CAD/CAM Systems

Once schools have a laser they wonder how they ever managed without one – so why is this?

Above all, lasers provide the simplest way possible to get from the CAD drawing to the finished product. They work with extraordinary accuracy and delicacy, and the finished edge is usually just that – finished. Lasers have large work areas and are quick to produce results, so class sets of work can be cut and engraved in normal lesson time, with students directly involved in setting-up and outputting files - great for building confidence. Turnaround is fast and with a few important exceptions, lasers will cut and engrave a huge variety of materials so just about every area of Design and Technology is able to get the benefit.

It might be tempting to think that a LaserCAM is the only CAD/CAM machine that you will need and it is certainly true that they can revolutionise the quality of work that students produce. It is important to remember, however, that lasers do not accept 3D data and must not be used to cut vinyl material because of harmful fumes. Milling and knife cutting machines will still be needed alongside lasers to give students a realistic experience of real-world practice, and to have the right mix of tools available for specific applications.

LaserCAM machines are built for world-wide commercial markets and TechSoft have an exclusive arrangement to supply LaserCAM to UK Education. This allows us to work closely with the manufacturers to ensure all necessary safety standards are met and operation is seamless from TechSoft Design V3. LaserCAMs are supplied as a package that includes everything you need including the highest specification, totally automatic, extraction and filtration system available.

3D CAD with Rapid Prototyping (RP) is now an essential tool to enable designers to compete in global markets - it is something all design and engineering students need to know about and, ideally, have access to. TechSoft have been supplying 3D printers since 2004, originally supplying just the professional-series FDM machines from Stratasys - very reliable machines which build in strong ABS.

In recent years, many low-cost alternatives have come onto the market in the wake of significant media interest about this 'new' technology. Our experience has places us in a strong position to appraise these budget 3D printers. In our opinion the Flashforge range stands out about the crown for accuracy, reliability, cost effectiveness, ease of use and safety. It is certainly the ideal machine for use in education - parts just 'lift off' the bed (no glue or tape) and the transparent slide-up cover is automatically locked when a build is in progress. Add to that the automatic levelling plus very fine resolution builds in both ABS and PLA, and you will understand why we recommend it. The Flashforge range offers students the chance to print prototype (often functional) parts with sufficient accuracy and strength for project work. With the optional dual material head providing soluble support removal, there is also the opportunity to make really complex shapes then dissolve away the supporting structures. An amazing machine for such a low cost.

A good quality knife-cutter is the ideal entry point for developing CAD/CAM as an important strand in the Design and Technology curriculum. The machines are quiet and inherently safe to use making them the most child-friendly option for a huge variety of project outcomes in just about every area of the subject. This versatility and a low initial cost means that almost any department can get started with real CAD/CAM activity. These machines are far more than entry level tools and remain essential to provide full CAD/CAM capability alongside milling and laser technology.

Print and Cut machines provide brilliant large-format colour printing - but that’s not all. They also cut out precise profiles around the graphics so decals and self-adhesive wraps can be produced in one operation.

An individual Graphics department will probably find all the capability they need in Roland's VersaStudio BN-20. The BN-20 has a modest desk-top format, a modest price and (importantly) card-cutting capability straight from TechSoft Design V3. We supply specially-formulated card that accepts the advanced print technology that the BN-20 shares with its bigger brothers. Print and cut packaging projects have never been made to such a professional standard.

The larger TrueVIS range is ideal for large banners and vinyl graphics making it a fantastic whole school resource.

Milling, Routing and Engraving are all, in effect, the same thing. All machines in our milling and routing range are capable of milling, routing and engraving - it’s more about choosing the right tooling and scale of machine for what you have in mind.

A common misconception is that Engineering courses require CNC milling machinery that will cut steel. This is not always the case.

TechSoft’s approach is to supply high quality ‘student friendly’ machines that will deliver components quickly with the minimum of fuss. When required, the larger Roland machines will happily cope with suitable grades of alloy.

Whether you will be Routing, Milling or Engraving, TechSoft have a machine that will exactly meet your needs. The Roland SRM-20 and MDX-50 provide versatile and popular options for education but, for machining steel, look at our Sieg CNC millers. If size and speed matter, then our RouterCAM machines will make short work of furniture panels and batches of student projects.

TechSoft offer two systems for transferring crisp, full colour images onto a huge variety of project materials. They each offer a professional system to enhance projects or to rapidly and economically add value to 'blank' products. Great for enterprise or in-house production of 'branded' products.

Both have their place in a busy D&T Department. See our image transfer section to decide which is best for you.

Every department needs a fast, good quality colour printer so why not choose one that will deal with 'regular' paper printing and become the heart of a system that can transform project outcomes in almost every area of Design and Technology? The LIT process uses an enhanced OKI laser printer and allows images to be transferred onto almost any material that students will be using. LIT can't be beaten for versatility.

Sublimation uses a dedicated Sawgrass inkjet system with gel inks for reliability and ease of use. The first choice for textiles and enterprise work, sublimation does not effect the tactile qualities of the fabric and images are bright and durable. Media for sublimation needs to be polyester-rich or polyester-coated which, in practice, usually means fabrics or ready-prepared blanks (phone pouches, mugs, mouse mats, etc.).

Brother make high-quality CNC embroidery machines for commercial and domestic markets and have a long-standing reputation for reliability, long life and excellent back-up. Their range includes computerised sewing, embroidery or combined capability, so whatever resources you already have, we can supply a machine to take you on to the next level without making existing machines redundant.

Design work can be anything from simple geometrical shapes and patterns to vectorised, colour-mapped or ‘straight’ photos – just about anything is possible. TechSoft Design V3 gives you all the tools you need for the design so, with a site licence for the software, you will have full-class access with no limit to the number of ‘seats’ you can provide. The only ‘extra’ needed will be at least one seat of Brother’s PE Design embroidery software to convert designs into a stitch pattern.

A single needle computerised embroidery machine
These great value Brother machines will unlock the potential of CNC embroidery for all students.

Lasers have made a huge impact on student project work but we are often asked “Why can’t they be used to cut metals?” In industry, lasers are used routinely for metal-cutting, but high costs and significant risk management issues make the technology unsuitable for educational use – at least at the moment! To meet the need for metal profiling in education, TechSoft are delighted to introduce PlasmaCUT - plasma-beam technology that lets you slice through up to 12mm mild steel with no more hassle than it took to cut card on a CAMM 1.

PlasmaCUT is a high speed profiling machine that works from 2D CAD files generated in TechSoft Design V3. The machine is housed in an interlocked protective enclosure and connects to a high-efficiency extraction system which captures the particulates produced when plasma cutting mild steel. PlasmaCUT is not a machine for a regular classroom or design studio, but it will fit into any workshop space where there are the usual provisions for hot metal working.

Specialist engineering schools will clearly be interested in the potential PlasmaCUT has to bring sheet metal cutting up to date and, more widely, PlasmaCUT will fit naturally alongside other CAD/CAM and ‘benchwork’ techniques. It has the power to revolutionise what students are able to do in their project work.