Wanders Metaalproducten B.V., based in Netterden, Holland, has manufactured fires, stoves and storage units for forty years. After purchasing a CNC punch in 1986 which was programmed manually they purchased a CNC laser two years later and decided to purchase a single CAM system to drive the two.
Said Freddy Vriezen, Production Manager; “We were manually programming the punch and did not want to use an alternative software to also program the laser, so we looked at a suitable solution and found JETCAM. This was back in 1988 when we were the only company in this region with a laser machine.”
JETCAM was selected and installed, along with postprocessors for the machines in use at the time.
In the early 1990’s a sister company to Wanders asked for advice on software to drive their own Wiedemann punch and Mazak laser machines. Freddy decided to re-evaluate the market to see whether better solutions were also available to them; “We looked at two other systems. Neither stored information on the part, so if you decided to change a part you then had to change every nest as well. Also, neither application was very user friendly. I felt like I would be moving back 10 years.”
Since 1986 the company has regularly upgraded machines, with new equipment being installed in 1990, 1992, 2001 and 2002. Each time a new postprocessor was installed and configured, immediately generating 100% accurate NC code, regardless of the technology being used to cut the part, with all existing parts immediately being available to cut on the new machine.
In 2008 Wanders upgraded their computer hardware and took the opportunity to upgrade to the latest version of JETCAM Expert. Although they had not upgraded for a number of years, and the new release contain a significant number of updates, the interface had not radically changed. Martin Venhorst, NC programmer added; “When I originally learnt JETCAM it took me less than a day. The new version only took the training a couple of hours to teach me how to use the new features”
After the upgrade Wanders noticed a number of major benefits. Machine cycle time was reduced by 15%, due to optimised lead-ins and keeping the laser head down as much as possible when travelling across the sheet. Programming time was also reduced by around 10% due to interface enhancements and new features.
Wanders product range of fireplaces and stoves generally consists of several parts from the same material. Nests can be created using both array and bump nesting, allowing parts to be easily placed on the sheet to get maximum efficiency, and taking tooling and part orientation into account.
Over a twenty year period JETCAM Expert has proven itself to be consistently stable. Freddy noted; “We have never had a problem with JETCAM, which is surprising when you compare it to the instability of other CAM or office products. It is also useful to have local Dutch support and to receive the software in our local language.”
With plans to implement an MRP system within two years, Wanders also aim to purchase another CNC laser and integrate JETCAM into the MRP to provide full automation. Freddy concluded; “We plan to run the shopfloor 24 hours a day, so the integration that JETCAM can provide to our MRP will be a huge leap forward for our company.”
Machines in Use:
- 2 x Wiedemann Punch 2000
- 1 x Wiedemann Punch 2048
- Mazak Laser Super Turbo XT48
Benefits Achieved:
- System running for 20 years without issues
- When re-evaluating the market they found that JETCAM was still the best solution
- A single CAM system driving punch and laser machines
- Using both array and bump nesting to build single sheet nests with complete assembly
- Software update improved machine runtime by 15% and programming time by 10%
- Parts can be moved between machines quickly
- Excellent local support with software and support in Dutch
- Wanders plan complete integration into MRP
About JETCAM International
JETCAM International has been developing and distributing its JETCAM Expert range of CADCAM software since 1986. In use in over 70 countries worldwide, JETCAM Expert software supports virtually every CNC punching, laser, plasma, routing, waterjet and flatbed cutting machine available today, allowing users to program any combination of CNC machines with a single CAM system.
For more information please contact Martin Bailey, Group Marketing Manager for JETCAM at Email Contact. Digital images are available to download from www.jetcam.com/images/cs_wanders_pics.zip (26MB).
Contact information:
JETCAM International
Terrasses du Port
2 Avenue des Ligures
MC98000 Monaco
Tel: +44 (0)870 760 6469
E-mail:
Email Contact
Web:
www.jetcam.com
