Case Study
Integrated CAD/CAM turns out complex parts in five days
Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik
The Solid Edge and NX CAM Express combination has improved efficiency and enabled in house CNC programming for complex parts
From numbers to steel
Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik is an specialized expert in various metalforming techniques. Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik is processing aluminum, stainless steel, wolfram molybdenum and titanium. The Radkersburger metalworking professionals have also developed a great deal of skills with the other aspect of today’s global business environment – information technology (IT). The company, with its long tradition of excellence, has implemented Siemens PLM Software solution for computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) to meet strong competition on the international stage. Radkersburger provides full service from process and tool design, over tool manufacturing to the finished product including surface treatment and JIT logistics.
What started on a relatively small scale in a post-war Austrian workshop making aluminum cutlery and utensils has become today a company capable of the most complex processes in state of the art metalforming processes, serving an international clientele. The forming techniques used at the Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik include hydroforming, deep drawing, and metal spinning. With exports accounting for 95 percent of its business, Radkersburger, as a medium-sized company, carries out both traditional contract work and complex projects for customers in the areas of plant construction, automotive and plastics machinery, food and beverage production, aviation and communications engineering. Its customers are located around the world.
In contrast to former times, when pure machine power was the working basis for the toolmakers from the Steiermark, today, 60 years later, quite different competitive factors influence the day-to-day operation of the business. Computers control highly complex processing steps such as CNC milling, CNC turning, hydro-mechanical deep drawing and metal spinning.
Soft solution for a hard business
In the last ten years especially, Radkersburger has been strongly influenced by radical changes in the areas of IT and market structure. In the past the company’s workforce was mostly involved with traditional hard metalworking. The company, which is certified to ISO 9001:2000 standards and compliant with TS 16949, must now deal increasingly with the soft factors within the industry, namely the transition of the various types of forming machines from purely mechanical to IT-based operation, as illustrated by computer-controlled computerized numerical control (CNC) machine tools.
Gregor Merlini, CEO of Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik, explains that the move to this type of equipment is a competitive necessity. “Last year we bought a CNC milling center capable of fiveaxis milling so that we could develop new tool components and perform existing work processes more quickly,” he says. Five-axis machining makes it possible to realize extremely complex 3D contours, which is a process that Radkersburger formerly had to outsource. “Before purchasing the new equipment, we were not able to program five-axis machines, or it was very complicated,” says Mr. Merlini. Outsourcing these parts generally required several weeks.
To bring five-axis milling in house, the company needed a CAM solution capable of programming the new machine. In autumn 2006, it purchased NX CAM Express from the local Siemens PLM Software reseller in based in Linz. “We decided in favor of NX CAM Express because we also use 3D design software from Siemens PLM Software (Solid Edge) and we wanted to create a consistent system environment,” Mr. Merlini notes.
An additional factor was that, according to Mr. Merlini, NX CAM Express was compatible with the many different types of machines at Radkersburger. The company has ten milling and turning machines as well as 20 machines in the forming area. “This means that we have a perfect link which enables us to send data directly from the 3D design workstations to the machines,” he adds. “This in turn shortens and optimizes the machining processes themselves.”
From design to part in five days
The use of NX CAM Express means that three-dimensional contours for hydro-mechanical tools, initially created with Solid Edge, can be converted directly into machine language, so-called NC codes, and send straight to the five-axis milling machine and turning centers where machining takes place. The machine operator only has to set the machining parameters, such as the selection of the cutting tool – the right cutting bit for a particular speed. “The machine works to an accuracy of a thousandth of a millimeter,” Mr. Merlini says. A process-controlled method, according to Mr. Merlini, was either not at all possible before, or was extremely complicated and only possible with the expenditure of a great deal of time using manual programming methods.
The commitment to uninterrupted and consistent process workflow, from the 3D design computer to the metalworking machine itself, also had a positive financial impact on the business. According to Mr. Merlini, Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik previously outsourced approximately 30 percent of its manufacturing activities. Today the entire manufacturing process, no matter how complicated the components, can be performed in house with an average completion time of only five days.
As Mr. Merlini says, “We now have all the expertise we need in the area of three-dimensional tool and component development here in our own company.” The company’s metalworking professionals were able to convert the investment in NX CAM Express into cash a short time later with the development of a completely new product. “The first product which we produced with the five-axis milling machine was a complex metalforming part with inner splines for automotive hybrid drives,” explains Mr. Merlini. All the forming tools for this part, as well as the cutting process, were implemented with NX CAM Express.” So with the support of the NX CAM software, complex forming tools and complex components were created at the Radkersburger factory for use in the hybrid drives of the future.
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Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik
Challenges:
- Improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of programming five-axis machines
Keys To Success:
- Integrated design-manufacturing environment built on Solid Edge® and NX® CAM Express software
Results:
- Five-axis programming now done in house, eliminating outsourcing costs
- Programming system is compatible with many different types of machines
- Shorter processing times; average is only five days
Industry:
- Machinery & Industrial
Client's Primary Business:
Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik specializes in metal forming processes such as spinning, deep drawing and hydro-mechanical deep drawing as well as turning, milling, welding, grinding, polishing and assembly. All tools are designed and manufactured inhouse.
Business Initiatives:
- New Product Development
Solutions/Services:
- CAM Express
- Solid Edge
- Velocity Series
Client Location:
Radkersburg
Austria
"We chose NX CAM Express because we also use 3D design software from Siemens PLM Software and we wanted an integrated system environment."
Gregor Merlini
CEO
Radkersburger Metallwarenfabrik