A Major North American Strapping Distributor Chooses ICW’s CNC Programming Services
About the Client
The client is one of the largest strapping distributors in North America.
Challenges Faced by the Client
This major strapping distributor had a significant bottleneck on the operational front – they had a shortage of experienced and trained staff to work on their CNC programming needs. They simply lacked in-house talent with the right skill set to tackle such complex but critical needs, thanks to a constant churn of engineers in and out of the company.
In light of these challenges, the client sought out assistance from someone familiar with the manufacturing techniques using CNC, as well as traditional machines. They needed someone with the expertise to dedicate themselves exclusively to the project from start to finish. They expressed a pressing need to have a permanent, dedicated person offshore working on these mission-critical needs. With this objective in mind, they approached IndiaCADworks (ICW).
The IndiaCADworks Solution
When this client came to us with these needs, we knew they’d benefit from our CNC Programming Services, specifically using Mastercam. Given this was their first engagement with us, they understandably wanted to test the capabilities of our experts before full commitment.
Always eager to meet customers where their needs are, we offered them a customized solution that entailed testing our experts’ skills for a three-month period, during which they interacted with the programmers, engineers, and project manager directly. At the end of this trial run, the client was more than confident in the ICW's capability to handle the project with minimal assistance from on-site engineers.
The CNC machines can vary greatly by region. This is where our in-depth experience of working with different CNC machines came in handy. Our specialty in working with 11 Axis Turnmill, including standard operations for DMG, MIKRON, MOREI SEIKI, HAAS, CITIZEN, PASO GERMANY, MAKINO, MAZAK, and MITUI SEIKI, was instrumental in successfully delivering as per the client’s needs.
For the CNC programming, we followed a meticulous workflow, complete with quality checks at each stage of the process. The process encompassed the following steps:
- Simulate a task, allowing for a test sample of the program
- When necessary and possible, optimize tool selection and cycle time
- Allow the client to execute the CNC program on one of their machines, sending IndiaCADworks a video of the process
- Study the video to identify errors, flaws, or opportunities for optimization
- Iterate that process until every potential issue is caught
- Complete final review and move to full production
Key Takeaways
At the end of the project, we had successfully delivered the client’s scope to the fullest degree. The customized solution we developed provided this client with sufficient time to test our capabilities, undertake the testing process on their own floor and accomplish all their goals via an off-shore resource.
The client has now gained even more confidence in the ICW team and rolled into new project assignments with complex multi-axis programming. So, having completely fulfilled their needs and found a partner team offshore for the long haul, ICW has now moved to an FTE model to continue delivering CNC programming services to the client. And with those needs filled, the client can focus more on their core, revenue-driving strapping business operations.
