CGTech announces UTC agreement
1 min read
CGTech's VUE 2014 (Vericut users' exchange), held recently at the National Space Centre in Leicester, witnessed an announcement involving United Technologies Corp. UTC is licensing machining optimisation technology to CGTech, an agreement that will see UTC's PromptFM machining process optimisation technology integrated within Vericut simulation software.
PromptFM is a physics- and mathematics-based modelling software designed to optimise machining rates. It seeks to determine the optimum speeds for a cutting process and make the CNC machine cut in the most efficient and reliable way based on the type of workpiece material. The software was created by UTC specifically to be compatible with Vericut, which is used to simulate the cutting process to detect errors, potential collisions or areas of inefficiency.
Since implementing PromptFM in its own internal machining processes, UTC says it has seen productivity improvements of up to 50%. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
The announcement drew the attention of around 100 people at VUE 2014, where CGTech provided a feature review of the latest release of Vericut, V7.3. This also covered the licence-free availability of the company's 'Reviewer' files on Windows tablets and, more recently, the Apple iPad.
At the event, CGTech's UK sales manager, Rob Lightfoot, presented the benefits of simulating parts probing in Vericut, while another crucial element of the simulation and verification process was highlighted involving the importing and managing of cutting tool data. Indeed, sources for tooling data were also considered, with rapid development currently taking place with Sandvik Coromant's Adveon and cloud-based systems from Kennametal (Novo) and others.
