Director Richard Fielding claimed that his company had “no interest” in simple high volume jobs, preferring to take on more demanding work that other subcontractors would struggle to complete. The main focus now is on larger aerospace projects, plus press tools, moulds and inspection fixtures for the automotive industry.
Fielding bought the company's first CNC machine to create 3D models in 1997. This initial investment was so successful that a second machine was added a year later. At this stage all of the programming was completed externally by contractors, mainly using Delcam software. Following the purchase of more machines and an expansion into a second unit in 1999, Lofting Services decided to bring programming in-house, as more and more of its projects were CAD-based.
“Delcam was always the favourite when we started looking for our own software because we had never had any problems in machining programs supplied by Delcam users,” remembered Fielding. “We were also aware of a number of companies using Delcam products within our industry sector.
“The demonstration showed it to be the most cost-effective and powerful program of those that we reviewed, while it also appeared to be easy to use. The salesman was very knowledgeable, plus it was a British company with a good reputation for support.” Lofting Services invested in PowerSHAPE, PowerMILL and PowerINSPECT, plus Delcam Exchange to read in CATIA models.
LSNW's reputation has spread with the completion of a number of high profile projects, including work on components for JSF and the Eurofighter. Approvals have been received from Rolls Royce, Airbus and BAE Systems, among others, for supply of tooling and components.
While geometry for many components is supplied to Lofting Services as CAD files, PowerSHAPE used extensively to prepare the models for machining. “PowerSHAPE is also very good for designing fixtures, both for machining and inspection,” added Fielding. “PowerMILL is unbeatable for machining. I've seen lots of CAM demonstrations over the last ten years, but I've never seen anything that would make me think about changing.”
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