Alphacam – EMP’s gateway to impossible projects

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-11-02 10:45:00

EMP Furniture Ltd is a bespoke fitted furniture specialist offering a complete service from design through to the full turnkey solution. Alphacam software allows them to undertake projects they could not have attempted previously.

Established in 1980 and based in Williamstown, Co Galway, Ireland, EMP Furniture has become a market leader in the residential, education, health care and hospitality sectors manufacturing bespoke furniture tailored to specific client requirements.

"Alphacam is a crucial part of our business. Not only is it allowing us to save materials giving cost savings, we are also undertaking projects which we would otherwise be unable to do."

Noel Mullarkey, CAD/CAM Supervisor
All components manufactured on their Comac MF 4-axis CNC router are designed and machined through Alphacam from Vero Software. CAD/CAM Supervisor Noel Mullarkey says: “Alphacam is a crucial part of our business. Not only is it allowing us to save materials giving cost savings, we are also undertaking projects which we would otherwise be unable to do.”

Three examples of projects completed which he says would be impossible to manufacture without utilising Alphacam:
Galway County Council Chamber (Oval desk): "This large desk was manufactured utilising various materials, delivered to site in several sections which were either fixed or movable, and contained integrated services such as cable management for microphone and data points. The project required pinpoint accuracy during manufacture so that all components fitted in a seamless fashion when they were assembled on site, which would not be possible by traditional means."

Allergan Biologics 2 (Trespa units): "We manufactured a large number of clinical units entirely from Trespa. Due to the compact nature of the material and jointing methods to be utilised we knew from the outset that this project must be manufactured using Alphacam. Machining included operations such as countersinking, drilling holes, pocketing, grooving, jointing, chamfering and nesting - all of which were viewed in a simulation prior to manufacture.”
IT Sligo Extension (Trespa worktops): "This very large project involved the machining of worktops from the original sheet form. All services were required to be machined prior to delivery to site which included grommets, data points, sinks and integrated drainers. We imported our Autocad drawing into Alphacam and nested to quantify materials. Waste was reduced and joints were seamless when installed.”

Noel Mullarkey says the vast majority of their products are processed on the CNC machine at some stage of the manufacturing process for routing, drilling and nesting operations. “It’s so easy to import a drawing from Autocad into Alphacam. We find the simulation feature is particularly valuable as it shows the finished component in a real-life environment before we commence machining. We also use the nesting functionality to quantify materials and show the products on the sheet material.”

On occasion the Alphacam support portal has helped them with queries about the software, as well as advising on machining strategies, tools, feeds and speeds for specific projects.

“Updates in the last couple of years have focused on automation, making it even easier and quicker to use, therefore we always keep up to date with the latest twice-yearly releases.” This philosophy is in line with EMP Furniture's policy of regular investment in state-of-the-art machinery, allowing them to transform seemingly impossible projects into a physical reality.
Their continuous improvement schemes have led to them bringing many functions in-house which were previously outsourced, giving them greater control over lead times and quality which have improved client satisfaction.

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