Sometimes  even  all  the  know-­‐how  in  the  world  won’t  help  when  you  don’t  have  the  right  tools  for  the  job.      If  you’ve  ever  struggled  to  use  a  standard  screwdriver  on  a  task  that  calls  for  a  Phillips  head,  you  know  firsthand  that  even  the  smallest  tools  can  make  the  biggest  difference.      Such  was  the  case  for  Advanced  Metal  Components,  Inc.,  a  38-­‐year-­‐old  precision  sheet-­‐metal  manufacturer  based  in  Swainsboro,  Georgia.      Having  made  a  habit  of  embracing  technologies  that  help  it  produce  high-­‐quality  parts  while  remaining  competitive,  the  company  has  enjoyed  decades  of  success.      It  found  itself  in  unknown  territory,  however,  when  it  purchased  a  new  Amada  EMK  3610  fabrication  center  and  simply  couldn’t  make  it  work.      After  struggling  to  successfully  program  the  machine,  Senior  Product  Engineer  Dawn  Phillips  —  who  was  tasked  with  getting  the  Amada  online  —  knew  that  it  was  time  to  replace  the  wrong  tool  with  the  right  one.        “We  had  a  new  Amada  machine  that  wasn’t  being  used  to  its  full  capacity.  The  programming  software  we  had  wasn’t  maximizing  the  full  capability  of  the  machine,”  says,  Phillips,  an  engineer  with  31  years  in  the  manufacturing  industry,  10  of  them  at  Advanced  Metal  Components.    “We  had  software  that  wasn’t  fulfilling  our  needs,”  Phillips  says.  “We  struggled  for  a  long  time  to  get  it  to  operate  as  was  expected.  We  got  to  the  point  where  we  realized  we  weren’t  going  to  get  to  where  we  needed  to  be.”    Like  any  shop,  Advanced  Metal  Components  simply  doesn’t  have  idle  time  to  spare.  Among  its  repeat  clients  is  a  major  international  producer  of  industrial  equipment,  and  meeting  delivery  dates  can  be  challenging.      

Finding  the  Right  Tools  for  the  Job  Advanced  Metal  Components,  Inc.,  made  the  switch  to      Radan  for  its  precision  sheet-­‐metal  fabrication  needs    

   About  The  Company:    Name:  Advanced  Metal  Components,  Inc.    Business:  Precision  sheet-­‐metal  manufacturing      Website:  advancedmetalcomponents.com    Benefits  Achieved:    • Flexibility  in  programming,  

including  customized  nesting,  tooling  sequences,  and  more    

 • Ability  to  apply  and  easily  edit  

automatic  order  preferences  for  various  programming  scenarios  

 • Time  saved  with  Radan’s  

interlocking  and  common-­‐line  cutting  capabilities    

 Comments:    “  Implementing  and  working  with  Radan  was  very  seamless.  Problems  were  solved  quickly  and  we  were  up  and  running  in  a  very  short  period  of  time.”    Dawn  Phillips  Senior  Product  Engineer    

 

“Our  client  base  is  fairly  diverse,”  Phillips  says.  “We  are  considered  a  job  shop,  but  we  do  a  lot  of  repeat  work.”    When  Phillips  set  out  to  find  software  that  could  program  the  Amada,  she  was  also  looking  for  a  CAM  solution  that  could  program  all  of  the  company’s  machinery.  The  company’s  lineup  includes  two  TRUMPF  lasers,  three  TRUMPF  punching  centers,  an  Amada  3610,  insertion  presses,  press  brakes,  and  more.    “Our   goal   was   to   have   one   programming   software   that   covered  everything   so   that   we   wouldn’t   have   to   learn   to   use   so   many  different  systems,”  Phillips  says.    Advanced   Metal   Components   ultimately   chose   the   Radan   sheet-­‐metal   CAM   solution,   by   Vero   Software,   because   Phillips   had  successfully  used  it  in  the  past.  Her  experience  was  overwhelmingly  positive,  and  she  found  Radan’s  capabilities  and  customer  support  ideal.    “I  knew  Radan’s  capabilities  inside  and  out  —  and  I  knew  how  they  resolved   issues,”   she   says.   “All   of   the   factors   were   taken   into  consideration.  As  far  as  programming  software  is  concerned,  Radan  is  the  cream  of  the  crop.”    Radan   was   acquired   by   the   company   in   September   of   2014,   and  was   quickly   brought   online.   Phillips   estimates   that   the   entire  process,   from   implementation   to   full   integration,   took   fewer   than  three  months.      “Implementing  and  working  with  Radan  was  very  seamless,”  Phillips  says.  “Problems  were  solved  quickly  and  we  were  up  and  running  in  a  very  short  period  of  time.”    Among  the  Radan  features  that  Phillips  feels  set  the  software  apart  are  its  “straightforward  interface”  and  ease  of  use.      “Importing  geometry  is  very  easy,”  she  says.  “The  interface  is  clean  and   there   aren’t   unnecessary   things   cluttering   your   workspace.   I  think   Radan   is   really   easy   to   use   as   far   as   programming   software  goes.”    Phillips   cites   Radan’s   inherent   flexibility   as   a   major   benefit,   and  especially  appreciates  the  ability  to  manually  manipulate  punching  programs.        

   

   

   

 

 

 

“Radan  will  automatically  apply  the  tooling  in  a  relatively  desirable  way,  but  every  programmer  wants   to  program   it  a  different  way,”  she  explains.   “It  will   get   the   job  done  automatically,  but   there  are  always   little   tweaks   you   can   make   to   improve   efficiency   at   the  machine  —  and  Radan  allows  us  to  do  that.”    Within   that   same  vein,   Phillips   also  appreciates   that  Radan  allows  the   user   to   customize   tooling   sequences.   As   Advanced   Metal  Components   manufactures   a   high   number   of   extruded   holes,  customizing   sequences   in   specific   instances   leads   to   greater  efficiency  and  standardization.      “Once   you   get   your   parts   nested   on   a   sheet,   you   can   apply   order  texts   for   different   programming   scenarios,   and   it’s   very   editable,”  she   says.   “Before  Radan,  we  had   to  go   in  manually   and  pick  all   of  the   tools.   In   Radan,   that   is   a   saved   order   text   file.   One   may   be  ‘Extruded  Hole  Punch,’  while  another  might  be  ‘Embosses.’  ”    Due  to  its  range  of  demands,  the  company  performs  both  static  and  dynamic   nesting,   and   Radan’s   nest   customization   features   allow  Phillips   to   designate   the   amount   of   time   spent   creating   dynamic  nests.      “You  have  the  options  within  Radan  to  tell  it  not  to  spend  any  more  than   two,   four,   10,   or   however   many   seconds,   to   maximize   a  sheet,”   she   says.   “These   little   options   can   make   a   big   difference.  We’ve  found  a  happy  medium  and  feel  like  we  are  producing  better  nests,  and  more  quality.”    Additional   time   savers   for   Advanced   Metal   Components   are  Radan’s  common-­‐line  cutting  and  interlocking  capabilities.      Common-­‐line  cutting  is  performed  when  two  parts  share  a  common  line,  and   the  distance  between   them   is  only   the  width  of   the   tool  used  to  cut.   Interlocking  parts  are  creatively  nested  parts   that,   for  instance,   may   be   ‘L’   shaped   and   rotated   180   degrees   for   nest  maximization.        “We  all  just  feel  that  the  software  has  given  us  more  yields,”  Phillips  says.   “The   software   has  more   than   paid   for   itself   in   just   the   time  that  we  have  spent  on  it.”