Fixture Finesse

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Those who manufacture precision workholding systems have the same goals and challenges as the machinists who use them. Both groups of people strive to reduce setup times and optimize cutting cycles. Secure, consistent, and accurate gripping are paramount. An increasing number of them are moving to lightly attended and even lights-out manufacturing, so need a way to make machining both safe and predictable. And above all, they want to avoid crashing their machine tools. 

Matt Grube is one of these. A programmer for Bluco Corporation, Naperville, Ill., he and the shop’s machinists are responsible for all of the above and more at this 30-year old manufacturer of high-quality welding tables and positioners, modular fixturing, and other time-saving workholding systems and accessories. One of the tools they use to accomplish these goals? VERICUT toolpath simulation and optimization software from Irvine, Calif.-based CGTech Inc. 

“Always Miles Ahead”

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Machining parts to precise specifications, with no room for mistakes, is imperative in the manufacture of race cars. It was therefore no surprise that Cambridgeshire based race car specialist, CTR Developments, who are heavily involved with groundbreaking engineering for Tier one manufacturers, sought out a CAM system that would enable them to meet their customers’ demand, for the highest precision and machining quality, including flexibility and fast turnarounds. As a result, the company chose the leading integrated CAM Solution, SolidCAM with iMachining.

Dr Matthew Chamberlain, Company Secretary at CTR Developments “I am not a machinist, I have never been formally trained, but I wanted to take control over the bits and pieces we were sending out to be manufactured. The one-button-click, to calculate 3D roughing cutting paths was a revelation! It just worked! The surface finish we get on the 2D finishing passes from IMachining are also better than anything we were able to previously achieve.”

A commercial FORCE

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The sharp downturn in travel caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the grounding of many aircraft and the largest contraction in the commercial aerospace sector’s history, with most airlines around the world scaling back or cancelling orders. 

However, seen in the right context, the current challenges faced by the aerospace industry offer opportunities for commercial OEMs and suppliers to make needed changes. This is where the complete digital NC simulation and optimisation software solution offered by VERICUT can help. 

EDGECAM Behind West Pharmaceutical Services COVID-19 Vaccine Containers

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As the world moves ever closer to being able to distribute an effective vaccine against COVID-19, a leading  supplier to the pharmaceutical industry is manufacturing packaging components and delivery systems ready to support the vaccine, once it’s readily available.