In order to further improve the company's processes, the Management Board decided in 2014 to supplement the existing 2D CAD software with a 3D solution and - in the spirit of Industry 4.0 - to create production environments based on "the secure exchange of information and the networking of machines and processes".

"The positive impression continued with the processing of the entire order. Starting with the creation of an individual shortening measurement table through to the technical support and adaptation of the existing free cuts in the program. Requirements were implemented, adapted and integrated within a very short time," reports production manager André Tilmes enthusiastically.

Drawing of individual segments - complete with all bend markings. © SPI

"Particularly in the case of more complex edge profiles with interlocking tabs or components with radii that have to be folded in segments, major time savings have been achieved," confirms Oliver Neumann, Head of Work Preparation. "SPI independently creates the processing of the components, including the geodata, based on the material and tool databases. For the workshop drawing, the segmented folded radii and all individual bends are displayed with angles. The biggest advantage is the ability to draw models with sharp edges. SPI then creates the unfolding with the correct bending radii and all necessary corner or tab clearances and, if required, outputs a production-ready step model that corresponds to the real component with radii and clearances. This is particularly advantageous for larger assemblies in order to identify and correct collision risks."

Stainless steel tree tests the limits of software

Art on the tree: steel tree and Solidworks assembly (assembly). With the help of SPI SheetMetalWorks, the individual parts could be loaded quickly and provided with the manufacturing information required for production. The workshop drawings including bending tables were created in just a few steps and geo-files including bending markings for the laser cutting center were created in the same operation. © SPI

"For our customers Orproject and Winterberg Metall, we realized a now award-winning art project in the form of a tree made of stainless steel segments," reports Oliver Neumann. "The customer sent us an assembly in step format. With the help of SPI, the individual parts could be loaded quickly and provided with the manufacturing information required for our production. Our realization: Thanks to the SPI functions, it was possible to create workshop drawings containing complete bending tables in just a few steps. Geos including bending markings for our laser cutting center were created in the same work step. These were necessary because the many bends in the components meant that there were no parallel surfaces to mark them."

The professionals from Cologne-Longerich have also gained capacity in production. With the component drawings now available, including all information on stop dimensions and angles, production has been made significantly more economical and efficient: "In the past, setting samples were laboriously produced: A few more were often needed before all the parameters were right, today it's usually a sample and then the series follows."

Wishing for more licenses: Head of work preparation Oliver Neumann (left) and production manager André Tilmes. © SPI

Three out of five workstations are currently equipped with SPI. Christoph Langen does not hesitate: "We will equip all workstations in the future. The work preparation processes have been significantly simplified. By integrating the software, we have saved around 20 percent of the time needed to prepare production documents and nest components in laser programming. In addition to the savings in the actual design, we benefit in particular from the simultaneous creation of the geo-files for our laser cutting system, so that this work step in the laser programming is no longer necessary. The collaboration with SPI has been very positive and effective since day one."