#modelcamtechnologies

Today’s aerospace and defense organizations face increasing pressure to remain competitive in a highly complex and regulated industry. OEMs compete by differentiating product offerings and innovating at a rapid pace, but an aging workforce and high turnover make it difficult to overcome operational costs that are as high as they’ve ever been.

Metal Formers, a family-owned business, specializes in sheet metal manufacturing and prides itself on offering unique and cost-effective solutions that help bring products to market, no matter how complex.

, PTC visited one of our customers in South Africa to find out more about how companies use the CAD software and to hear more about their hopes for 2018. Listen to what the team at Metal Formers told us (plus get a look around the shop floor) in this video: 

Making the most of sheet metal

Metal Formers, a family-owned business, specializes in sheet metal manufacturing and prides itself on offering unique and cost-effective solutions that help bring products to market, no matter how complex. 

Of course, that’s a sweeping statement. Customers and projects come in many different sizes with many unique needs and challenges. Smart companies need to design solutions that not only meet customer’s product needs, but also minimize manufacturing costs.

Needless to say, the company does a lot of prototyping, often for short product runs. The challenge with this is that “you waste a lot of time and a lot of material,” says Co-owner and Designer Derrick van Niekerk. “We were looking for a solution to try and move away from physically trying to know what we’re going to make.”

The results?

With Creo, Metal Formers says that they cut design time by 66 percent, improved design quality, brought down the cost of the product, and identified and fixed potential design problems before they ever reached the factory.

The future

Metal Formers has mastered developing products quickly and efficiently with Creo. What’s next? Van Niekerk says the team hopes grow its business by introducing its own products designed and developed in-house.

In a news release last week, PTC announced that “four leading manufacturing and technology companies just selected Creo CAD software to design, develop, and deliver some of today’s most innovative products.”

The companies in question spanned geography and product lines. Take a closer look at whose using Creo and what they’re building:

No more dirty chains

 BRIGE GmbH is a German company that engineers machine production solutions. For example? This one-of-a-kind system for cleaning and drying conveyor chains—while they’re still in production. Watch:

As an engineering company, BRIGE says, “We know about the pitfalls in the interfaces between development and prototype – up to the last screw.” As such, it’s built a one-stop shop, providing everything from the concept to production of the final machine.

Size matters 

IMS Messsysteme GmbH, a world leader in measuring systems, develops and produces isotope, x-ray, and optical measuring systems for the steel, aluminum, and metal industries. The company also develops systems that can inspect slabs, heavy plate mill, tubes, and long products as well as 2D surfaces in hot and cold rolling applications and for processing lines.

Their tagline? Nothing stays hidden. We like it. 

Molding – from A to Z

MD Moldes bills itself as a solution provider for the entire mold production process, including engineering, manufacturing, testing, and injection. That’s an understatement. They also build prototypes and design molds thanks to a design department equipped with a team of highly qualified engineers, backed by design tools (we’re going to guess Creo?) that guarantee the best performance for each project. 

Big, yellow tractors

JCB, one of the world’s top three manufacturers of construction equipment, made it difficult for us to choose just one product to showcase. They design equipment for agriculture, construction, and government and defense. One thing the products all have in common? They’re big, bold, and ready to get to work. And yellow.

Converging Forces Unlocking the Value Created by the Convergence of the Physical and Digital Worlds They serve to extend the human form increasing our strength and abilities, helping us to be more productive in the settings that compose the world around us. In the digital world, software, data, and networks are helping us gather and communicate information. Insights are being captured and analysed in new and unimaginable ways, extending our thoughts, creativity, and understanding of the physical world. Fast and flexible, digital information defines and connects us to the world over time and space.