Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has released HxGN Production Machining, a new suite of software that empowers machine shops to achieve operational excellence in the manufacturing of discrete parts, tools and components with machine tools at any scale, from one-off prototypes to volume production.

Capabilities of the suite include: CAD for manufacturing and design review; CAM for CNC machine tool programming; process simulation and G-code verification and optimisation; shop-floor production intelligence; and automation and collaboration powered by Nexus, Hexagon’s digital-reality platform. The suite includes significant automation and technologies that help manufacturers achieve efficient utilisation of material, cutting tools and CNC equipment, and capture and consistently apply a machine shop’s best practices.

The HxGN Production Machining suite will integrate common workflows to help teams reduce error and eliminate redundant tasks at every stage, from job quotation and design review through production, quality assurance and product delivery. By offering a suite of connected products from the Hexagon ecosystem, manufacturers benefit from simplified procurement, implementation and support.

“Our HxGN Production Machining suite helps shops of all sizes run their businesses more productively by providing a robust software tool set within a connected and intelligent digital workflow that helps teams get it first-time right,” says Chuck Mathews, general manager – production software at Hexagon.“Using the principles of model-based manufacturing and the automation benefits of AI, we’re helping our customers achieve greater operational excellence.

“Innovations within the suite include our new CAM system, Esprit Edge, which combines the DNA of Hexagon’s Edgecam and Esprit software with powerful digital twin and AI technology.”

Parth Joshi, chief product & technology officer at Hexagon, adds: “Through our suites we refocus innovation on what matters most to customers, be that in single product or leveraging data across workflows.”

For further information www.hexagonmi.com

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, 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

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