Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has recently announced that it has agreed to strategically partner with and invest in ModuleWorks GmbH, a leading software component provider for the digital manufacturing industry. The agreement builds on Mitsubishi Electric’s ongoing collaboration with ModuleWorks, a highly regarded developer of cutting-edge CAD/CAM1 solutions, for the development of advanced technologies to generate machining-tool paths2 and conduct machine-tool simulations.
The simulation of machining operations and the avoidance of real-time collisions through machine verifications are critical to the operation and safe use of machines, as well as to reducing the burden of engineering.
Mitsubishi Electric intends to accelerate joint development and marketing through its partnership with ModuleWorks. By strengthening its software development, including machine-tool simulation and data integration with CAD/CAM, the company aims to realize easier and safer operation of machine tools, reduce engineering workloads, and optimize engineering chains. Ultimately, this is expected to contribute to the growth of Mitsubishi Electric’s Circular Digital-Engineering business, including the expanded use of digital twins and other advanced technologies in the machine tool field and the realization of increasingly smart production sites.
“We are delighted to sign this strategic partnership agreement with Mitsubishi Electric” said Dr. Yavuz Murtezaoglu, Founder and Managing Director of ModuleWorks. “Working in close partnership accelerates technological development and drives digital transformation in manufacturing. We look forward to exciting new developments in our technologies.”
“As part of our business strategy for factory-automation systems, we aim to help solve diverse challenges in modern society,” said Toshie Takeuchi, Group President of Factory Automation Systems Group at Mitsubishi Electric. “As a result of this agreement for partnership and investment, we expect to deliver solutions that are easier for customers to use, and thereby help to address challenges such as labour shortages and knowledge transfer throughout the engineering chain.”
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1 Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is based on software that supports and automates manufacturing operations by generating numerical-control (NC) machining programs from computer-aided design data.
2 Tool path: Also known as cutter location (CL) data, is a code specifying the path of a cutting tool when machining a product on an NC machine. It is mainly calculated and generated with CAM software.