Both WorkNC and WorkNC-CAD are used on the shop floor at Brandstatter, bringing autonomy to the users who also operate the machine tools.
Children and parents around the world are familiar with the popular Playmobil toy figures. The Brandstatter Group, the company behind the brand, has its headquarters in Zirndorf near Nuremberg, manufacturing facilities in Dietenhofen, Germany, and overseas production in Malta, Spain and the Czech Republic as well as Playmobil subsidiaries in 11 countries. The company can trace its roots back to 1876, when it began manufacturing cabinet fittings and locks, before moving into toy manufacture in 1921.

Horst Brandstatter, the current sole owner recognised the threat of competition from low-price economies at the beginning of the 1970s and so initiated the development of a new range of toys.

This led to the launch of Playmobil, small moveable plastic figures with matching accessories.

Since 1974 nearly 1.9 billion have been produced.

The Playmobil brand's rapid success was remarkable, and Brandstatter has become the largest toy manufacturer in Germany, with a 2005 turnover of Eur 377 million.

Quality and innovation are important factors in the brand.

Reiner Merkel, Head of Mouldmaking at Zirndorf, said: 'Playmobil figures do not break and lose their attractiveness'.

'Therefore our products are not thrown away, but tend to be kept for the next generation'.

'The various product ranges are carefully co-ordinated so that the figures go together well'.

'There is now a considerable collectors market for them, which contributes to their success', added Gerhard Ammon, Mouldmaking team leader.

Time is a major factor for the production of new Playmobil figures, which need to match current topical themes such as the football World Cup, making mould design and construction of major importance.

Merkel said: 'Over the last ten years the throughput time at Playmobil has been drastically reduced'.

'Whereas we used to produce one new product line per year, now it's five or six'.

'We manufacture up to four new moulds each week'.

'This is only possible because we use the latest tools, including powerful 3D-CAD and CAM systems'.

Brandstatter's existing CAM system could not keep up with the increase in demand, and its lack of machining strategies forced the company's engineers to programme manually, leading to errors and delays on the machine tool.

Following a WorkNC demonstration, Gerhard Ammon commented: ' It opened up new possibilities allowing us to achieve more than we had ever anticipated'.

'Ease of use has resulted in faster training, and we have succeeded in greatly increasing our electrode production rates using the software'.

'An additional big plus for us is the stability and reliability of WorkNC'.

Both WorkNC and WorkNC-CAD are used on the shop floor at Brandstatter, bringing autonomy to the users who also operate the machine tools.

Jurgen Holler one of the users explained: 'With error free 3D CAD data, the machining strategies are applied and the calculation started - that's it'.

He continued: 'Through the combination of the simple programme operation with the intelligent processing strategies, a high level of accuracy is guaranteed, enabling us to minimise costly errors in our CNC programs'.

The automatic features in WorkNC save effort, while giving the operator more time and the flexibility to respond to the special circumstances which arise in some of the company's more complex tools.

WorkNC-CAD has also had a major impact on productivity.

By importing the IGES file the programmer is able to check for model integrity.

If the model needs repair or closing, functions inside WorkNC-CAD allow this to be completed with a few mouse clicks.

Previously this task had to be referred back to the design department, adding to its workload, and causing delays in the two shift system operated in the workshop.

Holler added: 'Frequently, we used to have to wait until the next day to have a model repaired'.

'This bottleneck, which had huge time-loss consequences, no longer happens'.

'Since the introduction of WorkNC-CAD we have not had a single case where we could not take remedial action ourselves'.

Other WorkNC features which are particularly valued by the company include the automatic production of HTML workshop documentation which allows clear communication between shifts, and the tool and toolholder libraries which keep track of available cutters.

Ammon said: 'Using WorkNC on the shop floor makes sense, as the machine operator understands the important elements of setting and operating the machining centres, so he is in the best position to optimise the performance of WorkNC'.

Ten years after the decision to purchase WorkNC from Sescoi, the Playmobil managers see it as the best decision that they could have taken for machining.

'The software is worth its weight in gold', said Ammon.

'Many processes are easier thanks to WorkNC'.

'It paid for itself in less than a year'.

He concluded: 'The calculation is easy - today two WorkNC workstations ensure that five work machines are in use simultaneously'.

'That's what I call productivity'.