Composite and knife cutting and nesting software
Precision industries such as aerospace and automotive demand the highest quality and accuracy to meet the required safety standards for finished components, while operating in a fiercely competitive environment.
A reliable, efficient and automated CAM nesting system is essential to keep programming time and operator interaction to a minimum, to maximise use of machine production capacity and to minimise material usage and wastage. JETCAM Expert delivers this on all counts, with a system specifically tailored for aerospace and automotive routing and composite materials cutting.
With a high volume of routing and composite parts that require programming and nesting, the ability to automatically batch process components and individual ply geometry files directly from the CAD system, followed by efficient nesting of all material orders, is crucial for aerospace companies. Such full automation can now be achieved using JETCAM's Remote Control Processing (RCP) functionality. This allows for the instructions to the system to be provided automatically instead of through operator keyboard/mouse entries. One of the options for this, for composites, router and other parts, is through the use of Pre Programmed Input (PPI). When in automatic mode, the system will extract the required manufacturing information from the PPI data supplied by the CAD system with each CAD file, process the part and store it in the component database ready for nesting at some future date. JOC (JETCAM Order Controller software) can also be used to remotely manage component processing and nesting of orders.
Another approach is for the factory production control system (or any other external software for that matter) to control the JETCAM system directly. It issues commands that instruct JETCAM which components to process and nest, using which material and for which machines. Such operation is fully automatic and bi-directional where JETCAM Expert returns comprehensive reports and creates a log file for each request processed. Of course, a full manual 'override' capability is provided for all automatic system functions.
The picture below shows a nest prepared in JETCAM using our free form high performance nesting module (top nest) compared to the same nest run in a competing system. The difference in material equates to a 7.6% saving. How much money would you save if you reduced your material usage by a similar amount?
JETCAM Expert delivers many advantages for any composite or knife cutting machine, including:
- Rapid response to component order demands
- Improved quality and consistency
- Fully automatic programming of components
- Fully automatic batch nesting of orders for different materials and machines
- Fully automatic rivet and screw insertion and removal for routing
- Dramatically reduced programming time and cost
- Significant reduction in errors
- Dramatically improved material usage efficiency and reduced material wastage
- Significantly improved machine tool utilisation and productivity
- A single, fully integrated system for all technologies - routing, composites, punching, laser and all other profiling applications
- Advanced composite materials and component orders management
Our knowledge in aerospace has developed through years of experience in driving a comprehensive range of cutting, routing, punch press, laser, plasma and waterjet machines. Supporting virtually every machine available, including complex combination machines and machines with special attachments such as loaders/unloaders and sorting/stacking, JETCAM Expert offers a single solution regardless of the machining technology employed.
JETCAM Expert is installed in a wide range of companies - from the smallest subcontractor to multi-national organizations. Reasons for its success include its total reliability and minimal support requirements and its flexibility in configuration - users can rent or purchase as much or as little of the system as required although every configuration includes JETCAM's complete core technology - SEKT (Stored Engineering Knowledge Technology) - which stores tool, machine and material setup information, allowing the system to make the optimum and most effective choices automatically.
JETCAM Expert composite cutting features
The very high cost of composite materials requires nesting layouts to be ultra-efficient. Historically, because existing automatic nesting solutions were simply not able to create effective enough layouts, this has typically been achieved through static nests created manually. This situation has changed with the introduction of JETCAM's latest high performance nesting module, which, together with other unique features of JETCAM, removes all the problems normally associated with dynamic nesting solutions. It allows users to employ dynamic nests generated as and when needed, that exceed the efficiency levels of manually created static nests as well as the performance of other nesting packages. Where required, a new dynamic layout can also be created starting with an existing static nest layout and automatically nesting other components within and around it. However, outstanding, generally better, material utilization can be achieved without adopting this practice.
- Single or Multiple-Ply Cutting
- Ability to add an Oversize Condition to the periphery of the Ply
- Order Management
- Part structure and ply management
- Material roll Management - what has been used and what is left on the roll
- Automatic processing of flat pattern data from CAD systems or specialist model-flattening software developed specifically for composites such as FiberSIM
- High Material Usage Efficiency using JETCAM's new High Performance Free Form Nesting module
- Automatic Batch Nesting of Orders using RCP
- Automatic Input and Processing of IGES & DXF Files using RCP
- Management of legacy data
- Identification of Plies - labelling attachments and fixed and indexable inkjet heads are supported, allowing components to be marked for easy ply identification
- Remote control for full hands-off automation and unattended running
Benefits of JETCAM's Composite and knife cutting nesting and CAM software
- Saves hundreds of thousands of Pounds/Dollars/Euros, on material wastage per year
- Speeds up programming and response to customers requirements
- Replaces outdated static nesting with dynamic nesting, avoiding expensive over-production of plies
- Increases machine throughput
- Improves Roll life utilization, managing orders to maximize production from material while out of the freezer
- Integrates with existing Manufacturing and CAD systems
- One composite nesting system covers all cutting machines irrespective of the manufacturer