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

[Tom Scotton]

Hi Martin,

I hope all is well.   Please don't think I am no longer interested in Step NC.    I still review your meeting notes.    I just don't have a resource to sit in on the calls at the moment......

CCAT would be very happy to run a pilot if we can.........

We have both MasterCAM and NX online and people that know how to use it...... along with all our optimization software tools.

I have attached a quick summary of our equipment on the floor.......

We are also getting a couple of new EDM machines as well.

Tom Scotton
Director, Modeling & Simulation
Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc.
222 Pitkin St., Suite #106
East Hartford, CT 06108
Web:              www.ccat.us
Email:             tscotton at ccat.us
Phone Main:    860-291-8832 x226
Phone Direct:  860-282-4216
FAX:               860-291-8874

"It is not the strongest species that survive, or the most intelligent but the most responsive to change."
- Charles Darwin

-----Original Message-----
From: step-manufacturing-bounces at steptools.com [mailto:step-manufacturing-bounces at steptools.com] On Behalf Of Martin Hardwick
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2012 4:44 PM
To: step-manufacturing at steptools.com
Subject: [step-manufacturing] Minutes of August 1st Conference Call - Preparing for the CAM Data Exchange summit at IMTS

Attendees
--------------
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
-----------------
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.






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