Turning on turning and milling machine tools
Turning on turning and milling machine tools
The most attractive aspect of the turning and milling machine tool processing platform is that it can fully complete the workpiece machining after one set of clamping. Nowadays, the development of CAM software has enabled the turning and milling machine with B-axis milling head to finish the turning of the inner and outer contour surfaces of the workpiece with only one tool. In this fine turning cycle, this new turning machine requires only one tool to complete the continuous machining of the inner and outer contour surfaces of the workpiece in one step, without the need to use a series of different shapes of turning tools.
The B-axis contouring cycle software was developed by DP Technologies and included in the company's Esprit 2008 CAM software package. The machining software uses an efficient method of continuous rotation of the B-axis to allow the tool to run along the contours to areas that are inaccessible due to tool geometry. This new machining method reduces the number of tools required, reduces tool change and programming time, and achieves a smoother surface with no step marks. The end result is more time and money for the shop.
In June 2007, the Mori Seiki Co., Ltd. Technology Center in Los Angeles, Calif., successfully performed B-axis profile test on the NT3150 Turn-milling machine. Use the rotating tool center point function (RTCP) of the Funac control system to output the coordinates in the NC code for its tool nose center. The RTCP function must be used with the contour machining cycle to rotate the tool around its control point. The B-axis contour machining cycle is based on the Esprit intelligent software SolidTurn contour machining cycle. The main difference is that its B-axis technology provides full control over the choice of B-axis rotation strategy and the allowable B-axis angle limit.
Newmaker.com
A new CAM software has the feature of managing the rotation of the B-axis machining head, enabling the turning and milling machine tool
It is possible to fully machine the inner and outer contour surfaces of the workpiece with a single tool.
Throughout the turning operation, the user can use two strategies to manage the direction in which the tool is running. The first strategy is to maintain a constant guide angle between the tool and the surface of the workpiece. In this way, the initial guiding angle can be maintained between the tool and the contour being machined. This initial steering angle is equivalent to a function of the original tool direction of the B-axis machining head and the direction of the first element of the contour. When the slope of the contour changes, the B-axis machining head tilts the tool so that it maintains the same steering angle as the surface of the workpiece. In addition to being controlled by the software's part/tool automatic anti-collision detection system, the total tilt of the tool is limited by the user-defined range of steering angles. This strategy can be used to create the best cutting conditions to maintain an optimum angle between the tool and the surface being machined. However, this requires that the movement of the B-axis reaches an almost constant level of change, since the B-axis produces an overtravel motion.
The second B-axis rotation strategy is: if necessary, only the tool tilt is used to minimize the tool rotation. This strategy keeps the tool in its original orientation until the tool reaches an uncut surface, at which point the tool is in its current orientation. Only then can the tool make the necessary tilt and cut the surface within the user-defined B-axis angular limits. This strategy used in the above test cutting limits the rotation of the B-axis to the area where the conventional tool angle cannot be cut.
Both strategies are easy to verify, and the user can demonstrate the vector of the tool axis on the screen to determine the best strategy for machining the geometry of a particular part. The user can fully control the range of rotation of the B-axis throughout the cutting process. One way to limit the tool angle is to apply the user-defined minimum and maximum B-axis angles to limit the allowed B-axis rotation range. Similarly, for more precise control, the user-defined minimum and maximum steering angles can be specified for the allowable range of the tool's local steering angle.