Autodesk’s PowerMill 2019 CAM software includes developments designed to enhance existing functionality for high-efficiency machining.
This version includes additive manufacturing strategies and simulation tools designed for hybrid machines. It generates safe and efficient tool paths to drive directed energy deposition (DED) processes that use wire-fed or powder-blown hardware. Specialized three- and five-axis programs enable building entire components from scratch. It can also apply localized features or surface Cutting Carbide Inserts coatings to repair or enhance existing parts.
For five-axis programming, the software includes improved collision avoidance tools. An automatic tool-axis tilting method simplifies programming, helping to generate smooth and safe five-axis motion for all model shapes and toolpath types.
Vortex, the high-efficiency roughing strategy, now includes a “from stock” option based on the company’s adaptive clearing technology. It creates tool paths with offsets based on both the shape of the part being produced and the stock being milled, resulting in efficient tool paths with shorter machining cycle times and fewer tool retractions.
For 2D machining, the software improves workflow for defining open-sided pockets and bosses. The existing 2D Carbide Drilling Inserts tool paths recognize these features, automatically positioning tool entry and exit points to avoid overloading cutting tools. It also enables users to create 2D features based on a selection of surface.
ViewMill, a stock simulation tool, now includes a “remaining material” shading mode. This helps programmers to identify areas of unmachined stock to ensure parts are fully machined before removal. The shading mode automatically identifies the maximum amount of stock left on a simulated part and provides dynamic slider bars to visualize the distribution of stock.
The software also includes a “setups” feature that enables programmers to better manage the synchronization between tool paths and NC programs. It also provides functionalities for parts with multiple fixture offsets.
Four years represents an eternity in the life of metalworking tools. In that time, TP Engineering (Bethel, Connecticut) has milled a mile of aluminum without changing the inserts on a Kennametal three-cartridge, 0-degree lead, 3-inch polycrystalline diamond (PCD)-tipped high-velocity face mill.
TP Engineering, a designer and manufacturer of Harley-Davidson aftermarket motorcycle engines and related components, is using PCD milling to finish engine cases, oil pumps, rocker boxes, inner and outer primary engine covers, and transmission cases and covers.
"We couldn’t be happier with the performance of PCD milling," says Tom Pirone, TP Engineering’s president and founder. "To this day, I find it amazing that we have never changed inserts."
In this application, TP is using PCD to work on 6061T6 aluminum and 356 aluminum, a difficult-to-machine material that it mills on a Mori-Seiki SH-400, a Mori-Seiki SH-403 and two Okuma MX 40 HA horizontal machining centers.
"The secret to the PCD face mill is in the design," says Gerry Dobrynski, the Kennametal field sales representative who services the TP Engineering account. "These lightweight but sturdy milling cutter bodies are engineered to best utilize the cutting power of the PCD adjustable cartridges that are secured to the cutter body with socket-head cap screws. Each cartridge is tipped with super-hard PCD (KD100 grade) that enables faster speeds, excellent tool life and superior surface finishes when compared to carbide or high speed steel (HSS) tools."
TP Engineering’s use of PCD high-velocity face mills is enabling the company to mill 10,000 sfm at 140 ipm.
Besides increased tool life and decreased cycle time on the engine case from 1 hour to 24 minutes, Mr. Pirone is also pleased with the mirror finish that results from a Kennametal PCD face mill. "The surfaces achieve a superior finish with a phenomenal consistency that I didn’t expect when I began using PCD, and I’m sure that it influences Harley-Davidson owners to buy our products."
TP Engineering replaced a carbide end mill 6 years ago with helical and router style Kennametal NGE-I end mills. The mills use six KC725M inserts for milling steel and six KC510M inserts to mill aluminum on a Mori-Seiki SH-400 horizontal machining center to perform profile milling on connecting rods, engine cases, inner and outer primary engine covers, oil pumps and rocker boxes.
The significant values for TP Engineering’s use of an NGE-I end mill are 10,000 sfm at 120 ipm for milling aluminum and 500 sfm at 20-40 ipm for milling steel. By using NGE-I, TP has tripled productivity and tool life while improving the smoothness of surface finishes by a factor of three.
"TP Engineering has realized those quantitative and qualitative improvements because the NGE-I offers positive chip forming geometry, which results in free cutting action and lower cutting forces," says Brian Hoefler, Kennametal’s NGE product manager.
"NGE end mills are versatile and can be used for machining shoulders, slots, contours and facing," Mr. Hoefler continues. "These features, combined with the latest Kennametal ‘M’ milling grades, give users productivity advantages that are crucial to the milling requirements of many jobs that require the production of high-quality parts in record time."
Adds Mr. Pirone, "By getting 40 parts per insert edge instead of 12 or 13, having each insert cost us $12 a piece instead of $60 and having such responsive customer application and field service support, Kennametal provides the kind of value we wish all of our suppliers could give us."
Mr. Pirone has also integrated Kennametal drilling tools with his company’s manufacturing operations. For the past 2 years, TP Engineering has been using KSEM APKT Insert Sculptured Edge High Performance modular drills on an Okuma MX-40 HA horizontal machining center to drill deep holes in rocker arms made of 4140 steel that has been heat treated, machined and then hardened to 32-36 HRC.
Using a drill body that is 5 inches long and a carbide blade in grade KC7215, TP is making 400 holes per blade that are 3.600 inches deep with a diameter of 0.630 inch.
"Because KSEM’s design propels the drill into the workpiece at a tremendous penetration rate, while breaking chips effectively and maintaining stability, the user is ensured of getting precise, close-tolerance holes faster," says Kennametal’s Mr. Dobrynski.
To make holes in the aluminum casting of the engine crankcase, TP is using a 5-inch drill body and a grade KC7235 blade to drill more than 2,000 holes (and counting) Face Milling Inserts at a depth of 2.01 inches with a diameter of 1.125 inches. Kennametal performs factory reconditioning of the blades.
TP Engineering’s use of Kennametal’s holemaking know-how extends to the Dynapoint Triple-Flute (TF), a solid carbide drill that TP is using to make small-diameter holes in engine and transmission cases made of 356 and 6061 aluminum. With Dynapoint, TP Engineering is making 24,800 holes per body at 0.51 second per hole. A tool that TP formerly used had an output of only 1,000 holes per drill body at 4 seconds per hole.
With three flutes, the sculptured edge drill point creates a smooth transition from the major cutting edge to the center of the drill, eliminating stress peaks and allowing the drill to actively cut metal over the entire cutting edge.
Compared to conventional drills, which are ground with flat chisel points that will push and tear the metal, the sculptured edge design is said to allow the user to handle increased chip loads for faster penetration rates and greater productivity.
Over the past 4 years, Kennametal has helped TP Engineering reduce its cost per part, decrease cycle times and increase tool life.
By the very nature of their business, contract machining shops are constantly looking for ways to sharpen their capabilities and reduce costs to quote jobs more competitively. Price, along with quality and delivery, can contribute to a winning recipe.
Southern California’s Fontal Controls is one example of a shop that constantly searches for new ways to maintain a competitive advantage in a crowded field. With this mindset, the shop set an agenda calling for the capability to cut steel as hard as 47/48 Rc quicker and more effectively. In addition, the company says it wanted to rough aluminum faster to make detailed cuts on contoured parts without stalling the tool. Also, running at higher feed rates without breaking tools would enable fewer passes, thereby further reducing part costs. Other goals included improving surface finishes, reducing tool changes and eliminating clean-up operations, all of which would require less machine vibration. A new machine would need to be rigid enough to reduce vibration and cost-effective enough to justify the shop’s investment.
With these objectives in mind, Fontal Controls acquired a VMC designed with a rigid boxway construction and equipped with an 8,000-rpm spindle. The machine, a VMC 3016FX, was designed and built by Chatsworth, California-based Fadal Machining Centers. Fontal now says its revenues have increased because of this machine’s fast cycle times.
Oscar Fontal founded the company in the early 1980s with just one machine. The company grew quickly by focusing on precision CNC machining and turning of components for the die and mold, machine tool and aerospace industries. In addition to these operations, the shop also performs grinding and other finishing work. Dimensional inspection and surface-finish inspection are carried out in-house.
In 1994, Fontal moved to a 14,000-square-foot facility in Sylmar, California, which is near Los Angeles. Today, the founder’s sons run the company as partners. Seven of the company’s 16 CNC machines are VMCs that can accommodate workpieces measuring as large as 24 by 48 inches. Of those seven VMCs, six were designed and built by Fadal.
Although the machining programs and cycle times vary, Fontal says the new VMC has increased parts-per-hour productivity by more than 40 percent compared to the previous machine. On one large, complex aluminum aerospace part, for example, spindle speed on deep profiling jumped from 5,500 rpm to 7,000 rpm. The feed rate also increased to 100 inches per minute—nearly triple the rate on the older machine.
To machine these aluminum aerospace parts, the company takes 1.260-inch-deep rough-cut passes with a 1-inch-diameter, coarse-tooth rougher. The cycle time on the rough, deep-cut operation was reduced from more than 9 minutes to approximately 6 minutes. Cutting Tool Carbide Inserts Total machining time dropped from 79 to 54 minutes. In fact, revenues on the new machine alone increased by more than 46 percent per day.
Recently, the company ran a batch of 147 of these parts without any cutter compensation. Fontal programmer and machinist Art Martinez says this is a testament to the machine’s rigidity, and he estimates that repeat batches throughout the year will yield substantial cumulative savings for the customer. Another benefit is that this capability will “open the doors” for the company to gain larger-part work.
Mr. Martinez says that Fontal has also achieved faster drilling and milling cycles on 15-5 heat-treated, 42-Rc steel, as evidenced by a recent job machining an adaptor part.
Spindle speed and rigidity are the two biggest attributes that persuaded Fontal to purchase the 3016FX. Carbide Drilling Inserts The machine’s cast iron, boxway construction is designed to provide large surface-area contact on the integral, flame-hardened ways. This helps maintain rigidity by damping vibration during heavy cuts. According to the manufacturer, accuracies stay high and predictable on circular features, and reversal error is virtually eliminated.
The machine features XYZ axis travels of 30 by 16 by 20 inches (762 by 407 by 508 mm). The VMC is part of a family of three Fadal models. These include the 2216FX, which features a smaller envelope, and the 4020FX, which has axis travels of 40 by 20 by 20 inches (1,106 by 508 by 508 mm).
A maximum deviation of 0.000232-inch roundness has been verified with a standard ballbar test (ASME B5.54), the company says. Accuracy is also enhanced by increased stiffness resulting in part from the Steinmeyer ETA+ dual-mounted ballscrews. Fontal says its part programmers and machinists are receptive to the Fadal GE Fanuc Oi-MC control because they are already familiar with the Fanuc controls on other machines in the shop. The company also cites an intuitive interface and expanded functions as factors in simplifying part setups. In addition, the machine is equipped with a 21-tool ATC, which is suited to Fontal’s type of work.
“The rigidity of the Fadal machine is important to our part finishes,” says Cristian Fontal, managing partner and controller. “The ballscrews are fast and offer accuracy. The machine affords us the versatility to cut both steel and aluminum quickly and accurately.”
Tool length compensation simplifies programming and enhances trial machining and sizing during setups and production runs. It also makes it possible to assemble and measure cutting tool lengths using an offline tool length measuring device.
Though tool length compensation is a good feature, it does have some drawbacks.
1) The cutting tool must be rigid enough to machine using the programmed cutting conditions, and 2) the cutting tool must be long enough to reach the deepest machined surface without being so long that it collides with an obstruction during tool changes.
In some companies, programmers specify the components TCGT Insert for assembling cutting tools along with a range of acceptable lengths.
Many companies, however, specify only the tool name and size, leaving it to the setup person to determine how to assemble cutting tools. Setup people may not know for sure whether each tool will have adequate rigidity, or whether its length is within an acceptable range.
While they may not be able to ensure rigidity, custom macros can solve the cutting tool length range question.
The technique Cemented Carbide Inserts here is especially helpful for machines with limited Z-axis travel, like small vertical machining centers and many horizontal machining centers. We are using FANUC custom macro system variables to access offset-related data, and our example also assumes the machine has FANUC’s standard set of six fixture offsets and the user plans to set the cutting tool length as the tool length compensation offset value.
Variables in the #2200 series provide access to tool length geometry offsets. Those in the #5200 series provide access to fixture offsets. Additionally, our example “second references” the related system variable values. Our test tool length values are:
#149=4.0
#2=#[2200+#149] (Current tool length)
With common variable #149 set to 4.0, the expression 2200+#149 renders 2204. The pound sign (#) outside of the brackets makes this system variable #2204, which accesses the value of tool length geometry offset number four. Similar techniques are used for accessing the currently instated fixture offset Z-register value. We are also using system variable #4014 to access the currently instated fixture offset value (54-59).
Consider the illustration.
Input data comes from offsets, from system constants (#500 series permanent common variables) and from values specified within the program. The offsets include fixture offset Z values and tool lengths entered in the tool length compensation geometry offsets.
Users will only need to enter the following system constants one time:
#100: Distance between Z-zero surface to highest obstruction (like a clamp).
#101: Distance between Z-zero surface and the deepest depth. This value can be specified prior to each tool change.
This technique operates from a user-defined T-code program. After setting a parameter (#6001, bit 5 for newer FANUC CNCs) to 1, any time the CNC sees a T code, it will store the T value in common variable #149 and execute program O9000.
There are two common styles of automatic tool changing systems.
With one, the T code by itself completes the tool change. With the other, the T code merely rotates the tool carousel, bringing the tool to the ready station while an M06 command changes the tools. The following example program should work nicely for both, though users may have to separate the T code and the M06 into two commands for the program to execute properly.
Here are the programs. The main program (O6001) is abbreviated to show only the related commands:
O6001 (Main program)
G54 (Select fixture offset)
#100=2.0 (Height of tallest feature/obstruction from fixture offset Z-zero surface)
#101=2.5 (Deepest depth of machining for tool 4)
(.)
(Program startup commands)
(.)
T04 (Calls program O9000, the user-defined T-code custom macro)
M06 (Tool change will occur if tool is within range)
(.)
(Machining with tool station 4)
(.)
#101=1.0 (Deepest depth of machining for tool 5)
(Tool startup commands)
(.)
T5 (Calls user-defined T-code custom macro)
M06 (Tool change will occur if tool is within range)
(Machining with tool 5)
(.)
(Balance of machining program)
(.)
M30
O9000 (Tool checking custom macro)
#1=ABS[#[5203+[#4014-53]*20]] (Current fixture offset Z value)
#2=#[2200+#149] (Current tool length)
IF[[#1-#2-#511-#512-#100]GT0]GOTO5 (Is the tool length okay?)
#3000=100(TOOL IS TOO LONG)
N5#3=#1+#101 (Deepest depth)
#4=#513+#2 (Tool reach)
IF[[#4-#3]GT0]GOTO10 (Will the tool reach deepest surface?)
CNC Software’s Mastercam X9 software introduces improvements to its Dynamic Motion, Multiaxis, and Design and System features. To create the most efficient cutting motion possible, Dynamic tool paths calculate not only the area where metal will be removed; they also take into account the changing condition of the material through various stages of machining.
Dynamic Xform enables users to switch between gnomon APMT Insert manipulation and geometry manipulation mode at any time. Solid Disassemble is a new Model Prep function that takes an assembly and lays each body out in a single pane. The associativity between solids and toolpaths has been improved in this version. When bodies are edited, only the toolpaths directly affected by the change in the solid body are marked as dirty.
The new Multiaxis Link ensures reposition moves between two- through five-axis operations are safe and collision-free. Multiaxis Link is an operation that takes a list of toolpath operations and a safety zone shape as input. Mastercam X9 introduces improved processing logic for advanced multi-axis toolpaths. Select Multiaxis toolpaths now process in the Multi-Threading Manager, Carbide Inserts streamlining users’ two- through five-axis workflow.
Other Mastercam X9 features include Preview Toolpaths support for select Mill operations to see results before closing the toolpath parameters dialog; Surface High Speed Hybrid support for dedicated flat processing; improved efficiency of the 3D HST Rest Roughing Linking; and two new tool types in Mill Tooling as well as changes to two existing tools.
