Gibbs and Associates Grants over $500,000 in Software and Services to Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)

GibbsCAM Software to be Used with Haas CNCs in Training Programs.

Moorpark, CA - Gibbs and Associates, developer of GibbsCAM® software for programming CNC machine tools and a Cimatron company, today announced that it has granted Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) a network license of twenty-five seats of GibbsCAM software and post processor library, which, when combined with first year maintenance, which was also granted, is valued at almost $510,000.

The software includes functionality to open CAD models from their native format file, modify and prepare CAD models for machining, and generate, verify, simulate and post process CNC toolpaths for up to 4-axis milling, rotary milling, and multi-axis turning. It will be used for CAD/CAM, CNC programming, and machinist apprenticeship and training classes of the NAIT School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Technology, and for its periodic GibbsCAM-only training classes, the first of which will be offered in April, 2011.

“We are grateful to Gibbs for its generous support,” said David Grabski, Associate Chair, NAIT Machinist program. “GibbsCAM will provide our instructors the option to teach CNC programming with a system that is locally well-supported and which has a reputation for demonstrable ease of use. It will be most helpful in programming our multi-axis machining centers and dual-spindle turning centers with live tooling, where verification and machine simulation are more important.”

The NAIT Machinist program, one of the largest in North America, is conducted within the 31,000 square-foot, NAIT Sandvik Coromant Centre for Machinist Technology, which houses three machine shops, a CNC lab, two computer labs, five “smart” classrooms, and a metrology/inspection lab. It employs nearly 200 machine tools, including 24 conventional milling machines and 83 conventional lathes, and has capacity to train 1,820 students annually. The facility offers a four-year apprenticeship program (responsible for approximately 70% of Alberta’s machinist apprenticeship training); a full-time, one-year CNC certificate program; and two pre-employment machinist programs. At the core of its CNC machining programs are 36 CNCs, all made by Haas Automation. These include lathes, turning centers, dual-spindle turning centers, and vertical and horizontal machining centers.

“Because NAIT enjoys an exceptional reputation serving Canadian and international industry, we are proud to assist it with a grant of software to help machining students achieve higher levels of CNC programming faster than could be achieved with other software,” said Robb Weinstein, Gibbs’ Senior VP, Sales and Strategic Planning. “Our user base is growing rapidly in Alberta, serving oil, gas and other industries, and we hope to help customers find new employees that already know how to use a powerful and increasingly popular CAM system. We look forward to NAIT’s success with GibbsCAM in its machinist and CNC training programs.”