(Delcam plc: Ontario, Canada) -- Metrology specialist Renishaw has been able to greatly improve the productivity of its rapid prototyping department by turning its designers into machinists. The key to the transition was introducing Delcam’s feature-based programming system, FeatureCAM, in place of the department’s previous computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software.

“It is important for designers to appreciate the manufacturing techniques and capabilities that are available to them; this helps facilitate good design for manufacture as well as reducing any unnecessary delays during the prototyping stages of manufacture,” says Richard Turner, a senior CAM development engineer with Renishaw.

To achieve this, Renishaw has always encouraged designers to take a hands-on approach, Turner explains, even providing two Mazak Nexus machines for them to use for tooling and prototyping production.

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