Charlotte, N.C. -- Intermac’s bSolid 3D CAD/Cam software has now been successfully integrated with 3^rd party software from FeneTech, A+W and other companies to streamline the process of CNC vertical machining for glass.

            “This successful integration is a game changer,” said Ron Lorick, Intermac’s West Coast Product Area Manager, Glass. “Our customers can now drive our Vertmax Series machines through the interface of their ERP software. They can create CAD drawings in their software, send them to the machine, and automatically apply all sequencing and tooling directly.”

            This single point of data entry eliminates the time an operator previously had to spend drawing or redrawing any shapes or files at the machine. Someone in the front office can now take a DXF file, apply data just once right in the office, and send it to the machine. Data never has to be reentered by the machine operator on the floor -- it follows the entire job from initial entry through the entire plan.

            “This integrated technology can also work with a bar code system throughout a factory. Once data is in an ERP by A+W, FeneTech, or another 3^rd party provider, the operator never has to look for the file. He simply gets the information, scans the bar code, uploads it and pushes ‘Start.’ From there, it integrates the entire factory, from cutting all the way through every other sequence of the glass machining operation,” Lorick said.

            Integration of bSolid with 3^rd party software will have a lasting impact on a facility’s workforce challenges, especially when employee turnover is high. “Right now in the industry unemployment is low, so people change jobs frequently,” Lorick said. “Someone who must know how to draw, use CAD tools and apply machine sequences needs to be a pretty high-level operator. With this integration, the person running the machine doesn’t have to be an engineer, so it’s much easier to find and train new employees to run machines.”