Vit Torniomeccanica uses EdgeCAM offline CNC programming software in its busy workshop. EdgeCAM is distributed in Italy by ProCAM.

Bet you anything you won't have missed the opening ceremony of the last Olympic Games held in Athens in 2004. Remember the amazing construction that covered the stadium?

That superb roof has a close Italian link, or more specifically, a Friulian link. In fact, in order to implement the design of the famous Catalan architect, Santiago Calatrava, the roof construction was entrusted to a leading Italian company, Cimolai di Pordenone, the only Italian company to be awarded a contract as part of the work carried out to host the 2004 Olympic Games - work that was completed in a record-breaking nine months.

One of the companies that produced parts of the roof structure on behalf of Cimolai, is based in Cordovado, in the province of Pordenone, Italy. Torniomeccanica Vit has been active in the engineering sector since 1960. What started as a small workshop is now a successful manufacturing business thanks to continual restructuring and investment in a wide range of modern machine tools. Forward-looking strategic corporate planning and the use of progressive management techniques have resulted in significant growth.

The company, founded by Gino Vit and managed today in collaboration with his sons, excels in many different areas, from the agricultural sector, for which Vit Torniomeccanica produces parts for excavating tractors and cranes, to the railway industry where the company manufactures parts for underframes, pandrol clippers, crossbeams for high-speed track and much more. In addition their customers are in textile engineering and the iron and steel industries.

Torniomeccanica Vit's machine shop is impressive. In its drive for continued success, the company has heavily invested in the purchase of machine tools from some of the best known companies in Europe. A case in point: three milling machines with travelling columns by Soraluce with a 1000 x 1000 rotating table and X travel of 12, 8 and 6 metres respectively, a Sachman fixed-table milling cutter with X travel of 3000 mm, as well as a number of smaller machines. There is also a large group of lathes, both standard and CNC, with the capacity to achieve a distance between points of 2000 mm. This selection of hi-tech milling machines and lathes allows the company to offer manufacturing solutions that meet the high expectations of its clients in all areas.

Rationalising operations has been an important part of the company’s growth strategy, resulting in greater overall efficiency, and therefore better cost control and faster manufacturing lead times. Increased efficiency has led to increased business and this in turn to the decision to purchase a CAM system, which would enable the businsee to grow even further.

“For several years we were considering the possibility of procuring a CAM system,” explains Federico Vit, one of the sons of the company's founder. “Finally we decided to evaluate a number of products.”

A lengthy and exhaustive search was carried out and the final decision was only made after numerous meetings and several demonstrations. Finding the right CAM tool was of critical importance, not only from a financial point of view, but also from a technical point of view. The new software would have to integrate with existing tools and working practises to ensure an efficient manufacturing process right from the start.

“We had a number of requirements,” Federico explains. “Firstly, we wanted to be able to train only one single person to program all our machine tools to avoid different operating methods depending on the individual machine and to guarantee consistency across all our programs. Secondly, we were looking for a tool that would enable us to improve our production efficiency and provide more accurate and faster estimates to our clients.”

“In today’s manufacturing environment, cost control is of critical importance,” continues Federico. “To be able to use a tool that will allow us to accurately quantify the work is absolutely essential. Furthermore, we wanted a data management system that would allow us to easily find, reference and retrieve a machining program even when the machine operator is absent.”

With EdgeCAM, the company has been able to provide accurate customer quotes in no time. In addition, the purchase of EdgeCAM has led to a dramatic reduction in programming times, which has given the company an extra edge that allows it to stay ahead of the competition. This is largely due to the efforts of ProCAM Sistemi of Padua, the authorised EdgeCAM reseller in Italy. The company has provided Vit Torniomeccanica with additional macros and introduced them to a number of EdgeCAM functionalities that have had a considerable impact on the business. “You maybe didn't think about these options when buying the CAM system, but you find yourself using them more and more since they are fast and easy to use”, says Federico. “You look back and wonder how you ever managed without them. It's a bit like what happened to my father's generation when they switched from traditional to CNC machines. At first, these new features and functionalities are viewed with caution, then you realise you couldn’t compete in business if you didn't have them.”

With EdgeCAM there is not only greater accuracy and precision in the machining, there is also the ability to store and retrieve previously generated machining sequences in order to repeat machine work. Another EdgeCAM feature that has impressed Federico is the graphical display of not only the toolpath, but also the tool, tool holder, clamps and fixtures and other elements of the machine setup. Realistic graphical display and simulation of the toolpath on the model, together with tools and fixtures, have helped speed up and improve daily work at Vit Torniomeccanica.

Thanks to EdgeCAM’s offline programming it is possible to achieve all of this regardless of the type of CNC installed on the individual machine and in exactly the same way for all the CNC controls in the company. All of the data is stored on one server and the NC file containing the relevant machining instructions can simply be transmitted to the machine tool as required, using both cable and wireless methods.

“Data storage and retrieval has been greatly improved and programming times reduced,” Federico summarises. “In addition, we can import our customers’ drawings directly into EdgeCAM with the ability to read practically any format there is on the market today without any problem.”

A number of "easy options" are already envisaged for forthcoming developments to keep Torniomeccanica Vit one step ahead of the competiton. The transition made possible by EdgeCAM can be summed up in a few words: after having, for many years, been a traditional workshop, today Vit Torniomeccanica has become a modern company, in tune with the requirements that today’s economy imposes.