Delcam Adds Large-Scale Mill-Turn Machine
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Delcam has added a WFL mill-turn machine with a three-metre working capacity to the range of equipment in its Tooling Services Division. This is the latest expansion of the company's unique in-house machining facility - no other global CADCAM company operates an equivalent manufacturing operation to prove out its new programs on real jobs with real deadlines.
"The Tooling Services Division has always had a dual role within Delcam," explained Division Director, Brian Hawkshaw. "While we provide a real-world testing environment for our CAM software during its development, we are also required to operate as a profitable business in our own right."
"Until recently, we have concentrated on five-axis machining, both because that was the main focus for our PowerMILL development team and because five-axis operation increased our ability to take on more complex jobs and complete them more efficiently," Mr. Hawkshaw continued. "The move into mill-turn has had similar motives."
"Firstly, Delcam has expanded its product range with the acquisition of FeatureCAM and PartMaker, both of which offer mill-turn functionality, so we needed equipment with the ability to test new developments in these programs. Secondly, we have received more enquiries for large-scale projects that would only be possible to undertake efficiently with a mill-turn machine. We were taking orders for work even before we acquired the machine and its capacity is already booked for most of this year."
"The Tooling Services Division also duplicated the diversification into other industries that has been seen in Delcam's software business in recent years. The aerospace sector now provides our biggest source of work, rather than the toolmaking industry. The new WFL machine will offer us even more aerospace opportunities."
"The manufacturing expertise gained within the Division forms an important part of the comprehensive support given by Delcam to all its customers," added Mr. Hawkshaw. "As well as helping our development teams, the experience we gain is passed on to our support staff. They can use this knowledge to give our software users advice on all areas of their work, including aspects like the best choice of machining strategy and cutter selection, as well as the operation of the software.
Being able to test such developments on-site obviously gives Delcam a major advantage in proving out its software. "Many CAM programs generate data that is mathematically correct but that is often impossible to machine in practice," explained Mr. Hawkshaw. "The toolroom has played its part in establishing PowerMILL's leading position for high-speed machining and shop-floor programming. With the addition of the mill-turn equipment, we can also help Delcam reinforce its strength in multi-function machining."
"When potential software customers first hear about Delcam, they often ask why we operate the toolroom," concluded Mr. Hawkshaw. "Once they have seen our facilities and we have explained the benefits, both in the reliability of the software and in the quality of our support, they find it difficult to understand how other CAM developers expect to develop and sell software without a similar resource."
