A Perfect Fit

By Ann Mazakas

When a software company decides to expand into new markets it has  a couple of choices. It can spend several years and a ton of  money developing new technology in-house or it can become a partner of  a company that's already a leader in the market. Delcam plc  (Birmingham,UK) chose the latter.
 
Traditionally associated with  the mold and die industry, Delcam has been in the process of changing  the balance of its business to create amore comprehensive family of  machining products. Well-known in international markets, particularly  Asia, Delcam also seeks to strengthen its position in the United States.

> > PartMaker SwissCAM uses two patented technologies for automating  the programming of CNC Swiss-type lathes. A complicated part surface  is divided into a set of planes or faces on which machining tasks —  such as turning, plane milling, or cylinder milling — are carried  out separately for each face in an intuitive manner. PartMaker  SwissCAM supports most Swiss-type lathe models from such builders as  Citizen,Star, Tsugami, Tornos, and others.

Delcam  began this expansion in 2005 with the acquisition of FeatureCAM(Salt  Lake City, Utah). The FeatureCAM range of products gave Delcam a better  solution for job-shop machining to complement its existing products for  tooling and prototype manufacturing. While FeatureCAM is known for being  easy to learn and program, Delcam's Power Solution suite of products is  focused on complex milling applications that are designed to maximize  the capabilities of the machine tool.

FeatureCAM's product line  gave Delcam a strong portfolio of milling applications to serve the  needs of multiple markets while gaining a stronger presence in the North  American market. However, while FeatureCAM offers standard turning and  mill-turn programming capabilities, there is growing demand for  specialized turning applications to support the advanced technology  available with multitask machines, mill-turns with live tooling, and  Swiss-type lathes. A Gap to be Filled

As multitask machines  become standard equipment at more manufacturing companies, CAM companies  are quickly filling the need for systems that support the complexity of  programming these machine tools. To capture a large portion of this  market and to expand into new industries, Delcam recently completed the  acquisition of U.S.-based International Manufacturing Computer Services  Inc. (IMCS), the developer of the PartMaker suite of CAM software. As  part of the acquisition process,IMCS changed its name to PartMaker,  Inc. on July 1, 2006.

> > PartMaker Turn-Mill automates the programming of multi-axis  turn-mill centers with live tooling. The software uses two patented  technologies to simplify the programming of Turn-Mill centers.

PartMaker  (Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania) develops industry-leading applications  for the programming of multi-axis lathes, including PartMaker SwissCAM  (for Swiss-type lathes) and PartMaker Turn-Mill (for mill-turn centers  with live tooling).
 
"Multi-axis turning equipment is becoming  increasingly complex and sophisticated, and so needs dedicated,  specialist software," says Delcam Managing Director Hugh Humphreys. "The  addition of the PartMaker software to our existing range will allow us  to support companies around the world that wish to introduce these  advanced machines."
 
Lena Fishman, the founder of PartMaker,  agrees. "No one else on the market has the expertise of PartMaker. For  other software companies,Swiss turning is an add-on. For us, SwissCAM  is a product in itself specifically designed for programming Swiss-type  lathes."
 
The addition of SwissCAM also gives Delcam entry into  the medical and electronics industries, where Swiss-type lathes are  commonly used to machine extremely small parts. Many of the leading  users of multi-axis and Swiss-type turning equipment, including three of  the world's largest medical device manufacturers, have chosen PartMaker  for the programming of their machines. The software is also used in  the aerospace, telecommunications, and contract manufacturing sectors by  a range of customers from small subcontractors to Fortune 500 companies
 
This  latest expansion will follow a similar pattern to Delcam's acquisition  of FeatureCAM in that PartMaker and SwissCAM will continue as  independent product lines, developed in the U.S., but marketed worldwide  through Delcam's network of more than 150 subsidiary and reseller  offices in more than 60 countries. 

< < 5-axis machining has been used in aerospace applications for many years.  Delcam's Power Solution creates continuous 5-axis toolpaths across  complex surfaces, solids and triangulated models. The toolpaths are  fully gouge checked and support a wide range of machining strategies and  all tool types.

"Currently,  approximately 90 percent of our sales originate from North American  accounts," says PartMaker President Hanan Fishman. "By joining Delcam,  we will be able to accelerate our international sales growth.In  addition, Delcam's financial strength will enable us to expand  our development and support teams, and so provide even better service  and product enhancements to the existing PartMaker user community."

The Delcam Way

Delcam's  acquisition strategy is significantly different than most. First, Delcam  seeks out a partner company that already has strong sales in a  particular market, thus avoiding the usual pressure to cut costs.With a  strong management team already in place, the partner company and Delcam  can take their time evaluating the areas where one can be beneficial to  the other.
   
Second, Delcam looks for companies that have very  little overlap with their own technology, giving Delcam immediate access  to a loyal customer base in a specific niche market. Because these  customers already have a good relationship with the software provider,  Delcam has no intention of significantly changing the look of any  software it acquires.
 
"The interfaces have already been refined  over the years to suit those particular markets,"explains Humphreys of  Delcam. "We look for opportunities in the underlying technology to  eliminate some duplication. We prefer to spend our money on improving  the software rather than duplicating it."

> > PartMaker's Turn-Mill module allows users of mill-turn centers  to exploit the most complex aspects of their machines — including  the ability to support C-axis, Y-axis and inclined B-axis milling,  3Dsurface machining as well as any type of process synchronization.  Here,a turned part requiring surfacing is shown.

PartMaker  software fits perfectly into Delcam's business strategy because the  focus is on efficient machining time, which is critical in a production  environment. PartMaker's production turning capabilities complement  Delcam's focus on complex milling and FeatureCAM's focus on ease-of-use  in the job shop.

Looking to the Future

The  obvious question is "Who will Delcam acquire next?" Delcam already has  its bases covered for complex milling, complex turning, job  shops,mill-turn, and multi-task machines. The most obvious gaps in its  family of machining software are specialized wire EDM, multi-axis  laser cutting, and sheet metal fabrication. Wire EDM capabilities are  a necessity in the tool and die industry where Delcam has  traditionally focused its attention. While FeatureCAM offers a wire EDM  solution, a handful of CAM companies have captured the bulk of the wire  EDM and laser-cutting market. This is the business area to watch, though  Delcam will be busy marketing and selling PartMaker software on a  worldwide scale in the foreseeable future.
   
Ann Mazakas is the president of Intelligent Creations LLC,  a provider of services to the manufacturing industry. With an extensive  background in engineering and manufacturing, she has built an in-depth  knowledge of the CAD/CAM software industry. Send your comments about  this article through e-mail by clicking here. Please reference "PartMaker" in your message.

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The PartMaker Story
IMCS  was founded in 1991 by Lena Fishman, who is known throughout the CAM  industry as the inventor of EZ-CAM during her time as manager of  software development at Bridgeport Machines Inc. IMCS subsequently  specialized in software for more complex turning equipment and has  experienced rapid growth in the last eight years as these machines have  grown in popularity. PartMaker currently enjoys strong global  relationships with the leading machine tool builders in the sector,  including Hardinge, Tornos, Star Micronics, Nomura, and others.—AM

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Contact Information
Delcam plc
  Birmingham, UK

PartMaker, Inc.
  Ft. Washington, PA

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