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Multi-location manufacturing Latest News, Product Innovations, Fairs and much more
JULY 2015
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index
LANTEK LINK is a Magazine of LANTEK SHEET METAL SOLUTIONS
COVER Photo: Samuel Becket Bridge Dublin (Ireland)
03
EDITORIAL
06
SOLUTIONS
10
TECHNOLOGIES
12
NEWS
14
SERVICES
Synchronicity
04
MAIN TOPIC
08
INTERVIEWS
11
INNOVATION
13
CASE STUDIES
15
EXHIBITIONS
Integrated multi-location manufacturing
LANTEK MARKETING TEAM Jesús Martínez Marketing Director
Beatriz Prado Production, Publishing, Design
Patricia Ruiz de Sabando Communications and Public Relations
SUBSCRIPTIONS Marketing
Lantek software solutions for cost optimization when building buses and trucks
Advanced manufacturing lines
Asier Ortiz CTO
Machine Learning
marketing@lanteksms.com
The international industry maintains its backing of Lantek which this year surpassed 16,000 customers
Lantek Services Lantek Hint: Lantek Expert
Lantek helps to keep milk and cheese on the table
Fairs
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editorial
T
Synchronicity
he metal industry has changed dramatically a while ago now. There was a move from fairly simple and predictable environments to complexity, unpredictability, and change everywhere. We went from creating a single budget to considering the urgency of the order, the production situation, and even the company’s financial performance. We switched from producing at a single location with the technology available to producing at various locations, whether their own or those of others, and with any technology. We went from working with a few, nearby clients to working with many clients, located anywhere, some for just the first and only time. We moved from mostly long runs to combining them with short runs, including unscheduled ones. We used to acquire material at its optimal cost to then store it and gain flexibility; but, now we seek supply and logistics efficiency. We no longer receive adapted work orders; but we have to find the information on the part within the larger documentation. This world is fast and complex and we need a solution to survive: synchronicity. Purchases, quotations, manufacturing engineering, manufacturing, and shipments must be synchronized, working in a coordinated manner and at the required speed. The critical factor is to accurately predict what will happen during the production of each part. A single CAD/CAM system using all technologies and adapted for both production and procurement is the cornerstone that can withstand this challenge. If you want to discuss how to incorporate synchronicity into your company, let’s talk: We love it. And we’d like to share it with our customers.
Jesús Martínez
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main topic
Integrated multi-location manufacturing The recession has, unfortunately, meant that many companies have not been able to compete on their own in such difficult times. This has led to mergers and acquisitions that, in turn, have led to business groups with similar processes, machinery, and management tools created by different and even distant companies, located in different countries or even continents. In this environment, making parts at the right place to optimize resources and customer service is critical to ensure profitability and competitiveness for the whole group. In reality, the communication and software tool issues actually mean these groups work as independent enterprises that can compete with each other. There are also group companies with a surplus capacity, while others must give up lucrative contracts because they are completely at capacity. In addition, the various production processes mean that it is virtually impossible to establish continuous improvement mechanisms, to obtain benchmarking
between locations, and to detect and implement best practices and other total quality measures. In the end, all this leads to dangerous financial burdens with underutilized assets or non-optimized raw materials. This creates complex situations that make the group worse than its individual parts. This can be easily addressed with the right tools and a bit of commitment from corporate management. The choice of these tools depends on the group we use within the company, the level of maturity, and the complexity that we want to work with and the management systems that exist at each of the companies or at the group as a whole. All this affects the work model chosen and management system that supports this model. In one scenario of a company seeking to open new markets without opening a new plant in that location, we would have a purely commercial company that works locally with delocalized manufacturing. If we integrate this scenario, the commercial area would use a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that has remote
real time information available (MES, inventory). Local business can commit to delivering an order at cost and on time, making sure that both the production capacity and material availability are guaranteed when creating a client budget. Without integration, this situation would have been resolved with a telephone call or email, delaying the response to the customer. By using the wealth of information available in the information systems at the production plant and the capacity of the integration mechanisms, we can ensure that the sales department immediately makes the right decisions when preparing the offer and has the necessary production capacity and equipment to execute it. Another scenario that could arise in a group is the specialization of its companies. Individually, a company may have to give up an order if it receives a request involving operations that it is not prepared for, given a lack of equipment or appropriate technology. It can instead handle it if it is part of a group company. Again, this is solved by communications that delay decision-making and can lead to the loss of the order. By integrating this scenario, the system would ensure that the operation that is not covered can be made to work with another subsidiary, either taking the material needed with an internal purchase order or by outsourcing within the group. In both cases, the transfer prices agreed upon are defined ahead of time. It is not necessary to obtain approval for this transaction and the budget may be created immediately for the client who requested it. This is done all while ensuring the execution of the process on time and at cost. A last case that we could analyze would be that of an international group that also works for international customers. Separately, one of the companies may find it impossible to deliver an order at cost for remote customer locations while one of the subsidiaries might find it very easy and affordable to deliver in its greater proximity. As in previous years, this is resolved through communications, which slow down the decision-making and tender preparation process. Once integrated, a sales representative for a group member can decide which location is more convenient to produce the products ordered by sending them directly, even keeping the packaging and information that the company making the offer uses for deliveries, making the entire process seamless for the customer. For all this, manufacturing execution systems (MES) are needed that can receive orders from ERP, regardless of their local or remote location, that are applicable to this situation, with the resources allocated to them (material, human and productive resources) and their occupancy level. MES systems must also be able to communicate and cooperate with other MES systems or inventory management systems at different locations and the ERP systems must communicate with each other. Lantek has online mechanisms (Avantia Webservices) to obtain the real-time status of each production center at any point on the globe that has a Lantek system. Thus, one location can assign surplus labor to another
facility with capacity available for another location by observing the workplaces available as if they were their own company. All further details (invoices, internal billing, transfer pricing using the “arm’s length” principle, etc.) are considered imperceptible for the user, using workflows or other methods. These online interconnection mechanisms, included within the REPLICA family, also allow us to integrate raw material, semi-finished or finished product inventory, implement central purchasing, and many other organizational efficiency models. Building this type of integrated systems is now very easy for those who have adopted their infrastructure and platforms on a web environment. In these environments, it is possible to offer services through the network, extending the capabilities and opportunities to bid on a wider range of client projects. This also ensures the integrity of the orders approved through unexpected changes. Each sales or purchasing manager is responsible for a guaranteed response, increasing its performance without risking other people and their priorities that could disrupt the execution of an order. These solutions give groups of companies dynamism and flexibility, while maintaining the unique characteristics of each member and their production models and increase the group’s responsiveness compared to individual companies.
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solutions Lantek software solutions for cost optimization when building buses and trucks
Prominent manufacturers of commercial vehicles stand out mainly because of their customized vehicle concepts. The transport tasks of their clients vary and have to satisfy strict requirements in terms of safety, flexibility, and volume. Lantek software supports them, using the most up-to-date technology for the manufacture of trucks, tankers, and buses, standard models and custom products, for the widest variety of purposes and transported materials. The CAD/ CAM, MES and ERP software solutions from the worldwide market leader optimize all processes: from quote generation to computer-assisted design, intelligent materials usage and synchronization of production steps, to on-time completion and inventory management.
even custom vehicles, not intended for everyday use. Database-backed 2D and 3D designs mean special models can be developed individually and quickly; even design changes can be incorporated at short notice. Lantek software solutions are tailor-made to suit your special requirements and are designed to provide maximum flexibility and dynamic production processes matched to ever-changing demands.
Commercial vehicle manufacturers combine custom products with system components while maintaining the same degree of functionality and safety, whether for tippers, flatbeds, trailers and truck bodies, or lowloaders, sliding-floor systems and tankers, buses and
Lantek clients in the commercial-vehicle sector rely mainly on Lantek Expert Cut for programming sheetmetal cutting machinery (oxy-fuel, plasma, laser, and water jet). The CAD/CAM solution is based on more than 25 years of experience working in close collaboration
Nesting saves time and money “Cost pressures in this industry have increased considerably,” reports Christoph Lenhard, Sales Manager at Lantek for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “Clients are dictating the expected material use and corresponding prices to the vehicle manufacturers.”
with manufacturers and users. It supports the machine technology perfectly, promotes high productivity and quality, and provides comprehensive nesting options for maximum materials usage, so saving time and money. Lantek software optimizes the production capacity of your workshops by combining the manufacture of special client requirements with the production of standard products. Any free capacity can be leveraged by manufacturing standard products for immediate availability to meet orders at a later date. This guarantees not only optimal machine utilization but also maximum material usage. There is no costly downtime or left-over sheet metal. Monitoring of all production processes – with a mouse click and in real time But, Lantek software can do even more: The software solutions allow continuous monitoring of all production processes up to completion – with a mouse click and in real time. That way, production managers can check at any time that the quality is correct, that production is running efficiently and optimizing costs, and that delivery times are being met. With Lantek Integra, companies in this industry can also use tools to control and monitor the entire manufacturing process right up to enterprise resource planning by integrating the software into their own systems. Why? Because Lantek Integra is an ultra-flexible solution that includes CRM, purchasing, inventory management,
supervision, and quality control of current projects, plus linkage to accounting programs. The system can, for example, evaluate inventories of standard products and match them to orders, so exactly the right parts are ordered for a particular job. In addition to special or internally manufactured components made using the standard program, it is also possible to manage the procurement and inventory of external items, and to check their costs and delivery dates so all products are ready on time. The integration of Lantek software into the manufacture of commercial vehicles is a highly-transparent process – from ordering to production to delivery. The staff in charge make decisions on the basis of real-time data. Companies can optimize and synchronize their manufacturing processes so that loaders, tankers, buses, and custom products not only come in on cost, but are also ready on time – for optimal procedures and maximum added value. This competitive edge produced by customized software solutions makes Lantek a key partner to companies in the commercial vehicle industry. Currently, Lantek has over 15,000 customers worldwide. There are 850 customers in Germany from all branches of sheet-material and steel processing, including smaller and medium size service providers, sheet and steel commercial enterprises, as well as manufacturing and storage sites of large industrial concerns such as Siemens, VW and the German railways.
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interviews
Asier Ortiz CTO
Adaptability to any situation
In a world where leaving things to detail has become strange, Lantek underscores its commitment to doing good work, going above and beyond what the customer wants and keeping its promises. We chatted with Asier Ortiz, Lantek CTO, on how pre-sale consulting works at Lantek. Today we buy everything online without any help from the provider. How does Lantek support this process? With its global presence and experience, Lantek has a great deal of experience that it can use for every sale. Lantek listens and analyzes and its goal is to go above and beyond the client’s request, looking for the problem behind the symptoms. We want to focus on sales as an engineering process: we analyze the situation and offer a proposal with milestones, schedules, and costs approved by the client before proceeding with development (if necessary) and implementation. Then, we verify that the solution implemented meets expectations before moving on to
operations. This is done for any sale, whether simple or complex. How do you evaluate that they achieved what was expected? And how can we do what is expected, before implementing a software solution? In any presale situation, we have to meet four objectives: •
Lantek systems can solve the client’s problem. To do this, we must check the client’s processes and research why they operate in a certain way.
•
The customer understands that the solution is provided as a whole and with each of its component systems. We must explain what our systems do and what they don’t do and how they can work together
or with existing systems. •
The systems at each area of the company and their functions are defined.
•
The customer accepts the technical specifications of the solution defined: information inflows and outflows and technical details.
This process is always the same for any Lantek sale, whether it is a CAD/CAM system or a management solution integrated with existing business systems. The difference is how fast each is completed. What professionals are involved in this process? We always start with sales, which keeps track of customers. For us, it is vital for clients to communicate with someone that they trust completely. Then, based on their individual needs, a consultant with experience in sector production processes may intervene to fully analyze the different characteristics of each customer along with a client engineer, which will not only implement focused solutions, but also contribute to the internal change processes with the customer managers. You said that the process can work at different speeds. Can you explain this a little more? The standard implementation is not the same as an innovative or highly complex implementation or a solution that involves a serious change in any of the company processes with various departments involved. Lantek adapts its processes to meet these objectives. If sales is able to verify this on their own, given that the solutions are not highly complex, no specialized
resources are needed and the specifications process can be done in minutes. Why is this process necessary? Other sector software providers do this without any formalities. A failed start-up costs a lot for the customer and the supplier. It causes a lot of wasted energy and resources. For Lantek, it is critical to ensure all extreme and stressful situations are minimized and controlled. At this point, Lantek is very focused on building its user’s trust in our systems, paying special attention to how they adapt and if productivity is improved to the extent anticipated. Sometimes we see customers who ruin a project by trying to be too efficient at the expense of efficiency. Clients who come to us often want to do too much too soon. Lantek wants to be effective first and then back that up with facts. In the last 12 months, we have carried out 12 highly complex projects, all of them effectively resolved with hundreds of mediumdifficulty implementations or thousands of CAD/ CAM installations. This complexity was not even noticed at first. It is essential to listen to clients and carefully identify the approach for each situation. We must be certain about the proper approach based on the perceived complexity. When this complexity is not detected, projects fail. Lantek has the ability to adapt to any situation and resolve it to the client’s satisfaction.
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technologies
Asier OrtĂz CTO
Advanced manufacturing lines
By manufacturing their own products, we know that the production plants of large multinational companies have automated lines. The main objective is to reduce long-term costs. The line can work continuously with productivity indicators thanks to the technical capacity of the line and it does not depend on human factors. Thus, success can be repeated and we can see what our limit is. At other companies, where the ability to repeat is not so high and no product is manufactured, and where some services are being outsourced, it is also interesting to analyze parts of the production process to achieve automation. In our sector, the challenge is managing the plate cutting and the automation of the cutting machine during processes such as plate loading, and the unloading of parts, scraps and junk. There have been solutions to automate these processes for years by the leading manufacturers of machine tools: Trumpf, Amada, Danobat, Mitsubishi, LVD, etc. However, they have not reached the expected level. There are two main reasons why this did not happen: one is not always having the necessary devices to address the variability of the products to be manufactured; the second is the software being able to organize and manage the line without requiring more processing work than what has been done to date. The first problem is being solved. In this industry, there are systems capable of organizing materials by size, priorities, and forms. We have raw material and part unloading systems. We can combine the extraction
of medium parts onto Euro-zone pallets, larger parts to buffer and the skeleton or patch in another area into small containers or boxes. This is how all the different parts, usable materials, and scrap are organized. The second problem is that the software is in a later evolution stage. Responsible for preparing the machine’s work, it has evolved to automate the calculation processes that can be sent to the work machine depending on the demand. A few years ago, the programmer had to prepare all CNC. If there was an error, the line was stopped until the next shift when an operator reviewed what had happened. Today, software works with different lines and can establish and meet the different requests, whether from the machine, from the user via the computer interface, or other systems such as ERP, indicating the products to manufacture and their priority. You get to prepare the nesting as late as possible and also send the machine the work considering past priorities and analyzing the pending work based on thickness and quality. Today, tool changes or equipment are optimized. On the other hand, the machine responds to the software in case of error and this can eliminate or postpone the work queue that the machine is not able to run. All this may sound like science fiction. We just have to look at other sectors and the requests processed at the time, which are being solved with programmed logic where the work is distributed among existing resources, thus optimizing their use. Why do want to automate our method and move to the next era? The concept of Industry 4.0. is closer than we think.
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innovation
Juan Carlos Poza Software Engineer
Machine Learning Data Mining is the field of computer science that looks for patterns in large amounts of data through methods such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics, and database systems. Within this area, forecasting systems are techniques that build and study new forecasts through a branch of artificial intelligence called Machine Learning.
These forecasting systems allow a machine to make accurate predictions about new systems that did not exist in previous situations, applicable to any field, such as: manufacturing errors, predictive maintenance plans, weather forecasts, medical diagnoses, pattern recognition, spam detection, fraud detection, identification, and control systems. They are based on training the machine’s learning system using large amounts of previously obtained data to estimate, predict, or detect situations based on experience acquired. The data set used must be significant enough and properly structured to be used by the learning system. To achieve this, you can use Big Data potential to train and feed the forecast system with lots of structured data (databases) and unstructured data (text files, multimedia files, websites‌) You must have significant knowledge about the scope of the problem since you need a clear objective and must select the appropriate attributes to feed into the system. Machine learning makes use of different techniques or algorithms such as linear regression, neural networks, decision trees, and grouping tools (Clustering) to make predictions based on learning situations. By using one of these techniques, a model is obtained that represents behavior patterns based on problem variables or the relationship between these variables. Once the model is obtained, it must be validated by assessing another data set to see if the results are satisfactory. You can also use several techniques simultaneously to generate several models to find the one that best fits the problem. There are real applications of these systems that show us their potential, like the U.S. Postal Service with automatic letter address recognition, Netflix and YouTube, where the most relevant content for each user is displayed, or Google Translate, which computes the most accurate translation based on existing translations in the network.
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news Lantek becomes a global strategic partner of Air Liquide Welding
Lantek’s global agreement with Air Liquid Welding will lead to the marketing of the Lantek Expert sheet metal CADCAM software in conjunction with Air Liquide Welding’s plasma cutting and oxy-cutting machines. Lantek, leader in the development and marketing of CAD/CAM/MES/ERP software solutions for the sheet metal industry, announces a global strategic partnership with Air Liquide Welding through the company’s distribution channels which cover 90 countries around the world. “The partnership fits well with both companies stated objectives of building long term technical partnerships and win-win strategic alliances. Lantek has an extensive distribution network covering customers in over 100 countries and additionally has its own offices in 15 countries, so this maps well with Air Liquide Welding’s distribution network, and will enable us to deliver the best sales and training solutions together, irrespective of the location of the customer. The importance of this agreement also lies in its global reach, thanks to the influence and prestige that our partner has around the world,” says Francisco Perez, Director of OEM Channel at Lantek. Air Liquide welding provides a wide range of automatic machine oxy cutting and plasma including mainly OPTITOME 2, ALPHATOME 2, OXYTOME and PLASMATOME. All of them are manage by the high level CNC control HPC DIGITAL PROCESS able to drive automatically the cutting system process OXYHPi, NERTAJET HPi or the bevelling plasma unit NERTAJET BEVEL HPi. The latest innovations in plasma cutting
implemented on NERTAJET HPi allow the increase the cut quality and productivity while maximizing the lifetime of consumables. Philippe Blondeau from Air Liquide Welding says, “88% of Lantek’s turnover is in the international market. In addition, it invests heavily in research and development and is hence the leader in its field of sheet metal CADCAM. Its software is adapted to the characteristics of each of our machines, enabling users to achieve the best possible material utilization and the optimum cutting performance. Not only will this enhance our offering to our customers, but it will ensure that they get the best return on their investment. Furthermore, the level of competence in Lantek’s distribution network will provide the training and assistance necessary to deliver high quality support anywhere in the world.” Since its formation in 1986, Lantek Expert has been the flagship product for Lantek and is used by over 15,000 customers globally. The continuous development of the software has enabled Lantek Expert to maintain its market leading position. In 2015 alone, new features include highly accurate time calculation algorithms and enhancements to ease of use and CAD interoperability. By building a long term relationship both Air Liquide Welding and Lantek will be able to build mutually profitable business at an international level, based on service and performance for customers.
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case studies Lantek helps to keep milk and cheese on the table
Tetra Pak CPS, in Sherborne, Dorset has been using Lantek Expert CAD/CAM software for it sheet metal programming for about 10 years. The company is one of three Tetra Pak processing and packaging companies operating in the UK and provides smaller, site specific processing solutions to the dairy, beverage and prepared food industries together with the manufacture of stainless steel vessels and equipment for the Tetra Pak Group and others. Peter Amos, Preparation Team Leader, at Tetra Pak CPS uses the Lantek software to programme his Air Liquide Alphatome 20 high definition plasma cutter. “A large part of our work is the manufacture of vats for dairy and cheese processing companies in stainless steel. The majority of these are bespoke. The vats can be up to 10m long, 3m in diameter and 8mm thick with cone shaped ends.” The plasma machine has a capacity of 4m x 2m, so individual parts are generally large with holes and apertures for flanges and other fittings. Designs for new vats are completed in the company’s drawing office using Autodesk Inventor. Once complete, designs are passed to production, where Peter Amos refines the design data in Lantek Expert and carries out any additional unfolding of parts into their flat state using Lantek Flex3d. “There is a lot more data than we need on the dxf files, so we remove this. Generally parts are supplied in a flat state by the drawing office, but Lantek Flex3d allows us to unfold cones, which are a common feature of the vats, locally if we need to.” Nesting tends to be a manual operation as the size of
Peter Amos, Preparation Team Leader at Tetra Pak CPS: “Lantek Expert is easy to navigate and the backup and help desk is very good, with a response within 30 minutes. By using remote access software, Lantek engineers can solve a problem for us and, at the same time, show us how to avoid the problem again. It is a very good system and I would be happy to select it again.”
parts limits the options as, frequently; there is only one way of fitting them on a sheet. Peter Amos adds, “We try to optimise material utilisation by nesting smaller parts around the main large part if possible. Lantek Expert has some powerful and easy to use functions which make the manual nesting very flexible.” For larger areas of scrap material, Peter uses functions in Lantek Expert to cut up waste into manageable sections enabling it to be easily removed from the plasma cutter by the operator. The Preparation team supplies plasma cut, rolled and formed parts to the other three fabrication teams at Tetra Pak CPS, so the smooth running of the CAD/CAM system and the Alphatome 20 are crucial to the productivity of the factory.
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services
Lantek Hint
- Lantek Expert
Did you know that it is possible, with Lantek Expert V2015, to import part dimensions directly from PDF files, as if it were a DXF? This new importer allows you to extract the dimensions defined within the document or even interpret geometry layers based on the different colors and line weights used or by the layers defined in the document. With this new importer, we will be able to expand the range of formats customers can use to send parts.
If you would like to find out more tips, send us an email at: marketing@lanteksms.com
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exhibitions • Every year, Lantek is committed to being present at the sector’s most important fairs, both at a national and international level. • Request your invitation by scanning the QR code.
FABTECH MEXICO 2015
MACH-TOOL 2015
MEXICO CITY - MEXICO 04-06 MAY
POZNAŃ - POLAND 09-12 JUNE
Fairs BLECHEXPO 2015 NOVIEMBRE 03-06 STUTTGART - GERMANY HALL 1, STAND 1810
METAL MADRID 2015 NOVIEMBRE 04-05 MADRID - SPAIN STAND B10
SPARKLE OR
DIE
info@lanteksms.com
Laser or punch. Regardless your selection of choice, Lantek Expert, the most advanced CAD/ CAM nesting software in the industry, powered by Lantek’s “Thinkingmetal Technology”, will make your machines produce sheet metal parts in an efficient and profitable way with any technology and for any machine tool manufacturer. And we can prove it. Will you give us the chance to show it to you? Contact your nearest Lantek office for a demo and you will see for yourself that we are better than the rest. Your factory will stand out from the crowd with Lantek software.
www.lanteksms.com