The complexity of industrial manufacturing processes and requirements for seamless automation increase constantly in the context of global competition. To stay competitive, not only innovative technologies have to be utilized, but also appropriate support by custom-tailored software tools and automation solutions is necessary to align process steps to each other, to plan these steps and prepare them. Depending on varying complexity of involved manufacturing technology and other circumstances CAD/CAM activities as well as process preparation can take up to 35% of the whole manufacturing time. Besides tedious referencing and metrology operations a substantial part of the planning step consists of CAD and CAM activities. Current software systems have reached a level of complexity that software users must put a lot of effort into handling the software to accomplish a certain result, without really being “productive”. Especially in the case of production of small lot sizes or adaptive processes, marginal changes in planning can have a tremendous effect on reduction of machine operating times. The automation of involved manual process steps, e.g. part referencing, in combination with the use of a precise simulation environment can in this context pose a huge improvement in efficiency and eventually in machine operating times.

Knowledge can be encapsulated in custom-tailored software solutions, providing a high ease of use and re-use. We, at AixPath, support our customers in their endeavors to increase the efficiency of their production using custom-tailored software and sophisticated software solutions. Our software and engineering team has intensive experience with manufacturing technologies, PLM systems, application areas and machine tools. We are well versed with the potentials and involved challenges when implementing holistic seamless process chains. Furthermore, we strongly cooperate with research institutes in research [Read more – Link Research projects] and commercialization projects and provide our partners and customers a systematic and efficient transfer of latest state of the research and development during prototypic implementations as well as maturing software solutions into regular production processes.