Sandvik Coromant is strengthening its digital manufacturing capabilities by signing a strategic research agreement with PARC, a Xerox company, world-renowned innovation center. PARC will provide Sandvik Coromant with a footprint in Silicon Valley and expert resources for research and development in the field of digital manufacturing.

PARC will allocate resources to conduct research and develop digital manufacturing technologies for Sandvik Coromant under the terms of the agreement. Sandvik Coromant will also acquire all intellectual property (IP) and technology related to PARC's software for high-level process planning and automated manufacturing cost estimation for subtractive manufacturing.

"This partnership is a natural step and in line with Sandvik Coromant's long-term strategy to develop attractive solutions in the field of digital manufacturing and Industry 4.0," said Magnus Ekbäck, vice president and head of business development and digital machining for Sandvik Coromant. "With this cooperation we will significantly strengthen our capabilities within digital machining."

"Manufacturing is entering a dynamic new phase as the cyber and physical worlds converge, and the complex and diverse industry needs significant innovation to truly progress," said PARC CEO Tolga Kurtoglu. "The missing piece for complete design automation and manufacturing of complex products has been the integrated coupling of design and manufacturing, which we have been developing at PARC for many years. We're pleased to partner with Sandvik Coromant to see these innovations come to life on the global stage."

PARC has been developing technologies for government agencies and commercial clients in the field of digital manufacturing for almost a decade. Its digital manufacturing suite of technologies helps designers and manufacturers understand real-world manufacturing process constraints during digital product design and identifies potential limitations of a supply chain early in the design phase, ultimately minimizing time-to-market and improving overall product quality.

The strategic research agreement will be governed by a Joint Steering Committee with representatives from both PARC and Sandvik Coromant.