Glass Industry News

Halving cycle times in glass bottle mould machining

, hexagon

Opening its doors in 1993, this family-run shop provides much-needed glass bottle machining and repair services for glass manufacturers. Looking to reduce production cycle times and costs, Omega Enterprises turned to Hexagon 3D scanning technology and CAD CAM software to innovate machining processes.

Often featuring complex artistic designs, glass bottle repair and rebuild is an intricate process. Omega Enterprises has been a stalwart of the Indiana glass industry for almost three decades, developing a specialism in this demanding high-demand application.

Given this complexity, glass manufacturers can encounter a number of common challenges that cause inefficiencies. For Omega Enterprises, tracing parts manually on an older milling machine was a significant bottleneck. “We were constantly faced with altering moulds and blanks with multiple compound angles that would require blend,” says James Jarrett, President of Omega Enterprises. “If the customer had an issue, they would modify the equipment by hand at their factory and the only way we would be able to reproduce a copy was by doing the same thing, by hand. This drove the cost up greatly. That’s when we decided to investigate a solution that could innovate our process.”

Speed and precision: the art of 3D scanning

First, Omega Enterprises updated its CAD CAM software. A user of EDGECAM for a number of years, the team updated to the latest version and found a number of advancements and new features. The next step was to find the right 3D scanning solution that could capture parts quickly and accurately, enabling operators to start machining sooner. 

After exploring a number of options, Omega Enterprises opted for Hexagon’s PrimeScan structured light scanner.

“We really like the PrimeScan because it proved to offer the highest-quality scan results for our needs,” says Jarrett. “Also, it is compact enough to take it directly to the machine on the shop floor or off-site if required. The scanner opened a big door for us because it has allowed us to be more competitive.”

We really like the PrimeScan because it proved to offer the highest-quality scan results for our needs.The integration of the PrimeScan and EDGECAM has greatly simplified and accelerated Omega’s processes, all without the need for high-level reverse engineering. For this process flow, the PrimeScan captures a mould or blank, generates the 3D digital replica,

and imports the high-quality STL file into EDGECAM. This enables Omega to create G-code directly from the STL, allowing hybrid machining and saving time by not having to convert the STL into a model or other format. 

For Omega Enterprises, PrimeScan and EDGECAM have proven a perfect combination for tackling their complex parts. “The heart of our business is being able to generate machine paths,” says Jarrett. “If we can’t generate good machine paths, we can’t make parts. Many of the parts we work with are highly artistic, with no real means for someone to draw it out and get it right, never mind doing so in a timely fashion. Now we can take any highly detailed part, have it scanned, brought into EDGECAM, then put it right on the mill or lathe.” 

Jarrett says that the team has reduced cycle times by up to 50 percent in some cases. “Take a basket weave part, for example. It took 40 hours to duplicate the part in our previous process. Now we are able to do all that and cut parts within half that time. There’s no way we could have done that without PrimeScan and EDGECAM.”

The Omega Enterprises team was able to start implementing these improvements quickly thanks to the adaptability of the structured light scanner and Hexagon’s service and support. “Having the Hexagon application engineer on-site for the two-day scanner training was outstanding,” says Jarrett. “Not only did my team learn a lot from the training, but the trainer tailored the course to our particular application needs by using parts taken directly off our manufacturing floor!”

Ultimately, as Jarrett notes, PrimeScan and EDGECAM have helped transform Omega Enterprises’ competitiveness. “The high quality of the scan data provides crisp edges and great definition of any art style found on the mould. With the 3D scanner we can duplicate these highly detailed works without hesitation. It really has added a side to our business that we would not be able to do without it.”

, © hexagon

Les informations publiées sur notre portail sont soumises au droit d´auteur et appartiennent à la société en question resp. à la source des nouvelles. Tous les droits sont réservés expressément. N´importe quel utilisateur qui accède à un tel matériel peut faire ainsi seulement pour sa propre utilisation personnelle, et l´usage d´un tel matériel est au risque unique de l´utilisateur. La redistribution ou toute autre exploitation commerciale d´un tel matériel de nouvelles est expressément interdite. Là où un tel matériel de nouvelles est fourni par un tiers, chaque utilisateur accepte d´observer et être lié par les limites spécifiques de l´utilisation s´appliquant à un tel matériel de nouvelles. Glass Global ne représente ou n´approuve pas l´exactitude ou la fiabilité d´aucune des informations citées dans les nouvelles ou pages externes auxquelles on se réfère ici.

Should the content or the design of these sites violate third parties rights or legal prescriptions, we kindly ask you to send us a respective message without invoice or cost. We guarantee that passages where the claim is considered as justified will be removed immediately, without any necessity to involve any lawyer into this issue. We will reject any claim caused by submission of a honorary note in this regard without any prior contact and confirmation of the issueby us and we reserve the right ssue counter claim ourselves because of violation of aforesaid conditions.



Info Grid

Glass studies

Updated worldwide glass study 2024

plants.glassglobal.com

Updated hollow glass study 2024

Request more information

Updated float glass study 2024

Request more information

Further glass market studies

Request more information


Updated worldwide glass market study 2024 available now for flat, container glass and tableware

We have updated our international studies on flat glass, container glass and tableware for 2024.

This unique software provides a global overview about glass producers and technical details. Easy to use and clear tables summarize information and data about glass makers such as: Glass types: flat glass, container glass, tableware, production capacities in regions and countries, number of furnaces, furnace types, year of construction, glass types and sub-types, products, project information, special news and downloads.

Further databases supplying demoscopic data and import and export data complete the market survey. Based on these data, prepare individual country profiles with information about local production capacities, local market sizes and expected demand in the future.

Request your offer via plants.glassglobal.com.

Updated container glass study 2024

X

Updated float glass study 2024

X

Further glass studies and reports 2024

X