The Biggest Ideas, The Best Technology, The Greatest Results

Retractable roofing and skylight solutions may seem like a simple business venture, but at OpenAire we’ve never been content to stick with the basic and common in our work. Our international team of design and engineering experts have brought the most technologically advanced, durable and visually striking architectural solutions to more than 1,000 projects on three continents. OpenAire is continuously looking for ways to better our design capabilities, production processes and services for our customers. This is why we’re very excited to begin using two industry-leading technologies to improve both our design and manufacturing processes. Our design team and project managers have now been trained to use the industry-leading 3D design software Solid Edge ST8 from Siemens, while this week our manufacturing division will begin using the state-of-the-art Elumatec SBZ 151 Profile Machining Centre to create enclosure components. Together these high-quality tools will allow OpenAire to bring our clients’ visions to life more easily than ever.

With Siemens’ revolutionary Solid Edge ST8 design software, OpenAire designers can complete designs for new enclosures faster and more efficiently than ever. Solid Edge’s 3D rendering technology lets our team model and test each component in their designs virtually before ever sending them to the production line. With the ability to test how thousands of components interact, they can now fine-tune and revise their work faster than ever. To make things even better, the system includes possibly the best sheet metal design technology available, allowing complete sheet metal designs to be created in 3D, with flanges, holes, relief and corner options, before being flattened into patterns and sent to production. This streamlined method makes even the most complex designs, such as OpenAire’s upcoming 70,000 square-foot enclosure for The Epic Waterpark in Grand Prairie, Texas, easier and faster to create. The software also includes faster 2D drafting for high-quality documentation and a photo-realistic model rendering engine, letting our clients see what they are getting every step of the way.

Once a design reaches our manufacturing centre, it will be precision-built with some of the most accurate machining tools available: OpenAire’s new fleet of Elumatec SBZ 151 Profile Machining Centres. This durable, compact system’s new 5-axis CNC package is designed to fabricate the most advanced designs in aluminum and thin-walled steel profiles; the perfect tool for OpenAire’s aluminum support structures. The Elumatec SBZ 151 performs routing, drilling, tapping, thread milling, notching, sawing and many other operations efficiently and economically while the profile bar is stationary, protecting the profile surface from damage. The system’s dedicated eluCad design software allows our manufacturing team to review and load designs into the CNC quickly, making automated assembly faster than ever. Additionally, with Elumatec’s shuttle operation mode, our manufacturing team can alternate loading the work areas, increasing productivity significantly. Since the SBZ 151’s work areas are over 16 meters long, we can fabricate even our longest profiles in one machine, eliminating manual secondary operations. It all adds up to OpenAire’s designs being built faster and with greater precision than ever.

OpenAire’s commitment to engineering excellence means that every client gets more than just a skylight or glass roof; they get a total architectural package with parts that are built to last. With these new design and manufacturing tools, we have strengthened this commitment. The Siemens Solid Edge ST8 and Elumatec SBZ 151 systems ensure that our design and manufacturing teams can create and machine each structure’s customized parts to meet the client’s specifications quickly and accurately. Our experts can then assemble these components into vibrant, adaptable enclosures that draw attention and provide flawless technological performance. It’s this commitment to world-class design and technological innovation that puts OpenAire at the top of the industry in customized retractable roofing solutions.

CNC just arrived today!