Estelle Dunsmuir, Sales & Marketing Director, NCG CAM Solutions Ltd., UK

“As the demands for automated solutions increase, we see the CAD/CAM industry growing significantly. Our philosophy is not selling software but to offer solutions. We handhold our customers and assist them with long-term solutions.”, says Estelle Dunsmuir in conversation with Nishant Kashyap.

Please tell us about your company (Product range, R&D activities, among others)
Established in Cambridge, UK, NCG CAM Solutions Ltd provides CAM software solutions, offering all the tools needed to manufacture prototypes, models, moulds, dies, patterns and finished products. Our specialist area is 3D HSM CAM with our product NCG CAM.

All our staff have a wealth of CAM experience, having worked in the CADCAM and engineering industry for many years. In particular, every member of our support team has worked on the shop-floor using CAM software on live jobs, enabling us to provide an excellent back up and support service for the software.

Established in June 2009, NCG CAM Solutions Ltd has a rapidly growing global reseller base, with resellers for NCG CAM in UK, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Norway, Turkey, Italy, India, UAE, Russia, Pakistan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and across USA and Canada.

What’s new in NCG CAM v17
New Modern User Interface
The basic style of the NCG CAM User Interface has remained unchanged since this CAM software was first produced 23 years ago. The NCG CAM v17 User Interface now has a Ribbon Design. Ribbons are the modern way to help Users find, understand, and use commands efficiently. The command bar organises the program’s  features into a series of tabs at the top of a window; because of the ribbon layout it should be easier for the User to discover new features and functions. All the icons have been redesigned, which adds to the totally fresh new look and feel of the software.

Dynamic Material Removal
Dynamic Material Removal has been added alongside the existing cutter animation function. It can indicate the direction of milling, Climb or Conventional, and is able to identify any Gouges or Collisions. This will enable better visualisation and verification of the material stock removal produced by the calculated toolpath.

Drilling – Hole Shape Database and Compound Drilling Cycles
In order to further automate the generation of drilling cycles, it is now possible to create a database of hole shapes and to have the Drilling Data Folders searched for those hole shapes. Furthermore, several cycles can be grouped together as compound cycles, to apply them to specific hole shapes.

Above – Hole Shape Database Left – Compound Drilling Cycles
The Compound Drilling Cycle can also be applied to holes of different directions (tool axis), so that holes with different directions but the same hole shape, can be programmed in one step.

Along Curve Passes – Displaying Cutter Compensation
When Cutter Compensation is applied (left or right) to the Along Curve Passes machining routine, after adjusting for the compensation, the proposed cutter path centre line is now displayed as a dotted line.

Confirmation of the actual toolpath offset
Along Curve Passes – Gouge Protection
The passes dialog for Along Curves now contains three different gouge protection options, the Holder, the Shank and the Flute; each of these can now be set independently. For example – Machining curves for an engraving routine would effectively require the flute of the cutter to be allowed to gouge, while the holder and shaft could be protected.

Export Option Settings
Users can now Export the Tools > Options > Settings. This is via context menus for pages on the Tools Options and Libraries dialogs.

Each menu has “This Page” and “All Pages” options.
The export creates a registry editor (.reg) file that will restore the contents of the page.
This will be particularly useful when Users are upgrading to a new major version of NCG CAM or installing the software onto a new computer.

Local Coordinate System
The Coordinate System entity has been extended to include the Axis rotation information. The User can create a points folder containing key reference points and defining the orientation. By selecting this Coordinate System folder and a Triangulated Surfaces folder or toolpath in the Directory Tree, then selecting the option ‘Set Coordinate System’ it will reposition the part/s or toolpath/s to the selected plan.

Project a 2D Boundary onto the Surface
3D curves can now be projected from a 2D boundary. This is meant as a visualisation aid to help with the creation of additional containment boundaries. This is mainly aimed at 3+2 axis machining as existing boundaries are drawn above the surfaces along the tool axis.

What are the latest developments in the CADCAM industry? Please take us through the current technology trends in the industry…
Since machine tool, CNC controls, and cutting tool technologies are evolving at a rapid rate, CAM software are also required to be abreast with these developments. Demands on post processors for complex machine kinematics continue to challenge the depths of this technology.

In order to machine components efficiently, sophisticated set of rules that take into consideration a broad data set are required. Adaptive area clearance eliminates full width cuts using a concept like trochoidal milling. This cutting technique is aimed towards high speed machining with solid carbide cutters. It provides the ability to safely cut using the full length of the flute at the optimum cutting speed for the material and part. Tool wear is spread evenly, cutting more on the flute than the bottom of the cutter, reducing deflection and the potential for vibration by maintaining a constant load on the cutter. The technique is particularly suitable for cutting hard materials and some electrode manufacturing. The strategy automatically adjusts the toolpath for efficient and safe machining, improving cutting conditions and allowing more consistent and possibly higher machining speeds to be maintained.

Trochoidal milling significantly improves tooling life, adaptive area clearance can reduce machining time by an average of 30% to 70% over conventional roughing as the machine uses the full flute length of the cutting tool, and the machine runs at the optimum speed without exceeding its limits at an isolated point. NCG CAM adaptive clearance toolpaths consistent chip load, reducing vibration and extending the life of your machines and ensuring even heat and load distribution throughout the cut. This even distribution prevents material surface hardening and reduces the risks of tool breakage, giving more consistent, predictable results.

India is home to many CAM solution providers, what would be your strategy to gain market share in India?
MSME’s are the backbone of the Indian manufacturing industry. From many years I have worked closely with both – the larger organisations as well as the small and medium supply chain, specifically in the areas of Allied Design, Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing, Inspection and Manufacturing Automation – across diverse industry domains. Every organisation requires hand holding at one point or the other when a technology application is required more so when it comes to complex and multi axis metal cutting. Therefore, this calls for thoroughbred application software, advanced metal cutting and measuring strategies as well as a team that knows the nitty-gritties of manufacturing.

NCG CAM has a well-established team of professionals from sales, marketing, technical, and channel expertise gained in the Indian CAM market over many years. This combination will help us to address the “pain-areas” of manufacturing by providing practical and reliable solutions.

Tell us about the growth of your company and your growth expectations in the next financial year…
Through our partnerships with Machine Builders and OEMs, our growth into different regions and industry sub-sectors coincides with theirs. India’s rapid progress in terms of advanced manufacturing over the last decade has not gone unnoticed. India has solidified its spot as a world partner for manufacturing both now, and in the future. Overall the sheer expectation of a booming economy is a great growth driver. We remain optimistic about the market and our commitment to a manufacturing economy.

What are the changes that you have observed in the CAM industry? How has technology evolved?
CAM is about driving machines. Therefore, a lot of the developments in CAM come from advances in machine tool technology. As machine tools become more capable, CAM systems are developing toolpath strategies to maximise the performance of the machine tool. This is perhaps most predominant with high speed machining where CAM systems are creating toolpaths to work well at high feeds allowing their users to produce parts at faster rates.

Another aspect of machining that drives CAM system development is tooling. Currently, some CAM systems are improving their support for barrel mills which allow the tool to engage more material providing higher material removal rates, better finishes, longer tool life and shorter cycle times.

We are constantly working with our partners to ensure we support the latest features they have to offer.

Please share with us the growth trends of the die and mould industry in India. What are the key drivers of this industry in the manufacturing sector? How does your product aim to support the die mould industry?
With an increasing demand from industries such as automobiles, auto components, packaging, plastics, electronics, electrical, healthcare and machine tools, we see a huge opportunity in the Die and Mould making industry in India. High quality and high precision are the buzzwords of any Die-Mould business. The tool room industry is undergoing a change in manufacturing practices. Where earlier, only few important components were manufactured using the CNC machine, now the industry is switching over entirely to CNC to gain a competitive edge.

Stable demand in the automotive markets, growth in the medical devices market and the promise of an aerospace manufacturing expertise in the region continues to spur new investments in machine tools, and robots, amongst other capital equipment in manufacturing. Overall the sheer expectation of a booming economy is a great growth driver. We remain optimistic about the market and our commitment to a manufacturing economy.

What are the challenges that you face in the Indian market?
Finding the right talent for the tooling industry is one of the biggest challenges faced by the companies and calls for an immediate industry- academia partnership. Students coming out of diploma institutes or graduating from engineering colleges, have no exposure or knowledge of the industrial scenario – hence, not ready for the industry.

How do you see the demand for highly automated technology and business for CAM providers like you in India?
As the demands for automated solutions increase, we see the CAD/CAM industry growing significantly. Our philosophy is not selling software but to offer solutions. We handhold our customers and assist them with long-term solutions.

Are you optimistic about the Indian market?
Yes, India is going to become a manufacturing hub. It’s already in the radar of global manufacturing giants. Once these companies setup their bases in India, there will be an increase in demand for CAD/CAM software. Die Mould industry being the backbone of manufacturing, we foresee good times ahead for the tool and die manufacturers.

Your plans for the Indian market
Growth. We believe India has a lot of potential and we are very much focused on the Indian market.