Business Micros Aluminium completes new Fom machine link in Logikal

Business Micros Aluminium has completed a new CNC link between its market-leading LogiKal software system and a FOM machining centre. The new machine has been installed at specialist fabricator Skyglaze in Surrey, which produces aluminium roof lights and both sliding and bi-fold doors. It is Skyglaze’s first machining centre and has been bought to enable the company to increase its output as it expands in response to a surge in demand. The FOM machine offers a whole range of advanced prep functions such as flow drilling and self-tapping and enables fabricators to achieve a more complete manufacturing solution than with many other machines. For Business Micros Aluminium, this has meant time spent setting up new preps within LogiKal to suit these more advanced set-ups and the creation of new links between LogiKal and the FOMCam CAD/CAM software which controls the 2D and 3D machining.

The major benefit for Skyglaze is that it now has all of its standard preps available within LogiKal so that it does not need to spend time creating them individually within FOMCam and assigning them manually on every profile. Crucially, this means that there is no risk of human error during the prep assignment process because all of the work is done automatically within the LogiKal CNC module.

The FOM machine has the potential to increase both the efficiency and output per man at the Byfleet company because, as well as the advanced prep functions and the LogiKal CNC link, it also allows the operator to have the next bar loaded while the first bar is still being machined. Dean Hodges, Managing Director of Business Micros Aluminium says that the installation has demonstrated perfectly the level of expertise which exists at Business Micros and its ability to respond to virtually any machining requirement. He said: “With so much investment taking place in machinery at the moment, machine links are in huge demand and our team are fast and efficient, meaning customers can be up and running quickly and getting the very most out of their machines straightaway.”

When used with a bar code scanning function, the CNC module within LogiKal enables a machining centre to be operated with only minimal training because the profile can be cut, scanned and then machined accurately every time without the saw or CNC operator needing any specialised expertise. Skyglaze has been a Business Micros Aluminium customer since September last year and a strong partnership is developing between the two. Skyglaze’s Director Matt Hardy said: “With so much change taking place in the business, it was good to have such an experienced and capable software partner at our side. We were already very comfortable using LogiKal in our office and the team at Business Micros Aluminium have made sure that it has been an easy transition for us to a fully automated configuration between the office and the factory. What could have been a disruptive period has actually been a really positive experience for us and we’re delighted with how both the software and the machine are now performing.”