Vero aids fixing innovation

The A. RAYMOND group is amongst the world leaders in the development and production of metallic and plastic fasteners. Working for all global automotive manufacturers, the A Raymond group were pioneers in the creation of FACIL (Fastener And Connections International), a joint-venture with the Kamax Group, created to meet the needs of Ford to deliver the complete package of fasteners for each vehicle. This expertise is now global and covers the entire industrial chain from engineering support, purchasing, logistics, delivery to production lines and line-side assembly.

By forming alliances with other international groups, the A Raymond group is now in a position that allows its clients to benefit from a programme of development and production which is present throughout the world, whether it be for the automotive industry or the construction industry (joint venture with the Dutch group Walraven). In total, the group employs over 3,200 people in 29 companies spanning 20 countries over 3 continents. The company has more than 220 product designers and dedicated over 5% of turnover to R&D.

Located in Grenoble Technisud, France, the research and development office is responsible for the analysis, feasibility studies and proposals for the relevant fastening solution. Working together with the design office in Grenoble Berriat, the teams prepare the costing, schedule and manufacturing plan for part production. Typically a Catia design-house (due to the strong automotive connection), A Raymond have also been using a 2D Tell system for tool design for the past 18 years. However, this had to change as the continual move towards more complex 3D geometry forced the company to search for more a productive solution for part development and tooling production. After a lengthy benchmark testing period, A Raymond purchased 5 VISI Progress licenses equipped with VISI Analysis and 2 licenses of VISI Machining and VISI Wire for the manufacturing department.

The development of the tool, the definition of the various steps and the chronological order of the cutting and forming operations are very important to the quality and production rate of the product. "The reason of introducing VISI was not only to improve our design and manufacturing productivity, but also to have a better vision of what we design", explains Jean-Michel LEGUT, engineering manager. "In 2D, only the engineer who created the study can fully understand the design 100%. The fact that the design is now 3D allows others to see and treat the objects as they would in reality. The designer knows exactly what is happening within the tool and errors and oversights can easily be avoided. After only a few months use, the development phase has been dramatically reduced, greatly improving the overall time to market for a product."

Working relationship
Speaking about working with Vero, Mr. LEGUT explains, "For a company where the heart of the business operation is making tools, the software must be flexible enough to adapt to all conditions and the support team must be able to react to our needs. Traditionally, we have an excellent relationship with our suppliers and working with Vero is no different. We appreciate the professional behaviour of Vero, centred exclusively on the capabilities of the software."

After working with the previous system for 18 years, there were fears that it would take time to adapt to 3D design after making the switch from 2D. However, after the initial training period, the design team were immediately productive and after only 4 months of use, all tools are built as 3D solid models using VISI.
Concluding, Mr. LEGUT states, "We are pleased to have found in addition to productive software, a team of engineers who speak our language, understand our business and deliver what they promise. We look forward to working together in the future."

Web : www.araymond.com

Back...