software & controls
Potential crash
detection via
verification software
applied to waterjet cutting
FeatureCAM applied
to milling detailed
work on a Mori Seiki
millturn centre
Far right: Planit is
introducing a new module
to Edgecam that allows
automation of the part setup
process by working in
conjunction with Renishaw
probing systems.
now become extremely important. This is why so many
of the software developers exhibiting at MACH08 were
making a point of advertising their partnerships with
CAM developers, and vice versa. A working partnership
enables seamless integration between products so that, for
example, a part designed in a CAD system can be opened
directly in a CAM application without the need for
translation software - thus dispensing with the age old
problems associated with standard translator formats such
as IGES which strip the data down to its bear geometry.
Feature recognition also plays a key role in efforts to
create a digital product model that can be used directly
as part program input, bypassing the CAM
programming process altogether. Many believe that the
future lies in a ‘Supermodel’ which will be a ‘product
model’ including all the information a CNC control
system will need to generate 5-axis motion. Such a setup
will not need an NC program as such, the product
model itself will function as a universal part program,
serving as machine input for any machine capable of
producing the part. In such a case, the entire world
becomes your factory, with the Internet acting as a
global DNC network. Bearing this in mind, the battle
for supremacy between the CNC developers and CAM
developers is as evident as ever, though little is talked
about this openly as yet. Few would argue that the
process of manufacturing a component will not
eventually become fully automated based on the
intelligence locked up in the design.
The CNC developers are aware of this and to a large
extent are already capable of generating toolpaths
52 MWP july 2008
without the need for traditional NC-code. The majority
of digital CNC systems offer built in shop floor
programming solutions that are as sophisticated as
shopfloor CAM systems at programming basic prismatic
components, these systems are also controlling all the
motion of the machine tool and monitoring the accuracy
of axis positioning, coefficients of expansion,
acceleration/deceleration curves and everything else a
CNC controller is designed to do.
Both CNC and CAM developers are using
mathematical algorithms to calculate the shape of cutter
paths based on maintaining a constant cutter load whilst
maintaining the optimal cutting angle for efficient
material removal. This is accomplished by analysing the
amount of material in contact with the tool at any given
moment and adjusting the toolpath and tool angle on the
fly. Once again, this level of control is out of the reach of
CNC and CAM programmers so we are already heading
towards the CIM goal of push button CAM.
Verification
Of course with all these axes flying around under the
control of computers, verification has become a musthave
item. Addressing this, every CAM developer either
has its own in-house developed verification module, uses
a 3rd party product, or has a partnership with an
independent verification specialist such as CGTech.
Many have two of these options. Now that multi-axis
motion is the norm in machine tool development,
verification has finally come of age - companies that
previously felt that they could do without this ‘luxury’
now see that they cannot effectively do without it.
Verification greatly improves visualisation and simplifies
the process of ‘prove out’ prior to post processing the
program for the intended machine. In most cases
libraries of machines are supplied as part of the latest
software release or as a service pack, or can be
downloaded from the software vendors website. Failing
that, virtual machines can be easily developed in most
commercially available CAD systems, and then
transferred into the CAM system for animation.
The Future
The manufacturing software industry continues to
mature, learning from developments in the wider
computing industry as a whole. MACH08 showed
further evidence of consolidation, with companies able
to offer worldwide distribution and support bringing in
specialist developers who have excelled in niche markets.
This is the sharp end of manufacturing now, and will
more than likely remain that way for the foreseeable
future.
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