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moldmakingtechnology.com 27 reduced by about half, a development that accounts for much of the company's current prosperity, King says. King gives much of the credit for automated programming to Cimatron CAD/CAM software, which offers the capabil- ity to capture customer-specific information in the system and reuse it as needed. However, mold manufacturing simply doesn't lend itself to one-size-fits-all solutions. Although the software offered all the tools the company would need, including a mold-flow simulation package from a third-party developer, applying those tools to meet goals particular to Unique's own operation required creativity, ingenuity and persistence. In short, the supplier provided the way forward, but the company itself had to provide the will to get there— that is, the will to forge ahead with a commitment to making maximum use of the resources at its disposal. Notably, this effort involved not just the software itself, but also the hard- ware on which it runs. Standardizing Software King says a refusal to settle for established practices is part of the family-owned company's DNA. Founded in 1982, Unique Tool & Gauge specializes in concept-to-completion services for prototype and production molds, including multi-material, fabric overmolding, gas-assist and other specialized tooling. In addition to the sheer breadth of its customer base, he says the 90-employee company has set itself apart by helping to pio- neer the use of aluminum tooling for production applications (see the Learn More on page 29). Hari Sridharan, VP of engineering at Cimatron, can attest to the merits of Unique's approach. "The philosophy of, 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it' is no way to progress in this industry, and Unique understands this," he says. "Here is a company that's always improving, always looking for bet- ter ways to do things." Sridharan would know. After all, his ongoing role in helping Unique leverage Cimatron for its own needs requires an intimate familiarity with the company's operations. However, automated pro- gramming was still on the horizon when he first consulted with the toolmaker in 2009. Engineering Manager Joel Street, who would be among the leaders of the team responsible for that effort, explains that Unique initially sought to address a far more fundamental concern: the use of multiple software packages. The company had been using two different CAD systems, one for wireframe modeling and one for surfacing, as well as a separate CAM sys- tem for creating tool paths. Consolidating operations from three systems to one deliv- ered all the benefits Unique expected. Moreover, Cimatron delivered those benefits almost immediately, Street says. Designers no longer had to sit and wait for files to translate from one package to another. Nor did they have to deal with geometry errors resulting from that translation. Different people could work on the same file simultaneously by "check- ing in" and "checking out" different sections of the mold to get the job done faster. Smart Bases Yet, the capability with the most promise also seemed the most limited, at least for Unique's purposes. Designed to alleviate the burden of repetitive tasks, the software's component library stores CAD files for commonly used components, which can be called up as-needed according to job requirements. Street emphasizes that this feature provided a major step forward for Unique Tool & Gauge. At the same time, however, it whet the team's appetite for what else might be possible. Rather than individual components, they asked themselves, why not store fully-assembled mold-base templates that correspond to every possible combination of customer requirements? Thus began a multi-year collaboration with Cimatron that culminated in the development of what Street calls "smart bases." Of course, the sheer number of possible combinations made Image courtesy of John Caccese. Joel Street, engineering manager, looks on as designer Sandro Falconio works on a new mold design in Cimatron. Through persistence and the right technology, the company has reduced overall engineering time by half.