Optimised 3D metalwork design solution

Modern manufacturing capabilities in the Middle East have taken a sudden leap forward in the past few years. Today, things that seemed without a solution in just a short time ago have now become a reality. New technology now permits companies to customise automation levels using flexible modular solutions and integrated software systems. It has revolutionised the impact on the whole future of sheet metal and its applications.
Lantek, an integrated CAD/CAM and ERP solutions provider for the sheet metal sector, has enhanced its Lantek Flex3d software for the design, folding/unfolding, and 3D cutting of tubes, profiles and sheet metal parts, as part of the latest 2011 versions of its software.

Sheet metal
Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes. It is simply a metal formed into thin and flat pieces. Numerous everyday objects are constructed of the material. Thicknesses can vary significantly, although extremely thin thicknesses are considered foil or leaf, and pieces thicker than 6mm (0.25-inch) are considered plate.
It is the most prevalent aircraft construction material by all measures, used extensively from jetliners to light, single engine airplanes and kits over the past five decades. Furthermore, virtually all other aircraft types use sheet metal to some degree, whether an instrument panel on a composite aircraft or a firewall on a wood or steel tube and fabric design.
In particular, the Middle East is set to witness a rapid expansion in air travel including a very fast increase in the size of the fleet serving the region, driven by its major hub carriers (Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways), said Fadi Majdalani, Partner with Booz & Company. However, given the expected advances in technology and the forecast rates of growth, this share is set to increase disproportionately over the decades ahead. Despite significant technological innovations with new types of aircraft, it is particularly the long working life of aircraft (between 30 to 40 years), which means that improvements in efficiency only gradually take effect over the entire international fleet.

Lantek Flex3d
The new features incorporated into Lantek Flex3d represent a major advance for the sheet metal industry, providing it with a more flexible solution with comprehensive functionality, capable of being tailored to meet the needs of individual users. Lantek Flex3d has the power to manage large-scale projects and incorporates the most advanced 3D design technologies in its architecture. Lantek has also significantly improved the software's CAD data exchange capabilities, with speed improvements of 300%.
Lantek Flex3d V2011, like all the previous versions, is fully integrated with all of the company's other applications, greatly simplifying and easing the management and coordination of manufacturing processes. These new developments introduced by Lantek are an effective response to the demands of companies within the industry enabling them to increase their productivity and keep one step ahead in the market.

Modular solution
Lantek Flex3d comprises eight specific modules, enabling the user to perform folding and unfolding tasks; work with tubes or profiles; carry out integrated design and manufacture with SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, Solid Edge, CATIA, Creo Elements/Pro and Siemens NX; automate the programming of laser and waterjet 5-axis sheet metal cutting machines; and design and cut standard profiles using the Lantek Flex3d Steelwork module.
In the 2011 version of Lantek's software, all the modules incorporate new intuitive functionality which makes 3D design and manufacture faster and easier for the user. Within the LantekAir Jordan Six Rings