Page 12 - MetalForming January 2020

Software for Manufacturing
Software for Tube Bending, Forming, Hydroforming
AutoForm Engineer-
ing GmbH announced
its TubeXpert R8 soft-
ware, developed to
streamline the digital
process chain for tube
bending, forming and
hydroforming. With this
software, users can
define the tube bending,
forming and hydroform-
ing processes based on imported part geometry and then use this information for rapid tool design and simulation setup. New design functionalities, such as for radius changes, surface extensions and morphing, allow users more flexibility to modify the part and tool designs, and to analyze the effect of these modifications on formability. Based on CAD-surfaces technology, TubeXpert R8 designs can be exchanged with other CAx systems.
Another benefit: improved springback evaluation and compensation capabilities. With it, users can perform accurate springback simulation after any of the forming- process operations. The software then automatically makes the necessary adjustments to the tool geometry and process parameters in order to compensate the effects of springback. The compensation functionalities can be applied to tool geometries created by AutoForm TubeXpert R8 as well as imported tool geometries throughout all of the process operations.
When setting up simulation and during results evaluation, the ability to define and apply standards improves consistency in the engineering process, reduces the number of mistakes and ensures compliance with required standards. Based on the defined standards, the newly developed issue detection automatically highlights forming issues and prevents overlooking quality deficiencies.
The full integration of AutoForm-Sigma technology in AutoForm TubeXpert reportedly ensures an optimal forming process through its highly efficient and systematic engineering methodology. Instead of setting up multiple single simulations, users can define value ranges of multiple design parameters and evaluate their impact on part formability and quality all at once. In this way, ideal process conditions can be rapidly identified, while important information on how far a feasible process is from failure also can be ascertained. To ensure robust part production, the effect of uncontrollable variations of process parameters, such as material properties, pressure and friction conditions, can be analyzed.
AutoForm Engineering GmbH: www.autoform.com
ERP Release With New Capabilities
Epicor Software Corp. has announced its new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution and showcased it at FABTECH 2019. It provides new capabilities designed to support cloud adoption, improve the user experience and ensure global readiness by helping companies address pressing market challenges such as the changing workforce.
“The need to attract and retain talent is more important than ever, with more people currently leaving the manufacturing industry than joining,” says Terri Hiskey, vice president, product marketing for manufacturing, Epicor. “Offering a modern toolset for next-generation workers, reminiscent of how they already interact with mobile applications,
will help give them the experience they anticipate. We’re offering our customers the ability to choose their update path with tools and solutions that allow them to get where they want, however they want—via cloud environments or on premise.”
Advancements in the new release (ver- sion 10.2.500) reportedly help companies grow their business with purpose-built tech- nology solutions and leverage cloud capa- bilities, IoT, AI and big data. With greater access to ERP data and the automation of redundant tasks, organizations can gain greater visibility into their processes.
Innovations include:
• Epicor Collaborate—cloud-based solu- tion for collaboration and interaction processes, drives employee engagement by leveraging social media concepts to exchange information.
• Epicor Virtual Agent (EVA)—AI-powered virtual agent provides a new set of skills to modernize the experience for everyday functions such as purchase order approvals and supplier order processes.
• Epicor Service Pro—provides field service and mobile capabilities with time- saving automation tools that streamline service calls, schedule and dispatch, quote, work-order management, service contracts, asset tracking, and more.
• Epicor Functions—new levels of flex- ibility that solve orchestration and inte- gration challenges for cloud and on-premis- es customers.
• New Cloud Data Centers—global cloud datacenters in Australia and Canada to better support more solutions built for cloud.
“Small to mid-sized companies are looking to ERP vendors to democratize the advancements that big companies are making and keep pace with innovation —helping them understand how cloud environments as well as tech advance- ments such as how AI and IoT can be integrated within their business portfolios and drive bottom-line profitability,” says Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder, Constellation Research. “Epicor is address- ing this by offering ways for companies to start leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies with a clear path for growth.”
Epicor Software Corp.: www.epicor.com
10 MetalForming/January 2020
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