Above: When programming nesting applications, KAI offers virtual support and operates within Lantek’s secure infrastructure.
July, 2026- In April, Lantek Systems released version 45 of its software with a focus on connectivity, automation and operational agility for sheet metal fabricators as well as customers working in metal plate, tubes and beams. A key addition to v45 is the introduction of artificial intelligence through KAI—Lantek’s transversal digital assistant. Founded in 1986, Lantek offers CAD/CAM/MES/ERP.
“[The] sheet metal market demands fast response times, greater operational efficiency, reliable delivery performance and more informed decision-making, while manufacturers also face an increasing shortage of skilled and experienced personnel,” explains Raul Chopitea, Lantek head of product. “v45 was developed precisely to help manufacturers address these challenges with a more connected, agile and intelligent operation.”
AGILITY AND AI
In discussing the v45 upgrades, Chopitea is most enthusiastic about KAI, Lantek’s proprietary transversal digital assistant designed specifically for the sheet metal manufacturing environment. “KAI represents the first major milestone in Lantek’s AI strategy,” notes Chopitea.
In v45, KAI provides users with intelligent guidance and contextual support throughout the daily use of the Lantek suite, while also delivering embedded AI capabilities in specific processes such as quotation.
“Just as importantly, KAI operates within Lantek’s own secure and controlled infrastructure, without relying on public AI environments, ensuring full alignment with industry cybersecurity, data protection and compliance standards, which is a key requirement for many industrial customers today,” he reports.
CONNECTIVITY BOOST
The main goal behind v45 was to create a more connected, transparent and monitorable production environment. With the manufacturing execution system portion, “we have expanded end-to-end production visibility with a new cloud-based planning solution and enhanced shop floor connectivity, enabling better control of work centers, improved traceability of work-in-progress parts and faster—more informed—operational decisionmaking,” Chopitea notes.
The release enhances machine connectivity and real-time shop floor monitoring through improved control panel capabilities. In addition, the cloud-based production planning improves delivery scheduling and execution along with material and semifinished part traceability throughout the production process.
“Ultimately, v45 enables planners, operators and managers to work from a single connected source of real-time data, moving away from traditional siloed systems and spreadsheet-based operations toward a more agile and data-driven manufacturing model,” he explains.
The system automatically identifies bottlenecks, provides live Gantt-based visualization of operations and offers clear insight into expected work center utilization rates. “This gives production teams and managers far greater transparency into current workloads, potential production risks and operational priorities, enabling faster and more informed decision-making before issues impact the shop floor or customer commitments,” Chopitea says.
With Lantek v45, machine status in multiple locations can be monitored from a single connected environment.
KAI, Lantek’s new transversal digital assistant, provides contextual support, which is especially helpful in the estimating stage.
WAREHOUSE VISIBILITY
Chopitea cites what he considers one of the most practical and high-impact improvements for manufacturers managing complex material flows: the intralogistics and intermediate warehouse capabilities introduced in v45.
“The new functionality provides much greater control and visibility over semifinished stock, allowing companies to accurately track materials and parts between production stages and always know the exact location of every part, pallet or batch within the factory,” highlights Chopitea. In addition, v45 enhances the management of material movements and strengthens integration with automatic storage systems, supporting the growing needs of highly automated and smart factory environments.
MULTI-LOCATION SUPPORT
To further enhance user connectivity, v45 has been designed with multi-site operations in mind. Many of the new applications in Lantek’s v45 upgrades are cloud-based and browser-accessible. “The enhanced accessibility makes it much easier for companies to achieve centralized visibility across multiple facilities.
“Manufacturers can monitor machine status, production planning, and operational performance from a single connected environment while keeping MES and ERP information synchronized across locations,” Chopitea notes. In addition, v45 further strengthens integration capabilities through expanded API services, enabling smoother connectivity between the Lantek portfolio and existing software ecosystems, regardless of the complexity of the operation.
NEXT LEVEL CAD/CAM
Lantek v45 introduces enhancements focused on smarter automation and greater adaptability to modern shop floor environments. The new release expands automatic parts evacuation programming capabilities, supporting a broader range of devices and automation systems, while also improving machining and nesting logic to efficiently handle everything from simple production setups to highly automated manufacturing scenarios.
“In CAD/CAM, we’ve taken automation to the next level by delivering smarter process orchestration aligned with the growing capabilities of modern machines and devices,” reports Chopitea. The upgrades seamlessly connect design, cutting and bending into a single integrated flow that Chopitea says streamlines programming, reduces manual intervention and increases production agility.
Improvements in what Lantek defines as “assembly to nesting” (A2N) are also integrated into v45. The upgrades improve 3D parts recognition and integrate new intelligent die-tool filtering and enhanced user-defined unfolding preference management to help improve consistency between engineering and production requirements.
“For sheet metal manufacturers, this translates into shorter setup times, more reliable bending results, reduced dependency on expert knowledge and a smoother transition from design to manufacturing,” explains Chopitea.
At the same time, Stackmaster, Lantek’s automated palletization solution, has been reengineered and delivers more interactive and automated programming, enhanced 3D simulation and tighter integration within the overall Lantek ecosystem.
COMPATIBILITY
For sheet metal fabricators ready to upgrade their Lantek software system, Chopitea says the transition is straightforward. V45 was designed to remain compatible with existing Lantek programming while progressively introducing cloud-connected services. Of course, requirements depend on the modules involved, but Lantek team members support customers throughout the migration and validation process to minimize disruption.
According to Chopitea, hundreds of customers are already working with v45, and the initial feedback has been positive. “Customers are highlighting improvements in the overall programming experience, a more cohesive and integrated system environment, operational visibility and more reliable shopfloor data collection, all of which are helping teams make faster and better-informed decisions. As deployments continue to expand, we expect these operational and efficiency gains to grow even further,” he asserts.
Lantek Systems Inc., 877/805-1028, lantek.com.
