Volvo sees the major advantage of hyperMILL in CATIA as the full integration of the CAM system in CATIA 4.2.2, which allows them to generate the NC programs directly in the CAD program environment.OPEN MIND Technologies AG in Unterfoehring near Munich, Germany, have managed to impress the employees of Volvo Car Corporation, Gothenburg/Sweden with their cam system hyperMILL in CATIA. During a three-month test phase the model-making, prototyping and design group used the product for models of outer shell elements, mirrors, door locks and similar parts for a new vehicle generation. hyperMILL in CATIA was selected in preference to two other shortilisted systems, and Volvo has decided to install it initially on five workstations, with more installations possible for the future.
The staff at Volvo sees the major advantage of hyperMILL in CATIA as the full integration of the CAM system in CATIA 4.2.2, which allows them to generate the NC programs directly in the CAD program environment.
They can thus use a single data model and user interface throughout the entire process chain.
Training time is reduced to 5 days, and the staff gets a good command of all CAM functions very quickly.
Changes made to the CAD models are automatically incorporated in the NC programs for molds or prototypes.
Another advantage is the flexible floating-license for network installation.
If necessary, all the group's workstations can access the CAM functions until the number of purchased licenses is reached.
This allows Volvo to make optimum use of the workstations at minimum software costs.
The Volvo staff benefits from the simple, fast and reliable generation of NC programs for their specialized tasks.
hyperMILL in CATIA offers powerful 2D and 3D functions which allow them to program even complex models in a very short time.
While the NC paths are calculated in the background, they can already start on the next project.
If the geometry changes for a defined part, the milling paths can be recalculated immediately by simply selecting the new milling contour.
Once the hyperMILL in CATIA CAM system has been successfully introduced in the model-making, prototyping and design group, other CAM groups and manufacturing plants of Volvo Car Corporation have showed interest to follow, as OPEN MIND continues its series of successes in the automotive industry.
'hyperMILL is a software that suite our processes very well and it is easy to use.
Ramp-up time for our operators is very short.
The education from OPEN MIND was good.
The product is a function inside CATIA and together with floating licenses it works efficient and smooth.
The lead-time is shortened and the next project can start up during calculation of the last project,' says Anders Hjelm, NC-Specialist at RPC, Volvo Car Corporation.