datatrack

In an ever-changing manufacturing industry, three prevalent pain points among subcontract precision engineers are a lack of time, management of sales, and maintenance of steady cash flow. The latest version of PSL Datatrack production control software focusses heavily on tackling these challenges.

Utilisation of PSL Datatrack means users no longer need to calculate costs manually or consult various Excel spreadsheets or Word documents. Instead, the software generates accurate quotations aided by automatic calculations, quote templates and/or historical data. With faster and more accurate quotations, subcontractors can respond to customer enquiries quickly, reducing the time spent on administration.

The latest version of PSL Datatrack enables users to manage and report on a sales pipeline to provide a forecast for quotations that they believe will be successful. It is also possible to display this information on status boards around a factory.

PSL Datatrack helps to automate the production planning process by optimising resource allocation, prioritising works orders and creating efficient production schedules. Implementation of the system’s sequential scheduler module eliminates the need for manual planning methods, reducing the time and effort taken to create and amend production plans.

A recent sequential scheduler enhancement allows the classification of machine setters as resources, making it possible to efficiently manage the order of work through the machine shop.

PSL Datatrack also provides real-time visibility into the status of customer orders. Subcontractors can track the progress of each works order from initial confirmation to production and delivery.This development ties in with the software’s newest module, ‘Contract Review’, which ensures that all required contract review elements have been checked and approved for a specific job or project.

For further information www.psldatatrack.com

ModuleWorks2023.12releasenow available

ModuleWorks announces the 2023.12 release of its software components for digital manufacturing. This latest release of the ModuleWorks SDK contains a range of new automation features for efficient tool-path generation. It also comes with the new MDES-compliant libraries for system interoperability.

MDESLib is a ready-to-go software library that enables users to exchange digital representations of manufacturing equipment between different systems using the MDES data specification. This gives users access to an open and growing ecosystem of hardware and software providers that use the MDES specification. It eliminates the need to build customised data bridges to help companies reduce development and maintenance costs.

Also notable in release 2023.12 isa new cutting pattern for radial cuts that improves the efficiency of turn-milling, especially when the diameter is larger than the axial length or when grooves need to be cut.With the new pattern, the tool ramps down towards the centre axis rather than cutting with the side of the tool. This capability increases machining efficiency by removing the maximum amount of material in the minimum time.

For three-axis machining, ModuleWorks 2023.12 significantly improves linking safety through enhanced stock awareness. In addition to checking the roughing links against the slices and the part, the software now checks roughing links against the in-process stock/workpiece to generate more reliable linking motions that avoid collisions in rapid links and plunges.

Furthermore, a new algorithm in ModuleWorks 2023.12 automatically detects the cutting angle for floor finishing based on the longest edge of the face or containment zone. This reduces the overall machining time by optimising the cutting pattern while improving the material removal rate and the surface finish.

For further information www.moduleworks.com

Lantek v43 focuses on automation and traceability

Lantek, a multinational pioneer in the digital transformation of the sheet metal and metal cutting and processing sector, presents a host of new features and advances in its new v43 software.This update, in addition to focusing on the speed and efficiency of processes, provides automatic and intelligent tools for users’ day-to-day tasks, helping them achieve optimal results for the different manufacturing scenarios found in every type of sheet-metal company.

The stand-out new features in Lantek Expert incorporate new options focused on flexibility in the production chain. These streamline programming to apply selected cutting technologyautomatically across a whole range of nests, creating machining for all the nested parts in the shortest possible time.

Lantek Flex3D has undergone a significant re-engineering of its key functionalities to optimise performance and improve user experience. The result is a more efficient solution that minimises execution times and computing resource requirements.

The addition of Lantek Bend to the Lantek portfolio is an important upgrade in manufacturing process capability. Lantek Bend allows any operator to perform folding tasks in an agile manner with a high level of expertise. This latest addition to the cutting and folding suite represents a major step up in the company’s multi-platform strategy, which constantly aims to incorporate new models of machines from different manufacturers.

Improving workflow on the shop floor remains the primary goal for MES software. Lantek MES and Lantek Integra allow agile and flexible production planning, optimising both inventory and the efficient use of resources, while maintaining complete traceability at all times and enabling precise control of total costs.

The more than 80 improvements incorporated in the new Lantek v43 software allow the company to deliver greater visibility and control for its clients.

For further information www.lantek.com

Cloud-based app for CNC machining optimisation

Productive Machines, a spin out from the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) is unveiling‘Essential Optimization’, a web application that prevents chatter vibrations and provides engineers with a simple-to-use solution to select optimum, stable spindle speeds and feed rates.

The Essential Optimization app, powered by Productive Machines’ machining dynamics algorithms, promises to turbocharge machining operations by mitigating chatter vibrations and cutting force related problems. This new capability enables manufacturers to increase productivity, reduce waste and improve surface finish. It provides a new approach to stable milling by taking into account both the machine tool dynamics and the cutting forces involved prior to manufacture. This user-friendly software-as-a-service (SaaS), assists manufacturers in making their processes hyper-efficient without the need for installed software or machining physics expertise.

“Productive Machines is committed to providing cutting-edge solutions that assist engineers in reaching the best part, faster, first time,” says Dr Erdem Ozturk, CEO of Productive Machines. “Our Essential Optimization app represents a significant step forward in the quest for chatter-free machining. We are replacing trial-and-error processes with data. By combining tap testing data and innovative algorithms, we’re providing a vital easy-to-use tool for the machining industry. This capability will be a direct input to our digital twin, enabling five-axis tool-path simulation and optimisation in 2024.”

Richard Nevill, commercial director at Productive Machines, adds:“We are running a special promotion to get engineers/operators tap testing called TapStarter. Tap testing, enhanced by Productive Machines’ easy-to-use technology, brings precision and efficiency to manufacturing, enabling operators to optimise machine tool performance, reduce waste and enhance product quality.”

For further information www.productivemachines.co.uk

Innovation meets tradition: CNC milled nutcracker

In keeping with the Christmas season and its traditions, Open Mind made an exact replica of a famous nutcracker from Erzgebirge, a region in East Germany. Milled from aluminium, the example demonstrated an end-to-end digital process chain and efficient five-axis machining with hyperMILL.

Production took place at Emuge-Franken’s Rückersdorf application centre on a Hermle C32 machining centre in a single clamping operation using five-axis simultaneous machining, thus allowing continuous machining without segmentation. Five-axis helical drilling providedthe opening cut for the large central pocket of the upper body. Strategies from the hyperMILL MAXX Machining high-performance package optimised roughing operations, while thefive-axis rest machining function ensured that the roughing took place safely and efficiently.

Finishing leveraged the benefits of ‘high-precision surface’ mode, whereby hyperMILL generates tool paths on the actual CAD surfaces and not on a calculation model. The large surfaces of the nutcracker that curve in two directions, lent themselves to the use of FRANKEN’s circle segment end mill in various shapes. Open Mind’s hyperMILL offers optimum control of the cutting edge area of circle segment cutters.

“In the nutcracker machining example, we had the problem that the dimensions of the part were actually too large for the work area of the machine – a challenge that many manufacturers face,” explains Michael Förster, senior product marketing manager at Open Mind. “What would normally require many manual adjustments and individual simulations in order to avoid travel limitations and find safe tilt positions can now be implemented quickly and reliably thanks to the virtual machine and NC code-based simulation.” 

The hyperMILL Virtual Machining package includes an optimiser that adapts the connecting movements between the individual milling operations to the kinematics of the machine and solve limit switch problems.

For further information www.openmind-tech.com