How Hyde Engineering uses CAM Assist to solve capacity and staffing challenges
Hyde Engineering, a precision CNC machining company based in Lichfield, Staffordshire (UK), has successfully utilised CAM Assist to speed up their CNC machining process. Specialising in the defence and agriculture industries, amongst others, Hyde Engineering primarily utilises 5-axis machines (DMG Mori) to manufacture parts ranging from aluminium to high-carbon, high-tensile steels, alloys, and titanium.
We had the privilege of interviewing the Technical Director from Hyde Engineering, who shared with us the challenges he faced and how our advanced software played a pivotal role in overcoming them.
The Challenge
How capacity and staffing issues threatened growth opportunities
In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, companies often face numerous challenges as they strive to meet increasing customer demand. Hyde Engineering, a prominent player in the industry, found itself grappling with two significant hurdles: capacity constraints and staffing shortages. With the number of customers, the types of parts, and quantities increasing, the company was growing rapidly. But “spindles don't turn unless someone is programming them".
The biggest issue was quoting for new work, which relied on one person manually completing quotes. Due to the increased demand, this process could take up to a week to respond, jeopardising potential business opportunities and putting the company at risk of losing new clients.
The Approach
Finding a solution to streamlining the quoting process
The company realised that streamlining a crucial aspect of their operations required an innovative solution. To address this challenge, Hyde Engineering decided to purchase CAM Assist on the day it was released, recognising its potential to expedite the quoting process and enhance overall efficiency.
The technical director himself stated that "the most important reason was to increase the speed of quoting. I now use CAM Assist as a platform to quote parts against." With CAM Assist's assistance, the time required for quote estimation was impressively reduced from an hour to just 5 minutes, providing more time for technical staff to focus on other essential tasks.
Other Highlights
CAM Assist enhances consistency and workforce development for manufacturers.
Hyde also plans to use CAM Assist on the shop floor to allow less experienced employees to start programming parts. "I think when we start using it on the shop floor, it will be quite valuable for the people that end up using it. I’m careful of not wanting to deskill the workforce, but the beauty of CAM Assist is that you can look at what’s been generated [by the software] and look at the detail of what it’s created. So if somebody’s not sure how to generate a certain type of tool path, then they can look at what [the software has generated] and learn from it."
The Results
CAM Assist: An efficiency-boosting solution for manufacturing businesses
Hyde Engineering took proactive measures by implementing CAM Assist, which not only improved their efficiency but also freed up their technical staff to focus on other responsibilities. With CAM Assist's assistance, the company was able to accelerate the quoting process, improve consistency in estimating cycle times for parts, and enhance overall efficiency. A 95% reduction in time to quote is a huge boost to the bottom line.
CAM Assist has not only helped them to speed up the quoting process, but it has also allowed the company to be more consistent in estimating cycle times for parts. With the detail in a component, the way that each person would program them is slightly different, and that might have an effect on the cycle times. Now, the company can be confident that its cycle times for parts will be pretty similar, even if it's months since the parts were programmed previously.
CloudNC is thrilled to continue developing and enhancing our software to ensure that our customers, like Hyde Engineering, can rely on it to overcome obstacles and accomplish their objectives. As the technical director confidently stated, "I know that more features are on the way, like different CAM systems - I'm confident that it will keep developing."
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