Product category:
Control systems, DROs, etc, for machine tools
News Release from: Acu-Rite | Subject: Millpwr 3
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 02 October 2001
Millpwr 3 software and kit offer 3D
machining
Millpwr 3 software and a retrofit 'kit' provide users of good quality turret millers a three-axis CNC 3D contouring capability.
Millpwr 3 software and a retrofit 'kit' provide users of good quality turret millers a three-axis CNC 3D contouring capability Existing users of Millpwr 2 2.1/2D can readily upgrade to Millpwr 3 for significantly under GBP100, said Acu-Rite in Burgess Hill, Sussex, An interesting advantage or 'bonus' of Millpwr 3 is that users can readily check the turret mill's accuracy using a Circular Interpolation Test (CIT)
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 8 Nov 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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The CIT is performed at a feed of 10in/min (say 255mm/min) or a test can be run in a smaller circle at one-tenth of the feed.
Acu-Rite demonstrated Millpwr 3 on a 1969 vintage Bridgeport refurbished by Braithwaites in Bridlington.
It 3D profile-machined a 250mm diameter pressed steel wheel inner impression - including extruded profiles - and of about 35mm maximum depth, from modelling resin Oclay1 in about 1.1/2h.
Millpwr 3 is designed to accept G-codes directly from CAD/CAM or most off-line programming systems.
It accepts DXF files in the same way as Millpwr 2, and these can be edited on the screen at the machine.
Laptop PC links are included too.
Programs can be saved onto 3.1/2in floppy discs and be read at the Millpwr 3 console.
Easy-to-use canned cycles reflect those available on Millpwr 2.
They include machining an ellipse, spiral, island, custom pocket, helix, blend and a chamfer.
Alphanumeric references can be engraved on a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line or on an arc.
Features also include 'teach' function and tool offsets.
While machining, the system automatically compensates for tool offsets and allows the operator to program the part rather than the toolpath.
Tool data is held in a library.
Millpwr also calculates full and partial dowel and bolt hole patterns by the operator simply entering the details.
A skew feature enables a workpiece to be set up without having to align it with the X and Y-axes.
Accuracy of the work depends upon the condition of the machine, but a turret mill in good condition should be able to maintain a linearity of 10 to 12 microns over 600mm of travel, said the general manager of Acu-Rite, John Sayers.
Acu-Rite in the US invested about $500,000 in Millpwr 3 development, yet to buy the Millpwr software alone costs under GBP90.
The user may have to equip the turret mill's quill with an inverter to enable the Z-axis to respond to the software.
Acu-Rite US had been running Millpwr 3 on extensive 'field trials' for four months before offering it to the US market, said Sayers.
Acu-Rite will sell you a complete Millpwr 3 'kit' to upgrade your manual at the same price as the 2.1/2D system.
The kit is GBP10,950 for a turret miller with a 42in by 9in table (1070 by 230mm) or GBP 11,450 for a 54in by 10in (1370 by 250mm) table.
The kit includes 2 micron resolution linear glass scale encoders (Acu-Rite scales and SEM drives).
Millpwr 3 is also available for bed-type millers.
In Europe, Millpwr 3 was demonstrated at the recent EMO, Hannover, by the fitted by Acu-Rite's German company to a Deckel 'universal' miller.
Acu-Rite also has various deals with machine tool importers such as Viking Machine Tools (which bought Ajax assets a few years ago), which retrofits Millpwr 3 to good quality imported turret millers.
Two companies in Bridlington - Braithwaites and Bridlington Remanufacturing - apply Millpwr retrofits to Bridgeports and other makes - Mike Page.
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