CNC Controller Market Predicted to Expand Over the Course of the Next Few Years
The CNC controller Market has been predicted to expand over the course of the next few years. Between 2017 and 2023, it has been estimated that the market could expand by up to 3.8%. This means that the CNC controller market could reach $3.7 billion by 2023. The main reasons that this growth has been predicted include the increased use of automation by companies operating in the manufacturing sector. Other reasons for the expected increase in value of the market is more opportunities to cut down on operating costs and the increasing demand for mass production in all different end-user industries. According to research the CNC machining centres are expected to hold a significant share within the controller market if this expansion up to 2023 takes place. Manufacturers are wanting to invest more into technologies that are innovative and energy efficient while still offering the end users advanced solutions. The machines that are used as a part of the CNC market have a number of different applications and are able to high-level accuracy and the ability to carry out production work constantly. There has also been an increase in the introduction of controllers in machining centres in order to carry out the complex machine operations. The market for CNC controllers in Europe is expected to reach its highest CAGR during the 2017-2023 forecast period. The largest part of the CNC controller market is set to be the automotive industry during this period of growth with more and more development in automotive manufacturing and investment from central manufacturer’s predicted to push the market forward. There is also a great deal of competition in this industry meaning that manufacturers are are looking for the cutting edge technology in order to get ahead of the market. Because of this there is an increased level of demand for CNC controllers around the world as they try to make the automotive manufacturing industry more efficient.
Featuring Furniss and White: Interview with Sam Scholes, Development Manager
Furniss and White – The Complete Engineered Solution (The Following is a Promoted Article) The ability to produce accurate castings is one much-revered across sectors, providing businesses with the key advantages in speed and quality needed to remain competitive. With precisely that capability, Furniss and White, one of the UKâs leading castings specialists, in fact, does a whole lot more and, having innovated the process â as well as developing fabrication services alongside â the company has quickly become the first and last step in engineering excellence. From humble beginnings in 1980, Furniss and White has since enjoyed phenomenal growth in the metal castings and fabrication industry, and the company is showing no sign of slowing down. Now specialising in highly advanced and accurate castings as well as hosting fabrication and assembly services, Furniss and White effectively offers the complete engineering solution, acting as a one-stop-shop for its clients in the oil and gas, defence and marine sectors. A key strategy responsible for Furniss and Whiteâs long-standing reputation and success in the foundry industry, has been its commitment to investment; the company has, most recently, carried out a major improvement of its facilities. As part of its five-year investment programme, the company has just renewed its heat treatment facilities to the tune of some £1m. The state-of-the-art, new furnace is capable of heat-treating up to 5t of material at a time and utilises a 51,000l jet-chilling process post-heat. The facilities not only meet, but exceed, current specifications on quality and health and safety, achieving a transfer time of just 30 seconds. Recognising the sheer pace at which both the castings and fabrication sectors innovate, as well as the increasingly demanding requirements of clients, Furniss and White has also taken time to develop strands of its own â inaugurating a new division dedicated solely to research and development. With help from tax consultancy firm, Howard Lynch, the company has capitalised on government support for R&D investment and has been able to form a new strand dedicated to innovation. The department, which comprises a team of qualified technicians and engineers, is headed up by acting-consultant, Professor John Campbell OBE, a man widely-regarded as one of the worldâs leading experts in the castings industry. As a result of his appointment some five years ago, Furniss and White has undergone waves of major change â not least in the adoption of state-of-the-art CNC technology. Sam Scholes, Development Manager at Furniss and White details further: Our R&D team stressed that, if we were to continue to keep pace with the market as well as open new doors for the future, we needed to improve the precision of our castings. From a strong partnership with Simpsons Patterns, weâre now able to offer the high quality castings that clients need. From the customerâs original 3D model, Simpsons Patterns is able to create a 3D CNC-cut pattern from which we can then produce a highly accurate mould to cast from. Using CNC tooling effectively guarantees that the pattern is an exact replica of the initial drawing therefore maximising client satisfaction. The ability to work exactly to a clientâs brief is, of course, of significant advantage â providing the clientâs model is fine-tuned to a degree wherein itâs not only cast-able but also not susceptible to failure later down the line. In that respect, Furniss and White need not worry. Having invested in the latest 3D visualisation software, Solid Cast, the firm is able to generate an accurate 3D interactive graphic which provides an insight into how molten metal flows into the mould. The model is solidified on-screen as it would be during the casting process. With the simulation technology (provided by AF Software), the company is able to identify potential flaws or material discrepancies at an early stage â something Scholes is keen to stress provides benefits to both the company and its clients. Finding a flaw in a product as a result of a defective mould is a real headache for customers, asserts Scholes. They have to take the product off the machine, send it back to the castings service, get the design re-drafted (if theyâre able to) and then re-commence production. Every stage represents major financial outlay and a significant amount of time for both the client and the caster, and so getting the job right first time is absolutely critical. With Solid Cast, thatâs exactly what weâre able to do. With the employment of AFâs Softwareâs technology, Furniss and White has significantly improved its first time radiography pass rate (comparable to KPIs), achieving a remarkable NDT pass rate of 92%. Previously, one of companyâs engineers would draft a 2D drawing and conduct various calculations so as to predict the path and behaviour of the molten metal as it is poured into the mould. Guesswork has since been replaced by point blank accuracy, and the company can deliver the every time excellence required by clients. Much of its new capabilities have to be, in part, attributed to the new partnerships it has fostered with suppliers without which, Scholes admits, There would be no Furniss and White. Priding itself on maintaining a largely local supply chain, the company is rewarded with both faster lead times as well as the opportunity to widen and enhance its services. In addition to its positive relationship with Simpsons Patterns, for instance, Furniss and White is also able to call upon nearby Insight NDT to support Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and radiography services. Scholes describes the testing specialist as a solid partner, adding: The team at Insight have been truly invaluable. NDT plays a major role in the fabrication sector and itâs imperative that we continue to provide that service to customers. Theyâre able to turnaround a dayâs worth of casting in little more than a week, assigning casts a pass or fail mark. More than that, theyâve grown in line with what need: investing in larger vehicles to convey our larger castings. In recent years, businesses have become so much more
CNC Made Easy with XYZ ProtoTRAK Control System
Control systems are amongst the biggest buzz word in the manufacturing industry for a decade and the popularity of the software continues to increase. Leading the digital trend and ushering in a new dawn of control, XYZ ProtoTRAK software continues to be the choice system here in the UK; the firmâs pioneering technology is now in use on over 15,000 machines across the country. ProtoTRAK control system software has been used exclusive by XYZ Machine Tools since the 1993. And despite being over 10 years old, the technology is as pioneering and valuable as its ever been â pushing XYZ Machine Tools CNC milling and turning tools to the top of the market. Design-engineered so as to be flexible to one-off, prototype and small batch production, ProtoTRAK continues to improve ease-of-use on 2- or 3-axis mills, and 2-axis lathes. The control technology provides a simple interface from which operatives can select operations quickly and easily. Whilst some control system models have proven counter-intuitive to use, even slowing down lead times, XYZâs machines have been complimented by the technology following collaboration between the two developers. Both the machine and control software have identical desktop units, meaning operatives only have be conversant in one interface and are, moreover, provided the opportunity to monitor machining performance remotely. Despite a now-pronounced identity within the sector, it was a long road before the XYZ ProtoTRAK machines became best practice in the industry. With a slow start to sales in the UK for the first three month, the firm went on to sell 400 unit in less than the nine months following. Nigel Atherton Managing Director of XYZ Machine Tool stressed attributed such a correlation to clients needing to see it in action before they believed it: Once customers saw the ease of use and potential of the ProtoTRAK control, we were almost guaranteed a sale, he commented. In fact, the hit-rate for customers viewing a presentation remains consistently high and over 80% of those witnessing one of the firmâs many demonstrations go on to purchase a machine. And having significantly improved the way in which control systems and CNC machines work in harmony, XYZ Machine Tools looks set to lead the movement to leaner and more intelligent future of manufacturing.
