link
Global Release 2016
Latest News, Product Innovations, Fairs and much more
APRIL 2016
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index
LANTEK LINK is the magazine of Lantek Sheet Metal Solutions
COVER Forth Bridge, Edinburgh Scotland
03
EDITORIAL
04
MAIN TOPIC
06
SOLUTIONS
08
INTERVIEWS
10
TECHNOLOGIES
11
INNOVATION
12
NEWS
CASE STUDIES
Lantek celebrates 30 years as a global leader
13
Tradition supported by modern software
14
SERVICES
15
FACTS
Let’s get it started
Global Release 2016 brings Lantek users closer to Industry 4.0
LANTEK MARKETING TEAM Patricia Ruiz de Sabando Editor Jesús Martínez Marketing Director
Industry 4.0 applied
SUBSCRIPTIONS Marketing Department marketing@lanteksms.com
Advanced punching
Lantek Services Lantek Hint: Lantek Expert
Christoph Lenhard Sales Manager
Licensing Models
Fairs
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editorial
Let’s get it started
L
antek turns 30 years old this year. For anyone, one of the milestones in a lifetime. We have finished our growth age and now we are entering into our fullness age: mature, experienced, but full of strength and motivation to succeed in our next 30 years. Lantek is now in the best position to face the scenarios of the future. Industry 4.0 or Advanced Manufacturing are the names; but, competiveness, productivity, and efficiency are the challenges that every company in the metal industry wants to see fixed when trusting a software provider. Lantek has prepared a new Strategic Plan for the 2016-2018 period. Our guidelines are to strengthen our relationship with our customers, to provide more services, to offer better software, more integrated with their operation, and to show to the rest that we are the partner that can take them to the next level. Our new claim, “Metal Inspired Software,” promises that we will be inspired by the metal industry and we will inspire our customers. This plan was presented in the International Meeting 2016, celebrated in Malaga, where Lantekers from all over the World refueled with fresh energy to go on for the next 30 years. The meeting offered much learning, many new ideas, and many product enhancements that we are now ready to share with our customers. Let’s get it started
Jesús Martínez
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main topic
Global Release 2016 brings Lantek users closer to Industry 4.0 Lantek is launching the Global Release for 2016 of its Lantek Factory concept. The new version is inspired by sheet metal companies around the world producing parts for sheet metal, tubes and profiles for over 30 years. The new functionality takes producers closer to Industry 4.0 for advanced and agile manufacturing. Advanced automatic geometry recognition for multiple parts and dynamic lead in/out positioning reduces programing times, while the new Bevel 3D Designer allows interactive irregular bevel design in 2.5D. Part cost calculation has also been enhanced to compensate for head up/ down times and sheet load/unload times. Cutting gains some improved strategies, which optimize heat in the metal sheet during cutting, cut micro-joints at the end of machining, and optimizes hole destruction. Punching includes specific strategies for special tools such as wheel or deburring. A new piercing strategy for thick materials, EcoPierce, saves both energy and time for thick parts. Lantek has introduced a complete new CAD toolbox for tube design to ease the design
of tubes and the incorporation of machining features necessary for successful cutting. Capabilities include multiple shapes for tube ends and for text on tubes as well as enhanced machining features such as break holes, control of ordering and direction of cut, weld preparation and micro joints, as well as verification and simulation of the process. Step by step, forward and rewind simulation give a true representation of the movement of the machine. To make this type of work easier, the software now supports 3D CAD formats from Autodesk Inventor, CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, Solid Edge, Parasolid, PTC Creo, Siemens NX and VDA. Additionally, it can also utilize Excel data presented in the correct format to define the tube. The extra CAD formats supported will make it possible to work with a 3D model adding any necessary machining features in the Lantek software. During the tube cutting process the system now has island management on common cuts to improve efficiency and, on 3-axis tube cutting machines, it has chuck avoidance and a triple contour cutting strategy. For 5-axis tube cutting machines the Lantek software can now support the Mazak FabriGear and has extra features such
as automatic vector correction, turret and drilling tools management and dynamic cutting for thick H section parts. In the Lantek Workshop family of software, new configurations enable the lag time between work centers to be checked, the arrival of outsourced work monitored, and the working capacity by time limit examined. New visual tools let users see the estimated time sum for an execution date and get reports on the available capacity by work center. Lantek has also introduced a new web based version of Lantek Workshop Capture specifically designed for use on a tablet. By making data capture mobile, it will simplify and speed up the process and encourage users to enter data reliably and make it easier for managers to review the current situation in the workshop from wherever they are. In Lantek Integra, Lantek has improved the quotation stages of its ERP system with tools for calculating costs associated with operations and new dynamic pricing controls, which allow companies to apply different mark-ups according to commercial considerations or, if preferred, the capability for various methods of margin
calculation. New quality assurance features keep track of returns including reasons for the return, replacement parts, credit notes and returnable packaging management. The traceability offered here helps to reduce the instance of returns and, for packaging, helps companies to maintain their obligations for recycling. Enhancements in REPLICA have improved system integration. The new Opentalk system makes it possible for a machine to send events in real time and transfer them to the management systems, while the Powersync system enables integration between Lantek software and the management systems already in place within a company, synchronizing defined data sets to a specified schedule or on demand. The features in the latest Global Release will help companies improve efficiency, communication, cooperation, and integration and give them some valuable tools for the implementation of Industry 4.0.
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solutions Industry 4.0 applied
Industry 4.0 is a collective term embracing contemporary automation, data exchange, and manufacturing technologies, directed at the value chain organization which draws together CyberPhysical Systems (CPS), the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Services (IoS).
Every second of a machine not in use is money wasted. With that said, nor should we be using all available machine capacity if we aren´t sure that it is profitable. In the end, all actions must be measured so we understand the effect they will have on our Income Statement.
Industry 4.0 facilitates the vision and execution of a “Smart Factory� where cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world, and make decentralized decisions. Over the Internet of Things, cyberphysical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans in real time. Via the Internet of Services, both internal and crossorganizational services are offered and utilized by participants of the value chain.
So how do we move towards Industry 4.0? The answer is simple: Digitalizing the factory. To do so we need to explicitly define the manufacturing processes, to choose our key operational indicators and to define how we are going to achieve them. We then have to house these processes and indicators within a management system that allows us to view their status and to take operational decisions and steps to improve.
The aim of Industry 4.0 is to improve the competitiveness of our company thanks to technology. We need to be efficient and able to make decisions in the shortest time possible.
Once we have specified the processes we must then incorporate intelligence to digitalize them and see continuous improvement. We have to support them with a production management system that is well established in a single software application
or through an integration of several pieces of software that cooperate with each other. We will figure out at what stage of the process we need to get information and of what type. Knowing what information will allow us to make the right decisions.
• Automatic quotes according to customer ABC patterns
We will then design the tools to get the right information, at the right time, and to make the right decision.
• Specializing the business based on performance by processes, technology, material or customer type, focusing on the most profitable
Once digitalized, we will be able to collect relevant information, achieve real-time data capture, and measure what is actually going on in our plant. We can extract behavior patterns and efficiency analyses for our factory.
These are just some of the possible functionalities within a broad range that we can achieve thanks to the technologies already available, with no need to wait for what the future may hold.
From thereon, knowing what our key business factors are, we will be able to assess how they are being affected by processes and results collected during the analysis. With these analyses, based on real data taken directly from the operation, we can flesh out improvements in different areas. All this brings a number of truly significant benefits: manual actions are simplified, the margin for error is reduced, and automating the running of processes and decision making becomes more intuitive. Once we have managed to get an advanced control of the plant, we will be able to simulate what might happen if we make changes. We will make decisions taking into account the possible effect that manufacturing models, generated from the current factory set-up, predict for us. Lantek today is one of the drivers of Industry 4.0. Lantek interprets Industry 4.0 and applies it to companies that produce sheet metal parts, metal tubes and profiles, developing multiple functionality, that is today in place in customers all over the world. For example: • Pricing according to the activity of the production plant. Examples: »» Stock in specific materials that are planned and that have available free space »» Supply in specific time periods and on specific production routes that have unassigned time • Automatic inventory control through digital cameras and artificial intelligence • Visual identification of parts to understand associated order, previous process undertaken or next to follow, operators and workplaces involved, delay, etc.
• Catalog of service offerings in a web Marketplace aligned with production needs • OEE data analysis to establish the real machinery situation
To keep improving, the first step is to know our business and for that we need to digitalize it. Lantek Factory is the way forward for implementing these principles and ensuring that the competitiveness of our production plant makes us the preferred choice for our customers.
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interviews
Christoph Lenhard Sales Manager of Lantek Germany
Integrated software solutions for strong partners in sheet metal “Industry 4.0” is the buzzword for the path which companies need to take in order to remain competitive. Its companions are “Automation” and “Big Data.” Thanks to our “Lantek Factory” concept, our customers have complete control of all processes for sheet metal and steel processing, using machine-independent software. Christoph Lenhard, Sales Manager for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland talks about the advantages. What are the strengths of Lantek software solutions? With our sheet metal processing solutions, we consistently describe all processes – from the initial offer up to generation of the invoice. The operator can follow components through the production process at any time. Orders can be combined for optimized utilization of material. This requires a software-based solution, because it is easy to lose track of things while working on different projects. Our complete solution provides assistance to the company management when it comes to strategic decisions. It knows the level of plant utilization and knows where “bottlenecks” require an increased capacity or where under-utilization can be compensated for with orders. In addition, there is a trend away from large orders toward small batch numbers, which can be as low as 1. Our software gives companies the flexibility to respond to changing production requirements. Higher stipulations in terms of quality control for example, DIN EN1090, also demand seamless traceability of every component. With our software’s Production History feature, such data is available even many years later.
suppliers – and saves time and personnel. Where previously each machine required its own individual software and corresponding qualified personnel, all employees can now control each machine from a single interface – and multiple data input is also a thing of the past. In spite of this, some potential customers are skeptical as to whether all this will work. However, we can provide many examples to show just how convincing our overall concept is. With our complete solution from a single source, there is no longer a ping-pong game in which various service providers blame each other if something goes wrong. Lantek also makes companies with several locations fit for the future, thanks to its software. Can you explain this in more detail? The innovative thing about our approach is its networked, cloud-based structure. With this, all processes are viewed “from the top” – from acceptance of the order up to billing. This means that a head office – which can be located anywhere – accepts all of the orders, prices them, generates offers and then distributes the orders to the different locations. For the decision as to where the order should be processed, the software filters this according to criteria such as proximity to the customer, production facilities and the availability of materials, machinery and personnel. To do so, it has real-time access to the individual locations. For companies, the system means genuine cost savings, because they now only need a single central order processing office, which accepts, prices and bills the orders for all production locations.
What makes Lantek software different from other suppliers?
How do these processes actually work in practice?
For many customers who migrate to our software it is a complete surprise that their entire production process is suddenly transparent and that there are no longer any interfaces between the different programs in the system from the offer to the invoice. The ability to control more than 1,000 types of machines with our software solution gives the greatest possible freedom for the selection of
The order is recorded by the central administration and the cutting order is assigned to a production location on the basis of the filter criteria. This combines the orders locally, produces the components and dispatches them. The production data are then returned to the central office, where the invoice is generated. All processes are controlled by a networked system, which provides
the greatest possible transparency at all times – this is genuine Industry 4.0. We were able to benefit from international cooperation in the USA, France, Belgium, and Spain to develop tools for distributing orders. Are you implementing a solution like this at the moment with any of your customers? One of our customers is Salzgitter Mannesmann, Germany’s third largest steel producer. This company is not just a steel distributor; it also supplies complete sheet metal components and customized parts, which are produced in six factories. Although these all work with the same combination software and the corresponding link to SAP, each factory operates independently. By the end of the year, in close cooperation with the customer, we will have replaced this software, including the SAP link, and installed a futureorientated system which integrates all six locations – and we will also provide appropriate training for the employees. For this project, we are working closely with our R&D center in Spain and we also use Lantek’s more than 30 years of experience and the know-how and manpower of 180 employees. This transparency, with a simultaneous overview of several locations, will be an absolute innovation in this sector. And after final acceptance? What benefits will customers have if they decide on Industry 4.0 with Lantek software? We offer our customers telephone support as well as remote maintenance and on-site service. Since our software is involved in the production process, failures result in production downtime – so we have to respond rapidly and be available quickly. We also carry out updates and software changes on weekends, so that production can continue on Monday. On top of this, with our internal administration software, all support technicians are immediately aware of the customer’s problems and what a colleague has previously worked on. This makes us more flexible. Our maintenance customers can log into the system themselves and access their data and an overview of their support queries. What about future developments? These days, hardly any company can avoid the involvement of software in the production process. Even small companies are increasingly realizing how much they can benefit from a good IT system – and the importance of a dependable partner, who not only supplies tailor-made solutions, but also provides comprehensive support. Competitive pressure will force companies of all sizes to consider integrated solutions.
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technologies
Eric Garnier Technical Manager of Lantek France
Advanced punching
In the current market where laser machinery is becoming increasingly affordable, punching machines are evolving and fine tuning their technology to produce quite complex pieces from different operations such as drilling, folding, embossing, etc. with the least programming and cutting time required. This implies the combined use of new tools which, in themselves, add new challenges in terms of programming. These new tool types require a design system which can define elements for folding and form tool hits and automatically detect tools according to their technology. The programmer must bear in mind the location of these form tool hits and folds. If they are on the top or bottom of the sheet, the programmer must correctly sequence the use of each tool, or divide the sheet punching in various stages so that the parts don’t collide in the machine. He must try to minimize the number of punches to keep the cutting time as short as possible. In the specific case of tools that allow small folds directly on the parts, the programming system needs to know the height of each distortion in the part and adjust the stripper radius so as not to damage it with subsequent impacts, even if malleable plastic materials that allow punching
near the form tool hits without damaging it are applied. These types of parts, whose shape tends to be increasingly less rectangular, mean that more parts per sheet can be nested; but, it also adds the requirement for easy removal of the skeleton between the parts. This has driven certain manufacturers to develop new tools for removing the skeleton and remnant between the clamps. These manufacturers have special tools which allow the part or remnant to be bent and automatically removed by chute, even applying a rotation of the part, remnant, or skeleton just before removal so that any nesting can be programmed in the same way as a cut. So, manufacturers are more inclined to create complete production lines with loading and unloading of parts and sheets. This technology is in the ultimate pursuit of an automated machine to run various programs without the need for operator input leaving the parts stacked and prepared for subsequent operations. These production lines may also have a complementary tools store so that the machine can be 100% autonomous with the capacity to run various programs and itself capable of changing tools.
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innovation
Raúl Chopitea R&D Manager
Licensing Models Today, most of our day to day and working lives are software led, with applications for personal use, business management, industry etc. Unlike other consumer goods, its use is governed by an added management variable: its end user licensing system which protects the intellectual property of the software provider itself. There are a wide variety of licensing models available; but, currently, only two are particularly dominant: the hardware key, commonly known as “backpack” (dongle), and the activation software model. Hardware keys emerged in the eighties and, somewhat surprisingly and in spite of all the technological advances since then, their use has increased year on year. The possibility of transferring them between different workstations, the ease of replacement, or their strong anti-piracy protection are just some of the advantages that have made this such a successful option. Working against them however, may be the issue of getting these devices to certain countries or the fact that managing such often brings huge headaches for corporate IT teams. For the latter, the very nature of activation software facilitates the deployment and installation process.
This is an advantage for both parties, provider and user; but, it has other drawbacks associated with it. In essence, this activation turns the PC into its very own “key,” making it difficult to later transfer, replace or modify. The upward trend towards SaaS marketing models (Software as a Service) is promoting a new subscription model. This model makes buying software more efficient, thanks to a direct relationship between cost and use, and being able to better align operational budgets with the desired functionality. Main buyer concern is that the subscription model can, in the long term, cost more, when compared to perpetual licensing models and the act of cancelling the subscription precludes use of the software. All of these possibilities, tied to a demand that is evermore exacting, instantaneous, and customized in software use, pose a new challenge for software providers, who must offer increasingly flexible forms of licensing for their commercial packages. So here the “cloud” again plays a key role giving us the possibility of virtualizing the licensing model, adapting it to specific customer requirements or modifying it in real-time. All this opens up a world of possibilities that we, as software companies, are exploring to provide innovative ways to deliver services to our customers.
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news Lantek celebrates 30 years as a global leader
The multinational currently has more than 17,000 customers in more than 100 countries and will open a new office in the Middle East this year. Lantek celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, strengthening its position as the world leader in the development and sale of software solutions for the metal industry, with a portfolio of more than 17,000 clients in more than 100 countries on the five continents. The multinational used the occasion of its annual international meeting, recently held in Malaga, to celebrate this very special anniversary with its employees. Lantek was founded in 1986 as a company focused on developing a variety of IT-related activities, and later specialized in designing CAD/ CAM/ERP solutions for the metal industry. Over these 30 years, Lantek has become the world leader in this type of comprehensive solutions, with a constant awareness of its customers’ needs and a willingness to adapt to their requirements. Innovation has been another of its core aspects. It allocates 18% of its annual revenue to this endeavor. In this way, Lantek has continually worked to expand its line of products and achieve
a two-pronged goal: on the one hand, to be a leader in developing its own CAD/CAM software for sheet cutting and punching machines with its Lantek Expert line and, on the other hand, to also lead the market in management software solutions for the machine tool sector, with Lantek Integra. Along with these solutions, it has also successfully tackled the part design, 3-D sheet part folding and tube and profile cutting segment, for which it offers its products grouped in the Lantek Flex3d line. Currently, the Alava-based group has its own offices in 15 countries. The newest offices to open are in Chile and Holland, and this year a new location is slated to be opened in the United Arab Emirates. “All of these figures demonstrate our company’s leadership in the sector and its commitment to providing global service to all of our customers wherever they are. We continually strive to innovate and improve our quality even more so we can always give the best solution,” stressed Alberto Martinez, Lantek CEO.
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case studies Tradition supported by modern software The realization of contracts in the steel structures industry amounts to a constant race with deadlines. In order to win this race, Eurokonstrukcje Sp. z o.o. found it necessary to optimize the processes which previously consumed a great deal of precious time and generated a great loss of materials. A pre-implementation analysis by Lantek allows preparing an individual and a unique solution, which would be utilized and at the same time enhances the existing standards.
time we took into account our requirements, checked Eurokonstrukcje Sp. z o.o. is the second biggest credentials, and used our contacts and our workers’ manufacturer of steel construction in Poland. prior expertise. As a result of this thorough analysis, Being a subsidiary of Huta Pokój SA capital group we chose the Lantek Expert solution, which made it (a renowned producer of cold-formed bent profiles possible, in a relative short period of time, to prepare and steel products with 175-year experience), the nestings for the different machines we own. company meets high quality requirements in the area of steel construction manufacturing. The industry Finally, the following systems were implemented in of steel construction manufacturing is a specialized Huta Pokój: Lantek Expert (CAD/CAM dedicated to market segment. As a service provider, we work on the cutting of sheets of metal), Lantek Flex3d (intended the documentation entrusted to us by clients and it is for cutting pipes and profiles), Lantek Manager, thoroughly analyzed by us ‘from scratch’. One of the and Lantek Integra. The above main challenges our company faces solutions will significantly facilitate This method of working are the deadlines. The only method the production management, the enables a quicker of adjusting to changing conditions control of warehouse movements, was the optimization of the time detection and correction and tracking of the history of required for the performance of a of errors in terms of the material. As a manufacturer of steel contract. The largest time-saving drawings supplied and construction, we have to prepare the opportunities were detected during unclosed contours so-called follow-up documentation the technological documentation claims Mr. Nowak. and a material map; each detail has preparation stage, where the pace to contain information on the type of action is determined by human resources and of metal sheet and the melting used. Thanks to the the organization of work in particular. A decision information from particular modules of the program, was made on searching and implementing solutions we are fully capable of creating such a map without as which would optimize the use of machines and much workload as it used to take, explains Mr. Nowak. would support production management, explains Present Grzegorz Nowak, a member of the board and Chief The software has been used for a year in Huta Pokój of Operations of Eurokonstrukcje Sp. z o.o. and it is already obvious that the implementation From Decision to Implementation has translated into concrete savings. Currently, the The first step was to choose universal software CAD/ majority of preparatory work is performed in an office CAM, designed specifically with a goal to optimize the by technologists. The operator receives a ready programming of punching machines. The priority was cutting design (a hard copy and a file) and their role a good organization of nesting. We have 4 cutting is limited to the positioning of the sheet of metal, machines in total, including one (1) plasma and three (3) uploading the program, and cutting the details. We gas cutting machines, and each of them used a different can see that the effectiveness of the machine use has system. We conducted a detailed review of products in significantly increased, says Mr. Nowak. the market in terms of CAD/CAM software during which
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services
If you are interested in any of these services, send us your contact data to sales@lanteksms.com and one of our sales representatives will be pleased to give you all the information you need.
Lantek Hint
Lantek Expert
Did you know that there’s a module called Drafting in which you can edit the workshop sheet of the part or sheet to be printed? You can easily add comments and details to small elements or make notes for any area of the sheet.
Ref
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test-JOB000001
Job CNC User data 3
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This editing can be printed with the workshop sheet as well as without.
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Lantek < >
Weight
240
Material
Chapa Blanca
X
5989.637
Total time
00:00:00.00
Y
1989.956
Use (%)
66.172
User data 1 User data 2 # Reference
4 6 5 3 1 2 7
If you would like to find out more tips, send us an email at: marketing@lanteksms.com
DXFPAR0117 DXFPAR0113 DXFPAR0116 DXFPAR0119 DXFPAR0114 DXFPAR0118 DXFPAR0115
71.884
Remnant (%) Sheet
8 3 4 60 24 18 4
Total
8 14 12 62 24 18 16
kg
Missing
0 11 8 2 0 0 12
T
Weight
1.189 1.079 0.489 0.136 0.096 6.758 3.003
Tool
92.055
Dimensions
660 526.528 250.313 162 123.637 1130.241 1110.11
x x x x x x x
215 295.065 151.851 80 117.586 810 579.959
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facts
Lantek recently held its 2016 International Meeting at the Trade Fairs and Congress Center of Malaga, which was attended by more than 80 people, including technicians and salespeople from Lantekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offices in over 15 countries worldwide.
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MAY 04-06
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Get ready info@lanteksms.com
Lantek has been conceiving software systems specifically intended for companies producing parts of sheet metal, metal tubes, and metal profiles for 30 years now. Lantek has inspired and been inspired by many different industry sectors in the industry around the globe. Lantek develops functionalities that take your manufacturing processes closer to the new paradigms: Industry 4.0, Advanced Manufacturing, Agile Manufacturing, â&#x20AC;Ś Get ready for the future with Lantek.
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