CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

25 May 2009

Implementation Investments

WorkNC Transforms Coin and Medal-Making Productivity at the Bank of Algeria

The Bank of Algeria Mint has embarked on an extensive investment program in both equipment and methods to help it respond to the demands of modern banking and encourage the growth of the country’s economy. The tooling department needed a CAD/CAM system to help it improve its range of capabilities and shorten lead times. The Bank of Algeria purchased WorkNC from Sescoi in 2006.

The assistant director at the Mint explained: "We have a wide range of CNC milling and turning machines and we needed to modernize in order to achieve just in time manufacture, respond to urgent requirements and machine increasingly complex and intricate shapes." Before the introduction of WorkNC, programming was carried out on the machine tool control, which required high levels of skill from the operator, reduced the available capacity and hence productivity of each machine, and limited the complexity of the parts being produced. WorkNC-CAD is used to design existing or new components and parts using its recently incorporated parametric solid modeling. Furthermore, the WorkNC-CAD turning module makes CNC lathe machining easy and reliable. For machining and engraving, the Bank uses WorkNC to create programs from 2-axis right through to full 5-axis.

The assistant director said: "We program all our CNC machines with WorkNC, for the milling of simple or complex parts. We have optimized our production processes and achieved productivity gains of over 60%."

For its 5-axis programming, the Bank of Algeria uses WorkNC’s Auto 5. Unique to Sescoi, the software automatically translates 3-axis toolpaths into 5-axis, making 5-axis machining as simple to program as 3-axis, with totally reliable and collision-free toolpaths.

Using the technology gives the Bank the advantages of using short rigid cutters and the ability to reach more of the part in one setting, resulting in improved surface finish and shorter machining times. Sescoi's 5-axis routines include sophisticated collision avoidance algorithms, which consider the limits of the individual machine tool, introducing unwind and flip movements so that machining can continue safely and uninterrupted.

The assistant director said: "The ease of use of Auto5 has enabled us to adopt 5-axis machining methods very quickly. We find that the toolpaths it creates for our 5-axis machines are completely reliable and we anticipate purchasing more licenses in a few weeks."

The Bank understands the benefits of training its production engineers. It invests in a continuous training program with Sescoi, ensuring that its engineers can fully exploit WorkNC’s capabilities, benefit from the support hotline and receive software upgrades.

The assistant director concluded "Sescoi has provided the technology and support which has made it possible for us to quickly transform our working methods. We can now successfully manufacture complex parts that would have been difficult or impossible for us to make just a short while ago. All our machines can be programmed with WorkNC from turning right through to 5-axis machining. Productivity improvements have been significant and swift, enabling us to become local leaders in machining methodology".

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