Welcome to the summer
edition of the quarterly UK newsletter from Lantek Systems. As
a company in the sheetmetal industry we hope you will find it
interesting and will wish to continue receiving it.
Lantek is a leader in sheetmetal
software, with its Expert II and Expert III systems. These provide
tools which will enable companies to optimise manufacturing methods,
and reduce material usage while controlling costs and maintaining
delivery schedules.
In the newsletter we will be featuring
case studies which give an insight into how different enterprises in
this sector operate, and how an investment in Lantek software has
contributed to their success. Additionally, there will be news about
new developments within the software, practical information about
how to apply it for maximum benefit, as well as news about
forthcoming events and special offers.
The Lantek Systems team
In this
issue:
Emsea
manages explosive growth with Lantek Expert
III
Recognising a gap in the subcontract laser market,
Chris Sweet and Mark Causer set up Emsea in Tewkesbury to meet the
requirements of manufacturers in the South West of England. Starting
with a Mazak X48 Hi-PRO laser in 2004, success was immediate, with
the company producing parts for a wide range of applications
including prestige vehicles, agricultural equipment and
architectural structures.
Chris
Sweet’s knowledge of Lantek made the software his natural choice for
programming the Mazak. “Lantek Expert II was an essential element of
the company start up. The nesting is good and we
utilise its common line cutting, tag, and micro
jointing capabilities.” Because of the huge variety of parts which
it produces, Emsea makes use of both automatic and manual nesting,
depending on the nature of the job, in order to optimise its
material usage. Lantek’s nesting considers the complete range of
parts required, including components scheduled for remanufacture. By
automatically infilling large parts with smaller ones, and
considering sheet remnants, the software adds to its customer’s
efficiency and cost
saving.
Since
Emsea started, turnover has trebled, reaching nearly £2 million.
This increase in revenue put a considerable strain on its business
systems, so the company needed to find a more efficient way of
managing quotations and the progress of jobs, thereby ensuring that
it maintained high levels of customer satisfaction. Chris Sweet
said, “We looked at several job management systems but selected
Lantek Expert III because it integrated with Expert II, it was
dedicated to sheet metal applications, and it would automatically
calculate quotations straight from the part
drawing.”
Emsea has
now invested in a new 4 Kw Trumpf 3030 and two press brakes to
meet the increasing demand. This stands at around 260 different jobs
each week, and equates to thousands of different parts. Chris Sweet
added, “We would struggle to manage this volume of work without
Expert III.” Starting from the customer’s design, CAD data can be
imported or the part can be drawn in the Lantek system. Combining
the automatic cut length calculations with information about the
material and material thickness allows Expert III to generate the
run time for each part. Nesting within a sheet then gives the
material
utilisation, which produces a cost per part, enabling
Emsea to quickly arrive at an accurate and profitable selling price.
The quotation itself is generated from Expert III in a format
designed by Lantek specifically for Emsea to match its corporate
image.
Once a
quotation has been accepted, all the data feeds through to the Sales
Module, automatically generating shopfloor documentation and updated
work in progress reports. As each operation is completed, the
current status of each part is validated and entered into Expert
III, to keep track of production. With this information, Emsea can
now advise customers of the exact status of their jobs with just a
few mouse clicks. This ensures that delivery times are met and that
customers have increasing confidence in Emsea as a reliable supplier
of high quality laser parts.
As each job is completed, Expert III generates
delivery notes and invoices, while an interface to the company’s
Sage accounting package collates the financial data. Chris Sweet
said, “The delivery notes and invoicing are brilliant. It used to
take days to complete a months worth, it can now be completed in a
few hours.” The transition to Expert III, which the company is
finding very easy to use, was completed in about three weeks, while
training took a further week. Additionally, remote support allows
Lantek access to the system at Emsea, to offer the rapid resolution
of queries. Chris Sweet concluded, “We expect to see the full
benefits of Expert III over the next six months, but already we
would find it virtually impossible to manage the volume of work
without it. It has given us much better control of our deliveries,
and our customers are happy that they receive their parts on time or
early.”
Manufacturing management for the sheet metal industry, from
Lantek.
Lantek Expert III is
an extension of Lantek’s powerful nesting and CAM software, and
provides management information and accurate quotations tailored to
the needs of the sheet metal industry. Just launched, the new
Version 26 gives fabricators the ability to create quotations
directly from a nest of parts.
By integrating
management, design, nesting and CAM, Lantek Expert III provides a
flexible software package which can be tailored to meet the
individual needs of each company. Starting with the customer
relationship management module, imported CAD files and historic job
data, such as sheet load and unload times, can be evaluated to form
the basis of a new quotation. Increased accuracy is achieved by
using Lantek’s nesting module. Groups of components can be optimised
to fit on both new sheets and remnants to utilise the minimum amount
of material, then simulation of the cutting process generates an
accurate run time for the machine tool.
In addition to helping
users arrive at quotations which will be competitive and profitable,
Expert III will also monitor sales effort and the sales pipe-line,
helping to apply metrics to these
activities.
Once the quotation has
been accepted, Expert III automatically transfers the job data to
its manufacturing module. Here the system can keep track of stock
levels and purchasing, and maintain traceability for each part. This
will enable engineers to quickly find from which nest a part
originated and, with the works order module (WOS), keep track of
costs and progress around the factory. Terminals on the shop floor
enable users to record operations as they are completed, providing
real time feedback. This allows managers to compare the actual time
taken for each operation with the planned time. Checking the true
situation on the shop floor makes it possible for companies to
refine their costs and highlight potential problem areas in
production.
Lantek Expert III provides
consistent and reliable results for LaserMaster
One of Cornwall’s only laser
profiling companies, LaserMaster in Redruth, chose the Lantek Expert
III CAM and Job Management software to help it get the maximum
productivity from its 3.5Kw Bystronic 3015
machine.
Formed two years ago,
LaserMaster cuts a wide range of products for industry, local
government and the county’s thriving artistic community, in
materials such as stainless steel, brass and copper up to 15mm
thick. LaserMaster wants to encourage business in the South West by
helping to promote the growth of technology in Cornwall. Craig
Lincoln, General Manager, LaserMaster said, “The Bystronic came with
a CAM system, but we found that it was slow and clumsy to use,
leading us to look for a replacement. We were on the verge of
purchasing another system, but we found inconsistencies in its
pricing tools, as it calculated different prices for identical
components.” Following
the demonstration of Lantek Expert III, LaserMaster was convinced
that it was the correct choice. He continued, “We cross checked the
prices generated by Lantek Expert III with those created by our
original system, and they came out within a few pence, giving us
confidence in the results.” The period when LaserMaster was
producing inaccurate costings had a direct impact on its business.
Now that Lantek has been installed the company has gained extra
work, thanks to the accuracy and consistency of the new quotation
package.
Component designs come
in the form of CAD files and rough sketches. LaserMaster redraws the
sketches, either in AutoCAD or directly in Lantek, to get them into
electronic form. The Lantek quotation module then considers the
material specification and thickness, and calculates the cutting
length based on a nest of parts, enabling it to produce an accurate
cost per component. Craig Lincoln added, “Once the base parameters
have been set up, Lantek is reliable and a fantastic piece of
software.” Remote technical support is provided with DeskShare
software, which enables engineers to operate the company’s system
from the Lantek office in Malvern. LaserMaster has found this to be
a very useful facility, helping it to quickly resolve queries and
maximize the productivity it gets from its
investment.
Expert III has also
had a positive impact on administrative load. Once a quotation has
been accepted, all the existing data is automatically fed into the
manufacturing module. Similarly, once the job is complete the system
generates invoices and delivery notes, eliminating double entry of
data in the accounts system and greatly reducing the possibility of
an error. Craig Lincoln commented on the documentation, “All our
paperwork is consistent and has a much more professional appearance,
which reflects well on our company.”
LaserMaster has yet to
make extensive use of Lantek’s common line cutting methods, which
reduces the overall length of a cut path, but in trials has found it
to work well. “When we tried it on other systems, there was double
cutting of edges, which wastes time and damages the finish.” The
company anticipates that it will add extra seats and modules of
Lantek Expert III as its requirements develop. Additionally, it is
expecting to achieve further long-term efficiencies in its operation
and administration. Craig Lincoln concluded, “I don’t know how we
managed without it and I feel sure that it will be a major
contributing factor to company growth.”
For more
information contact
Rob Powell
Lantek Systems Ltd
Tel. +44 (0)1684 585384
Email rob.powell@lantek-systems.co.uk
Web: www.lantek-systems.co.uk .
