TDM Systems

Detect Idle Resources with Tool Lifecycle Management

Dan Speidel, Director of Sales

Over the years, the wheels of ‘smart factory’ or ‘Industry 4.0’ have churned the manufacturing sector, enabling cyber-physical systems to communicate and coordinate with each other in real time. Alongside this lasting impact, the revolution has brought about challenges for the industry that include capturing and accessing large silos of data. Today, companies are seeking unique strategies to supervise production resources including tool organization in all phases of planning and production—in short TLM proficient solutions. Enhancing this experience for customers is TDM Systems, a tool lifecycle specialist, offering solutions to manage tool data in the metal cutting industry. By providing a wide range of interfaces for optimized planning and provision of tools, the company focuses on the entire life cycle of tool data. “With our transparent solutions, companies achieve faster time to market, increase quality, and efficiency of the shop floor while accelerating the buying power with their vendors,” explains Dan Speidel, Director of Sales, North America, TDM Systems.

TDM’s shop floor management software helps in the preparation of tool assemblies for each job, calculates the tool usage, and takes into account the tool inventory. The software offers various modules that help in the efficient functioning of the shop floor including TDM Base Module, TDM Tool Crib, TDM Ordering, TDM Barcode Module, and TDMshopcontrol helping users throughout their tool lifecycle. As a first step, TDM´s Base Module provides all the necessary information like geometry and cutting data on tools and their applications suitable for each process to the users. The Crib Module supports ordering processes and manages automated as well as manual crib systems. Implementing order management in the tool crib, TDM Ordering Module ensures that the orders are submitted on time and are recorded.The entire tool circulation from planning to tool use is monitored by TDMshopcontrol.

TDM has robust interfaces to CAM systems and also supports management of NC program related tool lists while optimizing their usage.

Users can achieve faster time to market, increased efficiency of manufacturing shop floor while accelerating the buying power with their vendors

Users can select the best tools for NC operation with 3D-tool graphics. The firm’s integration with tool presetter manufacturers like Parlec Inc. simplifies the measurement procedure allowing flow of data to and from the systems. The solution also integrates with user’s ERP systems for tool pre-assignment and procurement processes while aligning with the data in ERP. TDM provides transparent data, users can see the tools used in production and are notified when the tools are ready or need replenishment. In addition, TDM has an engineering consulting team consisting of highly knowledgeable application engineers who identify the business objectives, strengths, and weaknesses of their clients to create a project addressing their business needs.

“Our industry knowledge and our longevity in the business segment is our strength,” says Speidel. TDM differentiates itself in the market through its software centric approach providing a CAM simulation ready 3D model to virtually every CAM system. The company has served a number of clients with their tool data management. In an instance, MAN Diesel & Turbo, a provider of large bore diesel engines and turbomachinery for marine and stationery applications, has a plant in Saint Nazaire (France) where it installs and tests large engines. MAN was looking for a tool management program and implemented TDM’s shop floor management that helped them save time with fully automated ordering systems, harmonized the networking at their plants, and gave them CAD support with 3D tool graphics.

Incorporating latest trends and technologies to its product portfolio, TDM plans to bring all the tool data on smart devices allowing users to access the information from anywhere, anytime. “Our vision for the future is to use on site as well as cloud based solutions to manage multiple aspects of Tool Lifecycle Management realizing IoT in the metal cutting industries,” concludes Speidel.

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TDM Systems

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TDM Systems

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Dan Speidel, Director of Sales

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Provides a complete system for the management and organization of production resources

TDM Systems News

TDM Systems expands offering following merger with Comara

Jean-Paul Seuren, managing director at TDM Systems GmbH and Holger Langhans, managing director at Comara GmbH, are pleased with the merger of their companies. Photo: TDM Systems

TDM Systems, a software solutions provider for tool management based in Germany, is expanding its capabilities by merging with Comara GmbH, a move aimed at incorporating machine connection expertise.

According to Jean-Paul Seuren, Managing Director at TDM Systems, "We aspire to be our customers' top digital partner, which makes the merger of TDM Systems and Comara a significant stride towards mastering machine data expertise. This merger opens up entirely new possibilities for our customers in terms of evaluating OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) metrics and machine data."

The synergy between the product portfolios of both companies is particularly strong in the realm of CNC machines. TDM Systems specializes in innovative solutions for data management and the physical organization of tools up to the machine itself. Comara, on the other hand, specializes in machine data acquisition, evaluation, and analysis, as well as production optimization solutions. This enables comprehensive OEE analyses, assessment of machine status, and downtime monitoring, all of which are relevant to tool planning.

Starting from August 1, TDM Systems has incorporated all Comara solutions into its own portfolio, thereby offering a complete data and process chain, from planning to the actual machine. Through this collaboration, TDM Systems aims to provide enhanced support to customers in meeting the demands of end-to-end digital manufacturing.

Holger Langhans, Managing Director at Comara GmbH, is enthusiastic about the future with TDM Systems: "We are excited to contribute our nearly two decades of expertise in machine data acquisition to TDM Systems at a crucial point in the machining process. In the future, our mutual customers will have a single point of contact for optimizations throughout the machining process."

By integrating Comara's solutions and expertise into TDM's portfolio, TDM Systems empowers companies to unlock the significant potential of their machine data, enabling more efficient manufacturing processes.