US-based machine builder JR Automation Technologies has become the 25,000th Delcam customer, following installation of six seats of FeatureCAM feature-based machining software.
$40 million JR designs and builds manufacturing systems for welding, assembly, testing, fabric wrapping and material handling – including robotic welding and assembly – for automotive, consumer goods and office furniture manufacturers.
Fabrication manager Jason Metzger says he first purchased FeatureCAM three years ago while working for a smaller automation firm, because of its ease of use and robustness with both 2D and 3D machining applications.
When he joined JR, tasked with improving manufacturing processes, he noticed regular bottlenecks in converting machine designs into manufactured parts, because NC programs were taking too long to create. He also criticised the toolpaths, which, he says, were not efficient.
“With the advanced feature recognition in FeatureCAM, programming time on the plate components for our machinery has been reduced from an hour to 20 minutes or less,” says Metzger.
JR now has a seat of FeatureCAM next to each machine tool control in its manufacturing cell. Metzger says each provides easy monitoring of the machine, while the operator is programming the next part.
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