Al´s Tool & Design is a small, family-run business located in Hillsboro, IA. Al Van Winkle started the company in 1986 to serve the needs of local farms. Then, his shop grew with the addition of multinational corporations to its list of clientele. "There are parts we´ve made that are all over the world," says Van Winkle. "We´re a precision machine shop. We make a lot of dies and injection molds." The shop includes three vertical machining centers (VMCs), three manual mills, two lathes, a surface grinder, and other support equipment.

From the beginning, Van Winkle knew that he would eventually have to automate his design and tooling process in order to be competitive. In the mid-1990s, he installed a CAD (computer-aided design) program, but delayed bringing in a CAM (computer-assisted manufacturing) system. "The purchase of a CAM program became a matter of when, not if," he says. "But the programs were expensive, so I wanted to put it off as long as possible. Plus, I guess I was a little scared of the technology. I'm a good machinist, but I'm not a computer person," Van Winkle admits. "Fortunately, my boy Lewis is."

The younger Van Winkle is, literally, a boy. At 12 years old, Lewis has been tinkering with programming most of his life, juggling a busy school schedule and time spent with his dad learning the family business. "Dad would draw the blueprints, and then I'd practice programming the jobs for the machine. It's called G-code, and I learned it fast," Lewis recalls, referring to the coding process that drives many veteran machinists to distraction.

"I like programming quite a bit," Lewis continues. In fact, he likes programming so much, and is so good at it, that he has already taken several computer-related night classes at the local community college. One of them was a basic precision machining course, during which Lewis seized an opportunity to work on a CAM program. "My cousin showed me how to use it, and I played with it for about an hour," says Lewis. "But it went slow. I could draw and machine a pocket, but that's about it. It was cool, but tough to learn."

Impressed with his son's experience, the elder Van Winkle wanted to learn more about CAM programming. When a representative from Gibbs & Associates (Moorpark, CA) requested a chance to demo GibbsCAM, he was definitely interested. Known for its power, as well as being easy to learn and use, GibbsCAM is a PC-based software program designed for multipurpose use in machine shops. After the demonstration, both Van Winkles wanted to know more. After a single afternoon lesson from the GibbsCAM representative, the young man was designing complex part shapes. "GibbsCAM was so easy," says Lewis. "I figured I could even teach it to my dad!"

Having learned to trust his son's judgment in such matters, Al Van Winkle purchased a license for GibbsCAM. "I figured that, when Lewis came of age, he'd be the one working with the program," he explains. "Price was a consideration, of course. But GibbsCAM was comparable in price to other CAM programs, and it seemed much more user-friendly." As is the case in many modern families, the father yielded to his son's superior technical skills to set up the program. "Installation was easy," Lewis explains. "You install it just like any other software program."

Schoolboy Turns Sketch Into Finished Part
Currently, the single copy of Virtual Gibbs (the off-line version of GibbsCAM) is installed on a PC that operates the three VMCs from the shop's office. Virtual Gibbs includes capabilities for milling and turning, and combines CAD, CAM, and post-processing features that allow users to program and machine complex parts. In addition, it offers fully integrated manufacturing modeling capabilities, including 2-D, 2.5-D, and 3-D wire-frame capabilities. "GibbsCAM has this built-in CAD capability, designed for the stuff we need to do in CAM," says the elder Van Winkle. "We like it a lot. Often, I'll just sketch something out on paper, and it can be drawn directly into the program."

Once installed, it was not long before Al's Tool & Design had an opportunity to put GibbsCAM to work. A walk-in customer asked if the shop could make a temporary marker for a local cemetery. Lewis asked to help, which would add real-world experience to his community college class work. The boy sat down at a PC and quickly sketched the marker. Because GibbsCAM allows users to work freeform with no constraints on geometry or toolpath creation, programming from the sketch posed no problem.

"GibbsCAM has this great feature," says Lewis. "You enter in the material you want to use, and it tells you the cutting speed for the tools you'll need," Virtual Gibbs material and tooling libraries recommend feeds and speeds for a variety of tools, toolholders, and inserts suitable to the cutting processes selected. Noting another of GibbsCAM's advantage, Lewis explains, "My design had a number of curves in it. With those curves, it would have taken someone days to program the toolpath code manually. Fortunately, the GibbsCAM Engraving feature makes it simple to move from artwork to toolpaths."

Once these tasks were done, Van Winkle applied the basic design to a plastic commonly used in manufacturing dies and fixtures. The program was downloaded to the PC and directly to the VMC through an RS-232 interface. The built-in communications capability of GibbsCAM enables a user to select a control's hardware configuration and automatically adjust communication parameters/output to fit the control, providing a seamless transfer. The machine cut the part, quickly and flawlessly. "With GibbsCAM, what would have taken days only took a few minutes; and this was one of our very first jobs!" declares Van Winkle.

A typical job for Al's Tool & Design involves machining a family of parts to serve a single function. "We build a lot of one-time test equipment and fixtures," says Van Winkle. "First, we sketch the ideas. For this type of job I might use the CAD program, so I get some solid geometry." Once he has a CAD design that will work, Van Winkle prints it and forwards it to the client for approval.

When the design is approved, the NC (numerical control) programming begins. "We can take the numbers, drawings, and sketches and put them into GibbsCAM," Van Winkle explains. If the programming takes place after school hours, Lewis is sometimes there for consultation. "Some kids get out of school and play with a video game," he says. "So do I. Only, the one I play with is way cool!"

Onscreen, after the CAM part model has been defined, a tool is chosen and moved to the spot of the cut, where calculations for the toolpath are generated. The straightforward simplicity of this process is ideal for mold and die machining, since it reduces computation times significantly. "For many of the parts we design, the math involved is astronomical," says Van Winkle. "But GibbsCAM does a tremendous amount of the calculations for us; so, even if we design parts with complex angles and rounded corners, the calculation process is greatly simplified."

Powerful Program Features Are "Way Cool"
One aspect of working with Gibbs-CAM that Van Winkle especially likes is the ease with which he can make changes to the geometry he creates. "The program really earns its keep anytime you have to make a change," he observes, referring to GibbsCAM's full associativity. Whenever part geometry is changed, the program automatically recalculates all associated toolpaths. This reduces programming and setup dramatically, especially when dealing with small, yet critical changes of dimension and position on jobs involving families of parts.

GibbsCAM also offers a unique 3-D real-time cut part-rendering feature that allows the user a 3-D preview of the part from any angle. "For complex parts, this is great," says Van Winkle. "Before, we never really knew what the part looked like until it was finished." The feature also provides a preview of the machining on-screen, so he can watch the tool remove the material from the block. "Customers really like to see this," he says. "They can view their part at many angles before we make it. This saves time and money, and makes for happy customers."

When the part is ready to be milled, GibbsCAM's post-processors automatically convert the graphic toolpath into G-code, which is then uploaded to any one of the three VMCs. "This is great," Van Winkle points out, "especially when we get busy, and I have to move jobs from one machine to another."

GibbsCAM also has made a difference in the appearance of the shop's completed products. Rounded corners are easily accommodated by Gibbs-CAM's milling options, which include both contouring and pocketing functions. Van Winkle now applies rounded corners to molds and dies in order to make the finished products more attractive. "In the old days, parts were pretty much square or rectangular. Deburring - not fun - was done by hand," he recalls. "Now the designs are all tapered, and radii abound. And, I can debur them on the machine. They look great!"

Although GibbsCAM has been in use at Al's Tool & Design for a relatively short time, the company has already realized a number of benefits, including faster turnaround times, increased flexibility, and the ability to bid on complex jobs. Van Winkle is convinced that his son recommended the right CAM system. Asked if he would like to turn his CAM programming skills into a career, Lewis adds, "I like computers a lot. It's neat to take a block of metal or plastic and turn it into something useful. Plus, it's fun. Besides, I'll probably take over the shop one day. That's what family business is all about."

For Al Van Winkle, GibbsCAM has been a key to meeting his company's current demands and future growth needs. For Lewis Van Winkle, GibbsCAM has been a priceless shortcut to the skills he will need to run the company, when that day comes. As Lewis likes to say, GibbsCAM is "way cool."

This article was originally published in the October 2000 issue of Modern Applications News and is posted here with permission (c) 2000.