DSM Somos, leading technology innovators in the rapid prototyping (RP) materials industry, will be launching a new family of ProtoFunctional stereolithography resins at EuroMold in Frankfurt.

DSM Somos, leading technology innovators in the rapid prototyping (RP) materials industry, will be present at the euromold fair in Frankfurt, Germany (November 28th - December 1st 2001; Hall 9.1, Stand G49) with its newest lines of pioneering products. In occasion of the fair, DSM Somos(R) will also be announcing the launch of a new family of ProtoFunctional stereolithography resins. The new product launch represents industry demanded technologies that were first discussed during the DSM Somos Technology Focus 2000, and is the second line of materials from this event to be made commercially available this year.

Among the high-tech materials on display at the stand, will be Somos 10120 WaterClear.

Recently launched in August 2001, this optically clear resin from DSM Somos signifies a major industry advancement in responding to customer needs and permits the use of stereolithography technologies in an increasing range of applications.

The new product launch to be announced at EuroMold and the range of ProtoFunctional materials on display is evidence of the vast know-how encompassed within DSM Somos.

These innovative technologies further distinguish the company in its goal towards the development and advancement of materials that will facilitate the transition of rapid prototyping into rapid manufacturing.

Also taking place at the DSM Somos stand will be the announcement (Thursday, November 29, 15.00h) of the winning design of the ATI (Accelerated Technologies Inc - Texas, USA) sponsored WaterClear design competition.

This international contest showcases the design opportunities offered by the world's first optically clear stereolithography resin.

The judging criteria for the designer submitted projects were: uniqueness and interest of the application of WaterClear, visual interest and impact, originality, complexity and sophistication of design, functional use of WaterClear.

The jury of the ATI WaterClear design contest consisted of: Terry Wohlers - president, Wohlers Associates.

Jeffrey Rowe - contributing editor, 'MCADCafe.com'.

Jean Hoffman - associate editor, 'Machine Design'.

Pat Toensmeier - editor-in-chief, 'Modern Plastics'.

Jim Reitz - business manager, DSM Somos.

Mike Durham - general manager, Accelerated Technologies.

Further details on the award ceremony will be made available shortly before the fair and the winner will be available to answer questions.

In a separate Euromold event, one of the WaterClear contest conference judges, Terry Wohlers, will be co-hosting a conference called: New Developments and Trends in RP Around the World.

The event brings to focus best practices, advances, and trends in rapid prototyping (RP), rapid tooling (RT), and rapid manufacturing (RM).

The conference will bring together a group of world-class speakers to address the most important issues associated with the present and future of RP and related technologies and applications.

What is stereolithography?

Stereolithography is a layer additive rapid-prototyping process based on the use of photopolymer liquid resins which solidify when exposed to UV light.

A software program transfers the designer's 3-D CAD model into an electronic file for stereolithography machines ('STL' format), composing the information into thin cross sections or layers.

A laser beam then traces each layer onto the surface of a vat of photopolymer resin, building the part in repeated layers until a solid replica of the original CAD model is completed.

DSM Somos) ProtoFunctiona) resins designed for stereolithography.

DSM Somos ProtoFunctional resins range from the industry's first transparent, tough and durable resins (Somos 10100 WaterClear series) to flexible resins for material properties similar to polyethylene (Somos(R) 8100 series) or polypropylene (Somos 9100 series) to the latest generation of heat-resistant, humidity-tolerant, high-accuracy epoxy resins suitable for investment casting and direct tooling applications (Somos 7100 series).

Each family of Somos photopolymer epoxy resins is comprised of materials singularly formulated and optimised for the variety of stereolithography platforms commercially available: Somos XX'00' resins are for use in Argon ion laser systems; Somos XX'10' for helium cadmium laser systems; Somos XX'20' resins for platforms utilising Solid State laser systems.

DSM Somos also offers materials for selective laser sintering and is the first manufacturer of powder elastomeric polymer (Somos 201) that can be sintered to produce highly flexible parts with 'rubber like' characteristics.

Product data sheets for DSM Somos resins are available on the company web site www.dsmsomos.com, under 'Downloads, Product Data Sheets'.

DSM Somos (Delaware, USA), focused on innovative rapid prototyping materials, is a business unit of DSM Desotech, world leaders in the creation of UV curable materials.

DSM is a highly integrated group of companies with worldwide interests in life-science products, performance materials and chemicals.

This autumn at the K-2001 plastics technology exhibition, Moldflow will show its Plastics Insight software Version 3.0 for the first time.

This autumn at the K-2001 plastics technology exhibition, Moldflow will show its Plastics Insight software Version 3.0 for the first time. Moldflow Plastics Insight Version 3.0 Software (MPI 3.0), otherwise known as Synergy, integrates the best features of Moldflow Plastics Insight 2.0 (MPI) and C-MOLD 2000 products into a single product family. Many new features have been added.

The high-level features include a new user interface, new design of experiments manager, an expanded materials database, an enhanced CAD interfaces, Fusion and 3D enhancements, results interpretation, and reports.

Moldflow Corporation's exhibition plans for K-2001 (Dusseldorf, Germany, 25 October to 1 November) also centre round the company's full spectrum of Moldflow Manufacturing Solutions, including Moldflow Plastics Xpert, Shotscope and EZ-Track.

EZ-Track allows users to monitor critical production functions with precision and detail.

The technology helps manufacturers improve productivity, minimise downtime, evaluate labour, and track materials.

EZ-Track's allows operators to monitor hundreds of machines simultaneously, including a combination of injection moulding machines and auxiliary and assembly equipment.

The product is compatible with most commercial ERP and MRP systems.

Real-time data can be easily output in a wide range of formats to provide up-to-the-minute, enterprise-wide production status, trends and analysis reports.

Moldflow Plastics Xpert (MPX) is designed to help process engineers and plant managers control moulding processes by providing shop-floor solutions to the problems associated with injection moulding machine set-up, process optimisation, and production part quality.

The software's intuitive functionality means that moulding machine operators need not have advanced expertise for every machine being run.

MPX results are able to be documented to meet strict quality control reporting requirements.

In addition, the technology facilitates faster set-up times, reduced scrap rates and costs, as well as improved product quality and consistent production yields.

The Shotscope products for plastic injection moulding helps moulders improve productivity, minimise scrap and machine downtime, and effectively increase plant capacity.

The technology runs on the Windows NT platform.

Shotscope interfaces with other plant-management systems.

By automating administrative activities such as scheduling jobs, detecting and classifying downtime, identifying and categorizing scrap, as well as tracking tool and machine maintenance, it eliminates the need to assign valuable machine floor personnel to time-consuming tasks.

'Art to Part' describes the comprehensive support, provided to moulders and OEMs, with conceptual design, materials selection, tooling advice, testing, sampling and production optimisation.

'Art to Part' is to be the main focus of Distrupol's exhibit at PDM 06 in Telford, UK, September 26-28. The term is used by Distrupol to describe the comprehensive support provided to customers with conceptual design, materials selection, tooling advice, testing, sampling and production optimisation. The exhibit should be of special interest to designers, moulders and OEMs, who can find Distrupol, a founding partner of Plastics Design and Moulding (PDM), at stand No.

G31 in Hall 2.

A large portion of the Distrupol display at PDM 06 will be dedicated to practical demonstrations of Distrupol's technical support.

Visitors are invited trial the company's PIC (Product Information Centre), a database of more than 3000 polymer grades which enables a simple on-screen comparison, or to delve into its web-based polymer training programmes.

Further the full range of Distrupol's polymer comparator cards will be available, including the Food Approved Polymers comparator card - facilitating polymer selection for food and beverage applications.

It extends the existing range of cards, which have proven to be particularly valuable for those considering the use of polymers for the first time.

Finally, Distrupol's presentation at PDM 06 will also reflect the breadth of its portfolio of material solutions.

This has recently been extended to include new grades from Chi Mei's 'Wonderlite' polycarbonate and 'Wonderloy' PC/ABS ranges.

The Wonderlite range is produced using a non-phosgene melt process, which gives significant advantages in terms of low tool corrosion and mould deposit.

Additions to the range include a high flow, high purity grade specifically designed for the optical media (CD/DVD) markets, as well as several flame retardant grades.

The Wonderloy PC/ABS range has been extended to include three new standard grades - general purpose, high heat and high impact - in addition to the existing FR grades.

* A Univar Company - commenting on the company's participation at PDM 06, Gerry Moore, managing director of Distrupol UK said: 'Our success is built upon sharing our customers' objectives, identifying with their needs and supplying a cost effective solution to their material requirements'.

'Whilst much of this is hidden behind the scenes of the one-to-one relationships we have with our customers, we view PDM as the ideal opportunity to showcase the full breadth of our services directly to the wider market of designers, moulders and OEMs, to whose projects they can add significant value.' * About Distrupol - Distrupol provides plastics processors with the most comprehensive link to the world's leading polymers.

Underpinning its customer-centric, Europe-wide materials distribution business is a full range of technical and application development assistance to supplement customers' own resources.

Adapted to individual needs and local conditions, Distrupol's services give the support that delivers optimised technical and commercial solutions.

A daughter company of Univar NV, Distrupol is a major polymer industry distribution and service supplier in Europe where it already leads the market in the UK, Ireland and the Nordic region.

Headquartered in the UK, Distrupol has a network of offices and logistics centres in Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, as well as the in UK.

* About Univar - Univar NV is a chemical distribution leader in North America and Europe, with annual sales of approximately EUR 6 billion.

The company serves customers in key industry sectors from a broad-based product offering sourced from the world's foremost chemical producers.

Customer sectors include food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, natural resources, cleaning products and coatings, and they are supported through an extensive network of 163 centres located throughout the USA, Canada and 18 European countries.

Software and hardware solutions for optimizing the design and manufacture of plastic products will be shown at the UK's Plastics Design and Moulding exhibition.

Moldflow Corporation (NASDAQ:MFLO), the world leader in software and hardware solutions for optimizing the design and manufacture of plastic products, today announced its exhibition plans for Plastics Design and Moulding, April 12-14 in Telford, Shropshire, and Solid Modelling, April 27-28 in Birmingham. Plastics Design and Moulding, focuses on the design specification and manufacture of plastic moulding, while the Solid Modelling show provides an overview of new modelling tool developments, http://www.eda-expos.co.uk/SM/index.htm. New design analysis solutions featured: * Moldflow Plastics Advisers (MPA) is Moldflows easy-to-learn, 3D solids-based, plastics flow simulation product.

MPA 7.1 contains new features and enhancements that allow users to obtain greater analysis and results resolution, model and analyze annular hot runners and networked runner systems, visualize surface defects more easily.

* Moldflow Plastics Insight (MPI) is the industrys most widely used design analysis tool and is known for its speed and accuracy.

With MPI 5.0, Moldflow reinforces its lead in 3D simulation innovation with enhanced functionality for gas-assisted injection moulding, part insert overmoulding, 2-shot sequential overmoulding and reactive moulding.

Meshing enhancements in the latest release of MPI can result in faster and more accurate analysis results.

Moldflow manufacturing solutions - Moldflow delivers complete collaborative manufacturing management solutions for automated setup, optimization, control, and monitoring of the injection moulding process.

These solutions result in faster time-to-market, reduced part cost, maximized capacity utilization and improved production efficiency without compromising product quality.

* Moldflow Plastics Xpert (MPX) is an advanced control solution for the automatic setup, optimization and monitoring of the process window of an injection moulding machine.

Unlike other control solutions, MPX utilizes the advanced simulation capabilities of MPA and MPI to provide an initial process configuration.

MPX interfaces with current injection moulding machine control technology and provides on-line process correction with technology developed exclusively for the plastics injection moulding industry.

* Celltrack is a real-time Production Management system that can be attached to any type of cyclic equipment used for discrete manufacturing.

The system continuously tracks and reports machine efficiencies and provides capabilities for work order management, job scheduling, mould and machine tracking and labeling.

Celltrack v2.0 schedules, manages and monitors manual tasks as well as those operating on machinery and the ability to track machine related labor activities.

Available in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian, the product is ideal for multinational operations.

* Shotscope Process Monitoring provides a wealth of 'at a glance' information to improve productivity, minimize scrap and downtime, and optimize plant capacity.

Shotscope can acquire data from up to 36 input channels: 8 analog, 12 digital and 16 single-points (thermocouples).

It collects up to 10,000 data points per analog channel and stores up to 50 process parameters per shot.

Shotscope displays the real-time status of every job and can communicate with other plant-management systems.

When configured as such, Shotscope can activate alarms and part diverters when parts are out of spec and records statistical quality control (SQC) data such as part weight or dimension and associates it with specific process data for correlation with statistical process control (SPC) data.

The latest version of Shotscope also features a new hybrid display that shows velocity and pressure as a function of position with a switch over to a time-based display in mid-cycle.

* Altanium CX is an affordable, small footprint, hot runner process control solution that supports from two to 192 zones.

Its unique modular design is highly scalable and easily configured.

The self-contained controller units can be used freestanding, mounted on the mould or mounted alongside, behind, or inside the injection-moulding machine.The Altanium CX controller design enables standardization on a single system and offers a higher level of investment protection as multiple controller units can be linked together to support future larger configurations.

Altanium CX controllers also feature the new integrated Adapta-Tek Box that can make changing the mold interface wiring quick and cost effective.

* About Moldflow Corporation - Moldflow (NASDAQ: MFLO) is the leading global provider of automation and optimization software, hardware and hot runner process control solutions for the plastics injection moulding industry.

Companies use Moldflows complete suite of products to address plastic part design issues at the earliest possible stage as well as to maximize productivity and profitability on the manufacturing floor.

Moldflow Plastics Labs (MPL) offers state-of-the-art material testing and consulting services.

Its extensive materials database is also used in Moldflow software products.

Moldflows collaboration with academia, industry, and customers around the world has led to a reputation for constant innovation in the complete design-for-manufacture process.

Advanced CAM software has enabled an umbrella manufacturer to machine 3D forms directly into the tool - it has eliminated hand finishing and reduced the number of EDM electrodes needed.

Hoyland Fox, who can trace their roots back to 1842, manufacture five million umbrella frames each year from their main site in Penistone, Yorkshire and their second site at Heeley, Sheffield. The extensive range of umbrella frames are designed for parasol, fishing, sport and promotional uses. With ISO 9001 approval, Hoyland Fox frames are synonymous with quality and durability.

They have many patents on their designs including tilting frames, crank handle frames, cam clamp and screw clamp pole operation.

Around 80% of the frames are exported, where coverers finish the umbrella to suit the end user.

Notable applications include promotional umbrellas for Coca-Cola, Heineken and Unipart.

To keep control of production, Hoyland Fox keep all the manufacturing processes in house, with wire drawing and heat treatment, tube mill and sawing lines, multi-stage power presses, twenty-four injection moulding machines and a powder coating plant.

Working directly from raw materials eliminates shortages in the production lines and allows them to achieve a continuous flow of products.

This level of in house control requires a dedicated toolroom to produce and repair press tools, wire drawing dies and injection moulding tools, and a host of other assembly and checking fixtures.

Like all companies, Hoyland Fox is seeing increasing competition from the Far East.

Their response has been to maintain and improve their high quality standards, whilst evolving new and innovative product designs and continually honing the production processes to improve efficiency and keep unit costs as low as possible.

The introduction of NC Graphics DEPOCAM and toolmaker into the Development/Toolroom at Hoyland Fox was an important step in their drive to achieve their goals.

'Product life is now only about 3 to 4 years, as umbrellas are a fashion item.

We need to create innovative products and concepts quickly to lead the market,' said Robert Nuttall, Engineering Manager, Hoyland Fox Limited.

'We have sales and marketing driven programmes for new products like our patented RoTilt screw mechanism.

These demand organic shapes which would be very difficult for us to manufacture without DEPOCAM,' continued Robert.

The Development/Toolroom has a Sodick AQ325L wire eroder, Bridgeport Interact and Maho 600E machining centres and a Bridgeport Romi lathe, where they make multi-stage press and shearing tools and injection moulding tools of up to 32 cavities and weighing up to 1 tonne.

With DEPOCAM, they can machine directly into P20, P558 and D2 material, while ToolMaker is used to program the Sodick and to program prismatic shapes on the machining centres.

'DEPOCAM has enabled us to machine 3D forms directly into the tool.

In addition it has eliminated hand finishing and reduced the number of electrodes we need to manufacture,' said Robert Nuttall.

'We can now take 3D CAD data straight into DEPOCAM and ToolMaker from our design system enabling us to achieve repeatability for tool repair and fast reaction times to design change,' he added.

Hoyland Fox have also introduced carbide cutters from DEPO-FHT.

They have found that the cutter paths generated by DEPOCAM are reliable and smooth, which is necessary to avoid damage to the tooling and to achieve a perfect surface finish.

Robert Nuttall commented 'With our previous programming methods we found it difficult to use carbide tooling.

We now commonly use tools of 2mm diameter and for engraving applications, tools down to 0.3mm diameter.' The improved toolpaths enable the existing machine tools to run more efficiently.

Hoyland Fox is considering investment in high speed machining centres, as part of their continual programme of development, to take full advantage of the capabilities within DEPOCAM.

They anticipate that they will be able to bring more tooling work back in house by reducing their lead times and costs for new tooling.

'We are impressed with the reduction in cycle times and the ease of programming we have experienced with DEPOCAM,' said Robert Nuttall.

Mould and die maker says offline programming system takes design data in various formats and helps the company to respond quickly to any programming demand and get the job up and running.

Although EDM Precision Engineering invested in Pathtrace's EdgeCAM offline programming almost seven years ago, such has been the pace of development of the software that the system is still keeping the Nottingham-based precision toolmaker ahead of the competition in terms of the 3D programming and CNC machining of complex mould tools and electrodes. Indeed, it was the promise of on-going product development and support that were among the main reasons for the purchase of EdgeCAM, from Pathtrace Engineering Systems of Reading, as managing director, Gary Skrzypkowski, recalls: 'We wanted a system which could be upgraded to meet the ever-changing demands we face, and we needed a supplier that would continue to provide high level back-up.' He maintains: 'Pathtrace and EdgeCAM have certainly lived-up to expectations and following a continual combination of developments, improvements and new features, as well as a high level of support and technical back-up, the system is right up to date and kept us ahead of the game. Product complexity has increased considerably over the years and this has been more than matched by regular upgrades in EdgeCAM's programming and prove-out routines.

Despite this increase in complexity of the type of work we handle, on average, we still only spend about a tenth of actual machining time on program creation.' Established in 1990 and employing 12 people, EDM Precision specialises in the manufacture of plastics injection mould tools which account for around 80 per cent of the business, with the balance generated from tool repair and modifications.

Both development and production type tools are produced and key market sectors served include DIY, domestic appliances, automotive components and cosmetics.

Tool specification ranges from single impression up to multi-cavity and composite tooling and can weigh up to two tonnes.

The Blidworth company produces at least one of these highly complex tools every three to four weeks and with all the electrodes and various elements required for each tool, extensive use of EdgeCAM means the generation of more than 100 new part programs every month.

Almost 90 per cent are long 3D programs which take 10 hours or more to run on its CNC machines.

Machining is based mainly on two vertical machining centres, a pair of wire electro-discharge machines and CNC vertical spark erosion machines.

The company has three EdgeCAM seats, two being DNC linked for 3D surface machining on the machining centres, and one for four-axis wire erosion and 2D milling.

As most customers now email 3D solid models of the component, this data is then used to generate cutter paths which means the process is simple and quick through the automatic capabilities of EdgeCAM.

Because EdgeCAM combines the expertise of mould and die with production machining, it allows the company to effectively use efficient 2-D prismatic and 3-D surface machining processes needed to machine cavities, cores, bolsters and electrodes.

Says Gary Skrzypkowski: 'The system enables us to accept design data in various formats and to quickly respond to any programming demand to get the job up and running as soon as possible.

This helps shorten development cycles and combats long lead times on complex work.

Program prove-out has also been optimised as it now takes us less than half the time we used to spend five years ago to verify complex 3D cutter paths.

Because we can quickly eliminate the possibility of gouging, collisions or jam-ups on the CNC machines, our confidence in program integrity has considerably boosted productivity.' Although some hard machining is carried out, most cavities are semi-finish milled leaving around 0.1mm for removal by solid sink erosion.

The company reckons that generally this is the most productive and cost-effective method of creating 3D forms, particularly as a large number of customers specify a matt finish on the tool.

This is produced by vertical EDM.

However, when it came to producing a series of multiple tapered ribs for the handle of a new paint spray gun, wire erosion was the only practical option due to the complex profile, tight radii and blends and the varying heights of the forms involved.

Most of the graphite electrodes tend to be milled, though some copper electrodes are wire-cut which is an ideal process for producing rib electrodes with deep profiles.

Without doubt, Gary Skrzypkowski maintains that EdgeCAM has played a key role in improving the company's response time.

For example, the production of a development tool for a new style of washing machine bracket, direct from supplied CAD data, was a particularly urgent project.

EDM Precision produced and delivered the moulds within 10 days.

In another case, a special aluminium injection mould tool was designed, developed and delivered within 14 days.

He says: 'Such speed of turn around is critical as 15 per cent of our injection mould work tends to be for development tooling and, in most cases, is usually required in double-quick time!' 'When we look at today's demands, we definitely made the right decision in buying EdgeCAM,' sums up Gary Skrzypkowski.

'The system continues to be improved and updated, it keeps us at the forefront of CAM developments and we always receive good service and technical back-up.

We are also well in-touch with software improvements because Pathtrace runs Open Days each year to introduce new features and to gain user feed-back.

Software simulation tools check manufacturing feasibility and provide detailed predictions about all phases of part and mould design, manufacturing and resulting part quality.

Software simulation tools were developed to check manufacturing feasibility and for CAE analysts who need detailed predictions about all phases of part and mould design, manufacturing and resulting part quality. Moldflow Corporation will be demonstrating its latest product developments and technologies at the Computers in Manufacturing show held in Birmingham from 11-13 November 2003. Product presentations and information provided at CIM will illustrate how to 'take control of the entire plastics process'.

Moldflow software simulation tools include the Moldflow Plastics Advisers (MPA) and the Moldflow Plastics Insight (MPI) product lines.

These software simulation tools were developed specifically for part and mould designers who need to check manufacturing feasibility and for CAE analysts who need detailed predictions about all phases of part and mould design, manufacturing and resulting part quality.

Moldflow Manufacturing Solutions (MMS) target the problems associated with production planning and scheduling, injection moulding machine setup, process optimisation and process monitoring control.

Wanting to move from the 'teach and learn' programming approach, changing its CAM software supplier has allowed Durham-based ESP Plastics to move over to true five-axis machining.

The addition of Delcam's PowerMILL cam software has allowed Durham-based ESP Plastics to move to true five-axis machining. For Managing Director Nick Algar, the choice of Delcam software for his five-axis machining and trimming operations was as much to do with the strength of the company, as it was dependent on the quality of the systems. This was a key consideration following the takeover of his previous software provider and the subsequent end of the system's development.

'We wanted to move from the 'teach and learn' programming approach that we were using to true five-axis machining,' said Algar.

'However, it was clear that our existing system would never gain this extra functionality.

The new owners did offer an upgrade to their other programs but these were hardly ever used because they were so complex.

I approached Delcam because I knew the long history of the company and could see that its software would continue to be developed in the longer term.' ESP Plastics has created vacuum-formed components for more than ten years.

In that time, it has built up a client list including world-class manufacturers such as Nissan, Black and Decker and Fujitsu, as well as many smaller customers.

This has been achieved by building on the strengths of vacuum forming - design flexibility, inexpensive tooling and speed of delivery - with a range of specialist skills to help improve efficiency and quality, and drive down costs.

'We found both PowerSHAPE and PowerMILL to be very intuitive and intelligent.

Both programs are laid out in a logical sequence,' said Algar.

'In many cases, even when you don't know exactly how to do something you can figure it out.

The other big difference is that PowerMILL is obviously a cam system for machinists.

Other systems I was shown were just a piece of CAD software with some CAM capabilities bolted on at the end.

In addition, the fast calculation times will save a lot of time in programming.' 'Accurate data transfer is another important factor.

We need reliable methods to take data directly from our customers' CAD systems as part of our drive for the highest-possible quality.' Algar regards his investment in Delcam software as an important part of his company's commitment to remaining at the forefront of technology.

Together with the existing design, prototyping and patternmaking facilities, it will support ESP Plastics' ability to offer a complete, one-stop solution in vacuum forming.

A combination of Delcam's Power Solution software and new manufacturing methods is helping Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing to meet its commitments to designing and building quality moulds on time.

A combination of Delcam's Power Solution software and new manufacturing methods is helping Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing to stay ahead of its domestic and overseas competition. Together, they are allowing the company to meet its commitments to designing and building quality moulds, on time, at competitive prices. In 1975, Ron Kellenberger, Ray Bendig and Rick Janisse founded Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing in 2,500 sq.feet of space in Windsor, Ontario.

Today, the company employs 110 people in two buildings covering over 50,000 sq.feet.

It makes moulds of all types for a wide variety of consumer products and automotive applications.

Cavalier combines new techniques with a wide array of new and veteran equipment.

To maximize productivity, CNC programmer Ed Mueller tailors machining strategies to individual machines.

'The older, larger machines are more rigid and you can take a larger depth of cut, but you have to go to slower feed rates,' he said.

'On the newer, more compact machines, we take a shallower cut and increase the feed rate.' Mr Mueller programs all the cutting paths with Delcam's PowerMILL CAM system.

On the higher-speed machines, PowerMILL offers great control over links and leads, permits blending cuts and executes corners in ways that ensure gouge-free machining.

The toolpaths for some of Cavalier's larger moulds require as long as 24 hours to machine.

A number of machining strategies are used to protect the workpiece and cutting tool when running unattended, lights-out operation.

Mr Mueller said the 'faith we have in the program' enables shop personnel to simply make sure the machine has 'a good cutter in there and let it go.' 'We try to climb mill instead of milling back and forth,' he added.

'It takes a little longer because the mill has to rapid back, but you've got less chance of gouging than in conventional milling, where the tool pulls into the steel.' When possible, Cavalier employs PowerMILL's constant Z or profiling strategy, rather than raster methods, because they give more even cutting forces on the tool.

Despite the precision and speed of present-day machining, EDM remains an essential tool in achieving fine mould details.

Cavalier utilizes state of the art CNC orbital and wire edm machines, and is completely self-sufficient in EDM electrode design and manufacture.

Programmer Steve Glendinning said, 'We've got a CNC-controlled ONA EDM sinker that allows us to do three burns in one set-up.

We can set it up to burn for an entire weekend.

We do the same thing with our CNC machining of electrodes.

We set up four or five electrodes on the machine.

The operator is needed only to change the electrodes, key in the correct programs and hit the go button.' Mr Glendinning uses Delcam's PS-Electrode program to create the electronic files from which the electrodes are made.

He brings an IGES file from Cavalier's CAD department into the software, and then automatically generates the electrode through its Electrode Wizard.

'When you extract the electrode, PS-Electrode automatically and immediately generates the drawings and location sheets,' he said.

'I've created my own custom set-up sheets with four views: front, top, regular third angle projection plus the isometric view.' Previously, making these sheets consumed much more time.

'I'd have to generate each individual electrode, then make an individual location drawing for it, make a separate set-up sheet, and print that out,' he recalled.

Mr Glendinning said PS-Electrode also offers the flexibility of easily moving in and out of the electrode Wizard as the job demands.

'If it's not a fully enclosed electrode, for example, where its burning on all sides, or if I've got to offset my holder because it's too close to a wall, it involves breaking out of the Wizard.