IPC-based CNC/PLC automation system is a high-performance tool, which allows complex applications to be comfortably operated, and offers significant advantages for PC-based control systems.

KUKA Controls, a provider of leading real-time extension technology for Windows XP, is reinforcing its expertise in industrial automation by supplying its latest Real-Time Technology to Schleicher Electronic.

This well-established automation enterprise has chosen KUKA Controls’ VxWin technology for its PC-based motion control solution ProNumeric.

The IPC-based CNC/PLC automation system ProNumeric is a high-performance tool, which allows complex applications to be comfortably operated.

KUKA Controls, a provider of leading real-time extension technology for Windows XP, is reinforcing its expertise in industrial automation by supplying its latest Real-Time Technology to Schleicher Electronic.

This well-established automation enterprise has chosen KUKA Controls’ VxWin technology for its PC-based motion control solution ProNumeric.

The IPC-based CNC/PLC automation system ProNumeric is a high-performance tool, which allows complex applications to be comfortably operated.

VxWin offers significant advantages for PC-based control systems.

For instance, by using standard operating systems (VxWorks from Wind River and Windows XP from Microsoft), VxWin offers developers an open platform.

They enjoy the benefits of proven, fully developed and smooth solutions also ensuring compatibility with next generations of VxWorks and Windows XP.

This guaranteed long-term availability stands for investment security and presents significant advantages in terms of competitiveness.

The high-performance ProNumeric automation system is the top-of-the-line model from Schleicher Electronic.

It consists of a computer box and a remote control panel and is delivered as a fully configured, ready-to-run version.

As such, the hardware and software concept of the control system permits simple user operation.

The single-processor system VxWin (the combination of VxWorks and Windows XP on a single CPU) controls - as a complete solution - all control tasks, from motion to processing to visual display.

Once the Windows environment has booted, VxWorks starts up automatically and assumes control, while Windows XP executes the visual display tasks.

“In developing our industrial automation systems, we put our trust in the technology from KUKA Controls,” emphasises Uwe Jacob, head of Technology at Schleicher Electronic.

“Integrating VxWin into our ProNumeric system enables us to significantly reduce the level of development time.

The developers can now focus on the features essential for competitive differentiation.” The strength of motion control systems depends on their performance, flexibility and range of available functions, as well as and particularly on the user-friendliness of the software modules that control the drive technology.

Compared with conventional solutions, PC-based motion control solutions score a hit thanks to their substantially higher level of user- friendliness.

Gerd Lammers, director of sales and marketing at KUKA Controls, explains: “Due to their open interfaces, PC systems allow a company’s specific application know-how to be integrated quickly and seamlessly.

Thanks to the VxWin technology, Schleicher control systems can exploit all the advantages of the PC technology, which has already been proven in over 80,000 real-time systems: the user friendliness of the Windows environment for visual display and operation in addition to the absolute stability ensured by the deterministic real-time operating system in the background.” Moreover, PC-based controls offer remote diagnosis and maintenance options and allow the installation of the commissioning tools from the drive manufacturers.

The linking of the CNC control system with a PLC according to IEC 61131, as this has been realised in the case of the Schleicher ProNumeric system, also ensures flexibility and high performance, which clearly outshine conventional control system combinations from a technological viewpoint.

* About Schleicher Electronic - Schleicher Electronic was established in 1937 and, thanks to innovations such as the quartz-controlled timer, the multi-functional time relay and the integrated CNC/PLC solution, now ranks among the pioneers in automation technology.

Today the company, which belongs to Wieland-Holding, develops and produces electronic components and system solutions for reliable automation.

A key focus of the product range is the XCx family of fully integrated PLC/CNC control systems.

The electronics range includes active system elements such as sequence, motion control and numeric control systems in addition to networking and visual display components.

The successful implementation of customer-specific developments and complete system solutions is based on decades of experience, precision application engineering and the close working relationship fostered with customers.

At the company base in Berlin, Germany, Schleicher constitutes the center of excellence for electronics and system engineering of t he Wieland group of companies.

* About KUKA Controls - KUKA Controls is a wholly owned subsidiary of KUKA Roboter , the number one European industrial robot manufacturer and a part of IWKA Group.

KUKA Controls specializes in real-time software, operating systems, motion control, graphical user interfaces (GUI), handhelds, dynamic algorithms, PC-based hardware development and application programming.

KUKA Controls globally markets real-time extension technology for automation and robotics as well as test and measurement instrumentation and medical devices and equipment.

KUKA robot controllers are developed and produced for the parent company.

* About KUKA Roboter - KUKA Roboter, Augsburg is an IWKA Group company and is the worlds’ leading manufacturer of PC-based industrial robots.

The company’s core competencies are the development, production and sales of industrial robots, controllers, software and linear units.

KUKA is the market leader in both Germany and Europe and ranks 3rd worldwide.

The KUKA Robot Group employs 1.650 people and is represented by over 20 subsidiaries in Europe, USA and Asia.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/kuk/kuk113.html

NCMT will feature the milling of aircraft structural parts and grinding of engine components using the VIPER process at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow.

NCMT will feature on Makino machine tools the CNC milling of aircraft structural parts and CNC grinding of engine components using the Rolls-Royce VIPER process at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow.

* Milling - NCMT will display an Airbus A380 wing rib measuring 3m by 1.75m, milled from solid aluminium to close tolerance at Filton, UK, on Makino MAG-Series horizontal, five-axis machining centres.

On display also will be a rib for the A320.

The workpieces are representative of the wide range of aluminium structurals for aircraft being machined worldwide on high-speed Makino machines, said NCMT.

The machines can produce large, complex components to very high accuracy in a single set-up, eliminating two or more sub-assemblies and so dramatically reducing manufacturing lead-time and cost.

On the topic of milling titanium, NCMT told manufacturingtalk that there are a number of developments on the way from Makino.

Innovations will include new machines and spindles, including a high torque (1,050Nm) gearless spindle.

* VIPER creep feed grinding - for producing engine parts, VIPER creep-feed grinding gives stock removal rates of up to eight times those achievable when conventionally grinding nickel alloys using a plated CBN wheel.

Broaching, milling and turning operations can also be eliminated using the VIPER superabrasive process.

In all cases, consumable costs are reduced dramatically, said NCMT.

Now the Makino i-Grinder G5 has been designed specifically to exploit the technology to the full.

Until now, the platform used was a standard horizontal machining centre (HMC).

The HMC had been extensively modified with very high-pressure coolant delivery to the vitrified aluminium oxide wheel via programmable nozzles and through the high-speed spindle.

The 5-axis Makino i-Grinder G5 is available through Makino-NCMT Grinding Division, a company formed to market the turnkey manufacturing systems across Europe and Scandinavia.

Recent sales successes have been recorded in Italy and Germany for the manufacture of compressor and turbine blades, and BLISKs, while Makino has sold a number of machines to aero engine manufacturers in Japan.

Overall, the i-Grinder G5 is 10% quicker at machining nickel alloy components than the modified Makino A55 machining centre that it supersedes.

Metal removal rate is of the order of 80cm3/min and the machine accepts parts nominally up to 300mm in diameter.

The enhancement in grinding efficiency comes from a number of factors, including an increase in linear rapid traverse rate from 40 to 48m/min.

Faster rotary workhead speed, which has more than doubled to 100 rev/min, is especially beneficial when grinding smaller components, said NCMT.

* programmable nozzles system improved - probably the most critical improvement is in the design of the programmable coolant nozzles.

They are more versatile on the i-Grinder G5, as they may be positioned by two rotary NC axes anywhere through 360 deg around the periphery of the grinding wheel, rather than through just 180 deg with the A55.

To achieve this greater degree of freedom, power and coolant supplies are built-in, rather than being delivered through an umbilical cord.

Nozzle positioning speed is faster and therefore more responsive when changing position to direct coolant accurately towards the point of cutting.

A big advantage of VIPER grinding on a horizontal machining centre is that in addition to abrasive wheels, other live and static tools such as milling cutters, drills, broaches or turning tools may be exchanged automatically between the tool magazine and the spindle, allowing additional machining operations to be carried out in the same cycle.

Related technologies that have been developed by Makino-NCMT include EasyGrind and EasyGear programming software, flexible fixturing, and manual or in-cycle part measurement, verification and truing.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/ncm/ncm188.html

The machine tool seems to have taken backseat these days in the world of prototyping, research, and product development.
The latest solutions in rapid prototyping (RP) certainly have their place - delivering a quick facsimile can really help to sell a design and get marketing people motivated.

Tormach’s PCNC 1100 takes CNC out of the machine shop and gives designers and engineers the ability to prototype with real world materials and tolerances.

However, after the initial excitement wears off, the problem of product engineering remains. Real product testing requires real products. Not aesthetically correct presentation models, but objects made of production materials built to manufacturing tolerances; not the limited materials and tolerances of the RP technology at hand.

Until recently there has been a tremendous gap between the desktop tools of the engineering office and the behemoth CNC tools of a production machine shop. The size, cost and complexity of big CNC machinery generate a cash flow demand that can only be fed by a constant workload.

To make economic sense, the machines need to be in a production environment. They’re simply not suitable for R&D.

What design organizations need is a tool they can afford to keep at-the-ready which is smaller and easy to use, but can also deliver prototype parts that are identical to the future production parts.

The solution is a concept called Personal CNC and is the design philosophy of Tormach’s PCNC 1100 mill. Dimensional accuracy is essential in prototyping. With a rigid cast iron frame, precision ground ballscrews and a 5,000 RPM spindle, the PCNC 1100 can deliver the same accuracy you expect from a production machine.

Typical factory precision is an inherent feature of Personal CNC but a characteristic that continues to challenge RP technologies, even though their price tags can be much higher.

Whether parts are aluminum, plastic, steel, titanium or even composite materials, the days or weeks waiting for outsourced parts can be reduced to a few hours with a personal in house. Your team is more nimble and your project development will be quicker.

The personal CNC is a machine tool right-sized for engineering development. At 1,500 lbs, this is no desktop router, but it’s still easy to move with a pallet jack. It’s simple to operate and easy to maintain because it isn’t burdened with typical factory features like an automatic tool changer. There’s no need for three-phase power or compressed air, and you don’t need a rigger to install the machine.

Versatility is a key. When combined with a simple CAM program, the CNC can perform as an Subtractive Rapid Prototype (SRP) system to make quick plastic models. Combined with a conventional CAM program it can cut tool steel for making production molds. The functionality of a PCNC 1100 can be extended with accessories like a fourth axis, duality lathe, and even a digitizing probe for reverse engineering. Whether projects are simple or complex, a personal CNC brings capability and agility to product design teams, breaking development barriers without breaking department budgets.

http://www.pddnet.com/scripts/ShowPR.asp?RID=26298&CommonCount=0

Siemens Energy and Automation is to introduce its new solutions and services for CNC machining manufacturers and users at the EASTEC exhibition in May.

The company will showcase its latest innovations in CNC machining, motor and drive technology as well as a new solution for CNC training at the Massachusetts event.

On display will be its ShopMill and ShopTurn software packages, designed to offer higher productivity, simplicity and greater speed.

Also being presented is a training packaged for CNC machining workers called SinuTrain, which gives CNC lathe operators practical hands-on experience with machines and CAD systems.

Taking place in West Springfield from May 19th to 21st, EASTEC is expected to attract around 14,000 visitors and 600 exhibitors.

It focuses on five areas; precision manufacturing equipment and systems; automation, supply chain and process improvement; plant, energy and environmental efficiency; design engineering and rapid technologies; and tooling, workholding and machining accessories.

http://www.machinetooldirect.co.uk/machine-tool-news/

Precision engineering firm Sheffield Forgemasters has invested £160,000 in new CNC milling equipment.

The 25 ft x 35 ft CNC machining centre will create 3D wooden patterns which are used to form sand moulds for steel castings.

By investing in the new CNC equipment, the firm will be able to increase pattern making output, particularly on smaller sizes, explains pattern shop manager Geoff Spriggs.

“The new machine will significantly improve the capacity of the company to handle smaller, more specialised jobs as well as the traditional huge patterns we currently make,” he adds.

Other investments for the precision engineering firm include a £250,000 bandsaw, the redesigning and rebuild of a 1960s lathe and repairs to forge cranes.

Sheffield Forgemasters is the world’s largest independently owned forgemaster and specialises in heavy steel forgings and castings.

Its subsidiary company Vulcan SFM provides specialist services from design consultancy to engineering production solutions.

http://www.machinetooldirect.co.uk/machine-tool-news/

A six figure investment by Fife Fabrications, one of Fife’s leading engineering companies, will create a further 4 jobs in the company’s Glenrothes plant.

A six figure investment by Fife Fabrications, one of Fife’s leading engineering companies, will create a further 4 jobs in the company’s Glenrothes plant.

The firm has enhanced its precision machining division by investing in the latest CNC technology.

The investment will support FiFab’s development of its business in the scientific, medical, nuclear and renewables markets.

Managing Director Archie Smith told us, “We are delighted to be taking on new staff.

Our precision machining business is growing at 30% and the new equipment, as well as increasing our capacity, will make us a more flexible producer The new equipment will enable us to produce pieces more accurately and with an improved surface finish.

“This is the first stage in our planned investment strategy in machining and will reposition the company as one of Scotland’s leading businesses in this area.

New markets such as scientific, medical, nuclear and renewable energy require us to be able to work to world class standards and our new equipment will help us to do that.”.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/fiw/fiw103.html

A complex mild steel gearbox casing, which features external contour machining, several offset bores, an external offset threaded boss and multiple holes, is machined in ‘one hit’.

The name Autoy may be a legacy of the past - the company began by making ‘automatic toys’ some 60 years ago - but this 14-employee subcontractor is very much a business with a future.

And the reason? A continuing investment in new equipment, says managing director Chris Hart, who remembers the company’s first CNC machine being installed in the 1980s when he was serving his apprenticeship.

“Operating manual machines is a good way to learn the fundamentals of metalcutting,” he adds, “but CNC is the only way to go.

We have a flexible, highly skilled workforce but every year makes it harder to find comparable skills.

Most of our CNC machines are Mazaks and if I could go back and do it all again they would all be Mazaks - because they are as easy to program and as easy to use as any CNC machine could be.

This is important, not just because of the skills issue but because customers are very broadly based in terms of location and the type of work we do for them.

However, we are still expected to respond quickly and to satisfy ever more demanding delivery dates.

At one time Autoy’s customers would all have been within a 10-mile radius.

That’s no longer the case and many of the bigger companies who placed regular orders have disappeared.

Where once we would have had a three-month order book, these days it is more likely to be three weeks.

The consolation is that there is a definite lack of subcontractors able to match our capability in terms of value-added machining and fast response, and that is where we concentrate our sales effort.

We invest in new equipment because it helps us get business in the first place, while the quality of our work ensures that we get repeat orders.” Autoy’s latest acquisition is a five-axis 26kW Mazak Integrex 300-IIY turning centre equipped with a tailstock and a high-performance 18.5kW milling spindle.

This milling spindle has X/Z axis travels of 630mm/1.5m and a Y axis travel of 160mm, and is serviced by a 20-tool magazine.

This makes it a genuine multi-tasking machine tool, and one that with its 250mm chuck is ideally suited to the variety of components and materials the Preston, Lancashire subcontractor is called upon to machine.

“We don’t do volume work as such,” says Hart.

“Batches are usually up to 100-off, which means speed is less important than consistency, reliability and ease of setup.

That said, the Integrex is fast - its main spindle speed is 4000 rev/min and it has X and Z axis rapid traverses of 38m/min - and once you get a machine like this you realise what you have been missing.” As with the other CNC machines, programming is undertaken on the shopfloor and the Mazatrol Fusion 640 control’s conversational format is a firm favourite with individual operators.

One reason is that the programming time and length for a complex component such as a gearbox casing for the world’s smallest air tool, used in the assembly of the multi-role Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft, are demonstrably less than would be required using EIA/ISO code and programs are easily modified.

And when it comes to repeat business, it’s simply a case of retrieving the cutting conditions stored in the control’s memory and, as Hart describes it, “loading up the tools according to the tool sheet, putting in the offsets and pressing the start button”.

The mild steel gearbox casing, which features external contour machining, several offset bores, an external offset threaded boss and multiple drilled and tapped holes on various faces, is machined in one hit, within a positioning tolerance of 0.0005in.

“We have wiped out all the costs of fixturing for these parts using the Integrex,” says Hart, “and, unlike the previous production sequence, which involved multiple operations and stress relieving, we know parts are sure to be ‘right first time’.” While on a training course at Yamazaki Mazak U K’s Worcester HQ, he says he was like a child with a new toy and couldn’t wait to put the new machine through its paces.

“The Integrex is a big investment for Autoy but it has worked out fine and we have now placed an order for a smaller, one metre z axis travel machine complete with bar feed.” Incidentally, Yamazaki Mazak U K offers an alternative specification machine, the Integrex 300-IISY, with a second spindle in place of the programmable tailstock.

When fitted with a bar feeder and a workpiece puller, shaft workpieces can be produced from raw material to finished part without any manual intervention.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/yma/yma173.html

CNC controllers precisely interpolate axis movements for 5-axis machining and have software that is claimed will guarantee the best machining results even for free formed surfaces.

Fanuc GE CNC UK said that reliable, high-performance CNC controllers, which are able to precisely interpolate axis movements, are required for 5-axis machining.

The company added that its Series 30i and 31i-A5 CNC controllers offer many special functions which facilitate programming and contribute to maximum productivity.

Fanuc GE’s high-performance Series 30i and 31i-A5CNC controllers manage 5-axis machining using high-performance hardware and software, which guarantees the best machining results for users even with free formed surfaces.

The controllers support every machine configuration, whether with a swivel head spindle, a rotary table or both.

They offer numerous 5-axis functions, such as manual feed or tool centre point control (TCP), tool posture control and tool radius compensation (TRC).

* Cutting point compensation - a particularly helpful function, said Fanuc GE, is tool cutting point compensation.

This involves the calculation of the point at which the tool should engage with the material.

For tools such as trapezoidal and round edge milling cutters, specific correction values are required which are normally input into the CAM software.

With tool cutting point compensation, these values can be permanently saved in the controller and called up at the press of a button after tool measurement.

This not only simplifies NC programming, said Fanuc GE to manufacturingtalk.com, but also allows the option of changing the tools at short notice without changing the NC program.

New functions are also available for tilted working planes (TWP).

The TWP can not only be determined via Euler angles but also via the roll, pitch and yaw command (RPY), three points in space, two vectors, angle projection or the tool axis direction.

In order to be able to easily utilise these options, Fanuc GE has developed a guidance screen which graphically supports the operator while requesting the required data from him in a dialogue.

The company said that the majority of well-known CAD/CAM suppliers support Fanuc GE 5-axis functions and ensure optimal machining programs via their respective postprocessors.

* About Fanuc GE CNC - Fanuc GE CNC is a leading global supplier in factory automation.

These include products and solutions for the machine tool market based on a wide range of CNCs, motion control products, monitoring and control software products, CO2 lasers and services.

Fanuc GE CNC is a joint venture between GE and FANUC Limited and the company’s European headquarters are at Fanuc GE CNC Europe in Luxembourg.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/geb/geb185.html

Jean Michel Vallet has built his engineering workshop by making precision components on CNC machines for mostly local companies, but always with one eye on his long-held dream of building a race car.

In the early 1970s, Vallet was quick to realise the potential of CNC, investing in the first of many numerically controlled machines.

In the late 1990s, the time came to move to new premises; and it was the ideal opportunity to streamline the company’s workshop.

‘When we built this new factory, we had something like seven different makes of CNC machine tools,’ said Vallet.

‘Running the factory was complicated and inefficient.

‘For the sake of productivity, we had to standardise.’ In 1998, Vallet took a trip to the Paris machine tool show where, where he came across Haas CNC machine tools.

‘We found the best machines for our growing company,’ he added.

‘All Haas machines have the same control, which means if you can program one, you can program all of them.

‘Plus, they offer lots of torque, which is ideal because we often use large diameter end mills on stainless steel.’ He was also impressed with the Haas fourth-axis capabilities.

The company now owns several Haas machines, including a VF-9 vertical machining centre.

Vallet began by supplying a local company making machines for bottling plants.

Today, the company’s bread-and-butter work, the work which will pay for Vallet to pursue his motor racing dream, is mainly making parts for companies building food packaging and processing machines, plus some special and secretive aerospace projects.

‘We make scale models of new and prototype aircraft, which are used for wind tunnel testing and are full of sensors measuring airflow and aerodynamic forces,’ he said.

‘We also make five-axis parts for our aerospace customers, which are actually comparatively straight forward to machine.

‘The trickiest parts we make are for the food processing industry, machined from special stainless steels.

‘These parts often have very tight tolerances, which is a challenge because we have to find ways of making them at the price the customer wants to pay.

‘It’s demanding work, which we’re able to do because we use accurate but relatively low-cost machine tools.’ In Vallet’s busy workshop is a line of Haas machines including eight CNC vertical machining centres and five CNC turning centres.

One, a Haas VF-1, runs 24 hours a day using a Kuka robot arm to change parts.

An adjacent PC, using software designed personally by Vallet, controls the robot separately.

PCs interconnect all the machining stations, allowing managers to keep tight control of planning and scheduling.

The factory runs three shifts and 24 hours a day; 10 Haas machines running through the night with just five operators on duty.

‘My aim is to create an entire racing car from just six solid blocks of aluminium, in 70 hours, using only four tools,’ said Vallet.

Big blocks of aluminium, he admits, but just six, from which he intends to machine all of the major and supporting structural components, including the chassis, suspension, mounting brackets, and so on.

No castings, no extrusions, just solid parts.

‘We’ll buy-in brakes, glass, wheels, that sort of thing, we’ll make the body from glass fibre and we’ll use an Alfa Romeo V6 engine, giving 340HP,’ he added.

‘But otherwise, we’ll make it here, on one Haas machine, in less than a week of running two shifts a day.’.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/has/has151.html

Woodworking CNC machining centre manufacturer has introduced cabinet component machining software, which is designed to speed up and simplify cabinet design and production.

Masterwood is rare amongst CNC machining centre manufactures in developing its own software for wood processing rather than relying on third-party packages.

Its software designers work closely with the company’s development engineers to deliver the innovative Windows-compatible, icon-led programs which are simple to learn and easy to use.

Its new Master Cabinet software is designed to speed up and simplify cabinet design and production for kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and offices.

It comes in three levels for users with varying requirements, each priced well below others on the market.

Level 1, with features usually found in more expensive packages, creates straight cabinets in a few minutes using simple commands to produce a cutting list.

Its library contains 10 models of doors and drawers, in both classic and modern design, plus various types of handles, legs, hinges, drawer guides and shelf supports.

Once the components have been selected Master Cabinet creates the required machining programs.

This includes grooving, drilling and dowelling plus any other processes needed.

By incorporating a nesting facility users save on space and money as there is no need for a separate panel saw.

Finally, it produces a list of the required components and creates their labels.

The Level 2 module incorporates all these features.

In addition it has a built-in library of 10,000 components and 50 door models.

This allows around 500,000 different design combinations.

Designs can be changed by inserting or substituting different doors, handles, legs, hinges, drawer fronts and drawer guides.

It also creates cabinet tops, shelves, skirting boards and frames, moulds the edges of panel tops and shelves and gives them a smooth finish.

With Level 2 the shape of a room - for example, a kitchen - can be drawn, complete with all the walls, and the cabinets placed in the exact spots they are to go.

You can then obtain a 3D view of the room, which is useful for face-to-face meetings with customers.

There is also a built-in budgetary system so as to keep abreast of a project’s production costs.

Level 3 incorporates all of the features in the first two modules but can also deal with straight or curved furniture or curved rooms.

It can also develop complex cabinet designs, such as curved cabinets and those incorporating mosaics or marquetry.

It provides high quality rendering, showing all of the items that make up the room in virtual reality like a good coloured photograph.

Said Masterwood UK managing director, Russell Corlett: “We have made Master Cabinet a modular system so users need only buy what they actually need.

The time savings are enormous as there is no setting or marking out needed and no template making, plus there is total accuracy in the product being produced.” Masterwood’s standard package, MasterWork is a Windows-based program with CAD/CAM interface.

Customers can have it updated on a regular basis so that they benefit from the very latest developments.

Among its other purpose-designed woodworking packages are: * MasterStair - this is designed to speed up the production of straight and conventional winder flights.

It was developed following extensive trials at leading UK stair makers.

* MasterDoorSet - using MasterDoorSet software it takes just two minutes to design a complete door and door frame and produce a complete set of machining programs.

It is for use with slab, or solid core, door blanks, including assembled fire, internal and fibreglass versions.

* MasterTraditionalDoor - this is a similar easy-to-use program like MasterDoorSet, but is for use with stile and rail doors incorporating fielded panels.

* MasterWindow - like all the other software packages, users are taken step-by-step through the design and setting-up stages prior to the machining of all the window frame, sash and facia components.

It lets you design and produce windows in a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

* MasterNest - this optimises the number of components per sheet of material and automatically creates the machining program.

This gives an advantage to manufacturers who wish to save on material costs and substantially reduce wastage.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/mtp/mtp101.html