IMTS 2014: Products to watch out for!

The International Manufacturing Technology Show 2014 (IMTS) Conference which will run four days and is set to provide solutions to current manufacturing problems, such as improving productivity, improving part quality, and developing a stable, competent workforce to lower the costs of manufacturing in the United States and create new levels of market demand.

Here are some of the products you should watch out when you visit IMTS this September 8-13 at McCormick Place in Chicago Illinois.

Advancement in CNCs

Exciting new developments in machine tool CNC hardware and software technology will be demonstrated by NUM at IMTS. Highlights will include a highly cost-effective dual channel CNC kernel for designers of small to medium size machines with up to five axes, a functional safety architecture that can easily be scaled to suit any type of machine, and new grinding software for complex geometry tools.

Forming the latest addition to NUM’s market-leading Flexium+ CNC platform, the dual channel Flexium+ 8 CNC kernel provides an exceptionally high level of control flexibility. At any time, either CNC channel can be used to control a spindle motor and four simultaneously interpolated axes – and control can be passed on-the-fly from one channel to the other. This simplifies the design of complex machines with multiple synchronisation requirements, such as thread or gear cutters, and in many cases eliminates the need for a second CNC kernel.

NUM will also be providing software demonstrations of complete conversational and cycle solutions developed specifically for the North American market. Based on Flexium+ systems, these include solutions for gear hobbing, shaping and grinding, OD/ID grinding and metal spinning.

The functional safety architecture, known as NUMSAFE, is compatible with all NUM Flexium+ CNC systems. It provides machine builders with a highly flexible means of implementing functional safety functions and can be scaled to suit almost any type of machine tool, regardless of complexity or the number of axes. Key benefits include minimal additional hardware and wiring – the safety PLC and safety I/O modules can be contained within the same standard terminal as other elements of the control system – and simple software development using the same powerful tools that are used to commission the CNC, PLC, drives and I/O modules.

For the first time in the USA, NUM will be showing the new version of its market-leading NUMROTO tool grinding software, which now includes functions for complex geometry tools such as multi-helical end mills with variable width flute areas. In addition, the software now accommodates several new types of gash out on drills and form cutters, allowing the grinding wheel to follow the tool’s ballnose- or corner-radius in order to create a defined rake angle along the radius and the gash out. The software’s integrated automatic product documentation function has also been enhanced so that it can import detailed views from the Flexium 3D simulator, to create extremely realistic drawings of the tool.

NUM's booth – E-5135 – is located in the East Building at McCormick Place.

PowerMILL 2015 for high-speed and five-axis machining

Delcam will launch the 2015 version of its PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining at IMTS 2014 in Chicago from 8th to 13th September on booth E3222, the largest CAM software booth at the show.  The new release will include improvements to the Vortex high-efficiency area-clearance strategy, improved collision checking to also cover near misses, and more efficient raster finishing.

For more information on PowerMILL, please go to www.powermill.com 

The Vortex area-clearance strategy produces safe toolpaths with a much deeper cut by using a controlled engagement angle that maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the whole toolpath.  As a result, higher feed rates and material-removal rates are possible, making the cutting time shorter by as much as 70%.  In addition, cutting is undertaken at a more consistent volume-removal rate and at a near constant feedrate, so extending tool life and protecting the machine.

Two enhancements in PowerMILL 2015 will give even greater reductions in machining time compared to conventional roughing. The first change allows toolpaths to approach the part from outside the stock at the cutting height for open pockets or in areas where earlier cuts have made this possible.  Previously, all entry moves had to be made by plunging onto the surface or by ramping into the material.

The second change allows an increased feed rate to be set for non-cutting moves. The default value is set at double the rate for the cutting moves but this can be altered as required for each machine tool.  The extra time that can be saved depends on the shape of the part but an additional saving of around 20% should be expected above the earlier releases of Vortex.

Another problem in previous versions of PowerMILL was that unnecessary lifts could be added to area-clearance toolpaths when the cutter moved outside the stock or close to its edge.  Changes to the roughing algorithm have now reduced the number of lifts per toolpath slice to the minimum needed and so made area clearance much more efficient.

Companies using PowerMILL for either positional or continuous five-axis machining will benefit from improvements to the collision checking within the software.  Firstly, collision checking has been changed so that warnings can also be flagged for near misses.  The user can now specify a clearance value and when the machine tool comes within this value it will turn yellow in colour to highlight a near miss.  Collisions will still be shown by a change of colour to red.

Secondly, the display showing the list of collisions, and now near misses as well, has been updated to be easier to read, making it simpler to extrapolate the coordinates at these points.  For near misses, the clearance distance is shown in the display, with the distance shown as zero for collisions.

Another improvement will help companies using four- or five-axis machines with trunnions or similar tilting tables.  Previous PowerMILL toolpaths could exhibit unwanted changes of azimuth as the cutting tool approached a position vertical to the part.  This would slow down the machine, often to the extent that a witness mark would be left on the surface.  New options are now available to specify the information used by PowerMILL to distribute the toolpath points so that the machine’s gimbal-lock position is avoided and a smoother motion results.

Raster finishing has also been improved in PowerMILL 2015, with the software now able to set automatically the most appropriate angle for each region of the part.  In previous versions, the user had to select each area and specify the angle manually.  The new option, which provides the same functionality that already existed for steep-and-shallow finishing and face milling, is most beneficial when finishing a series of pockets aligned in different directions.

A number of improvements have been made to the PowerMILL interface.  Most important is a clearer form for the strategy selector that makes navigation easier when choosing which strategy to use.  It has also been made easier to create folders of strategies, for example, those most suitable for a particular machine tool, material or type of part, and to add and remove strategies from those folders.

Finally, three new curve-creation options have been added to the curve editor – ellipse, spiral and helix.  These options can be used to create patterns or boundaries when generating toolpaths.