• Tag: adv mfg

    Press Release: SolidCAD Announces Strategic Partnership with Liggo to Drive Innovation in Advanced Manufacturing

    Posted on by admin

    Toronto, November 12, 2024 – SolidCAD, a leader in technology consulting and digital transformation, proudly announces its latest partnership with Liggo, a cutting-edge shopfloor monitoring and management solution, to enhance advanced manufacturing capabilities across Canada.

    Liggo is renowned for its ability to connect users, systems, and machines in a seamless ecosystem, capturing critical factory know-how and optimizing production efficiency. This partnership enables SolidCAD to bring Liggo’s innovative platform to a broader market, empowering manufacturers to elevate their operations, increase productivity, and scale efficiently.

    “With Liggo, manufacturers can orchestrate their shop floor and streamline operations like never before,” said Stéphane Agnard, President of Liggo. “Our solution helps businesses multiply their value by up to three times, increase productivity by 25%, and onboard employees five times faster – all proven by customer results.”

    Liggo is an all-in-one platform, connecting to existing equipment and systems, including ERP solutions, and offers comprehensive features such as monitoring, scheduling, quality system control, tool database management, and up to fully automated process control. It simplifies complex workflows while democratizing expertise across the workforce, making technology more accessible to operators, engineers, managers, and executives alike.

    By partnering with Liggo, SolidCAD strengthens its position as a key player in the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector. “Our goal is to help manufacturers harness the full potential of their production capabilities,” stated Marty Cornacchi, Director of Advanced Manufacturing at SolidCAD. “Liggo’s technology is designed to empower employees, streamline production, and scale operations efficiently, which aligns perfectly with SolidCAD’s mission to deliver cutting-edge solutions to our clients.”

    This collaboration highlights SolidCAD’s commitment to equipping manufacturers with the tools they need to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving industry. By providing access to Liggo’s platform, SolidCAD customers can leverage advanced manufacturing solutions to reduce inefficiencies, optimize workflows, and drive greater business success.

    About Liggo

    Liggo is a shopfloor monitoring and management platform that connects users, machines, and systems to capture factory know-how and optimize production. With its comprehensive orchestration capabilities, Liggo empowers manufacturers to streamline operations, enhance collaboration, and scale their business value.

    Bridging the Skills Gap: Training Workforce for CAM Automation – Part 1

    Posted on by David Medeiros

    Automation is crucial in modern manufacturing, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency. Despite its importance, there is a noticeable skills gap in the workforce’s ability to effectively utilize this technology. This gap not only infringes on productivity but also affects the industry’s capacity for innovation and competitiveness. An understanding of these issues sets the stage for exploring effective training and development strategies. Implementation of Industry 4.0 trends is helping partners achieve greater outcomes by leveraging all aspects of their daily operations.

    Evolution of CAM

    In the late 80’s early 90’s, creating a lathe bit for a specific application involved either making it yourself or consulting with a colleague. The drawer where these tools were kept often became so heavy that the rollers broke under the weight. This collection represented years of experience and countless hours of work.

    Initially, half-inch carbide blanks were ground down on a deckle wheel to make cutters for specific needs. Over time, machinists built their collections of carbide cutters, each created for a particular need, leading to heavy toolbox drawers. The days of programming directly on the machine controller and manually grinding down tools have largely disappeared. Today’s machinists rely on CAM software to create their programs. The art of 2D programming has evolved into 3D programming due to surfacing capabilities and time savings. As the industry has evolved, manufacturers have continually sought ways to improve their business operations but, to this day, filling gaps in the workforce that can keep up with the rapidly changing industry remains a key challenge for many businesses.

    Strategies for Training the Workforce in Current and Emerging Software

    Addressing the skills gap involves first assessing the specific training needs of the workforce through skills audits and feedback mechanisms. Developing a curriculum that focuses on critical CAM software like Autodesk Fusion can significantly enhance capabilities. Additionally, partnerships with educational institutions, software providers, machine tool partners, and industry leaders can help create comprehensive and practical training modules that are directly applicable to the industry’s needs.

    As the industry has evolved and CAM has become increasingly important in manufacturing, there has been a focus on building upon current processes. Historically, most tasks were programmed with a CAM package, and automation was discussed but implemented differently. Today, forging holistic industry partnerships can create comprehensive and practical training modules.

    Before the current advancements, macros were created to assist with repetitive tasks, such as rest machining toolpaths and setting up programming sessions for new models. Today, there is a push to automate everything, developing processes to advance manufacturing and address the shortage of skilled workers. Automation now includes Artificial Intelligence and plugins to maximize efficiency while minimizing personnel requirements.

    Tools and Technology to Streamline Processes

    Incorporating automation tools such as Make Productivity, CloudNC, and OptiNC can address many common manufacturing pain points. Implementing them can increase both efficiency and accuracy, helping to meet the manufacturing needs of today’s machining processes and ultimately leading to greater sustainability. Integrating these tools into the workforce ensures that employees are proficient in modern technologies, preparing them for current demands and future advancements.

    A notable example of successful workforce transformation is the case of Manufacture Scorpion. Through targeted training and technology adoption, operational efficiency was significantly enhanced. This case study, among others, provides valuable insights into effective strategies and best practices that can be adopted by other firms aiming to leverage CAM automation for business improvement.

    Read more about Manufacture Scorpion’s success story here.

    The Future of CAM Automation and Required Skills

    The future of CAM automation is likely to be shaped by continuous technological advancements. As these innovations emerge, the industry must prepare a workforce that is skilled in current technologies and adaptable to future changes. This requires an ongoing commitment to training and development, ensuring the workforce remains competitive and capable of handling new challenges and opportunities in CAM automation.

    Artificial intelligence is now a significant tool in the industry, changing the manufacturing landscape for future generations. With companies having facilities in various countries, efficient data exchange will be transformed by AI tools that strengthen customer relationships and service delivery. The future of CAM automation will be shaped by technological advancements, requiring a workforce that is adaptable and skilled in current and future technologies.

    To learn more about training and other CAM automation services visit this link or reach out to info@solidcad.ca