part because every time the tool entered the material, it broke. Tool breakage became a big issue because a broken tool would immediately cost $30 to several hundred dollars, damage the
that it allows me to see my part on a model of the machine’s table so that I can verify that it will support all the machining I need to do on one side before I flip the part and do the other.”
Being able to visualize the manufacturing strategy allows Douglas to make the parts he needs with fewer setups to keep the cost of small-volume projects within reason.
part, and result in the loss of precious manufacturing time during each instance. Tis led Douglas to purchase a seat of Mastercam Mill Level 1 Soſtware from CNC Soſtware Inc., Tolland, CT. Barefoot CNC, the local Mastercam reseller, installed the soſtware and provided training. Since then, James Wakeford, Barefoot’s owner, has consulted on projects that require machining finesse. Today, Douglas makes extensive use of Dynamic Milling toolpaths to rough out these and similar parts without breaking tools. Dynamic Milling is a machining strategy that relies on a sophisticated algorithm that continu- ously monitors the condition of the material at every stage, automatically adjusting feeds and speeds to deliver optimal cutting performance without the user having to make time- consuming micro adjustments throughout the CNC program. Te Dynamic Milling toolpaths use the full flute of the tool
at high speeds with minimal step-overs for fast material re- moval. At the same time, the self-aware algorithm is avoiding tool burial, minimizing heat buildup and providing better chip evacuation. Today, Douglas can make 12 of these parts in suc- cession on the same tool without breaking it. Tool breakage is no longer an impediment to delivery of a solution, even when Douglas must work with extremely hard exotic materials.
Integration with CAD Douglas creates his energy components and devices in Au-
toCAD then imports the solid model directly into Mastercam to begin creating toolpaths for machining. Because of the similarities Douglas found between the AutoCAD and Mastercam user inter- faces, he was able to quickly acclimate himself to programming his CNC equipment in the latter. With only a little training, he was soon creating CNC milling programs to manufacture mechanical components and tools for the transportation and management of nuclear fuel rods to make them more user-friendly. In one case, Douglas was asked to update the design of a 48" (1220-mm) long solid stainless steel feeder bar with protruding extensions used for opening and closing the lids of fuel rod powder containers. Douglas was able to reduce the weight of this tool from more than 50 to 20 lb (22.5–9 kg) by making it from several bolted aluminum components rather than stainless steel. Tis design modularity means that replac- ing a component can repair a damaged tool. Since the work is primarily R&D, the CNC equipment is relatively small. “One of the nice things about Mastercam for this type of project is
Being able to visualize the manufacturing strategy allows Douglas to make the parts he needs with fewer setups to keep the cost of small-volume projects within reason.
Controlling Toolpath Geometry Some of the most challenging projects Douglas gets involved
with have to do with alternative fuels and fuel cells. Solving the problems his customers deliver to him calls for a unique com- bination of understanding that can encompass materials, fuel properties and processes and the mechanics of fluid motion. Once Douglas has conceived a device that incorporates these principles, he relies on Mastercam to translate his models into meticulous replications of his mechanical design. For example, a customer recently asked him to complete the
design of a small hand-held mixing chamber that could remove sulfur from JP8 fuel to use in a fuel cell. Douglas came up with the idea of a helical chamber with widely spaced but very thin copper vanes projecting from a heated core. Te helical chamber serves to mix the fuel and raise it to ideal processing temperature while dispersing it through a granular medium that draws off the sulfur. Douglas quickly came up with a design that would work, but he did not know how he was going to manu- facture the helical insert that would be screwed into the mixing chamber. Once again, he turned to Barefoot CNC, who showed him how Mastercam Lathe could be used to create a machining process that would cut the fine vanes without distorting them or crashing the tool and holder. Douglas used off-the-shelf hardware to create an adjustable tool to reach all the areas of the vane that would require careful machining. He drew this tool in Mastercam and used the product’s simulation features to make sure the tool would perform the desired cutting actions without crashing into the overhanging vanes.
Something New All the Time Douglas says that he is presented with some new energy-
related challenge almost on a weekly basis. With the control he has achieved over his toolpath behavior and the ability to simulate manufacturing processes before he cuts metal, there has been no case where he has been unable to replicate what he has designed in CAD thus far.
Edited by Yearbook Editor James D. Sawyer from information provided by CNC Software Inc.
Energy Manufacturing 2013 63
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