Posted to News on 13th Jun 2011, 11:04
Free trial of Tolcap web-based tolerance management software
Engineering consultants Capra Technology and web design company Clever4 have launched an online tolerancing software tool, called Tolcap, which they claim could significantly reduce the manufacturing industry's losses due to scrap and wastage. By helping engineers to allocate process-capable tolerances, Tolcap addresses one of the biggest problems facing 21st Century engineering, namely managing variability. Follow the link for a free trial of Tolcap.
As an easy-to-use web-based application, Tolcap enables engineers to allocate process-capable tolerances to any design characteristic. It manages tolerance allocation and predicts process capability at the early stages of design before production starts. Using Tolcap, the impact of a design being out of tolerance can be assessed and a cost of quality can be assigned. This enables alternative designs and manufacturing processes to be compared directly on a total cost basis.
According to Tolcap, up to 50 per cent of manufacturing errors are directly attributable to incorrect allocation of tolerances before the manufacturing process even begins. Closer attention to tolerances alleviates these problems at an early stage, thereby increasing profitability.
Process knowledge base
Tolcap incorporates a knowledge base containing more than 80 commonly used manufacturing processes including casting, machining, moulding and forming. It also deals with the way in which different materials - such as steels, non-ferrous alloys and plastics - influence manufacturing tolerances.
Users of the software can save their calculations online and print or export their data to a spreadsheet. It is also possible to preview a print-ready process capability map, showing the tolerance calculations performed. This function will be particularly useful for designers who need to refer back to calculations made in older projects. Chris Healy, a director of the company, states: "Tolcap is a fundamentally important tool to design engineers. But it is also crucial for manufacturing departments. Designers can cover themselves in glory by getting their work right first time and the shop floor can save money by reducing scrap and wastage."
Follow the link for a free trial of Tolcap.
