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Delcam Healthcare Solutions maintains focus on innovating for the future

DelcamlogoTechBy LER staff

Delcam is a world-leading developer and supplier of advanced CAD-CAM software and part of the Autodesk group, a multinational software supplier based in San Rafael, CA. Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD-CAM) are the words often used to describe Delcam’s core business, through which the company provides computer software tools to design shapes and then drive them to a computer-numerically controlled (CNC) machine for cutting.

Delcam, online at delcam.com, helps companies make great products accurately from any number of materials for a wide range of industries, and customers can use Delcam’s technology to move seamlessly from concept to reality, said Maida Koller, vice president of sales for Delcam North America.

In recent years the company has expanded considerably to provide computer software tools that now encompass the entire manufacturing cycle, said Koller. These include project management and collaboration tools, rapid prototype or rapid manufacturing technologies, which build up shapes up rather than cutting them out, and even specialist medical applications (at delcam-healthcare .com) that use data from imaging systems to create models for manufacturing.

Delcam’s growth has been significant in healthcare applications, particularly for scanning, designing, and fabricating custom insoles (visit orthotics-cadcam.com to learn more), Koller said. This division is focused on assisting medical professionals with the production of high-quality products to service their patients as quickly and effectively as possible. Delcam’s expertise and experience in CAD-CAM allows medical companies to take advantage of the latest design and manufacturing techniques, she said.

The Healthcare Solutions Division, including development of the software and scanners, is located at Delcam’s international headquarters in Birmingham, UK. Sales and support offices for North America are in Salt Lake City, UT, Windsor, Canada, and Fort Myers, FL.

As a CAD-CAM supplier, Delcam offers its software either as a complete solution or as a series of stand-alone products, and can provide a comprehensive design-through-manufacture system for companies that are new to CAD-CAM or are looking to replace old software. Alternatively, Delcam can supply individual software programs for companies aiming to increase the performance of their existing systems.

“We are definitely unique among other software suppliers in the O&P market, not only because of our size but also in our huge commitment to research and development, amounting annually to more than twenty-five percent of sales, and many patented inventions,” Koller said.

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Identifying and targeting new market opportunities has led to the continuous development and introduction of highly innovative products. For the Custom Orthotic Insoles CADCAM Suite this includes development of the iQube and iQube mini (foot scanners built on technology developed to measure high-precision parts in automotive and aerospace industries) and OrthoModel and OrthoMill. Delcam’s OrthoModel software is derived from Delcam PowerShape, the company’s integrated solid-surface and triangle CAD product, while OrthoMill is based on the Delcam PowerMill, a high-machining multiaxis CAM system for manufacturing complex 3D shapes.

Delcam’s development of these products results in a simple yet powerful software tool that practitioners can use to design any type and complexity of corrective or accommodative custom insole, Koller said.

“Even though we were founded over thirty years ago and are now one of the largest developers of CAD and CAM products in the world, our size has never impacted the quality of our products and the service we can provide to our customers,” she said. “We continue to strive to make our products better with new updates and automation so that our solutions are clean, fast, easy, precise, and profitable to our customers.”

Delcam is heavily involved in a number of international educational conferences and technology forums. In 2015, for the fifth year, Delcam will organize annual technology forums that bring together academic and industry leaders in O&P and orthopedics. Starting in 2015 the conferences will undergo a name change, from the Orthotics Technology Forum to the Ortho Technology Forum (OTF), to reflect the inclusion of technologies for orthopedic footwear, as well as those for orthotic devices. Due to continued enthusiasm for the OTF, Delcam will host two conferences in 2015, one in Canada and a second in Australia.

At these events, which emphasize the open exchange of information, guest speakers discuss new ideas for strategic business improvements, such as methods of increasing productivity and reducing manufacturing costs. “OTF guest speakers are leading the way in developing and using different types of technology and the ways they can be applied in your business,” Koller said

In North America, the 2015 OTF will be held as a presymposium event to the 2015 Pedorthic Association of Canada (PAC) Symposium in partnership with PFOLA (Prescription Foot Orthotic Laboratory Association). The event is scheduled to be held at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, Canada, April 16 through 18. The Australian OTF is scheduled for May 6 through 8, and will be part of Australian Podiatry Council’s (APodC) 2015 Conference. It is scheduled to be held at the Gold Coast Conference and Exhibition Centre in Queensland.

Bringing the OTFs together with PAC/PFOLA and APodC gives delegates the unique opportunity to attend several days of presentations, discussions, and hands-on workshops covering clinical and technological topics in one venue, Koller said.

For more information about the 2015 events, go to http://www.ortho-tech-forum.com, and register at http://www.ortho-tech-forum.com/contact-us.asp to receive news and other updates.

Article sponsored by Delcam

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