PAS Technology is known for developing programs to automate quality assurance of complex parts, which it identifies as one of the most costly steps in the manufacturing supply chain. It develops software based on advanced feature recognition algorithms, so users can create CMM programs from any CAD file. Now, it’s reaching into the emerging dimension of information technology known as lifecycle management.

“Product lifecycle management” is a process for managing the costs, risks, and benefits of a product from, from design concept through design and manufacturing, to delivery, and service, and even replacement. PLM software for manufacturing coordinates information and resources that producers and their suppliers and customers need to define, maintain, and share product and compliance data, from concept to replacement.

Lately, the lifecycle management initiative is encompassing manufacturing steps with an increasing degree of specificity.

PAS Technology released its new PAS Inspection Lifecycle Management Suite so that manufacturers (like machine shops) can establish a complete, automated inspection process from a CAD model through to the inspection results. The ILM automates the inspection process thoroughly, eliminating the need for data translation throughout inspection and creating seamless integration of design, manufacturing, and inspection. Users can generate inspection plans directly on-model and output inspection results to FAI-compliant (or other) forms. Noting that it delivers visual inspection results, PAS stated the software allows users to engage in interactive analysis at every step of the inspection process.

The PAS Technology Inspection Lifecycle Management (ILM) Suite consists of three modules:

PAS Technology ( www.pastechnology.com), the leader in CMM inspection automation, is announcing the release of the new PAS Inspection Lifecycle Management Suite, empowering manufacturers to establish a complete, automated inspection process from a CAD model to trusted inspection results. 

The PAS Technology Inspection Lifecycle Management (ILM) Suite automate the entire inspection process, eliminates the need for data translation throughout the inspection process, creating seamless integration between design, manufacturing, and inspection. Using the PAS ILM Suite, users can generate inspection plans directly on-model and output inspection results to FAI-compliant or other forms. Providing users with visual inspection results, the software enables interactive analysis at every step of the inspection process

The PAS Technology Inspection Lifecycle Management (ILM) Suite consists of three modules:

• PAS CMM Viewer is the base module, allowing users throughout the supply chain to view, collaborate, analyze, simulate, and comment on inspection results.
• PAS CMM Engineering provides engineers with additional capabilities to automatically transform a part CAD model into inspection instructions that can be output directly to the inspection report form (FAI or any custom form).
• PAS CMM Inspection is the most advanced module, providing the complete capabilities of the ILM Suite, enabling end-to-end CMM programming and inspection automation for any CMM machine.

PAS Technology’s ILM Suite will be presented at Solid Works World 2012 (booth # 204)

NEW JERSEY April 15, 2010 PAS TECHNOLOGY today released PAS CMM Version: 1109.6.23, the latest world's most advanced CAD-CMM programming software.

New version release includes new features that will be available to PAS CMM users at the April of 2011. New PAS CMM features include: Section curves, Section Annotations, Change CMM Machine and SolidWorks's options like Version Control, Remove Balloons), Export Model and ID Label Options.

Section curves & section annotations option allows user defining and dimensioning a Section View.

Change CMM Machine option useful if customer has multiple CMM machines with different kinematic configurations.

Automatic Ballooning algorithm now always genetares consistent numbering. Same dimension will be always ballooned by same balloon ID. Balloon ID's will stay the same if re-created.

ID Label Options allow to include or exclude Basic and Reference dimensions while ballooning dimensions in SolidWorks.

Automatic Fix Normals it is a new user interface which allows controlling automatic Fix Normals routine at the time you open a selected model file type at the very first time.

In Construction module new futures were added: Build Angular Plane, Offset and Shift Constructed Point

NEW JERSEY Dec 1, 2010 PAS TECHNOLOGY today released PAS CMM Version: 1109.4.42, the latest world’s most advanced CAD-CMM programming software.

New version release includes dozens of new features that will be available to PAS CMM users this at the December of 2010. New PAS CMM features include: Define and Import Inspection Points, and new capability to define or import inspection points based on model X/Y/Z coordinates; Section View, a new option to cerate section view that lets you easily dimension section curves and their intersection points.

Many new Constriction capabilities like Nominal Projection, Point Offset and Point Shift. 3D True Position, a new way to define and set True Position dimensions.

Duplicate Dimensions allows you to find and automatically dimension similar features. This option alone can significantly cut programming time thanks to PAS CMM smart Duplicate finder algorithm. New version also features hundreds of minor enhancements and corrections.

Inspection and manufacturing professionals attending the 2010 IMTS show, and visit the PAS Technology booth E-4140 will have the opportunity to view the industry’s first CAD\CMM solution and learn how it is helping companies in the aerospace, defense, and medical industries reduce up to 95% of their CMM programming time and costs.

Based on advanced feature recognition and patent-pending algorithms, PAS CMM automates the creation of CMM programs from any CAD file. The solution is used by leading manufacturers worldwide to streamline the process of the manufactured and inspected parts. PAS CMM enables automated, error-free processes, from CAD files to inspection results with visual collaboration using PAS Intelligent Viewer. Customers using the PAS CMM solution include Berkshire Industries, QPM 2000, Cormer Aerospace, Elbit Systems, RAFAEL, Lockheed Martin, JL Manufacturing, Raytheon and SPX Precision Components.

PAS TECHNOLOGY, solution provider of the revolutionary PAS CMM automation software, announced the release of PAS CMM for SolidWorks, an add-on that enables SolidWorks CAM users to automate CMM programming directly from their familiar SolidWorks environment.

With PAS CMM for SolidWorks, users can utilize their SolidWorks models or drawings, including GD&T, to create, off line, CMM programs in three easy steps that take minutes instead of hours or days.  The integrated solution supports the generation of CMM programs suitable to any CMM machine in a DMIS environment.

  Solid Works Model converted automatically from Solid Works menu to CMM programming

"We are excited to bring our solution to the SolidWorks world," said Sam Golan, PAS Technology's President and CEO.  "PAS CMM has a successful track record of enabling leading manufacturers to dramatically reduce the time and effort required to produce CMM programs.  The tight integration between the two products will provide even greater time and cost savings to organizations that use SolidWorks."

Solid Works Drawing converted automatically from Solid Works menu to CMM programming

Visitors to the 2010 SOLIDWORKS World will be able to see a demonstration of the PAS CMM solution in booth #445.  The event will take place in Anaheim CA, from January 31st until February 3rd.  PAS CMM for SolidWorks is available immediately from PAS Technology and authorized resellers.

A complete CMM program for Solid Works Model, Drawing and both including GD&T

"Inspection, as any quality professional knows, is not without its challenges. Though an essential part of the manufacturing process, it can be both expensive and labor intensive, and create bottlenecks in getting products out the door.

Coordinate measuring machine (CMM) programming in particular is often a bottleneck in the entire design and manufacturing process, says Sam Golan, president and chief executive officer of PAS Technology (Cresskill, NJ), and the demand for highly accurate and complex parts increases the need for a better CMM inspection process.

CMM departments today may be considered one of the most expensive in the supply chain, Golan says. In addition, growing global competition is forcing companies to cut costs and trim delivery times.

“Definitely the industry needs to change,” Golan says, “And we help to do it as much as we can.”

New software from PAS Technology provides an automated link between the CAD domain of the 3-D model and drawing and the inspection domain of DMIS code.

PAS Technology’s CMM solution is an automated CMM programming tool that can save time, reduce cost and expedite delivery time, Golan says. Going from a computer-aided design (CAD) or computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) model to complete CMM program takes minutes—rather than hours or days and eliminates CMM department bottlenecks.

"The current economic downturn may have reduced a company’s business, but it has not reduced the requirements associated with doing business. This is particularly true for the numerous activities associated with technical data interpretation and application. For example, although the quantity of parts to be produced may be significantly less than last year, everything associated with the technical data package must still be addressed. This includes reviewing the constituent documents to determine accuracy and completeness, setting up first article inspections, generating manufacturing process plans, and so on.

In this period of reduced resources, there is even less margin for error. This means that those companies that get it right the first time have a distinct competitive advantage over those that can’t. The former are more productive, more cost-efficient, better able to meet schedules, and more valuable to their customers who are being whipsawed by rapidly changing economic conditions.

Fortunately, there are a variety of reasonably priced software tools available to greatly reduce the occurrence of errors. These tools enable the user to dramatically enhance accuracy and productivity when working with a customer’s technical requirements. These tools help to identify a part’s detailed characteristics, derive specific process requirements, generate process plans, and automate the creation of inspection plans.

"CMM manufacturers spend much of their development time and money creating better machines. CMM manufacturers see the creation of software program and drive their machines as necessary, but it is not their primary focus.

Programming a CMM using only the software supplied by the manufacturer is far more tedious and time consuming than programming a CNC with any of the current CAM packages. In fact, it frequently is similar to programming a CNC machine by writing one line of G-code at a time.

In response to the need for a better, easier way to develop programs for CMMs, several software development companies have created packages that attempt to bring the user-friendly, feature rich qualities of a CMM package to the task of programming CMMs."

Read the whole article: http://americanmachinist.texterity.com/americanmachinist/200901/?pg=38&pm=2

"Creating a program to have a Coordinate Measuring Machine(CMM) inspect a complex part is a time-consuming activity that can take hours and sometimes days to complete. However a new software package has been developed to reduce that time by as much as 90 percent.