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Even manual machining operations gain from CAM program
One of the most compelling justifications for computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is that it helps end dependence on skilled programmer-machinists to maintain production.
These skills are scarce to nonexistent in many rural areas, as drillrig rebuilder PEMCO of New Mexico Inc. (pemconm.com) found out. Confronting a business boom, it could not get the people to keep up with demand.
PEMCO found a solution for this bottleneck in Edgecam from Planit Solutions.
The Edgecam software quickly began generating dramatic results in both productivity and output. It also is helping to drive a business transformation at PEMCO to new levels of competitiveness with better customer service, shorter delivery times and lower pricing.
"The technical help we have gotten from Edgecam and ECAD (the Edgecam reseller) has been tremendous." Garry Buie, president of PEMCO, said.
Edgecam (www.edgecam. com) is based in Southfield, Mich. Planit is headquartered in Bath, England. ECAD is based in Midland, Texas; it also resells Autodesk Inventor, which PEMCO also uses.
The problem PEMCO had was hiring and retaining skilled machinists.
Skilled machinists who are looking for work are almost nonexistent where PEMCO is located - Hobbs, N.M., in the southeastern corner of the state.
"The shortage of programmers held us hostage," Garry Wilson, CADD specialist and PEMCO's primary CNC programmer, said. That shortage was aggravated by a new multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment plant that located just a few miles from Hobbs.
Programming was a big production bottleneck on the heavily used SwedTurn that is 27 years old. Both a replacement and a CNC retrofit had been under consideration.
"That is a very solid, very tight, very well-built machine with almost no wear, but the programming was completely obsolete," Buie said.
A new SwedTurn would have cost about $320,000 and a retrofit about $47,000.
"The retrofit would have taken six months, and having it out of production that long would have cost us between $100,000 and $220,000 in lost business. That is our only machine for larger turned parts," Buie said.
What impressed Buie about ECAD was the knowledge and willingness the company showed to work with the shop. Steve Duke, account manager for ECAD, knew about the SwedTurn. He ran one as a machinist many years ago,...