CAR Engineering Saves Time and Money By Upgrading to Mill Level 3

Yvette Pagano, President of CAR Engineering and Manufacturing, shows off a part programmed in Mastercam. CAR Engineering saved 50 hours on this job by upgrading to Mill Level 3

CAR Engineering and Manufacturing, located in Victor, NY, is a precision CNC machine shop as well as a regional leader in multi-slide production metal stamping. CAR Engineering serves a plethora of different industries on a national and international scale. The company routinely ships finished goods throughout the USA as well as Canada, Mexico, Europe, and China.

OptiPro interviewed the President of CAR Engineering, Yvette Pagano, to find out whether the company, a Mastercam customer since 2008, is satisfied with their recent investment in the Mill Level 3 software package. So far, so good, according to Pagano.

"We've seen a dramatic increase in productivity because of all the different options that comes with Mill Level 3. For example, we had been running one job for a big customer of ours using Mill Level 1. After purchasing Mill Level 3, we rewrote the program and because of all the enhancements that come with the upgrade, we were able to save 50 hours on the same job. Based on this time savings alone, the software has already paid for itself."

Pagano and CAR Engineering are also very happy with the service they receive from OptiPro.

"The service is outstanding. Vince Cannarozzo is very professional and can relate to the guys on the shop floor which I think is very important. He has been very open and accessible, encouraging our guys to call him directly if they are spending more than 15 minutes on anything Mastercam-related. His expertise and assistance has helped immensely."

It is this type of streamlined production that has allowed CAR Engineering to grow as a company. Should the company decide to hire more people in the future, Yvette knows she has the software in house that most skilled workers are familiar with.

"Before we had Mastercam, we had one machinist taking classes at Monroe Community College learning how to program in Mastercam, then coming to work for us and having to program in a different software. In the past I also noticed that there was one constant on all the resumes I received, and that was experience in Mastercam. As a president, what I like about Mastercam is that it seems to be the industry standard in Rochester. All the talent in Rochester knows Mastercam, so having it is the easiest way to get skilled employees."

CAR Engineering now employs 50 people in their 37,000 sq. ft. facility. The company enjoyed their second best sales year ever in 2011 and have a nice backlog to start 2012. To learn more about CAR Engineering, visit their website at www.car-eng.com or call 585-924-6400. 

Over 75 People Attend OptiPro's Mastercam X6 Rollouts!

Vince Cannarozzo instructs attendees on the new features of X6 at the annual rollout sessions held at OptiPro.

We had a great turnout for our Mastercam X6 Rollouts, which are hosted each year by OptiPro and all Mastercam resellers across the nation to help maintenance customers become more familiar with the the most recent version of Mastercam. On February 23rd and 24th, OptiPro's Mastercam experts Chris Parish and Vince Cannarozzo instructed four three-hour information packed sessions. The new features of X6 which drew the most discussion and interest were:

• Mastercam installation procedure (file update folder/migration utility)
• Mastercam Mill and the new Stock Model feature
• New OptiRest Toolpath
• Blade Expert Add-on
• Lathe - Variable Depth Roughing

Attendees also enjoyed lunch while networking with other Mastercam customers around New York state. Check out some pictures of the X6 Rollouts by visiting OptiPro's Facebook page. For more information regarding X6, including how to update to the current version if you are not currently on maintenance, please feel free to contact OptiPro by calling 585-265-0160 x236.

Mastercam Releases New Port Expert

Mastercam's new Port Expert add-on.

As seen in Manufacturing News - Mastercam's new Port Expert add-on is designed to create accurate, efficient engine cylinder head porting toolpaths on port surface or solid data. Port Expert uses a lollipop tool and has collision checks for the entire tool (shank, arbor and holder).

There are multiple cutting options available with Port Expert. You can cut only the top, cut only the bottom or specify how much stock to leave on the entire port.

The Port Expert toolpaths use 3-axis machining as far into the port as possible and then converts automatically to 5-axis motion with minimum tilt. This leaves no fishtails or inefficient reverse moves and smoothly transitions where the toolpaths meet at the middle of the port.

Port Expert provides both roughing and finishing toolpaths to make ports from castings or billets. And since Port Expert can support unlimited surfaces, the geometry can be made of multiple surfaces that are stitched together.

Additional features of Port Expert include:

• Port Expert automatically calculates optimal tilt angles so there is no need to split the surface or create tool axis control splines.
• Port Expert creates toolpaths on triangulated or stitched surfaces; a one-piece surface is not necessary.
• Mastercam's simulation proceeds step-by-step through the toolpath, even showing you the motion used in transition at the middle of the port.
• Mastercam generates 5-axis code that can run any CNC machine.

For more information on the new Port Expert add-on, or anything Mastercam related, please feel free to contact OptiPro at 585-265-0160.