[step-manufacturing] Minutes of August 1st Conference Call - Preparing for the CAM Data Exchange summit at IMTS

[Martin Hardwick]

Attendees
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Martin Hardwick, STEP Tools, USA
David Loffredo, STEP Tools, USA
Mikael Hedlind, KTH, Sweden
Leon Xu, Boeing, USA
Ronnie Fesperman, NIST, USA
Fred Proctor, NIST, USA
Vincent Marchini, Ameritech, USA
Alain Brail, Airbus (retired), France
Doron Cohen, ISCAR, Israel
Igal Naveh, ISCAR, Isreal
Bob Erickson, Pratt & Whitney, USA
David Madeley, Siemens NX CAM, UK
Robert Callaghan, Independent Quality Labs, USA

We discussed the problems of not being able to implement CAM to CAM data 
exchange. They include:

1. Being forced to make time consuming site visits to explain how a 
model was designed to be manufactured (how may setup's are anticipated, 
what kind of machines for each setup etc).
2. Being forced to retain machinery after its sell-by-date because it is 
the only solution for a process designed a long time previously.
3. Being forced to wait for redundant data entry while multiple process 
plans are made for multiple systems and equipment with different 
competitive advantages.
4. Being forced into unnecessary errors and communication repetitions 
because of the arcane nature of drawing symbols.
5. Being forced to use incomplete simulations due to the 
non-availability of electronic data in suitable machine readable forms.

In order to get the CAM and CNC vendors to commit to implementing 
STEP-NC we have to show them there is an industry need that must be met. 
One way to do this is to run a series of pilots that can support the 
development of translators in an industrial setting by sharing costs and 
validating results. The focus of the pilots will be on deploying a TDP 
for Model Driven Manufacturing and Assembly because this is the industry 
need that is being met by the STEP-NC solution. The benefits of Model 
Driven Manufacturing and Assembly are well known and include:

1. Adaptive Fixturing because the models can adapt to the changes in the 
setup caused by flexible fixtures.
2. On-machine Acceptance because the result of an operation can be 
measured against the tolerances in the model.
3. Resource and Performance Optimization because feeds and speeds can be 
adapted to minimize tool wear and meet schedule constraints.
4. Last minute tooling selections because the models can be machine and 
cutting tool independent.
5. Faster cost estimates because more detail is given on what operations 
and resources are anticipated for the manufacturing process.

We discussed the nature of the first round of pilots and decided to 
focus on data exchange between CAM and CNC systems. Boeing will 
implement a pilot in its Renton Laboratory using several different CAM 
and CNC systems. Other team members will investigate similar pilots at 
their facilities (see action items). We will now contact the key vendors 
to see who might be interested in participating, and hold an information 
session at IMTS on Thursday, September 13th from 1:30PM to 3:30PM.

Action Items
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1. Sid Venkatesh and Martin Hardwick to contact key CAM and CNC vendors.
2. Mikael Hedlind to investigate possible sites for a pilot project at 
Scania, Volvo and Sandvik.
3. Doron Cohen to investigate a pilot at the ISCAR tech center in Israel.
4. David Madeley to investigate a pilot at the Siemens technical center 
in Erlangen, Germany.
5. Bob Erickson to investigate a pilot at Pratt and Whitney.
6. Martin Hardwick to contact Jean-Bernard Hentz for Airbus support.