Product category:
CAM, CNC and production management software
News Release from: Pathtrace Engineering Systems | Subject: EdgeCAM
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 02 July 2002
Software cuts mould and die development
by 30%
With only 11 employees, MK Tool and Die depends as much on Pathtrace's EdgeCAM programming software as anything else for maintaining its competitive edge.
With only 11 employees, MK Tool and Die is a small company However, it has become a big name in tool and die manufacture serving customers across all industry sectors including marine, automotive, construction and office furniture
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 3 May 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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The majority of sales are derived from the manufacture of low-pressure moulds and gravity fed dies for cast aluminium components.
The company, which is located just off the M4 motorway at Slough, depends as much on Pathtrace's EdgeCAM programming software as anything else for maintaining its competitive edge and 'right first time' production philosophy.
Indeed, according to Toolroom Manager James Dashper: "EdgeCAM generated an immediate improvement in productivity, reducing typical lead times from 14 to 10 weeks - a saving of some 30%.
EdgeCAM's ability to seamlessly integrate with our SolidWorks design software to create toolpaths and machine tool code has made an enormous difference and now allows us to quote very competitively for new work".
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Typical castings produced from MK's tools can weigh up to 30kg each while a fully assembled tool can be up to two tonnes.
It also machines multicavity tools on its vertical machining centres for smaller cast components.
Most dies are machined from cast iron grade 70 or above and cut dry, however, certain customers require dies made from tool steel which have totally different properties and machining strategies.
Dashper qualifies that whether enquiries are electronically or paper based, a manufacturing model is created using SolidWorks CAD software.
He says: "With the SolidWorks model it is quicker to make changes and it's easier to provide the customer with an accurate visual aid to assess the finished component.
It also helps us decide where to position shut lines, air bleed vents, feeders and risers".
As EdgeCAM creates the cutter path directly on the SolidWorks model, no features, layers or component data are lost through the use of translators and programming errors are eliminated.
Once programmed, the NC data is drip-fed to the company's machining centres via a fibre optic cable to prevent data corruption.
Dashper added: "All programs are generated offline with files that are quite often larger than 80Mbyte.
These are then left to run on the machines which are unmanned overnight and at weekends which significantly increases our productivity and reduces cost".
MK's process to complete a tool can be complex.
From the CAD model a casting pattern is made using high-density board which is then sent to the foundry and set in a sand box for casting of the raw iron components.
The core, cavity and any shut-off parts are then machined to final size.
This is not as easy as it sounds, because the working temperature of the cast iron tool is around 400C, and therefore larger than when it was machined.
Also, because the cast aluminium component will contract by 0.8 per cent as it cools following the casting process, the cavity inside the tool has to be made correspondingly larger.
Getting this right illustrates the level of MK's expertise.
Says Dashper: "Our experience of the casting process and the various problems that arise means that we can normally machine the tool very close to spot-on with the first cut.
Then he adds: "This is important because, more often than not, we only make the one tool.
There is no second or third attempt.
If it's wrong, we have to start again".
Generally, Dashper programs the toolpath to leave around 3 mm of stock on the cast iron elements.
However, when he is uncertain about contraction levels, the stock allowance is increased.
Since using EdgeCAM he has also found that very little bench work is now required after machining and, because the company's latest vertical machining centre has a high speed spindle, this takes maximum advantage EdgeCAM to give a level of finish that rarely requires further attention.
EdgeCAM has also contributed to MK's job estimating where it helps to accurately quote for work when presented with a solid CAD model of the finished component.
"We can quickly generate toolpaths and simulate the machining process to give us an accurate lead time", he says, "and therefore it has become a valuable estimating tool".
Reflecting on the influence EdgeCAM has had on the business, Dashper feels the system has taken a lot of pressure out of CNC programming.
"EdgeCAM has helped to achieve the target of right first time", he says.
He then concludes: "The CNC machines can cut the mould and die tools very quickly and it's always been a concern that we could wrongly machine them just as fast! Our confidence has increased dramatically knowing we can create toolpathes directly on the original CAD model without any fear of losing data".
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