VISI – a “good friend” for mould maker

A plastic injection mould maker says it guarantees full reliability for its customers thanks to the role that VISI CADCAM software plays in its design and manufacturing processes.

CMP Bresso produces moulds for a variety of industrial sectors, including automotive, medical, sport flooring and electronics. And at the turn of the century it became one of the first companies in the Piedmont area of Italy to produce synthetic corks for bottles of wine.

Company owner Walter Bresso says that for the corks, the company produced multi-cavity moulds, compared with the trend at that time of using single-screw moulds. A challenge in another industry sector came with the construction of moulds for plastic tiles in sports facilities, which are resistant to atmospheric agents, and can be installed on any foundation. He says VISI played a vital role in creating a product which is now widely used in international markets.

“The customer brought us a plastic tile made by an American company and asked to produce something similar. We designed a complete new tile, called Gimmy. It’s a modular, frost- and impact-resistant flooring that’s non-toxic, anti-bacterial and made of completely recyclable techno-polymer plates.”

And those jobs were child’s play with VISI, so much so that Walter Bresso describes the software as “a good friends that’s always near us, and is helping us constantly in everyday technological challenges. Simplicity and efficiency are two common features that can be found in all VISI solutions.”

CMP Bresso has an internal mould design unit, led by Walter’s sister, Daniela Bresso. The company operates a number of 3D CAD stations using VISI Modelling, and a CAM station working with VISI Machining 2D and 3D to create toolpaths. Daniela Bresso says: “We’ve been using VISI for over 20 years. Each project usually starts when we receive a 3D file such as IGS, STEP and Parasolid, and we create rapid prototypes in ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), which is a common thermoplastic polymer, using a 3D printer.”

Once the customer is happy with the prototype, the mould-making process begins for ongoing production. To achieve this, the company uses VISI Modelling, a solids and surface modeller combining the Parasolid market standard for solids with Vero Surface technology, analysis tools and 2D drawing. “It gives us complete flexibility in the construction, modification and correction of complex 3D models,” she says.

VISI Machining 2D provides her team with a practical and intuitive solution for programming the company’s 2.5 axle machine tools, and controls the positioning of the fourth and fifth axis where required. “The feature recognition option automatically creates intelligent and reliable toolpaths directly on the solid geometry,” she says.“And the operations manager has a simple tree structure which shows us the various processing steps along with full tool data.”

The operator easily defines machining parameters, cutting conditions and tool holders, and the availability of multiple origins allows imported geometries to be quickly oriented around any reference, even for multi-axis machining.

“And VISI Machining 3D creates sophisticated and intelligent 3D toolpaths for machining even our most complex models. Its dedicated high-speed machining and smoothing functionality to soften the toolpath allows us to generate highly efficient ISO paths. VISI Machining 3D gives quick calculation times, and the algorithms for optimising the NC code considerably reduce machining time.”

Originally established in 1968 as a mechanical workshop producing precision equipment, CMP Bresso diversified into making plastic injection moulds for the Olivetti group seven years later, for which it is still a supplier.

Walter Bresso says his company is not typical of traditional mould makers: “We’re able and willing to solve significantly complex projects.” He says this is particularly true of their capability to create moulds for thermoplastic products which were originally made of metal. “A metal component can’t be reproduced exactly as it is, in plastic, so we redesign it, and then use VISI to create the mould to ensure the part does exactly what it’s supposed to.”

Another solution to a complex issue involved co-moulding a metal element of a car window component for Ford. “Normally, that type of component is made of metal and coated with a primer – an interface agent that binds with the gasket rubber. The issue was that painting, drying, sticking, along with the danger of chipping and peeling, meant that the product wasn’t reliable, so Ford asked us to come up with a solution.”

CMP Bresso co-moulded the product by covering the metal with material compatible with the rubber gasket. “When it’s inserted into the mould, the rubber sticks and becomes a single piece. Thanks to our experience, we managed to create a skin of only three-tenths of a millimetre that wraps the entire piece. Torsion tests showed the device exceeds the limits imposed by Ford, by eight times.”

VISI programs CMP Bresso’s milling, and machining centres, producing about 30 moulds a year, 496 x 496 mm in size. The moulds are then used on eight injection Arburg, BM and Ripress moulding machines.

Concluding, Walter Bresso says VISI is an important part of the company’s ‘partnership’ with its customers. “We’re able to offer a full service, including design, production, rapid prototyping, mock mould, mould assembly and plastic injection moulding across a wide range of industries.”
For further information www.visicadcam.com

Bentley deal for Frank Dudley

Securing a prestigious order for Bentley has provided one of Birmingham’s fastest growing manufacturers with the perfect 70th birthday present. Frank Dudley Ltd (FDL), which employs 64 people at its Wiggin Street factory, beat off significant competition to win a contract for the supply of bumper finishes that will be used on the Continental model. The company has already invested heavily in setting up a dedicated clean room and cell for the job. The Bentley deal is the latest in a long line of ‘wins’ for the metal pressings and deep-drawn component specialist, which has seen sales rise 20% to £6m over the past 12 months.
For further information www.frankdudley.com

Holroyd opens US plant

Holroyd Precision Rotors, the specialist helical screw and rotor manufacturing division of Precision Technologies Group (PTG), has opened a new production facility in South Carolina, USA. Located at Spartanburg, the facility has been created to supply North American producers of industrial air, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment with compressor screw rotors. The result of a $12m investment, the plant has been equipped with rotor milling and grinding technologies from PTG’s machine tool business, Holroyd Precision Ltd.
Some 30 staff are employed at the new facility.
For further information www.holroyd.com

Accolade for professor

Dame Xiangqian Jiang, a professor of precision metrology at the University of Huddersfield’s Centre for Precision Technologies has recently been appointed as one of 12 strategic advisors to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The advisors will form the EPSRC’s Strategic Advisory Network (SAN). Their role is to provide the EPSRC Executive with advice to assist in the development, implementation and modification of plans, and to make appropriate recommendations to its council. Professor Jiang is one of the university’s most celebrated engineers.
For further information www.hud.ac.uk

CAM plus automation is formula for success

At its 30,000 sq ft facility, Metri-Tech manufactures ultra-precision, high-volume components for the aerospace, medical, defence and commercial industries. Based in Huntington Beach, Metri-Tech Engineering is not a typical job shop – that much is evident from the company’s factory filled with automated production equipment, including a wall-mounted live scheduler, which resembles a 2 m tall iPad. Hans Gratzer Jr, COO/CTO of Metri-Tech and son of company founders Hans and Katharina Gratzer, developed the scheduling program to help his 38 employees better visualise what is happening in the shop at any given time and plan for the next jobs. This strategy is part of the company’s forward-thinking approach to automation.

“Most job scheduling systems are number-driven, but people like pictures,” Gratzer says. “With this system, what you see is what you get — kind of like Esprit.”
Metri-Tech has used Esprit CAM software almost since its inception; Gratzer estimates it was first installed in 1988.
“My dad bought the software, and he was very happy with it because we were mainly in the fitting business at that time; he liked that it could program families of parts,” he says. “It was a huge time saving.”
But just as crucial to Metri-Tech were Esprit’s accurate, full-colour simulations, which were said to be the first in the industry.
“That allowed us to give more visibility to our programming and reduce mistakes in our set-up the first time around,” says Gratzer. “Most of our machinists do both the set-up and the machine operation; they know what they’re doing. Now they do not have to worry during the set-up process and first-off run; they know the program will be right due to the precise nature of Esprit simulation, set-up sheets and posts.”
Some 30 years later, Esprit keeps Metri-Tech at the top of its game, thanks to its ease of use and quick support. The company uses the software for full five-axis contour composite milling, swarf milling and multi-axis multi-spindle turning.
“Esprit is very progressive in the five-axis and multi-axis realms,” Gratzer notes. “The software is just easier, faster, stronger and more accurate than other CAM programs we have tested or demonstrated over the years.”

At its plant, Metri-Tech machines all types of materials, including more exotic types like Inconel, titanium, Nitronic, Invar, Kovar, Ferrium, polyurethane, Teflon, PEEK and Ultem, to list but a few.
“Customers use us as a solution; they have problems and we fix them,” Gratzer says. “We’re experts in most manufacturing processes, and our customers come to us for
the precision and quality of part we produce.”
The company started out making fittings, which provided it with an understanding of how these parts fit into the larger assemblies. This comprehension allowed Metri-Tech to gradually move into more complicated parts.
“Doing fittings evolved into us going in the opposite direction: manufacturing the parts the fittings fit into, which were housings and manifolds,” says Gratzer. “Then obviously, when you get into the more complex and assembly side of medical and aerospace, you get into the critical finishes and close tolerances of the internal workings of the manifolds and housings, like spool and sleeve assemblies, and shaft work. It was a very interesting and methodical transition.”
The company operates 42 machines in total, with a number of three-axis Mori Seiki lathes and Nakamura-Tome lathes featuring up to 13 axes, which allow the company to be more creative with small parts. Metri-Tech also runs three and four-axis vertical mills, and several Matsuura five-axis vertical trunnion machines with up to 42 pallets and 520 tools.
In combination, Metri-Tech’s arsenal of machines provides programmers with hundreds of pallets and thousands of different tool options. Many of the shop’s palletised machines are automated, and the company is working to bring in mobile robots to transfer parts from machine to machine, along with virtual augmentation to help programmers easily view the custom manufacturing software and scheduler on the shop floor.
Metri-Tech, which boasts ISO AS9100D certification, offers polishing and ultra-critical finishes, as well as a high-end quality control facility in-house.
“What sets Metri-Tech apart from the competition is the quality when producing components in larger volumes,” says Gratzer. “Anybody can make a few good parts, but consistency and repeatability over larger volumes is the key to our success. Most customers say that quality is a given nowadays; it’s truly not. We take so many steps in assuring a quality part gets to the customer. We have a group of very dedicated employees, and everybody’s looking out for the quality of the product. The main reason why customers come to us is 100% quality, all the time. If they need a job done fast and they need it done right the first time, they come to us.”

Metri-Tech’s performance has been strong since its inception in 1978, but shortly after Gratzer came to work for the company in 1998, and with his vision for technology, automation and reinvestment, the company has experienced significant growth. Forecasts show that Metri-Tech may double its business within the near future.
“I credit the success to our passion for this industry; striving for automation and all the technology we use, including Esprit,” concludes Gratzer. “I feel our next 40 years are going to be stronger than the last 40.”
For further information www.espritcam.com