Case Study: Alcon Components accelerates CNC programming with Hexagon EDGECAM

EDGECAM manages the right strategy for taking the brakes off

Alcon Components, a UK-based manufacturer of high-performance braking and clutch systems for motorsport and automotive OEMs, faced a challenge in efficiently programming their CNC machines for hundreds of specialized piston variants. Manually creating toolpaths for these complex parts was time-consuming, taking up to four hours for a single program, which was impractical for their small batch production runs.

Using Hexagon's EDGECAM and its Strategy Manager module, Alcon automated the CAM programming process. The solution allowed them to generate consistent G-code toolpaths for part variants, accounting for different features and materials, in just two minutes. This drastically reduced programming and setup times, slashed cycle times for complex pistons from 30 minutes to 10, and enabled the company to bring products to market faster, significantly improving overall efficiency.

Alcon Components

Warren Knight

Production Engineer