EuroWire March 2024

Technology News

Productivity improvements through CAD/CAM and ERP software

to two hours, and sometimes in minutes.” Where the material type and thickness are the same, the company nests parts from different customers in the same sheet. “The inventory system is worth the investment on its own,” said Mr Harris. “We can manage remnants of material to use them up and keep track of stocks so that we don’t suddenly run out of material. Now we only need to do a physical stock check every few months.” Once the job is complete, the Lantek software creates the invoice, delivery note and pallet label. It also identifies when a customer has an account, so that parts can be shipped immediately or, if it is a new customer, what the payment terms are before shipping. The interface to Online Laser’s Xero accounting software automatically keeps this up to date with shipped and invoiced goods. The MES system and the real-time report ing from the machines provide accurate delivery times, and customers can be giv en consistent and accurate information on the status of their jobs. For urgent work, the company can quote at 8:30am and have the parts cut by 11:00am. Online Laser previously had difficulty managing 100 live orders, but the new system can operate quite easily with

Australian laser subcontractor Online Laser Pty has expanded its manu- facturing ability, using Lantek’s sheet metal CAD/CAM and ERP software. The company, based in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, has two Bystronic Bystar fibre lasers and previously used a proprietary system – no longer supported, to manage the machines and the workflow through its factory. Programming and production manager Ben Harris said, “We were looking for an end-to-end system to manage our quotations, programming and production. With our old system there was no integration and we had to repeatedly enter the same information, which was both time consuming and error prone.” Online Laser installed Lantek’s Expert CAD/CAM, MES, Integra and WOS in July 2019. In 2023, it added the Lantek Opentalk connection directly to the laser machines, to automate the validation of the status of the machines and the parts being manufactured. Mr Harris added, “The vast majority of parts come as CAD models in several different formats, and we can import them directly into the Lantek software. The integrated Lantek Expert can quickly analyse the laser cutting times and within the Integra software combine them with subcontract costs such as folding, powder coating or machining to produce an accurate price for the whole job. Previously this could have taken a few days; now it can be done in one

Parts from different customers can be nested in the same sheet

more than 200. The Lantek Expert CAD/ CAM software has been tailored to the company’s machines with a customisable post-processor. For thicker materials, it has been tweaked to allow pre-piercing before cutting, spreading the heat across the part to avoid problems from a heat-affected zone. Support and training is supplied by Lantek from its head office in Spain, and from Klugo, which supports the software in Australia and New Zealand. Lantek Systems Ltd www.lantek.com Online Laser Pty Ltd https://onlinelaser.com.au

Customised engineering for payoff and take-up systems

led Kurre Systems to expand its range of flange-driven winders. The new AB W-1250 XL and AUF-W-1250 XL models were also designed in response to customers’ requests for higher bobbin loads. In a further development of the drum spooler, Kurre now offers a system that outputs a perfectly wound, foil-wrapped and labelled spool onto a pallet, fully automatically, every 90 seconds or 500m. Kurre Systems www.kurre-systems.de

clamping forces of the pintle and friction disc, to handle pressure-sensitive spools. In the area of modern control for extrusion lines, with the completely revised Kurre Control & Database System, the company steps towards Industry 4.0. In addition to the outsourcing of computing power with more options for data tracking, the usability and OPC-UA interface take a major role. Increasing demand and the need for a sustainable design for the future have

Kurre Systems has more than 40 years of experience in the cable and wire industry, as well as in the development of specialised and customised machinery. The company has provided a review of the new products it launched in 2023. The company’s newly delivered double payoff automatically and seamlessly winds, so that upstream or downstream processes can continue at a constant speed. Set-up times due to pintle exchange are eliminated, and the system allows independent setting of the

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March 2024