Delcam - Have it Your Way
Roopinder Tara, April 23, 2008
BOSTON (Delcam North America Technical Summit), April 17, 2008 -- Mass production is so last century. When America was rising to its
industrial zenith in the 1900s, it was doing so because of mass
production. So insatiable was America's appetite for the goods rolling
off the assembly line, Henry Ford boasted car customers they could have
any color they wanted -- as long as it was black. Such disdain for
individual choice would not cut it these days (with the notable
exception of luggage manufacturers) as every manufacturer strives to
distance itself from mass production, seeking to get an edge by courting
individual choice. Remember Burger King's "Have it Your Way" campaign?
Oh, what Henry Ford could have done if he had Delcam
Now, with software and the Web, individuality can be maximized. When
I log onto Netflix, I am greeted with a selection of movies recommended
just for me. Though there are as many hits as misses, I appreciate the
effort. I don't think the employees at my neighborhood Blockbuster store
are likely to recognize me, much less hold out copies of quirky British
comedies I would like.
Delcam seems bent on supplying the tools that manufacturers need to
create one-off or customized products -- or as may be known in the UK,
bespoke products.
But customization has it costs, ranging from microscopic costs in
keeping the pickle off your burger to considerable costs for everything
else. Generations of shoe consumers raised on mass production prices
will not want to pay over a thousand pounds for a pair of bespoke shoes,
no matter how good they fit.
Yet even societies that spawn Wal-Marts on a wide scale can contain
pockets of economic exuberance -- and even wretched excess -- that
companies can exploit.
Ice "sculpture" created with CAM software and CNC, from
Carving Ice
Take, for example, the ice sculpture. What could be more hedonistic
than paying tens of thousands of dollars for a sculpture that will only
melt away? Yet ice sculptures seem to be more popular than ever. On hand
was the founder of Carving Ice, Inc., who uses Delcam and CNC
machines to vastly increase the number of "sculptures" his company can
create. He recalled his humble beginnings when it was just him, hammer
and chisel, and a trailer. Now he is sought after in Hollywood events.
His works are often too popular: at weddings, guests will be posing with
the ice, instead of the bride and groom. A company introducing vodka
buys a damn-the-cost two ton ice sculpture as its centerpiece. Or how
about a "luge" at a bar, in which you get to watch you liquor race down
tunnels in a block of ice on top of a block of ice and into your glass.
Even your glass could be made of ice.
 Another potentially lucrative market for customization should be
jewelry making. Delcam's ArtCAM JewelSmith rises to the occasion,
offering the jeweler more opportunity for making that ring like no
other for that very special anniversary.
Customization also could provide a boon for sports, as athletes are
known to use every possible means to gain advantage. While an entire
motorcycle may be too ambitious for Delcam customers, one customer
showed customized motorcycle seats for Ducati. Presumably, the quicker
weight shifting required for high speed maneuvers on a racing bike would
be enhanced by the contour-hugging geometry of a custom seat. But while
that would make the sport pages, the real money would be made from much
larger number of the old and wealthy, who have taken to motorcycling and
are more concerned with comfort for their sagging derrieres rather than
shaving seconds off their track time.
Bike helmets, too, could benefit from the custom fit. We were shown a
head scanned, modeled and then 'subtracted' from a bike helmet to
produce a personal fit. No vent holes were shown in the design would --
would a bald head have trouble getting in, as air could not escape. Or
would the helmet come off with a loud pop -- if it came off at all?
But not all custom applications are fun and games. Some are as
serious as... um... surgery. One company machines titanium 'bones" for
patients, whose real bones may have been eaten away by cancer, lessening
the need for amputation. Other medical and health custom applications,
for which Delcam is quite suited for, is orthotics (several companies
presented on this subject) and dental implants and crown replacements.
Judging from the number of press releases TenLinks gets from dental CAM
products, this must be a big market.
With so many products now under the Delcam umbrella, the company is
itself an example of customization. Known historically for its flagship,
PowerMill, it has expanded into North America with its purchase of
FeatureCAM (2005) and PartMaker (2006) and now has a collection of full
blown CAM products. Along with that comes the challenge in being able to
distinguish between them for new customers, as well as trying to
distinguish them from competitive products, of which there are many. But
where Delcam seems to be pinning its future is on the niche products
that lend themselves to "mass customization." How many products can you
name that can put your face on a coin (ArtCAM's Face Wizard), or make a
shoe insert that will make you walk right (OrthoModel) or create a
custom crown for your molar (DentMiILL)?
See Also:
Delcam's ArtCAM Software Key to Growth at Ice Carving Company
- CADdigest.com, Sep 30, 2004
About the Author Roopinder Tara is the founder and editor of
TenLinks, Inc.
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