Thursday, April 17, 2014

It's Not Always Rocket Science

If you have visited our website ...  www.KentechInc.com ... at all you'll recognize the saying that is the title of this blog post. It is the mantra here at Kentech Inc. ... born from the decades of living and surviving on the machine shop floor ... from living and working in the "real world". When we talk with customers or conduct online demos with clients for our software ... they emphatically agree. But for those with whom we cannot connect directly ... we wanted to take a post to outline our visions and software design philosophy in depth ... to explain why we feel and what we mean by " ... it's not always rocket science."


Is this you with your CAD/CAM or MRP / ERP software?
For most machine shop and CAD/CAM software developers today ... it seems that the flashier the pictures and the more complex the user interface ... that would equate into the most innovative software. For most users of these products however ... the experience is best described as trying to get a drink of water from a firehouse. It's all just overkill .... there is just too much "fluff" there ... most of it is lost or never used ... and the bottom line results are never realized.

Take CAD/CAM for example ...
No one can deny that CAD/CAM is a great tool ... no doubt ... and most of the designs we use in the world every day would not be possible without at least the CAD portion of CAD/CAM. But one fact is clear to anyone living in a production world ... if a machine shop puts every job through the CAD/CAM system ... through the CAD/CAM programmer ... they are inevitably losing money. The simple part programming ... the programming actually done in 95% of shops in the real world every day ... does not require a CAD/CAM system ... nor a CAD/CAM programmer. Giving additional chip makers the capability to quickly and easily create G code programs for these simpler workpieces ... gives the shop a much higher level of efficiency ... faster finished part output ... and in the end a better bottom line. It's a simple fact. Of course not every workpiece can be accomplished with a simple programming tool ... those complex jobs will still require something equivalent to a CAD / CAM system ... but with other chip makers handling the simpler programming ... the "CAD/CAM guy" has more freedom and more time to devote to the complex programming tasks ... and the work flow and finished output is greatly enhanced.

Innovation is not always the most complex solution.
OR take MRP/ERP systems for example ...
Again ... no one can deny that these complex systems have their place ... and can positively effect a companies bottom line. The problems we encounter is that there a way too many "features" ... and as a result they are either missing the important "real world" features ... or these features are so under-developed the results they produce do more harm than good. It seems the developers are so concerned with the number of bells and whistles ... they never adequately develop the truly needed features. For example ... quite a few of the big $$$ MRP and ERP systems denigrate machining cycletime to a simple user input ... no auto-calculations ... just a field for a user input. WHAT ??  Anyone living in the real world knows that building a cost estimate based on an inaccurate time to machine the part is a recipe for lost profits. And anyone living on the shop floor knows that consistency and accuracy along with the ability to insure that cutting parameters used in cycletime estimates can be reproduced on THEIR shop floor .... is the key to machining profitability.


KipwareCYC® ( cycletime estimating ) and KipwareQTE® ( cost estimating ) are applications devoted to the tasks for which they were developed. Proven in-the-trenches for over 2 decades ... helping our clients around the world to not only win MORE work ... but win MORE PROFITABLE work. And after all isn't that the key ... winning work that is profitable ... not having the shop busy producing parts that are losing money.

Kipware® =  a more logical approach
Using real world tools like Kipware® conversational or Kipware® business software is the equivalent of turning down the flow of the firehouse ... more of that water can be captured and used for it's intended purposes.

CLICK HERE for more information on Kipware® software


Kenney Skonieczny - President
Kentech Inc.

Friday, April 11, 2014

New Release : Expanded Cutting Database for KipwareCYC® - Machining Cycletime Estimating Software

Kentech Inc. is pleased to announce the release of Version 6 of our KipwareCYC® - Machining Cycletime Estimating Software.


We completed a major overhaul and upgrade of KipwareCYC® in 2012-2013 that created a source code base and foundation designed and built for the future. Now we have the ability to concentrate on new features and innovation to build on that strong foundation.

We are pleased to be able to address some of our users requests beginning with the expansion of our Cutting Parameter Database module. Users now have DOUBLE the capacity to add user defined sub-categories and cutting parameters for each individual machining operation. 

For example : The number of sub-categories under Rough Milling for example has been expanded from (5) to (10) ... allowing for greater flexibility, speed and accuracy in the cycletime estimating module. This new expansion combined with the already UNLIMITED database capacity of the Cutting Parameter Database gives KipwareCYC® a new and more powerful layer of accuracy and flexibility. Each main machining operation now can have up to (10) sub categories. The (2) user defined machining operation also now have this expanded sub-category capability.

Previous versions allowed for (5) Sub-Categories under each Main Category.
This feature has been expanded to (10) in Version 6.
Version 6 is now shipping with this expanded database feature standard.

Version 5 users also have the ability to import their current ... older style databases ... into Version 6 with just a click of a single button ... making for a quick and easy UPGRADE.


For additional information on KipwareCYC® and all our machine shop software titles ... 
please visit our website at www.KentechInc.com

Kenney Skonieczny - President
Kentech Inc.


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

New Release - 4th Axis Taper Slotting Menu

We continue to build on our strong foundation of 4th Axis Conversational Menus in our KipwareM® - Conversational CNC Programming Software for Milling. The latest conversational menu release comes by way of a current user who was seeking an easier way to program taper slots for lightening rifle barrels. We had previously developed and released STRAIGHT and TWISTED SLOTTING menus ... and this new release allows for straight slots that are tapered in the Z axis while cutting along the X axis.


This new menu contains many options allowing for greater flexibility including :
  1. Single or Double Tapers are available.
  2. Zig-Zag or One-Direction cutting can easily be selected.
  3. The user can include any number of slots along the OD periphery ... all from a single menu.
  4. Roughing and / or Finishing can be included in a single operation ... or split into two operations.
As with all the 4th Axis Conversational Menus ... this new menu is also included FREE with all KipwareM® purchases.



Kenney Skonieczny - President
Kentech Inc.

Don't Be FOOLED by the underdeveloped so-called G CODE WIZARDS ...
GO PRO ... with Kipware® Conversational