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CAD/CAM Software Boosts Production
Ever wonder why some machine shops are more productive than others? The many possibilities include idle machines, software incapable of running the machine effectively, and or untrained machine operators. To manufacturers there are few things more costly than idle machines. Having the right combination of software to run the machines is crucial in the machine shop's production. As such, shops can benefit from selecting the right CAM system.

Elliott Company, a global leader founded more than 100 years ago, manufactures turbomachinery products, which are used around the globe. Products include air and gas compressors, steam turbines, power recovery turbines, bow thrusters and power generating equipment for the refining, chemical, petrochemical, oil, gas and industrial market segments.

With more than 2000 employees, Elliott provides outstanding turbomachinery products and services to a diverse range of customer applications worldwide. Its customers operate some of the most efficient, most dependable rotating equipment that can be found anywhere on earth. These machines are running day and night in oil and gas fields, refineries, chemical processing plants, steel mills, electric generating stations, sugar and paper mills, mining operations and many other applications.

Keeping the Machines Running For well over a decade, the company has relied on their equipment to reduce parts handling, improve product quality, and help meet on-time delivery promises. To insure effective machine operation, accuracy, and speed, Elliott sought out a solution. The company now utilizes NCL 5-axis CAM software from Numerical Control Computer Sciences (NCCS) to keep the company's most valuable equipment running.

NCL is a powerful computer-aided manufacturing package that generates simultaneous two- through five-axis NC tool paths and provides parametric 3-D modeling. All geometric modeling and tool path functions are fully associative. A change to the model results in an immediate change to corresponding tool paths. NCL is ideally suited for environments in which design changes are frequent, such as the turbomachinery industry. NCL also supports full parametric programming, through which a family of parts can be machined by simply filling in a form. NCL is used extensively in the turbomachinery and power generation industries.

Elliott found that only a few systems on the market were capable of doing simultaneous 5-axis contouring and ultimately discovered that NCL multi-axis machining software from NCCS surpasses them all. With over $15 Million worth of equipment machining parts that can cost hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, programming errors were not an option. To eliminate these inefficiencies, the company purchased and installed the NCL package, trained their employees in the use of the software, and ultimately put it to use in very little time.

NCL Features Speeds Programming
Like many companies, Elliott is pursuing lean manufacturing methods. Many aspects of NC programming are typically wasteful. Ideally you would like to program certain things only once, such as thread milling routines or other standard operations. With the purchase of NCL, the software now gives programmers the tools needed to quickly create complex programs, develop utilities automating routines and graphically verify the tool path...before the program is sent to the machine. A valuable feature of NCL is it resembles an APT like language, which is a powerful language base core. According to Paul Rupnik, Programmer, "This powerful language enables us to manually create complex, 5-axis simultaneous programs easily".

Another valuable feature is its ability to develop macro routines for repetitive programming operations. "We are able to write labor saving macro programs to handle our common operations. Powerful utilities providing consistent, standardized code for the operators are created by using variable inputs and programming logic. As a result, these common routines reduce programming time, NC setup and dry run time, and bolster operator confidence", states Paul Rupnik.

A third feature of NCL is the IPV (In-Process-Verification) option, an integrated numerical control simulation and verification module. NCL/IPV is a fast and accurate way to simulate the material removal process of NC tool paths. The user can instantly verify tool paths at any time during a NCL CAM session. It interactively simulates, verifies, and displays the metal removal process of NC tool paths as they are being created. During and after the metal removal process, the cut model can be viewed from any orientation, cross-sectioned, inspected, and compared to an existing solid model. In addition, NCL/IPV can verify existing tool paths from NCL or other CAM systems. NCL/IPV significantly reduces the need for costly tape prove-outs and insures accurate, efficient, and safe NC programs. "Because of NCL's ability to accurately verify the part program prior to machining, we can cut wasted motion, maintain total control of tool paths, and enjoy reduced scrap and rework", notes Elliott's programmers.

With these benefits, Elliott has concluded that NCL has the power to easily handle its complex 5-axis milling and turning applications, thereby minimizing setup time and eliminating scrapped parts. After implementing the NCL multi-axis machining software, production increased by reducing machine down time and cycle time, as well as improved quality. Ultimately, the company saved money by eliminating machine tool clashes, scrapped parts, and damaged tooling.

"As lead programmer for Elliott, my job is to make sure we select the right software for the job and to keep the systems up and running." Two things are very important:

- Quality of product -
and
- Support from vendor -

"NCCS has created an exceptional product and their services has been responsive", explains Paul. The flexibility and tool control offered by NCL helped keep the company's expensive equipment running, improve productivity, and satisfy its customers giving Elliott a competitive edge.

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Around The World
New Dealers around the world

...http://www.ncl.kr
		IGPNET is a reseller located in Korea dedicated to selling NCL, NCL/IPV and PostWorks. The company recently exhibited at the local Seoul International Machine Tool Show in Korea.
...http://www.arfartech.com.tw
			Arfartech Corporation is a reseller located in Taiwan dedicated to selling NCL, NCL/IPV and PostWorks.
	...K.DS Company, LTD
			K.DS Company is a reseller located in Korea dedicated to selling PostWorks, Universal postprocessor. back

Technical Tips
To enable the ability to copy information from the NCL status window, do the following:

Select "Defaults" from the top menu of the NCL interface. Pick "Command Line modals" and toggle the field titled "Keep Window Open" to "Yes". Click "OK" to accept the "Command Line modals" form.

With the status window configured in this manner, any information that is displayed in the status window can be copied using the standard windows method. Once the information has been copied it can be pasted on the CMD line or into a text editor. Additional Information... With the "Command Line modals" options set in this manner, the Status window will remain open whenever a *SHOW or *WINDOW command is issued. To temporarily close the status window, hit the "X" at the upper right of the status window or toggle the "Keep Window Open" field back to "No" to revert back to the default status window behavior. Standard Windows method to Copy and Paste: Swipe over the desired information with the left mouse button pressed, then click the right mouse button and select "Copy" from the drop down menu. back

Event Recap...
Westec
NCCS participated in the Westec 2008 Advanced Productivity Exposition. Thanks to all of you who stopped by!

Here is what some of the attendees had to say:

• "I love the improvements to NCL and liked the forum for seeing how best to use them. It gave me the opportunity to use them and take the examples back to work to ensure we fully understand and embrace them." - Paul Vischer, Lockheed Martin
• "The hands-on experience was very beneficial and gave me the opportunity to exchange views and opinions with other people in my area." - Walter Dzikowski, Alro Machine Company
• "Attending the NCL V9.6 seminar gave me the opportunity to talk to programmers from other companies to see how they use NCL and to learn to use the new functionality." - Ted Cains, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Version 9.6
Updates can be found online. Visit the Secure Area of Support to download the latest patch of NCL, Version 9.603.

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Words of Wisdom...
"Success IS a combination of consistent little steps done efficiently."

"You will never be on top of the world if you try to carry it on your shoulders."
- Author Unknown

"You are successful the moment you start moving toward a worthwhile good."
- Charles Carlson

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Class Schedule - Corporate Headquarters

	NCL General Programming June 9-13, 2008 July 21-25, 2008 September 8-12, 2008 October 20-24, 2008 December 1-5, 2008 January 26-30, 2009 NCL/IPV May 5-6, 2008 June 16-17, 2008 July 28-29, 2008 September 15-16, 2008 October 27-28, 2008 December 8-9, 2008 PostWorks May 7-9, 2008 June 18-20, 2008 July 30-August 1, 2008 September 17-19, 2008 October 29-31, 2008 December 10-12, 2008

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Corporate Headquarters * 2600 Michelson Dr., Suite 1700 * Irvine, CA 92612 * Ph: 949.852.3664 * Fx: 949.852.3665 * info@nccs.com
European Office * Digital Technium, Suite 5 * Sony Technology Centre * Pencoed, Bridgend CF35 5HZ UK * Ph: +44 1656(0) 868550 * info@nccs.uk.com