Delcam
Delcam is a developer and provider of CAD / CAM software solutions for the manufacturing industry. Since its inception in 1977, which followed the first development work on the English University of Cambridge, the company has grown steadily. Today Delcam is the largest developer of product design and manufacturing software in the UK, with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Delcam 's software is used at more than 15,000 companies in over 80 countries for use.
History
In 1968 Donald Welbourn had, Director in Industrial Co-operation at Cambridge University, a vision: the use of computers to support the manufacturers of component patterns to solve the problems of modeling difficult 3D shapes. Today we take for the 3D modeling self-evident, but in 1968 only crude 2D drawing systems available using which were connected to large main frame computers.
Although Ford supported the project from the beginning, it was a constant problem for Donald Welbourne, raise the necessary development funds. 1973 Donald persuaded his friend Lord Caldecote, chairman of the Delta Metal Group and an ex-Cambridge graduate, deltas to appoint a graduate engineer Ed Lambourne to the technical department of the University of Cambridge, in order to work there on the development of DUCT, which ultimately use the system in the industry had the consequence. In 1974 Donald also obtained sponsorship from Control Data, which granted the developers access to its high-performance computing resources. Control Data offered DUCT particular its two largest customers - Volkswagen and Daimler Benz.
1977 a new department called Delta Technical Services was founded in Birmingham, which should continue the research. But it was hard to find good arguments for this technology, as computers were still slow and expensive, the software had few automatic features although it was difficult to use.
1982 came the first micro- computer with more processing power and at cheaper prices on the market. This was a major step forward, and by 1984 the technology compared to the traditional method finally competitive. Aircraft had of course been designed using computers for many years, but now saucepans and other domestic products with complex shapes could construct computerized.
Meanwhile, took over the development of DUCT at Cambridge together with a co- established at Delta in Birmingham small team continued. By 1984 the team in Birmingham more employees than that at Cambridge and the unique features of DUCT gradually found recognition. It was one of the few systems that have been developed from the beginning strictly for the design and processing of products. That design and machining equal were the focus, DUCT different from the competitors and this made it particularly attractive to users. Most other systems initially focused on the 2D drawing and followed by 3D modeling with machining added later.
Since 1977 the representation of processes have been developed step by step, with additional machine tools being installed and a programming service supplier companies. The development of DUCT was now a commercial project and employed 15 people in 1985. This direct practical experience was very helpful to determine the requirements and develop appropriate solutions.
1989, the company was under a management and employee buyout led by Managing Director Hugh Humphreys of the Delta Group. The company was renamed Delcam International in 1991 and the status of a corporation. In October of the same year Delcam moved into the new building in Small Heath Birmingham.
In July 1997, Delcam plc was floated on the Alternative Investment Market ( AIM). In preparation for this, Delcam UK was launched to lead the sales and customer support in the UK. Along with this, Delcam opened a sales office in Bolton in the county of Lancashire. Even overseas, the company, the managers are mainly focused on joint ventures in the Americas, Europe and the Far East developed. Delcam now had more than 70 sales offices and has a company-owned offices in the U.S., which supplies the extremely complex market of the local manufacturing industry.
Autodesk
In November 2013, Autodesk announced its intention to buy Delcam for 172 million pounds. In February 2014, Autodesk announced then the successful acquisition of Delcam.