LNK link
Manufacturing oriented Latest News, Product Innovations, Fairs and much more
OCTOBER 2014
LNK
index
LANTEK LINK is a Magazine of LANTEK SHEET METAL SOLUTIONS
COVER Photo: “Flößerbrücke” Bridge
03
EDITORIAL
06
SOLUTIONS
10
TECHNOLOGIES
12
NEWS
14
SERVICES
Play hard, work hard
04
MAIN TOPIC
08
INTERVIEWS
11
INNOVATION
13
CASE STUDIES
15
EXHIBITIONS
Manufacturing oriented
Frankfurt (Germany)
LANTEK MARKETING TEAM Jesús Martínez Marketing Director
Beatriz Prado Production, Publishing, Design
Patricia Ruiz de Sabando Communications and Public Relations
SUBSCRIPTIONS Marketing
Retail display cabinets made better with Lantek
Time and cost estimates for laser machines
Alberto Martínez CEO
The Reality is in style
marketing@lanteksms.com
Lantek collaborates with Machine Sales for optimum service
Lantek Services Lantek Hint: Lantek Flex3d
Brazilian company Rossetti, Lantek´s 15,000th customer
Next Tradeshows
LNK
editorial
T
Play hard, work hard
he metal industry has undergone drastic changes as a consequence of the global crisis. Competition is fierce and does not let up. You have to play hard. This means you have to work hard and use the best tools within your reach without resting. Clients operate in an environment where there is maximum demand and that is why their providers demand that they meet their needs. They require agility, flexibility, and the ability to manage change very well. They need to build a tight relationship with the entire value chain, incorporating customers and providers. In this scenario, it is vital to know the capacity and limits of material and human and financial resources. Lantek provides the most complete offerings in the area of metal sheets, pipes, and profiles. Its productionoriented software systems and integration mechanisms allow you to: control the situation to make the necessary decisions in a sensible manner, know how far your team can go without risking the production system, be predictable in times of high variability, and deliver the quality product promised to your clients on time in order to continue being their preferred choice. Play hard, work hard.
JesĂşs MartĂnez
Manufacturing oriented “Manufacturing-oriented” means conceiving and developing software systems with manufacturing in mind. What does this concept translate into in terms of a real software system? In this article, we will try to approach the concept and the way Lantek systems show the substantial advantage that they provide.
• Knowing what, how, and when production should occur as well as all the necessary elements and the moment in which I will need them to execute my process.
Thinking about manufacturing is:
• Linking a calculated nesting to a job and a material need, not only creating a CNC.
• Having in mind the parts that we are nesting in a CAD/CAM software that are linked to a request, a work order, a primary material, a concrete production process, quality control, a delivery and some ratios of efficiency and productivity. • Considering that all the processes happen responsively and to the rhythm of my production capacity, whether slower or faster, more or less variable.
• Understanding, company-wide, all the implications of working with metal sheets, pipes, and profiles, while speaking the same language and sharing relevant technical information. • Organizing the manufacturing, not only by placing work orders in time, but also by considering priorities, occupational levels, performances, etc. and the global impact.
• Integrating the systems into existing systems in a way that it imperceptible by the user, achieving interaction in an efficient manner in real time. This thought process may add difficulty and complexity to the development of systems; however, it approximates the essential reality metal companies must attain if the goal is to exceed ordinary functionality. Lantek is guided by its strategic goal of orienting its manufacturing systems and building solutions to respond to the real needs of companies, a goal that attacks the root of these different scenarios: we want our clients to produce better, faster, more agile, more precisely and we want them to deliver both their budgets and orders on time and with quality. In order to achieve this goal, Lantek makes all information available in their systems in a unified, coherent and linked way. Information that goes from those closest to the machine and production to those closest to the final financial analysis or business intelligence, including: production operating information, indicators of commercial performance at the time of launching
and closing budgets, warehouse activity and rotation, or the accuracy of price and the time of purchases. This focus on structuring information and software allows Lantek to have manufacturing-oriented systems (MOSS), elements integrated with them and others already existing that allow them to adapt to the processes of companies producing metal sheet, pipe, and profile parts better than any other system. Our clients, whether they have a CAD/CAM system or the most complete set of solutions, can be sure that Lantek will help them achieve their operational and strategic goals, mature their productive processes, and make sensible decisions when defining their prices and achieve control of their operations at the level of the best companies in the sector. All of that allows them to compete in the market at a privileged level and become the best choice for their customers. Lantek, with its systems aimed at manufacturing and their capacity for providing service at any place on the planet, is the ideal technology partner needed by companies producing metal sheet, pipe and profile parts.
LNK
solutions Retail display cabinets made better with Lantek
Lantek has been helping many major sheet metal companies from around the world operating in the retail shopfitting market to manufacture high quality cabinets, refrigerated displays and fixtures, with its Lantek solutions suite of sheet metal software. Common requirements in this industry include the need for parameterised designs, which enable the supply of standard product ranges in different sizes and configurations to suit the layout of individual retail premises; the design and manufacture of bespoke display cabinets for both hot food and refrigerated applications; the delivery of high quality finishes on the display units; and control of manufacturing production to keep within the time constraints of many construction and shopfitting projects running concurrently. By integrating directly with the customer’s CAD system, Lantek is able to provide solutions for the parametric
unfolding of cabinet designs and the realisation of complex duct intersections using its Lantek Flex3d and Lantek Expert Duct products which operate inside its Lantek Expert CAD/CAM software. High productivity and quality is ensured by the technology built into Lantek Expert which is able to use the full capabilities of punching, laser and combination machines and, through extensive nesting options, maximise material utilisation through a dynamic response to continually changing production requirements. Special functions include common line cutting which reduces cutting time, implementation of special forming tools which enables parts to be finished in one operation and expert technology that avoids running over finished parts to preserve the quality of specially coated components. Companies using Lantek software are able to optimize the production capabilities of their workshops by
mixing the manufacture of bespoke designs with the manufacture of standard products. Any gaps in production capacity can be filled by producing additional standard products in advance of orders, giving the possibility of their immediate delivery. Not only will this keep laser and punching machines operating at full capacity, but it will also minimize material wastage and reduce product handling by filling each sheet of material completely. As well as supporting the manufacture of high quality components, Lantek Integra provides companies in this industry with the tools to control and monitor the entire manufacturing process. The ability to integrate with existing company systems makes Lantek Integra a highly flexible solution which offers customer relationship management, purchasing, stock control, work in progress and quality control and links to accounting packages. Where standard products are being manufactured the system can evaluate component stocks and WIP against order requirements ensuring that exactly the right quantity of each part is requested in a works order to the factory. In addition to in-house manufactured parts, Lantek Integra allows the control of purchasing and stock levels of bought in items such as handles, refrigeration compressors and hinges, keeping track of both costs and expected delivery dates to ensure the on-time fulfilment of contracts.
Real time data recording from the shop floor enables activities to be monitored as they occur, while comparison with historical and planned information helps managers to recognise deviations and apply corrective action quickly and effectively. For companies in the retail display sector, Lantek’s technical support is highly important as the skill and knowledge of its engineers helps tailor the solution to the individual needs of the customer. The result is high levels of transparency, which covers the complete process from order to purchasing to manufacture to delivery, enabling managers to make informed decisions, optimise their production operations, produce products to the planned cost and delivery schedule, and get the maximum return from their investment in Lantek. Lantek has many clients in this industry all over the world including major suppliers such as Carter Retail Equipment in the UK which manufactures central refrigeration plant for use in retail, commercial and light industrial applications, either from its extensive standard product range or bespoke individually designed units; and Alan Nuttal, also in the UK, which supplies supermarkets, food halls and specialist food stores with innovative products such as hot food counters for rotisserie products and refrigerated displays for meat and fresh fish, to a custom specification.
LNK
interviews
Alberto MartĂnez CEO
“We continue to create solutions that keep our clients one step ahead� Now at the final stretch of the 2014 fiscal year, we spoke with Alberto Martinez, CEO of Lantek, to get his assessment on where the company is going.
A good deal of 2014 has gone by. How is Lantek doing now? After a very tumultuous year in 2013, we have to be moderately optimistic and believe that, in 2014, we can meet the ambitious goals that we set for ourselves in January: acheive the growth forecasted for billing and acheive the performance goals for our business lines, CAD/CAM and Solutions. We are on the way to acheiving it, though everything depends on the behavior of the markets in the last trimester of the year, which is usually the most determining factor of all and which also causes the largest fluctuations in commercial parameters. Since effort and dedication will not be in short supply, we can finish the year with some excellent results if the markets respond like we expect. For geographic regions, EMEA is behaving as we predicted and we are improving the numbers from last year in some markets where we already had a very important market share. The offices in the UK, Italy and Poland are having some excellent results thanks to the fact that our teams in these countries are finding out how to take advantage of the opportune moment in their markets. Asia is doing much better than predicted. Growth is being strengthened by the grand development of our office in China and definitive consolidation in South Korea, a market in which we are the main actor in sheet software. We may have the best year in the history of Lantek on this continent. In America, we are continuing to win over the market in the U.S. and to consolidate the emerging markets in the rest of America. We hope to repeat the numbers from the previous year and this would be a good stimulus for 2015. From the point of view of organization and commercial coverage, what advances have been made during this year?
Our commercial network is increasingly stronger and more solid. Offices that were less important in the past in our business (Poland, Mexico, Turkey), are getting stronger, contributing to the global business, which is already considerable, and laying out very ambitious three-year goals. Our dependence on concrete markets, and thus the risk of concentration, has decreased thanks to our active presence all over the world. We have already acheived 80% of our sales in 12 different markets, which shows our global position and solvency for dealing with any market effectively. Our distribution and OEM networks have grown as much in number as in sales volume thanks to the excellent work of our team dedicated to this channel. Our offices also go to great lengths to create and strengthen stable relationships over time with the manufacturers. They are thankful because we work shoulder to shoulder in their operations on site. This is very helpful for the technicians and salespeople and a great peace of mind for their customers, knowing that they are supported by local technicians with expert competence in the software and setup of the machines. There is no other competitor that measures up to Lantek in sales, number of offices, presence in the CAD/ CAM/MES/ERP global market, technical service, or technological and developmental capacity. We are very proud to be world leaders in the area of software for sheets, pipes and profiles. Of course, I say all this humbly and with the daily working perserverance of more than 180 people that make up this team. We want to continue earning our leadership every day with the facts. What challenges do you envision in the short and long terms? From a technological and R&D point of view, Lantek continues to maintain market leadership, which has been our trademark for 28 years. We continue to grow as a business through innovation. We continue to create solutions that keep our competitors one step behind and our clients one step ahead.
This year, we have defined new technological plans for development for the next 3 to 5 years. These plans will make our products and solutions stand out above our competitors. It is very important to us that our clients notice that they are getting more value for their money. We make an effort to immediately find out the opinions of our clients and increase the level of trust to guarantee that we make the best decisions. We work very intensely with social networks as a powerful vehicle for finding out immediately what our clients think and informing them about our progress and news. We work to be more efficient in solutions implementation. To implement them faster, with more quality and understanding of the requirements of the client even better. The Lantek Factory concept makes our efforts and actions much more oriented toward optimizing processes, controlling the reality of the company, and making the daily work of our clients easier. It is vital and critical to promote innovation for the client that chooses Lantek, a distinguishing factor that sets us above any other competitor. It is the leitmotiv of Lantek: to help the client clearly and tangibly improve their efficiency so that they may choose a better future for their company. We would also say that we are capable of radically transforming our clients and putting them on the level of the best by incorporating our solutions and implementing them with our consultants. How can one see the influence of Lantek on their clients and partners? This is where the Lantek team comes into play. When the clients output is at stake, having a group so rich with enthusiastic, energetic, autonomous, motivated professionals at the client’s disposal ensures success and the client notices the difference. All of Lantek’s employees are motivated by our own growth and learning about our clients and partners. We love to work as a team; we demand rigor, responsibility and flexibility in the face of change; and, we assume the risk of making decisions to solve the client’s problems. If I had to say what it is the Lantek customer gets when purchasing one of our products, in addition to excellent world-class software, I would say that the most valuable thing is the support of this team of professionals that makes up Lantek. Lantek continues to be the perfect partner for companies that make metal sheet, pipe, and profile parts, as well as for manufacturers of machine tools. Being tied to the leader that marks the path in the development of the sector and that prevails as the largest commercial network is always a winning proposition.
LNK
technologies
Juan Carlos Poza Software Engineer
Time and cost estimates for laser machines
Being able to predict production behavior is a key aspect of getting orders and executing them as planned. It requires skill in estimation that is intimately tied to the behavior of the machine that will complete production. In a laser sheet cutting machine, the costs associated with production of a part are: material, consumer goods, electricity, machine (including depreciation), operators, and design time. The cost of material depends on the geometry of the part and the price of the material, which includes thickness. When cutting a part together with other pieces, one must take into account other factors in addition to the weight of the part, such as: the scrap generated by the needles, the skeleton between the parts, if it consumes the whole sheet or creates remnants, and the placement of the parts within the sheet. There are various methods that allow you to apply all these variables to the calculation of cost of material in a precise way. The rest of the costs are calculated based on the machining time, which is a key part of being precise at the time of budgeting and planning production. In a laser machine, the calculation of estimated time depends on technological factors associated with the machine such as the type and time of piercing or the speed and accelerations in rapid and cutting movements
by type of geometric element (segments, arcs, corners). Due to the dynamic behavior of the machines, they cannot always reach the desired speeds because they are limited by the CNC interpolation time and, above all, by the accelerations and by the jerk of the axes of the machine. The jerk reduces the stress on the machine’s mechanisms during acceleration and deceleration, which is not done abruptly, but rather gradually. The acceleration and deceleration ramps are divided into three stages: in the first, it progresses until it reaches maximum acceleration/ deceleration; in the second, the velocity varies with maximum acceleration/deceleration; and, in the third, the variation decreases progressively until zero acceleration/ deceleration. This process allows it to reach the desired cutting speed progressively and smoothly for the axes. These dynamic limits make it so that the real cutting times are superior compared to the calculations based on theoretical values of velocity and acceleration in parts with many corners or with very small geometric elements. These time differences can be very significant in laser machines with high cutting velocities. For all these reasons, an algorithm that attempts to do the precise calculation of estimated times for a laser machine must take into account all these technological and dynamic factors.
LNK
innovation
RaĂşl Chopitea I+D Manager
The Reality is in style As Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, said, the information industry is moved by trends more than the women’s fashion industry. And it certainly would not hurt to analyze one of the latest examples since the new trend is to offer an experience of Reality to users.
There are two aspects at work in this field: Virtual Reality (or VR), which deals with simulating immersive, three-dimensional environments where the user interacts with digital models whose response to this interaction is intended to be similar to that of their real counterparts; and, Augmented Reality (or AR), which allows the user to see the real world superimposed upon digital objects, complementing and improving their vision and interaction with information that may be extremely useful when performing certain tasks. In the field of VR, just seeing the names behind the latest devices gives you a clue about how important the future platforms will be. The Oculus Rift of the Oculus VR Company, recently acquired by Facebook for 2 billion dollars, already has the second version of its development kit, and announces that it will launch on the market in 2015. And it is not alone: Google with its project Cardboard or Samsung with Gear VR make their own approximation of VR through mobile devices, taking advantage of their ever-increasing potential. This technology will enable, for example, three-dimensional simulation of a virtual fabric that helps assess and optimize processes and tools before integrating them. With regard to AR, the flagship of the omnipresent Google, Google Glass in its Explorer version, is the device par excellence that best reflects current capabilities in this field. They are light, allow voice control, incorporate sensors and geo-localization and, most importantly, free up hands for doing tasks safely guided by the information shown by the device itself. Currently, they are already starting to apply it in industrial fields, guiding operators on jobs that require extreme precision, or allowing one to know the state of a machine (job queues, purchases, breakdowns, etc.) in real time as well as knowing the availability of a certain component simply by recognizing its QR code. We find ourselves in the midst of a transformative and disruptive technology, which, beyond the world of
entertainment, will quickly be applied and continuously transform current industrial processes. Who knows, perhaps Reality is something that will never go out of style.
LNK
news Lantek collaborates with Machine Sales for optimum service
Lantek, specialists in sheet metal CADCAM software, has been collaborating with Machine Sales Ltd based in London for more than five years. Machine Sales specialises in preowned laser and punching machines and is the UK partner for Broziat, which is Europe’s major accredited used Trumpf dealer. Broziat has facilities in Switzerland and Germany where it refurbishes machines and rebuilds resonators, bringing the machines supplied back to within the manufacturer’s original tolerances. In the UK, Machine Sales is able to offer these machines with absolute confidence in their performance and, uses its considerable experience to offer a professional service to its clients. By working with Lantek it can ensure that the machines it supplies deliver optimum performance and can be productive immediately after they have been commissioned. Andy Naylor, Managing Director of Machine Sales says, “In my opinion Lantek Expert is the best sheet metal CADCAM system on the market. The backup is excellent and the people at Lantek are the most trustworthy in the industry. By offering Lantek software with the machines I supply, I can be sure that my clients will get the best return on their investment.” Lantek Expert makes use of all the machine functions and its specialist team of engineers can help new users to program their first parts as part of the training
sessions. For more specialised applications, Lantek can provide extra assistance in, for example, the use of special forming tools on a punch press to ensure they are performing correctly and in common line cutting on laser machines, which reduces machine travel, saving both material and cutting time. Automated nesting within the Lantek Expert software includes the ability to link to MRP systems so that nesting can be completed live to match the daily production mix. This increases flexibility of production and minimises material wastage. Lantek Integra takes this a stage further by giving managers the ability to monitor costs as they occur, keep track of progress on the shop floor and control purchasing, stock levels and quality. Rob Powell, Commercial Director at Lantek in the UK says, “The quality of the sheet metal machinery supplied by Machine Sales and the service they offer ensures that when we collaborate we can be sure that the customer will be very satisfied with the complete system. Machine Sales has the experience to propose the best machine for each application. By matching it with Lantek software we can provide a solution which will exceed the customer’s expectations.”
LNK
case studies Brazilian company Rossetti, Lantek´s 15,000th customer This company, specializing in transportation equipment, has chosen Lantek to provide production software solutions for two plants in Brazil.
The Brazilian company Rossetti Equipamentos Rodoviarios Ltd. was founded in 1997 and it is based in Guarulhos and Itaquaquecetube, in São Paulo, and Betim, in Minas Gerais. The Company has recently undertaken an ambitious project to optimize and integrate its three plants, which employ over 1,200 workers.
Rossetti will strengthen and improve its production processes and optimize the performance and efficiency of its management software with Lantek’s technological support and the experience of SKA, Lantek partner in Brazil. This strategic partnership with Rossetti increases a growing portfolio of partners and customers that Lantek maintains in over 100 countries with the continual implementation of branches, distributors and commercial networks. During last year, Lantek expanded its customer base by 7%, positioning itself as an international leader in developing software solutions for the sheet metal and steel structure industry.
“Our global positioning is the result of Lantek’s commitment to be present where others are not. We open branches with our own team and offices in order to support our partners and manufacturers, both technically and commercially, and to be able to respond more quickly to changes and new demands. Other competitive advantages we offer are our ability to adapt to the new technologies developed by machinery manufacturers, as well as our specialized knowledge of the sector’s requirements. These hallmarks have positioned us at the forefront of cutting-edge technology in the machine tool for the metalwork sector”, emphasizes Alberto Martínez, Lantek CEO.
LNK
services
Lantek Hint
- Lantek Flex3d
With the new product “Beam Cutting for Lantek Flex3d Pipes� you can create the machining to cut profile formats such as U, L and H in pipe-cutting machines.
If you would like to find out more tips, send us an email at: marketing@lanteksms.com
LNK
exhibitions You are powered by Lantek Enjoy it.
Next Tradeshows
MAKTEK 2014
EUROBLECH 2014
FABTECH 2014
OCTOBER 14-19
OCTOBER 21-25
NOVEMBER 11-13
ISTANBUL - TURKEY
HANNOVER - GERMANY
ATLANTA - USA
Do you know Lantek Factory?
info@lanteksms.com
With this concept, Lantek shows its capacity to resolve any situation within this sector, by responding to the diverse needs which a company in this sector may have. In addition, it has a defining characteristic, which is the development and adaptation of both the Lantek technical staff and its management platform. This makes it possible to mirror the features and peculiarities that make your business unique, allowing you to stand out from the rest and compete at the highest levels in today’s tough market.
www.lanteksms.com