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Once the CNC Machine Tool is set up and running, a CNC m/c is
quite simple to keep running, and the fact is:
It is an easy job for somebody who previously worked
hard on conventional machines.
Advances in machine accuracy, on-machine touch probing technology and noncontact tool
setting provide powerful tools for automating and speeding mould machining, says Barry
Rogers.
Note: A free brochure or catalogue is available from http://www.renishaw.com on the
products in this news release.
Drives to faster, leaner, more flexible manufacturing are shifting industry focus away from
traditional post-process quality control. The most expensive, non-value-added process in
most shops is part inspection. Inspecting good parts - parts that meet all print specifications
- is a waste of time, money and manpower.
Rather than back-end detection, attention is shifting to front-end prevention.
The aim is to make 100% good parts, right the first time, to ever-tighter tolerances in the
lowest possible total processing time.
Under that mantra, a variety of practices and technologies are being applied to machine
tools to achieve greater process control.
Automated process checks can keep process and parts in control, while minimising
downtime for operator intervention.
These process control improvements can be particularly vital for mouldmaking.
The one-off nature of most mould/die work and the high accumulated value that can go into
a complex mould demand right-the-first time processing.
At the same time, shorter lead times and global competition force the need for faster mould
processing.
By minimising need for operator intervention, these process controls give mouldmakers an
'eye on the job' during long machining runs and lightly staffed second and third shifts.
Front-end prevention takes three forms: identifying and maintaining machine capability; in-
process probing; and automated tool monitoring.
A technology leader in all three areas, Renishaw offers single-source expertise and
assistance in creating an integrated programme of mouldmaking process control.
To move from defect prevention, you must be able to document your process capability and
the accuracy of your machine tools.
To do this, inspect them to a nationally recognised and accepted standard, such as ISO230
or ASME B5.54.
Both call for a ballbar and laser interferometer to be used with a recommended procedure
for checking machine tool accuracy.
The purpose of these standards is not to specify an accuracy the machine must meet, but to
find out what accuracy level it can meet - its process capability.
The part print dictates the accuracy your machine must have to make good parts - where to
set the accuracy bar.
Testing tells you how high your machine can jump.
As long as your machine can top the bar, you have process capability.
Test and calibration technology are now available - and affordable - to enable shops to
ensure the accuracy and health of their machine tools.
Plants and large shops increasingly maintain their own laser interferometers and electronic
levels, while rental equipment and diagnostics services are commercially available to small
shops from various sources and competitively priced.
Renishaw's QC10 ballbar system is readily affordable by virtually any shop and provides a
fast, 15-minute check-up for prevention and diagnosis in maintaining machine accuracy.
The ballbar test allows precise assessment of machine geometry, circularity and stick/slip
error, servo gain mismatch, vibration, backlash, repeatability and scale mismatch.
Renishaw's Ballbar5 software provides diagnosis of specific errors in accordance with
ISO230-4 and ASME B5.54 and B5.57 standards, then provides a plain-English list of error
sources rank-ordered according to their overall effect on machine accuracy.
This allows maintenance people to target those factors which most need attention.
Periodic ballbar testing enables trend tracking of machine performance.
Preventive maintenance can be scheduled before a machine drifts out of process capability.
The industry trend is to calibrate the machine on need, not time.
There is no reason for maintenance to pull a perfectly good machine out of production for
calibration.
Let the ballbar and the accuracy of your parts determine when something has gone awry.
Meantime, run production.
Today's standard machine tools can deliver accuracy and repeatability approaching levels
formerly available only on CMMs.
This enables the machine tool itself to be used for probing checks of workpieces during
critical stages of the machining process.
Once a machine tool's performance as a measuring instrument has been established, the
touch probe becomes the operator's CNC gauge.
Probing routines can be programmed as part of the machining process and automatically
run at various points to check feature dimensions and locations and apply necessary
compensations.
This saves operators from using dial indicators and shim stock, or eliminates errors in
manually entering fixture, part and tool offsets into the control.
Probing on the machine makes it part of the process - a powerful process improvement tool
for making parts right the first time in the shortest throughput time.
Used to locate the part automatically and establish a work co-ordinate system, probing cuts
setup time, increases spindle availability, lowers fixture costs, and eliminates nonproductive
machining passes.
On complex parts, 45 minutes of fixture alignment can be replaced by 45 seconds of touch
probing - performed automatically by the CNC.
When starting with a casting or forging, probing can determine workpiece shape to avoid
wasted time in air-cutting and help determine best tool approach angle.
In-process control uses touch probing to monitor size and position of machine features
during the cutting process, as well as verify precise dimensional relationships between
various features at each step to avoid problems.
A touch probe can be programmed to check actual machined results at various stages
against the program and automatically apply cutter compensation - particularly after rough
machining or semi-finish machining.
Reference probing - comparing part features to a dimensional master or reference surface of
know location or dimension - enables the CNC to determine positioning discrepancies and
generate an offset to make up the difference.
By probing the artefact before a critical machining pass, the CNC can check its own
positioning against the master's known dimensions and program an offset.
If the dimensional master is mounted on the machine and exposed to the same
environmental conditions, reference probing can used to monitor and compensate for
thermal growth.
What results is a closed-loop process requiring no operator intervention.
Every machine has its own set of numerous small errors in its motions and structure.
As a result, there is always a slight discrepancy between a CNC's programmed position and
the true position of the tool tip, even after laser compensation has brought the two into
closer agreement.
Programmable artefact probing provides a way to further compensate for remaining
machine errors.
It gives process control feedback to enable positioning accuracy that can approach the
machine's repeatability specification.
Such closed-loop process control can allow a machining centre to achieve accuracies
comparable to boring mills and other high-precision machines.
Many probing operations are accomplished through the use of memory- resident macro
programs.
Work co-ordinate updates, tool geometry changes, part measurement etc, are automatically
determined by the CNC after the successful completion of a probing cycle.
This eliminates costly errors resulting from miskeyed information or incorrect calculations.
Used to inspect parts after machining, probing can reduce the length and complexity of off-
line inspection, and it some cases eliminate it altogether.
Inspecting on the machine is particularly beneficial with large, expensive workpieces, such
as mould or dies, which can be especially difficult and time-consuming to move.
Here, too, reference probing against a traceable artefact can be used to compare final
dimensions to the known dimensions for a metrology master.
When making this comparison, the CNC can determine if the specific machining tolerances
were actually achieved.
Based on these results, an intelligent decision can be made on corrective actions, while the
workpiece is still on the machine tool.
Laser tool setters provide a fast, automated means to verify tool dimensions, especially
critical in checking for wear during the long machining runs in mouldmaking.
A cost-effective solution to high-speed, high-precision tool setting and broken tool
detection, laser tool setters rapidly measure tool length and diameter on-the-fly, while the
tool is indexing through the laser beam and rotating at normal speeds.
Laser checking at working spindle speeds identifies errors caused by clamping
inconsistencies and radial run-out of the spindle, tool and toolholders - not feasible with
static tool setting systems.
Renishaw's NC family tool setters can perform broken tool detection at maximum traverse
to further minimise out-of-cut time.
As the tool moves through the laser beam, system electronics detect when the beam is
broke and issues and output signal to the controller.
The NC systems can accurately measure tools as small as 0.2mm diameter anywhere in the
beam.
The system triggers when the laser beam is broken beyond a 50% threshold by the tool
being checked.
The noncontact tool setting system uses a visible-red diode laser proven reliable in
machining conditions.
Advanced electronics and simplified design makes noncontact tool setting an affordable
alternative to contact systems.
No moving parts make NC systems virtually maintenance free.
The design avoids the brackets and actuators with contact-based systems.
Housed in a rugged stainless steel unit, the NC laser tool setters feature Renishaw's
MicroHoleTM protection system.
This uses a continuous stream of compressed air to keep out contaminants and provide
uninterrupted protection from chips, graphite and coolant ingress, even during measuring
routines.
Three different Renishaw NC systems enable installation on nearly any size and
configuration of machine tool without impinging on the work envelope.
These proven, affordable control technologies can allow greater automation of mould
machining with greater process control.
They can make it possible for mouldmakers to produce moulds faster, with greater
geometric and dimensional accuracy, and less operator intervention, rework or manual
finishing. Request a free brochure from http://www.renishaw.com
High Speed Milling Machines
High speed machining is characterized by low cutting forces and high metal
removal. High Speed Milling is a technique used in the CNC Machining Industry that
combines high spindle speeds with increased feed rates. This results in a high chip-
forming rate and lower milling forces, producing an improved surface quality finish and
closer tolerances. In high speed milling, the electronics can make all the difference. The
right CNC coupled with other elements of the control system can let a slower machine mill a
given form faster than a machine with a higher top feed rates.
1. High Speed Uses
High-speed CNC milling is used, for example, to machine the titanium rotors of the first
high-pressure compressor stages of the EJ200 engine. High speed CNC milling allows cost-
effective milling of the different airfoil geometry from the solids. By subsequent finishing
operations the planned surface finish is achieved. The CNC milling which caters to high
speed must be structured with an axis movement system that is suitable for CNC
machining.
2. Axis Movement
The high-speed CNC milling machines required for the process must be fitted with an axis
movement system suitable for machining blisks, which should be at least 5 axes
simultaneously, depending on the milling task involved and an efficiently high-speed control
system.
3. 3D Surfaces
High Speed CNC milling machines working on 3D surfaces in any materials
produce a finer surface finish and higher accuracy in less time that the traditional
milling machine. Acceleration is the most critical factor that affects the high speed
machining. Since one or more axis are always increasing or decreasing velocity in a 3-D cut,
ultimate feed rate is directly related to acceleration
4. What Can A High Speed Control Possibly Do?
A CNC milling machine which possesses a higher structural stiffness has a greater
potential acceleration rate. Box shaped high speed CNC milling machine, like Bridge and
Gantry is the mostly widely used types of High speed CNC milling tools. The overhead type
Gantry exudes the highest stiffness, acceleration and accuracy among other high speed CNC
milling tools. Due to its scalability, this machine type is available in sizes to match the work
piece, from small to large.
In usual terms, it simply gives you the ability to finish one task faster and move along to
the next sooner, making work output higher. In drilling and tapping, this can result in faster
hole-to-hole times, quicker spindle reversals for tapping, and substantial cycle-time
reductions. The most dramatic benefits, though, come in 3D designs machining. Few,
drilling and tapping jobs require a million lines of machine codes. In molds, dies, patterns,
and prototypes, complex surfaces comprising a million or more line segments are not at all
uncommon. Saving just a fraction of a second per move can result in substantial cycle-time
improvements.
5. Downsides - When Is Fast Too Fast?
But despite all these benefits, in high milling, the tool path segments can be so short that a
machining center moving at a high feed rate can't accelerate or decelerate fast enough to
make direction changes accurately. Corners may be rounded off and the work piece surface
may be gouged. Look-ahead is one answer. Look-ahead capability can let the CNC read
ahead a certain number of blocks in the program, to anticipate sudden direction changes
and slow the feed rate accordingly.
6. Additional Benefits:
- Improved accuracy - Better fit - Superior finish - Better life - Produce more work
in less time - Improving the accuracy and finish - Reducing polishing and fitting
time - Tools simply last longer because their chip load is more consistent
M
Machine controller
The part of the machine which stores and processes coded information when operating the
machine tool.
Manufactured board
Boards that are built up or composed of wood products. They vary in structure, density, weight
and size. The most common types are Plywood, MDF, Particleboard, Hardboard, Solid Acrylic
Panels (Corian, Azteque), Low Density Fibreboard (Caneite) and Plastic Laminate.
M codes
Miscellaneous or machine functions on a CNC machine. M codes are used to direct the action of
any mechanical part of the machine.
MDF
Medium Density Fibreboard. A type of compressed solid timber substitute board that does not
have any grain direction.
Medium
A word that describes each and all materials used to produce a drawing. This may be pencils,
inks, rulers, paper types, drawing board and set squares.
Modules
Interchangeable components that are designed for easy assembly or flexible use. For example:
rubber seals; suction cups.
Moulding
The process of producing a decorative finish on the surface or edge of material.
Muntins
Timber in a frame which runs parallel with the stiles and between the rails.