Lantek shows aerospace supply chain software at Aero Engineering 2011

Lantek claims to be a world leading supplier of software solutions to the sheet metal industry, visitors will also be able to see the new Lantek Manager software for the first time in the UK. This new system makes it easy for companies to monitor production, manage planning tasks, and keeps records of manufacturing performance for plant and equipment. Advances in Lantek Expert and Lantek Integra will also be demonstrated at the show, with these providing some valuable productivity improvements to companies within the aerospace supply chain, it is said. Technology within the system can drive all types of CNC sheet material cutting machines, allowing the user to optimise manufacturing processes and machine performance. New features in Lantek Expert include management of sets of parts, making it easy to manufacture kits of parts; nesting configured according to material thickness to maximise material utilisation; intuitive tool selection for faster programming; instruction macros which enable a sequence of repetitive operations to be completed with one mouse click; new advanced machine configurations for machines with multiple cutting technologies; and improved control over common line cutting to provide greater flexibility in cutting methodology. Alongside Lantek Expert, the company will be demonstrating its latest Lantek Flex3d software, which makes it easy to import and unfold 3D data from leading CAD systems, including SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, Solid Edge, CATIA, Creo Elements/Pro and Siemens NX. The system can unfold tubes, steelwork, and greatly simplifies the programming of cutting machines with 5-axis capability, using the advanced algorithms within the software. The Lantek Integra ERP system is designed for sheet metal and steelwork applications and, in its latest version, is fully web enabled, allowing companies to manage and automate business processes in an Internet or Intranet environment from any location or time zone using the most popular web browsers and mobile devices such as the iPad. New budgeting tools display a complete project as a tree structure, making it easy to see and manage the stages of manufacture and their associated costs. New tools allow the project structure to be easily modified, along with the associated costs, which are automatically updated. Customer relationship management keeps track of business opportunities and their value, making it easy to track progress such as the value of orders, follow up actions and reasons for success or failure. The information gathered and analysed will help companies to optimise customer service and order intake. Subcontracting is now also controlled by Lantek Integra. By managing orders, dispatch and delivery notes, and goods received, companies can ensure that parts are delivered on time and to the agreed cost. Visitors will also be able to see the new Lantek Manager software for the first time in the UK. This new system makes it easy for companies to monitor production, manage planning tasks, and keeps records of manufacturing performance for plant and equipment. With this new system, Lantek is offering companies even more integrated tools for operating at peak productivity.