ZEDES – winning all the way with WorkNC Automatic CAD/CAM

French mouldmaker Group Zedes has specialised in the design and production of plastic and thermoplastic injection moulds for over 20 years. The company sets itself apart by offering turnkey solutions for the design and production of highly complex technical products for automotive, telecom and many other high-tech sectors including the medical industry.

<< We have halved the time required to create an electrode, and with WorkNC’s HSM strategies we save the same time again when machining >>
Pierre Gauthier, Managing Director, ZEDES Group

Zedes consists of 3 production sites and 1 engineering office. Being divided into 3 small units means the company can be more flexible, innovative and responsive to meet the diverse requirements of its customers.

Zedes’ technical services are in regular contact with their direct customers as well as OEM engineers in order to respond quickly and positively to their demands. This is particularly important as the company is often called on to participate in the design of the finished plastic part, or to undertake a full design study, production and testing of tooling equipment, and it must offer a complete, error-free solution.

A major factor in the growth of Zedes’ business over the past 10 years has been its adoption of CAD/CAM software. The company’s engineering office started off using several CAD/CAM systems to simplify data exchange with its main contractors but finally opted for WorkNC and WorkNC-CAD because it was able to handle all requirements.

In addition, WorkNC’s neutral interfaces (STEP, IGES… ) have proven to be exceptionally reliable, ensuring efficient data exchange. WorkNC CAD/CAM provides the high level of reliability and performance essential for Zedes’ business activity and its ease of use meant it was soon adopted by all the company’s operators.

Zedes has one 4-Axis machine and several HSM machines. In 1999 it needed to find the best software for its High Speed Machining activity – not only did WorkNC prove to be the best technical solution, it also delivered the best price:quality ratio on the market. The company has never regretted its decision - WorkNC’s developments continue to keep pace with the latest machining technology and the reliability of its toolpaths remain second to none. A number of Zedes’ CAM operators concentrate exclusively on WorkNC in order to get the most out of the application, enabling the company to produce highly complex parts while constantly reducing preparation times.

Using WorkNC for 3D milling operations, Zedes are making significant savings in preparation and machining times for safe 3D High Speed Machining of steel and copper components. Each WorkNC workstation pilots 2-3 machining centres and WorkNC-CAD allows the company to prepare all the parts before machining : part analysis, surface repair, automatic electrode generation, development of complete processes. Today, Zedes have achieved significant productivity gains across many areas, using the range of functions and tools within WorkNC and WorkNC-CAD.

Zedes particularly acknowledge the impact of WorkNC in two specific areas of their activity. Firstly, Zedes praise the quality of WorkNC’s toolpaths for their everyday machining activity - roughing, semifinishing or re-roughing and finishing. Secondly, with the help of WorkNC, the company has developed a complete electrode management system covering electrode creation through to manufacturing and including automatic generation of the technical documentation.

Having used WorkNC for the past 6 years, Zedes can cite some impressive results. The time required to manufacture an electrode has been cut by 50%. Programming times for preparing machining cycles has been reduced by 30%.

The number of errors has also fallen, freeing up operators to work on more important tasks. With WorkNC, Zedes can now rough machine with bull-nose cutters, a strategy which had not been an option previously.

Cutter incident rates have fallen considerably due to toolpath reliability as well as WorkNC’s collision prevention function. Finally, WorkNC’s High Speed Machining strategies have also allowed Zedes to cut machining times by 50%.

<< WorkNC is, above all, a dedicated trade solution. It allows any operator to exploit the software and quickly generate a program because they speak the same language. That isn’t often the case with this type of application and that’s what we appreciated right from the start. >>
Walter Neuveux, Engineering Dept Manager ZEDES Group

Following the selection of WorkNC, Zedes’ team members attended a WorkNC basic training course enabling them to start using the software quickly and efficiently. Since that time, Zedes have subscribed to WorkNC’s Maintenance Plan and make good use of the WorkNC Hotline, which they describe as offering very efficient and responsive service. Zedes view its adoption of WorkNC as a resounding success as it has enabled them to implement efficient production processes within its engineering department and to make important in roads in its battle to improve productivity and quality.