Reduce Time From Design to Manufacturing

Hexagon Solutions to Feature at the International Paris Air Show

Demonstrations on Booth 136 in Alley G, Hall 4, at the  Auvergne Rhône Alpes Pavilion, include from scanning tomanufacturing a landing gear leg, highlighting the different stages of the full automated Hexagon process. This combines Reverse Engineering, Modeling, CAM, Machining and Control through the Kinematic Analysis with MSC Software and Simulation with NC Simul software, allowing time reductions between design and manufacturing.

"By converging design and engineering, production and metrology solutions, we enable autonomous connected ecosystems for manufacturing," says Steve Sivitter, World CEO of Hexagon Production Software.

The landing gear leg showing on the Hall 4 G136 booth is a composite part of the APM41 Simba aircraft range manufactured by the REXIAA group. This is the first range of certified all-carbon aircraft in the world.

Through the implementation of this process, the new features of the 2020 versions of EDGECAM, VISI, WORKNC, and WORKPLAN have been highlighted.

The Reverse engineering module of VISI 2020.0 contains new features offering more flexibility to the reverse engineering processes. Features such as section plane management when scanning points, curvature analysis, planar and draft faces on mesh data, the ability to adapt a mesh model to a contour and model alignment provide many benefits to the reverse engineering process, from digitization of points to solid model generation to manufacturing.

A new "Comparison" function allows users to compare two entities (point cloud, mesh, solid) by controlling the relative distance - the application displays various colors according the distance ranges. By selecting a point, it is also possible to show the relative distance on the screen between the two selected entities during the comparison, according to  Product Manager Marco Cafasso, the Alignment and Comparison functions are vital to the Reverse Engineering and the Manufacturing processes.

WORKNC 2020.0 allows for 5-axis tool shapes such as barrels, ovals, parabolic, or any given shape, to be calculated over the part surfaces, including negative offsets (allowances).

Brand Manager Miguel Johann says it is the perfect complement for the well-established 3-axis finishing toolpaths. He adds that these tools, also known as circle-segment tools, revolutionize machining productivity at all levels.

WORKNC’s Advanced Toolform solution allows for multiple surfaces to be machined at the same time, in CAD models coming from any source, solid or surface based.

EDGECAM 2020.0 allows completing milling, turning as well as mill-turn operations. EDGECAM supports the Waveform turning strategy, designed high-speed roughing, enabling consistent material removal while increasing the tool and machine service life. The Waveform strategy takes into account the stock model, which eliminates "air cutting". Results from Waveform turning benchmarks have shown a material removal rate three times higher than with traditional methods.

WORKPLAN 2020.0 includes new and enhanced functionality making it the first integrated project management system combining ERP and MES in a single database.

Incorporating new features normally only found in MES solutions, WORKPLAN 2020 is now placing itself as the main tool for centralising a company’s data. It improves production management by integrating machine events, monitoring, CMMS (computerized maintenance management system), CAM supervision, Workflow and part traceability.     

Brand Manager Christophe Mas explains that WORKPLAN combines sales and production management, as well providing workshop supervision in real time.

EDGECAM, VISI, WORKNC and WORKPLAN, International Paris Air Show, from 17th to 22nd June 2019, Le Bourget - France, booth G136.