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Measurement and Quality Software and SPC
News Release from: Delcam | Subject: Electrode design and 5-axis machining
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 April 2005
Electrode design and 5-axis machining
Delcam will demonstrate its latest developments in automated electrode design and in five-axis Machining at the Agie-Charmilles Machin 2005 Machine tool technology exhibition.
Delcam will demonstrate its latest developments in automated electrode design and in five-axis Machining at the Agie-Charmilles Machin 2005 advanced manufacturing and Machine tool technology exhibition to be held at the company's new Coventry premises from 19th to 21st April Delcam's PS-Electrode software allows electrode designs to be generated more rapidly, so reducing costs and delivery times
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 29 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Delcam has launched the latest version of its PartMaker family of software, which now offers programming of turn-mill equipment and Swiss-type automatic lathes.
Users can quickly and easily define the region where the electrode will be needed, create the shape needed to produce the required feature in the tool, extend these surfaces to provide clearance from the main surface of the tool, and blend them into the shape needed to fix the electrode into its holder.
Close integration with Delcam's Powershape CAD program gives the user full control over the design process at any point where he is unhappy with the result of the automatic operation.
Once the electrode design has been completed, set-up sheets for both its manufacture and its use can be produced automatically to a standard or a user-defined template.
Further reading
FeatureCAM supports advanced mill-turn centres
Delcam's latest FeatureCAM version offers more support for advanced CNC mill-turn centres with multiple turrets and/or multiple spindles.
CAD/CAM software speeds prototype lead-times
A US plastics and metal product prototyping company reported that use of Delcam's PowerSHAPE design software and the PowerMILL CAM system has reduced its delivery times by 50%.
FeatureCAM software allows short lead times
By using Delcam's FeatureCAM CAM software, Tim Hawkins of Redline Precision Machine can generate hundreds of CNC programs each month
The finished design can then be exported to Delcam's Powermill CAM system for Machining.
In addition, programming instructions can be supplied directly to control systems used by both Agie and Charmilles equipment, so eliminating time-consuming and potentially error-prone manual programming.
The benefits of five-axis programming with Powermill will be demonstrated on Mikron's new high-speed, five-axis Machine, the UCP 600 Vario.
The extensive range of strategies within the software includes Machining through a point or to a point, or to or from a line; programming using a reference surface; swarf Machining; and five-axis trimming, pocketing and drilling.
For all the options, Powermill makes five-axis programming much easier than is possible with the more complicated software traditionally used by the large corporations in the aerospace and automotive industries.
The software also includes a powerful range of editing options to ensure that the most efficient possible toolpaths are produced.
This combination of flexibility and ease of use has enabled it to be used successfully in a wide variety of applications, including the manufacture of complex blades, blisks and structures by smaller aerospace sub-contractors, port Machining and composite trimming by autosport companies, and the engraving of bottle moulds in the packaging industry.
For companies that are new to five-axis Machining, Powermill incorporates many safety features to ensure that even complex operations can be programmed without any risk of gouging, either during cutting moves or during the leads and links.
For example, five-axis collision checking is automatically undertaken for the tool holder as well as for the cutter, while contact point analysis allows the user to ensure that only the cutting surface touches the component.
Furthermore, the Machine simulation option for Powermill includes collision checking between the various parts of the Machine tool and the model, and also ensures that the Machine does not attempt to move outside its operating limits.
An important advantage of five-axis Machining with Powermill is that the software works with the full range of different cutting tools, including end mills, tapered tools, and ball-nose, tipped-radius and off-centre, tipped-radius cutters.
Many of the other systems currently available are limited to using only ball nosed and end mill cutters, which are not always the most efficient. Request a free brochure from Delcam ...
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