Found in Translation

Its technology is evidently translating very well, as this UK product design and manufacturing software company now has a presence in some 60 countries around the world. Bob Gill reports from the Delcam Asian Technical Summit 2007.

They may be thousands of miles away from each other, but there is a common thread that links the two cities of Nagoya, Japan, and Birmingham, UK: manufacturing, or monozukuri, if you want to make the translation.

While on the surface Nagoya seems to typify much of the color and contrasts of urban Japan – earnest salarymen striding to work; the high decibel din of Pachinko parlors; neon lights switching on to signal respite from the late summer sticky afternoon; the oasis of tranquility that is the Atsuta Shrine (dedicated to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and one of Shinto’s most important) – it also represents the country’s major manufacturing hub. Toyota, Fujitsu, Denso, Sharp, Yamazaki Mazak are just some of the world renowned names that call it home.

Birmingham’s star, however, as a manufacturing base has declined considerably from the time it was the powerhouse of Britain’s Industrial Revolution and known as “the workshop of the world”. Its economy today is driven by the service sector (80 percent) and the talk is more likely to be of software than steel, finance than foundries. Still, the city is evidently managing the transition well, experiencing good growth and a per capita GDP well above the UK average.

One local company that exemplifies this change is Delcam. Starting from humble origins in the 1970s, the product design and manufacturing software (CADCAM is probably the most convenient short form, although Delcam’s offerings now extend beyond just CAD and CAM) firm has grown to become the UK’s largest in the sector, and a steadily expanding global footprint means that its blue “spider” logo is almost as likely to be recognized in Beijing and Baltimore as back in Birmingham.

Now in its seventh year, the Delcam Asian Technical Summit is an annual opportunity for the company to showcase its latest solutions in front of customers, partners and media, and stands as quite an appropriate testament to the company’s success is moving far beyond the confines of its home base. Held in a different Asia Pacific city every year, it was the turn of the 21st century manufacturing powerhouse of Nagoya to play the host in September 2007.

Apart from Delcam business and product presentations, this year’s Summit provided an opportunity for several of Delcam’s partners and customers to grab the spotlight. User views came from Fujifilm, Hyundai, Tatematsu Mould, while Renishaw, HP, and Z-Corp spoke about their metrology, workstations, and 3D printing solutions, respectively.

20,000 …. and counting

“We are the company that helps innovative, forward-thinking designers and manufacturers to increase productivity, reduce lead times, improve quality, and maximize profitability,” said Tim Mitchell, Asia Pacific Business Development Director, kicking off the 2007 Summit.

And evidently, an increasing number of users are realizing such benefits. While it took 27 years for Delcam to hit 10,000 customers (in 2004), it has only taken three more to get 10,000 more under its belt. Mitchell announced Korean moldmaker Dong Guan Woojeon Precision as the 20,000th customer through its an order for PowerSHAPE CAD and PowerMILL CAM software.

Mitchell also revealed 2007 as the 20th anniversary of Delcam’s first sale in Japan. To commemorate this, he presented a plaque to Katsuhiko Ishii, Managing Director of Ishii Iron Works, the company’s very first customer in Japan. “Mr Ishii has been a demanding and innovative user of Delcam software,” said Mitchell. “He was named User of the Year in 1992 for creating special command files for the five-axis machining of rubber moulds.” Delcam’s now 800-strong client base in Japan includes names such as Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Citizen and Denso.

Several announcements were made on the corporate front: the establishment of new offices in Singapore and Vietnam; a US$1 million investment in a new HQ for Delcam India in Pune; and the purchase of a 20 percent stake ($12 million) in Delcam by fellow UK technology company Renishaw.

After its significant acquisitions state-side in 2005 (FeatureCAM) and 2006 (PartMaker), Tim Mitchell announced the latest purchase – Crispin, a British supplier of software solutions to the footwear industry. “This gives Delcam the world’s most comprehensive range of CADCAM software for the footwear sector, and the biggest customer base of any CADCAM supplier in the industry,” he said.

CAM changes

With the claim to be “the world’s largest specialist supplier of CAM software”, it is not surprising that CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) is Delcam’s biggest play. And the company spent some time during the Summit explaining some of the changes that have taken place in the global CAM market over the last few years.

The primary function of CAM is to provide the program code for CNC machines and, thus, sales of CAM software are strongly related to the health of the global machine tool market. In 2001, CAM and CNC sales were US$1.1 billion and $36.1 billion, respectively, which equates to a 3.1 percent ratio. By 2006, while CNC sale had increased 66 percent to $60 billion, CAM sales rose by only 19 percent to $1.32 billion, meaning a drop in the ratio to 2.2 percent.

This decline, says Delcam, is a result of the cost per seat reducing proportionally more than CNC machines, and of a global shift in the CNC market to Asia (especially China) where much less is spent on CAM software. But the good news, for Delcam anyway, is that the 2001-2006 period saw a doubling in spend on 5- axis CAM, a 50 percent increase on 4-axis CAM, and significant increases in spend on applications like mill/turn, turn/mill, Swiss type, and multi spindles – exactly the areas in which Delcam specializes.

Another boost for Delcam is that the CAM market shares of the “big three” PLM providers – Siemens (UGS), Dassault, PTC – have all fallen while that of CAM specialists like Delcam have risen. In 2006, Delcam’s CAM market share hit 7.1 percent, a healthy increase on the 2.7 percent recorded in 2001.

Product highlights

Delcam ploughs over 50 percent of its software royalties to back into product development, which means a slew of new and upgraded products released every year. Some of the major announcements in Nagoya:

CAD: Reverse engineering capabilities added to PowerSHAPE CAD software to allow point data collected from models or prototypes using inspection arms and other devices to be used as the basis for new designs

CAM: As well as additional options for five-axis machining, PowerMILL 8 delivers significantly faster calculation times, especially for large, complex components, like press tools for automotive bodywork, and for smaller, highly-detailed models, such as moulds for fine-tolerance and high-accuracy parts. Also announced: PartMaker Version 8, which marks the introduction of the Full Machine Simulation module; an updated interface in DentMILL Version 2, a knowledge-based CAM system for machining dental caps and bridges; FeatureCAM 2008, including support for continuous five-axis machining for the first time.

Inspection: The latest release of Delcam’s PowerINSPECT inspection software includes support for multi-axis On-Machine Verification and compatibility with the AIMS Metrology System used by aerospace companies. “In 2006, we exceeded all financial goals in the business plan, and PowerINSPECT has the highest growth rate of all Delcam software,” announced Marketing Manager Peter Dickin.

Presenters at Asian Technical Summit 2007

Katsuhiko Ishi, Ishii Iron Works

Complex CAM applications

PowerINSPECT