Dutch fires, stoves and storage manufacturer Wanders Metaalproducten says a recent upgrade of its Jetcam CAM system resulted in a 15% reduction in machine cycle times.
Freddy Vriezen, Wanders production manager, says the improvement was due to optimised lead-ins and keeping the laser head down as much as possible when travelling across the sheet. And he adds that programming time was also reduced by around 10% as a result of interface enhancements and new features.
Wanders relationship with Jetcam goes back more than 20 years, when the company purchased a CNC punch and CNC laser.
Since 1986 the company has regularly upgraded machines, with new equipment being installed in 1990, 1992, 2001 and 2002. Vriezen says that 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.
This year, Wanders upgraded its computer hardware and took the opportunity to upgrade to the latest version of Jetcam Expert.
“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,” says Vriezen
He now plans to implement MRP within two years, and purchase another CNC laser, which will be integrated with Jetcam to provide full automation. “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.”