Sheffield Forgemasters partners WaldrichSiegen

Sheffield Forgemasters has signed a long-term partnership with machine tool supplier WaldrichSiegen for lifetime support of its proposed new machining facility.WaldrichSiegen will deliver a 10-year, through-life and production-support contract, plus the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of 17 new machine tools to create highly accurate, complex machinedshapes from ultra-large steel castings and forgings. McDowell Machine Tools represents WaldrichSiegen in the UK.

The machining line will sit in a proposed new building at the company’s Brightside Lane site, and includes a series of large-scale, five-axis vertical turning lathesthat form part of a recapitalisation investment of up to £400mover 10 years. Scheduled for delivery between 2025 and 2028, the machine line-up comprises: seven heavy-duty VTLs with 5-8m tables; three gantry mills with 6-16m turning capability; three RAM hydrostatic boring mills; three heavy-duty horizontal lathes with 24-27 m beds; and one gantry bandsaw.
For further information www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

Mills CNC reports strong sales growth

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of DN Solutions’ and Zayer machine tools in the UK and Ireland, and a supplier of industrial and collaborative robot automation, has reported that 2022, from both a sales performance and market share perspective, was another great year for the company. In fact, with final figures pending, it looks increasingly likely that it could be the best in the company’s history.

Says Tony Dale, Mills CNC’s CEO:“We started 2022 strongly on the back of what was already a buoyant last quarter of 2021 – and maintained momentum throughout the year, especially with many component manufacturers taking advantage of the Government’s Super-Deduction tax scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. This helped to generate significant new business for us at the start, and throughout 2022.”
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

Making real-time factory analytics a reality

Datanomix, which says it is the maker of the industry’s only automated production intelligence software platform, is partnering with Vallen to offer the Datanomix software solution to its manufacturing customers. Datanomix is known for its ‘no operator input’ approach to production monitoring. The partnership enables Vallen to offer the Datanomix solution to industrial customers seeking improvements as part of Industry 4.0 and industrial automation initiatives.

Says John Joseph, CEO of Datanomix. “It’s clear that selling new technology to manufacturing customers requires a deep and successful history of selling value-added solutions. Vallen is a respected brand in the industrial market. They can now have conversations about adding a new layer of value by introducing our live production intelligence software to the portfolio of solutions.”

As part of the reseller program, Datanomix will train Vallen’s metalworking customer-facing team on selling, installing and supporting its customers, with comprehensive information on the Datanomix platform and its benefits for precision manufacturers.

“Several machine monitoring companies are selling basic utilisation services to manufacturers today,” says Chuck Delph, CEO of Vallen.“We carefully evaluated the contenders and selected Datanomix for its true real-time job insights and ability to translate job performance to business impact. This aligns with Vallen’s mission of creating value for our customers.

He adds: “The information presented by Datanomix accelerates time to information, shortens corrective action cycles and directly impacts decision-making at exactly the right time. As Vallen focuses on innovation and our leadership position in metalworking solutions, we are truly excited to be offering Datanomix to our customers.”
For further information www.datanomix.io

Five years of Cloud ERP fromGlobal Shop Solutions

Global Shop Solutions, a provider of ERP software to manufacturers around the globe, is proud to celebrate the 5th year anniversary of its Cloud ERP product. An investment of high importance to customers, the adoption of Cloud ERP greatly surpassed the five-year forecast.

Designed to make technical support easier and reduce the total cost of ownership for manufacturers, Global Shop Solutions says that Cloud ERP simplifies the software through increased speed, improved accessibility, stronger security, automatic data and systems back-ups, and more.

According to George Thuo, director of cloud technology at Global Shop Solutions, Cloud ERP caught the attention of current and prospective customers from the start: “Several years ago, a growing number of prospective ERP buyers began asking if our ERP system was offered in the cloud. Based on demand, I assembled a team to develop the product. Five years later I’m proud to say we have more than doubled our forecasts for the number of Cloud ERP users and made ERP software better for hundreds of manufacturers.”

With Cloud-based ERP, companies can maintain ERP at a reasonable price because the ERP vendor performs these tasks for the customer. Another advantage is the ability for employees to access their company’s ERP system from anywhere, including at-home workstations or in real time at multiple facilities.

At time of launch, about 25% of new Global Shop Solutions customers opted for Cloud-based ERP. Currently, about 65% of new customers choose that route. Thuo expects these numbers will continue to climb, in large part due to the concerns of manufacturers regarding cybersecurity threats.
For further information www.globalshopsolutions.com

Advanced tube simulation software from Unison

New Opt2Sim Tube bending simulation software is now available from Unison Ltd, the inventor of all-electric tube manipulation.

“In developing Opt2Sim Tube, our goal was to offer a tube simulation product that would make it simpler and more straightforward than ever before to create virtual parts ready for uploading bending data to the machine,” says Unison’s joint managing director, Alan Pickering. “In Opt2Sim Tube, we give users the ability to drag and drop STEP files into the software program and extract tube data instantly. In addition, users can draw parts by simply entering XYZ or YBC co-ordinates, viewing them in 3D. Bend data is quickly converted into printable reports and users can also extractindividual tube data.”

Unison’s Opt2Sim Tube software sits within the company’s wider Opt2Sim suite of 3D simulation software programs. Developed for ‘design to manufacture’ production strategies, Opt2Sim tube-bending simulation software uses machine and component data to provide a precise, virtual insight into the tube-bending process before commencing production.

Products within the Opt2Sim software suite include a version where both CAD modelling capability and the control engine combine toprovide accurate simulation and enhanced collision detection. Believed to provide unique capabilities for enhanced batch processing, simulated bending takes place on an exact CAD representation of the Unison Breeze or Synergy machine.

Additional options include advanced AI that will always aim to find a solution to even the most complex tube geometry, or whenever detecting a potential collision between tube and machine. The AI feature is particularly useful with right/left machines and when assisting in the development of highly complex parts, such as those used in the oil and gas industry.
For further information www.unisonltd.com