What are the advantages of an open and customizable CAD/CAM solution?

What are the advantages of an open and customizable CAD/CAM solution?

7 Jun 2019 | Bearbeitung, Digital Engineering, Digital Engineering, Feinmechanik, Mécanique de précision, Precision Manufacturing, Wood Industry

As the performance and productivity requirements of professionals increase, design and manufacturing software evolves. An open and customizable CAD/CAM solution is what TOPSOLID offers to support companies for the purposes of unlimited and increasing development. What are the possibilities specifically offered by this type of software? What are the benefits of implementing them in your company? Discover the benefits of an open and customizable CAD/CAM solution through the features of TopSolid’Wood for the woodworking industry.

What is an open and customizable CAD/CAM solution?

 

An open CAD/CAM solution is a software designed to communicate easily with other software.

Thanks to its standard interfaces, the open CAD/CAM solution facilitates and accelerates both import and export. It allows you to communicate smoothly with your customers and suppliers, save time and reduce the margin of error to zero.

Examples of how you can use the TopSolid’Wood software in the wood industry:

  • Possibility of importing architectural plans in DXF or DWG formats into your CAD/CAM software: the designer works directly from these files.
  • Possibility of import 3D models in STEP, Parasolid or IGES formats: the furniture professional works without difficulty with the hardware supplier.
  • Exporting a cutting list in various formats: at the end of the layout project, the open software is able to export the cutting list in a format readable by a software specialized in panel cutting.
  • Exporting images to give the customer a realistic preview of the final rendering.

 

A customizable CAD/CAM solution is a software that allows the user to integrate specific issues and know-how.

Each profession has its know-how and each company has its own processes: from one company to another, professional expertise is concretely reflected in the implementation of specific procedures. It is in the company’s interest to preserve this in order to distinguish itself and protect its competitive advantage. To this end, the CAD/CAM software allows you to customize all stages of the design process. Moreover, it is this customizable nature of the software that offers professionals a better productivity potential.

Illustrations with TopSolid’Wood software:

Many different manufacturing processes coexist in the wood industry. The designer does not work in the same way with a professional and a private individual. In addition, he adapts his procedures according to the nature of the work in progress – bathroom, hotel, kitchen, store, etc. A tailor-made part is also necessarily integrated within each project. The furniture manufacturer’s issues, for its part, are radically different – standardization of parts, optimization of production, manufacturing for kit assembly or already assembled furniture, adaptation of processes based on the materials (solid wood, panels, resin, etc.). In this context, a standard CAD/CAM solution is not enough.

By choosing a customizable CAD/CAM solution, such as TopSolid’Wood, the company is importing its own know-how and procedures into the software to optimize its work without altering it. There are a thousand and one ways to design and manufacture using wood, and many benefits to be derived from this diversity. It is up to each professional to preserve his methods with regard to his brand image and production issues, with the support of a customizable software.

The advantages of an open and customizable CAD/CAM solution

 

1. Capitalize on your know-how

You are unique, and that is your strength. Through experience, the company acquires its own know-how on which to capitalize in order to win on the competition’s ground. By customizing its CAD/CAM solution according to its own know-how, the company gains in performance and productivity.

Example: TopSolid’Wood software allows you to create your own component libraries. In addition, customers can import their creations. These component libraries, which can be customized ad infinitum, add to the company’s assets over time.

 

2. Use an intuitive and evolutionary CAD/CAM solution

No computer skills are required to use TopSolid’Wood software. TOPSOLID, to make life easier for the company and its employees, includes in its CAD/CAM software offer comprehensive training for its users, and offers unlimited customer support free of charge for 6 months. The software solution’s intuitive interface allows you to get started quickly, regardless of your initial skill level. After using the software over time, the user makes the most of it by customizing it according to his specific needs: the CAD/CAM solution evolves with the professional.

 

3. A customizable software tool to increase productivity

As the CAD/CAM solution evolves with the professional, productivity increases accordingly. By choosing a solution that can be customized at an early stage, the company is able to integrate all the new data into the manufacturing process over time.

 

4. An open solution to improve performance

Saving time while ensuring a pristine work quality is the major advantage of open software. With TopSolid, the company automatically imports and exports all types of files from its suppliers and customers. This process saves time – no need to redo the work several times, to enter data to be exported, etc. – and at the same time reduces the risk of human error. The company’s performance increases considerably.    

A good design and manufacturing software must adapt over time, without limit, to the evolution of the company. It is in this context that TOPSOLID thinks about its TopSolid CAD/CAM solutions. Thanks to TopSolid’Wood software, an open and customizable solution, professionals in the wood industry are able to develop their products without being limited by software issues. With the same objective of productivity, the TopSolid’Wood CAD/CAM solution also offers the opportunity to preserve valuable know-how and specific business expertise.

 

 

TopSolid CAD/CAM Product Range

 

TOPSOLID is to date the only publisher to offer this innovative integrated solution. Indispensable for saving time, reducing the margin of error, securing and improving processes, TopSolid’s products offer a significant competitive advantage. Discover the software adapted to your needs.

TopSolid’Design at the service of Métallerie Letourneau

TopSolid’Design at the service of Métallerie Letourneau

6 May 2019 | Digital Engineering, Steel Industry

Métallerie Letourneau company manufactures metalworking for individuals and industries. Equipped with TopSolid’Design since 2015, the company designs all of its productions using the CAD software from the French editor. A software that is perfectly adapted to the needs of the company since it allows it to meet the specific expectations and requirements of each of its customers.

Do you specialize in the construction of metal structures? Are you looking for a software that is both simple and efficient, allowing you to manage numerous projects?

Find out why Métallerie Letourneau chose TopSolid and how it perfectly meets the company’s quality requirements.

 

Métallerie Letourneau, an expert in the manufacture of metal structures

 

Specialized in the production of metal structures, from computer-aided design to installation, Métallerie Letourneau offers customized solutions to manufacturers, architects as well as individuals and communities. The company designs various and varied equipment for the interior design of traditional homes, architects’ houses, industrial premises and local authority buildings.

Founded in 2010 by Simon Letourneau, its current manager, and now made up of a dozen people, the company located in the Burgundy region, manages all types of metalwork manufacturing projects, from the simplest to the most complex.

 

Variety of services offered by Métallerie Letourneau

 

The SME offers a wide range of services, constantly adapted to each of its customers; it builds and installs metal structures intended for the development of their interior and exterior spaces: staircases, gates, doors, railings, pergolas, awnings, glass partitions, etc.

Surrounded by a team of seasoned experts, the young manager in his thirties, creates unique, tailor-made and personalized equipment, integrating various materials (steel, aluminum, stainless steel, etc.). And to provide a turnkey solution and impeccable quality to its customers, the company frequently collaborates with all areas of the building industry. The manager models the different parts in the design department and creates the assemblies, all using the latest version of TopSolid’Design.

Even if the “functional” aspect of their equipment is essential, it undoubtedly has a decorative purpose; as a result, Métallerie Letourneau makes it a point of designing resolutely aesthetic works that will blend in perfectly with their customers’ interior designs and the architecture of the building.

Providing a wide range of services is an asset for the company, but it also represents a real challenge: the engineers must be able to bring to life all the equipment previously imagined for their customers.

 

TopSolid’Design: the ideal software to design large-scale metal structures 

To date, the company uses TopSolid’Design CAD software to design all their parts and assemblies; this software solution allows them to manage all types of projects, from the most classic to the most ambitious; thanks in particular to the large assembly management feature, the company can manage the modeling of very large assemblies.

Before making his choice, the head of the metalworking company analyzed the CAD software market at length. What he was looking for above all, was a simple to use, intuitive software that would allow him to manage all his customers’ projects. He also needed a robust solution with extensive and powerful design along with simulation capabilities.

TopSolid’Design is both simple and very powerful. Its intuitive interface guarantees its users a quick start and easy and optimal use, without unnecessary waste of time. This tool includes an infinite number of features that allow it to manage complex projects.

This solution has the advantage of being very ergonomic: thanks to its dashboard listing the latest documents and current projects, you have an overview of your current projects at a glance. Moreover, to design your sheet metal parts and assemblies, you will appreciate its sparse, very functional and customizable interface which is adapted to your needs; you can easily add or remove some features, as you wish, to lighten the interface.

Securing your designs was an asset that seduced the Burgundy company. The design of your parts is fully secured thanks to the integrated PDM (Product Data Management) which will ensure the complete management of all your data. You do not lose any information, all data is saved, no matter how it is manipulated or modified.

This application manages all files, links between parts and assemblies as well as all the changes made to the project: if you move a file, rename the documents, everything is saved automatically.

TopSolid’s integrated PDM allows you to manage large-scale projects with complete peace of mind. Let’s say you want to go back to the original project for some reason. With TopSolid’s integrated PDM solution, you are protected against data loss: you can restore an earlier version or recover the original version. You can easily reuse elements from other designs to re-inject them into other projects, which guarantees exceptional productivity benefits.

For Métallerie Letourneau, this integrated solution was a decisive factor in the final choice: convinced of the importance of data security, the company was immediately reassured.

 

Conclusion 

It is a great satisfaction for TOPSOLID to see that the software allows Métallerie Letourneau to access various and varied markets, and to be able to respond to the demands and quality requirements of major customers such as SNCF.

Do you want to acquire a simple, intuitive and efficient CAD software?

Do not hesitate to ask for a demonstration of the software: you will see for yourself that this software is ideal for designing and producing any type of work.

 

TopSolid CAD/CAM Product Range

TOPSOLID is to date the only publisher to offer this innovative integrated solution. TopSolid products are essential for saving time, reducing the margin of error, securing and improving processes. They provide a significant competitive advantage. Discover now the software adapted to your business.

How TOPSOLID supports you throughout the process of using your CAD/CAM software

How TOPSOLID supports you throughout the process of using your CAD/CAM software

6 May 2019 | Digital Engineering, Steel Industry, Wood Industry

From its implementation to its handling, the roll-out of a CAD/CAM software within the company is a major project, which requires the mobilization of human resources over time. Aware of this central issue, TOPSOLID places support and proximity to its customers at the heart of its value. In doing so, the CAD/CAM software solution publisher enables the company to overcome the obstacle of complexity inherent in the implementation of tools that are essential to its development. The company makes sure that its project is completed more quickly. How does this proximity translate? How does TOPSOLID support TopSolid users in the long term? Explanations.

How TOPSOLID supports you throughout the process of using your CAD/CAM software

Support starting from the preliminary phase of the CAD/CAM project

 

 A CAD/CAM project is carried out in several stages. In advance, the company defines its objectives and establishes its specifications in order to choose the most suitable solution. This step can be difficult for the company: what are the business specificities to be taken into account when choosing the software? What features are required to get the maximum benefits from the tool? Managers do not necessarily have an outside perspective of their business, nor do they necessarily have an in-depth knowledge of the workings of CAD/CAM software.

This is why TOPSOLID deploys its teams to your company even before choosing a software.

A sales representative and a specialized technician will have a meeting with you in order to identify the technical and economic constraints related to your project and/or business, and will therefore explain your technical requirements.

Your technical requirements and the necessary budget are then evaluated.

At the end of this meeting, a second meeting is organized at your location in order to make a customized presentation to your teams. The demonstration/presentation is adapted according to the requirements jointly determined during the first meeting. You are able to make an informed decision when choosing your tool by discovering how it works and the benefits of a customized solution for your company’s needs.

Installing a CAD/CAM software is a long-term investment, therefore it is essential to choose the most suitable solution: this is what TOPSOLID allows you to do thanks to its support and personalized advice starting from the preliminary stage of your project.

 

Certified training for your teams in our TOPSOLID agencies

Each TopSolid offer includes a comprehensive training course provided to your users at a TOPSOLID agency. The publisher of TopSolid products has at least five agencies in France, for  beneficial geographical proximity. Paris, Nancy, Nantes, Lyon or Toulouse: you can deploy your training teams in the agency of your choice.

TopSolid training courses are recognized by the French State and are saved in the CNCP inventory. Being holders of recognized certification, your teams have significant added value and firmly expand their field of expertise. The company is reaping considerable benefits.

Do you have specific constraints? TopSolid course instructors can travel to your location: a dedicated consultant will visit your company directly for whatever period of time is required to successfully deploy and configure your solution and at the same time, ensure that your teams are efficiently trained.

Expert advisers available by telephone to answer any question

Holder of a CAD/CAM software license, you can benefit from unlimited customer support for a minimum period of 6 months via the TOPSOLID hotline. You can therefore benefit from direct and priority contact with professionals based in France: thanks to a competent and responsive customer service, able to individually monitor your portfolio, you are supported in the initial stages of the implementation of your CAD/CAM solution. This form of telephone support is reassuring: the teams using the TopSolid tools know that they can rely on experts if ever there are any questions, doubts or difficulties whatsoever.

Your project is implemented in the best conditions, quickly and efficiently.

 Please note: using the hotline services is an opportunity for TOPSOLID to identify the recurring problems of its customers. TopSolid products can therefore be regularly updated and improved in line with the requirements and needs of users expressed during their conversations with customer service representatives. Thanks to its close relationship with customers, TOPSOLID is able to offer even more efficient and better adapted solutions.

 

Une maintenance sur toute la durée de votre licence CFAO pour une proximité à long terme

Vous avez la possibilité d’opter pour un contrat de maintenance spécifique. Votre accès à un support client dédié est illimité pendant toute la durée de votre contrat de licence. Ce contrat vous donne également accès à  chaque nouvelle version du logiciel garantissant ainsi la pérennité de votre investissement.

 En parallèle, TOPSOLID vous offre un accès aux nouvelles formations indispensables dans le cadre de l’évolution des logiciels CFAO et ERP TopSolid. Chaque année, faites profiter vos utilisateurs d’une formation certifiante.

 TOPSOLID est le seul acteur du marché à proposer une solution intégrée de modélisation (CAO), de fabrication (FAO) et de gestion (ERP) via ses produits TopSolid. Au-delà d’une expertise métier approfondie, TOPSOLID développe au quotidien sa relation de proximité avec le client. Cet atout est indispensable à l’évolution des logiciels CFAO conformément aux besoins des utilisateurs. En accompagnant ses clients sur le terrain et en offrant un service de conseil personnalisé dans toutes les phases de la mise en œuvre de leur logiciel CAO/FAO/ERP, TOPSOLID se distingue. C’est pourquoi des entreprises toutes envergures confondues lui font confiance et lui confient leurs projets depuis plus d’un quart de siècle. De la PME au grand groupe, chaque entreprise a beaucoup à gagner à mettre en place en interne des outils innovants. TOPSOLID vous permet d’y accéder. N’hésitez pas à découvrir un aperçu des clients qui nous font confiance.

TopSolid CAD/CAM Product Range
How to improve productivity using a CAD/CAM software

How to improve productivity using a CAD/CAM software

12 Feb 2019 | Digital Engineering, Digital Engineering, Precision Manufacturing

Whether they are manufacturers or subcontractors, industrialists are constantly seeking to increase the productivity of their manufacturing processes. Producing more, even faster, while meeting quality requirements is the challenge that a high-performance CAD/CAM software such as TopSolid can help you overcome.

Favour an integrated CAD/CAM solution to increase productivity

Since CAD software allow you to “make virtual 3D objects”, why not use them to make real parts as well? CAD/CAM software was the answer to this question, because by definition, CAD/CAM represents the synthesis between design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM).

Anticipate manufacturing from the design phase with a CAD/CAM software

CAD/CAM software is a formidable tool, in an industrial world where reactivity and flexibility are essential factors for success. Indeed, combining modeling and manufacturing in a single software package has many advantages, including:

  • The ability to quickly modify parts to adapt to changing customer needs
  • Facilitate the creation of quotes by integrating all associated costs
  • Virtually simulate the manufacturing of your parts
  • Plan and integrate the superfinishing steps, for a “more sales-ready” surface finish of the part

Reduce preparation time thanks to 3D modelling

Designing parts in 3D model is the best way to optimize the production costs of your parts. Because it allows a part to be viewed clearly from all angles, a 3D CAD model is a way to avoid errors and the use of many time-consuming and expensive prototypes. In a similar way, the 3D model in CAD/CAM software allow you to simulate the manufacturing process before starting production on a real machine. The preparation time is thus reduced, for a significant gain in productivity.

Management of technical data of a product or PDM

PDM is a system for centralizing data from CAD/CAM files. PDM is essential, because without it the files are completely unrelated. Without PDM, every new project starts from scratch, with no possibility to reference other files. If you use the same parts for several projects, it is therefore essential to choose a CAD/CAM software based on a PDM system. The TopSolid 7 software is based on a powerful PDM that will save you precious time as it relates to your projects.

Intelligent stock management

Taking the stock into account is one of the basic tasks of a CNC programmer because the amount of material used affects the cost of the part. Early CAD/CAM programs allowed files to be “manually” checked to avoid estimation errors. This verification step was time-consuming for the programmers. The TopSolid 7 software integrates a more intelligent approach. The stock management feature allows you to eliminate off-material passes without creating additional steps. The software is therefore able to optimize stock management in a completely autonomous way, which saves considerable time. 

 

TopSolid CAD/CAM Product Range

Use an ergonomic software

Before choosing the right CAD/CAM software solution, make sure it is ergonomic and easy to optimize. Today, the software in the TopSolid range makes its own proposals via the interface. Simplicity that drives productivity gains.

User experience

No matter how powerful a CAD/CAM software is, the efficiency of its use will depend, in part, on its ergonomics and ease of use. TopSolid has been designed on a modern 64-bit architecture, which allows TOPSOLID SAS to offer an intuitive, flexible and user-friendly interface. Workflow management is simplified and the interface uses dialog boxes and panes that you can interact with at your convenience, without stopping the work in progress.

Creating a simplified tool path by using the “drag and drop” technique

In CAD/CAM, creating a tool path is a step that requires a lot of work and a certain mastery on the part of the user. If you want to save time, TopSolid 7 includes a feature that allows you to copy a tool path and apply it to a geometry with a different topology. In addition, this drag-and-drop technique works intelligently. Each tool path is checked against the stock and you can always refuse unwanted operations.

Compatibility with all open formats on the market

Many CAD and CAM software exist, some using proprietary formats. The TopSolid software suite uses the famous Parasolid exact geometric modelling kernel, which is widely used in CAD/CAM. With TopSolid, you can read and write in all open formats on the market, thus guaranteeing the interoperability of your files with the main systems used by your customers and subcontractors.

 

Rely on a recognized CAD/CAM solution

By purchasing a software whose publisher delivers state-recognized certified training courses, you are choosing the security of a CAD/CAM tool mastered by a wide public. Opting for a software recognized by the business world, on which students are trained is therefore a wise choice.

Favouring a CAD/CAM tool available in schools and training centers

TOPSOLID SAS, formerly known as Missler Software, has been distributing its CAD/CAM solutions to schools since 1984. Generations of toolmakers, mechanics, sheet metal and boilermakers, metalworkers, interior designers, carpenters, technicians and engineers have discovered CAD/CAM software with TOPSOLID SAS. This strong presence is a guarantee of quality and productivity in your manufacturing processes, as the risk of a shortage of trained personnel is thus greatly reduced.

TopSolid certifications for professionals

TOPSOLID SAS offers you 4 category C certifications, recognized by the French state and registered in the CNCP inventory. As an industry professional, obtaining a TopSolid certificate allows you to prove your competence in the use of:

  • TopSolid 7 CAD
  • TopSolid 7 CAM
  • TopSolid’Wood
  • TopSolid’ERP

Why is obtaining a TopSolid certification an asset for the careers of professionals? Quite simply because TopSolid software is used in more than 15,000 companies around the world.

Conclusion

Good CAD/CAM software should be integrated, ergonomic, modern and recognized in your industry. Acquiring such a tool will certainly enable you to increase the productivity of your manufacturing processes.