Sean Holt
Vice President of Engineering Sandvik Coromant Fair Lawn, NJ
www.sandvik.coromant.com
ViewPoints E
ngineers and machinists on the shop floor are constantly under pressure to problem-solve and reduce the time it takes to trans- form a design into a finished component. This can affect their ability to keep up with the equally rapid-fire advancements in machine and tooling technology.
As CAM technology advances, manufacturers are turning to digital manufacturing solutions to seamlessly manage their entire product life- cycle. Now more than ever, the demand for fully integrated and connected manufacturing systems is growing, and it will only continue to grow. CAM programmers are faced with their own obstacles regarding productivity and security when creating and simulating programs. A key bottleneck is creating virtual tool libraries for each new project. The lack of standardization among tooling companies creates unnecessary work when selecting and defining tools in the CAM platform. Many companies in the industry, however, are introducing comprehen- sive, integrated solutions that overcome these problems and drastically alter the future of digital manufacturing. In the past, each CAM company, machine tool builder and tooling sup- plier had a unique system for naming tool geometry parameters. This was counterproductive, and pointed to the need for tool data standardization. Standardization provides a common language for products and their attributes across all tooling suppliers. This means tools from multiple tooling vendors can be described in the same way in CAM software tool libraries, allowing for fast and easy population of physical tooling data. Standardization is also helpful on the shop floor. It supports the incor- poration of tool-offset data—typically using presetting equipment—and allows operators to identify and define tools with multiple functions. For example, operators can identify a tool containing one right-handed milling cutter and two left-handed turning tools. Ultimately, if all cutting tools in the industry share the same parameter definitions, communication between software systems becomes simple. One solution came in the ISO 13399 standard, which defines a wide range of tool attributes such as length, width and radius. It was developed by Sandvik Coromant, Siemens PLM Software, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, French Cetim (technical center for mechanical
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Standardized Tooling Data Enables Smarter Choices
engineers), as well as other major players in the metalcutting arena. This globally recognized standard allows for consistency of data for all cutting tools, regardless of its manufacturer or brand.
Equally important to the ISO standard is Adveon—an open platform tool library in which any cutting tool supplier can load their ISO 13399 compliant catalogs. Until recently, CAM operators had to search through a number of catalogs and web sites to define tool data each time they used a new tool. There was also no easy way to correctly identify and assemble compatible tool components.
Adveon drastically reduces the amount of time operators spend search- ing for cutting tool data such as cutting length or overall tool length, while eliminating the need to interpret data from one system to another. By having easy access to the required cutting tool information, manufacturers can source the most suitable machining solution and the most efficient cutting tool selection. This data can then be quickly exported for CAM programming and simulation.
One solution came in the ISO 13399
standard, which defines a range of tool attributes such as length, width and radius.
The Adveon system was designed with a comprehensive tool library that is easily updated as new tools become available. It also guides the user in tool assemblies with only compatible components. This reduces errors and gives users confidence knowing their tool data is recent and correct. There’s no question that the integration of CAM software with an ISO 13399 compliant tool library improves the consistency and quality of data. And better data quality means better security and confidence in the pro- cess. Because of recent advancements in technology and standardization, digital solutions in the tooling industry are likely to continue improving. Workflow will improve, quality standards will rise, risk of error will be minimized and efficiency will skyrocket. These improvements shorten the distance from virtual component to real component, increasing productivity and profits. ME
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