Strataform is the kind of manufacturing operation that most sub-contractors in engineering dream of being. Half the time it is making sheet metal components for its large list of customers in a wide range of industries. The other half is spent manufacturing its own successful range of products.
These products are the security covers that give access to many of the UK's underground reservoirs managed by the major water companies. Although these may not sound like exciting products, they nevertheless have to carry a high technical specification to give security against all kinds of intrusion.
Access covers are very strong fabricated structures comprising essentially a frame and access door and made from 6mm and 4mm galvanised steel. Designed by Strataform to meet the needs of individual water companies, they have evolved over the past twelve years to include many safety and security features.
As market leader in reservoir access covers, Strataform is currently manufacturing many hundreds in the course of a year. Although the basic designs have been standardised, all the covers are made to order, to suit the aperture sizes and security features needed. Components are made in small batches against short lead times.
Similarly with the sub-contract half of the business which the company has been involved in for 25 years, small batch production is the order of the day. Components range from small precision parts for the electrical industry to heavy sections for trailer manufacturers, the construction industry and the like.
The Kidderminster-based company of 34 people now has reached the stage where it believes it can benefit from integrating the control of all aspects of its business under one computer system; everything from customer quotations and bespoke design, to CNC machine programming and shop floor scheduling.
It began this process two years ago with the purchase of Radan's Radpunch software system for programming its two CNC turret-punching machines. This coincided with the installation of the second of these, an Amada Vipros 45-station thick turret punch press tooled for auto indexing on four stations.
Even before this, when it was programming just one punching machine using a dedicated system, the company longed to have a single computer system to run its business. Purchase of the Radan system opened the way for this because Radpunch is just one component in a complete system for doing all tasks in the CADCAM and scheduling processes for sheet metal manufacture.
As the founder and managing director, David Clements, explains `We looked at many products but Radan was the only one to provide a comprehensive package, at least in sheet metal. With all the other makes we would get single products, one package for drawing and another for programming. Nowhere else could we find such a comprehensive package.'
All Radan products run on one network which links nine PCs, as well as provide DNC link to the two CNC punching machines. Two groups of products run on the network. For CADCAM (design, drafting and CNC programming) the New Radraft, Radpunch, Radesign Radbend and Radan DNC products have been used since 1996.
Integration of all the parts manufacturing activities, from design to CNC punching machine programming and nesting, has helped improve material usage, flexibility and lead times in making both small batch sub-contract parts and bespoke access covers.
Radesign and Radraft have also proved valuable in other less obvious ways. The tightening of regulations controlling access cover design has brought new business to the company. It has also meant improving the standard and consistency of original drawings as part of gaining approval for new cover designs.
Using Radraft, Strataform is able to create complete and accurate drawings that meet the Loss Prevention Certification Board's needs as well as consistently conforming to ISO and certification standards. There have also been other less critical, but nevertheless time and cost saving, benefits the company has learned to gain from the Radan products.
One involves using Radesign to create 3D access cover illustrations. With 3D rendering software Strataform can generate coloured, sectioned and shaded drawings of these products for use in brochures and advertisements. Images can be transmitted electronically or by diskette to a graphic designer, printer or advertising agents for dropping straight into art work.
David Clements has found another small benefit for himself, with the acquisition of a portable computer and a licence to run New Radraft software on it. With this he is able to produce basic component sketches on screen at his customer's site for them to approve. This data then forms the basic design when transferred to the Radan system back at the factory.
The overall attraction of the Radan products for him is two fold; firstly the products come from an organisation that has lead the way in developing software for sheet metal manufacture and secondly they are comprehensive. As he puts it `Radan supplies everything to run our business. It is also very supportive, encouraging us to move forward all the time.'
