VERICUT Helps German Manufacturer Improve Accuracy & Increase Efficiency
Generating tool paths for turbine blades can be one of the more complex tasks for NC programmers. With as many as 40,000 lines of code required to mill the blade surfaces to the exact tolerances required, programming and proving-out the data can be a daunting task. Alstom Power Stromerzeugung GmbH recently decided to change its machining strategy for manufacturing turbine blades in order to improve its part accuracy. In business since 1900, the Nuremberg company makes blades for steam and gas turbines. Together, Alstom Power Stromerzeugungs and its sister company, ABB Alstom Power, employ more than 50,000 people worldwide.
Alstom switched from multi-spindle to single-spindle machining and invested in five modern HURON machining centers that are networked together and controlled by a Sinumerik-840D. "The machining process with one spindle is easier than with multiple spindles," explains engineer Rainer Pfeufer. "And we’re doing short runs, so the production of small quantities is more effective with one spindle." Changing machining strategies also presented an opportunity to improve the NC programming process. Part of that change was looking into a new NC verification solution. Engineers at Alstom use CATIA for design. All CAM functionality, measurement, and quality control are handled by internally developed software. After selecting VERICUT for third-party verification, each NC programmer attended two days of basic training where they experienced first-hand the type of results they could expect to achieve. "That provided quite a bit of motivation for working further with the system," says Pfeufer.
Blade production remained in full swing during VERICUT’s implementation into Alstom’s manufacturing environment. The results were almost immediate. Previously the programmer was required to check the program to the best of his knowledge, then test on the machine, correct, and re-test. Now they found they could decrease the time necessary for preparing a production-ready NC program. "Depending on the machining task, we can reduce the part programming time by five to ten percent," says Pfeufer, "a considerable productivity gain." Additionally, safety is increased as potential collisions between tool, fixture, work piece and machine components are recognized in advance.
Software simulation has also helped improve the quality of their NC programs, says Pfeufer. "With simulation, you can determine the best processing strategies. Several alternatives can be compared in an acceptable time frame – this was not possible in the past."
But the real productivity gain was evident on the shop floor. Because programs are quickly and easily tested on the computer, Alstom was able to dramatically reduce the prove-out cycle. "Setting-up jobs is now much faster than before – we need just half the time. The programs can be very easily tested with VERICUT. Unnecessary motions are found quickly so they can be avoided."
They also gained productivity during production machining. In the past, NC programmers did their best to achieve good feed rates based on their experience. But with between 20,000 to 40,000 lines of code per NC program it was just not practical. "Now with the software, the feed rates are selected automatically and the cutting conditions are calculated depending on the actual geometry." According to Pfeufer, they are now saving 10% on their overall machining time as a result of the improved feed rates. "Also, the programmer’s time can be much better spent," he says.
Because of their success with the product, the entire department has embraced the software and it has become an indispensable part of the department’s programming tools. "The real evidence of that," says Pfeufer, "was when one of my colleagues, Horst Sauer, said to me, ‘Now I couldn’t live without it!’"
Airbus is selling so well that the demand to increase build rate has never been higher. BAE Systems (Filton, UK) needed a simple way to improve throughput - it found the answer in VERICUT.
With VERICUT, engineers at Stellex Monitor modeled the Sidewinder and Spar Mill machines.
Tell Tool of Westfield, Mass., has integrated VERICUT CNC simulation software into its numerical control program prove-out process.
VERICUT enabled us to start ordinary production after a minimum of time. Since this product is new for Volvo Aero Norge and our company had never before had parts with similar machining complexity, it is difficult to estimate the amount of cost saving.
Before implementing VERICUT, the company experienced the usual time-consuming and expensive manufacturing problems related to NC program prove-outs such as scrap loss, broken tooling, and a danger of occasional machine crash.
Over the last two years, GE Aviation (formerly Aerostructures Hamble) has used Machine Simulation to speed the implementation of several new 5-axis machine tools.
VERICUT showed the NC programmers leftover or heavy stock." And the software detected a couple of places where the depth of cut was too large and tools were shanking out," said Collings. They then went back and corrected the errors in the tool path before
Dassault, Seclin initially purchased VERICUT in order to reduce the number of manual prove-outs using polystyrene material, which represented a significant expense in terms of time and money.
VERICUT enabled the designers and programmers see exactly what they were building as and in-process model in different stages of the machining cycle.
We utilized VERICUT to verify the CNC programs for cutting the tooling before they were sent to the machine control,
To protect their investment, they have been using VERICUT since 1996. They have two people to verify the accuracy of their G-code files.
"When we first started using OptiPath we concentrated on the feed rate option; now we use the constant chip thickness capability. With jobs up to 200 hours long, 50% saving is significant – like having another machine tool."
The entire process took less than two hours and no manpower was required, whereas, creating the same pattern manually (the old way), would have taken one of our designers several days.
The verification process stays ahead of the actual machine position in the NC code being verified. Opera-tors can see errors before they occur.
The bottom line? Using VERICUT has made Supreme's existing machine tools more productive. Enthusiasm is up, delivery times have been reduced, and pricing is more competitive.delivery times have been reduced, and pricing is more competitive.
Using VERICUT to compare the electrode burn with the mold cavity ensures that we have all the correct clearances in the electrodes and that we have 100% clean-up." says Allen.
If I was using VERICUT at the time I would've caught the problem, and had a chance to fix it before it damaged the part.
Now I rarely see the potential crashes because the students find and correct them before I review the work. Catching those costly problems is a non-event now!
VERICUT can change speeds and feeds according to cutting conditions including difference in material and tooling. It is done automatically; the programmer does not have to make even one manual insert into the code."
Flying shrapnel from shattered cutting tools and components is avoided by using VERICUT to test student programs before they are run on NC machines.
The NC programmers at Ingersoll also rely on the simulation software to prevent mistakes when programming complex, five-axis parts.
After creating the NC programs in Mastercam, they began simulating the machining process in VERICUT by simulating the G-code data. There often can be a difference between the motion as programmed and the code after it's run through the post processor
After selecting VERICUT for third-party verification, each NC programmer attended two days of basic training where they experienced first-hand the type of results they could expect to achieve.
The program simulates milling, drilling, turning, wire EDM, and mill/turn machining operations using both G-codes and CAM output.
VERICUT provides simulation capabilities for the all the 3-5 axis and wire EDM parts, with focused control over the orientation of our 5-axis machine tool including the cutters used on that machine.
The inspection probe is created as a tool in VERICUT so the complete in- cycle gauging sequence is checked for collisions.
The bottom was machined first. This effort took about 24 hours from start to finish. By using VERICUT software from CGTech, Elliot was able to test the NC program for any problems before it was ever cut on the machine.
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With data exported from NX, Vericut simulates the cutting process on the shop floor utilizing the machine G-code to detect any issues prior to NC Program release.
VERICUT software removes this potentially hazardous stage by allowing ReedHycalog to do all of their prove-outs on a computer.
Generating tool paths for turbine blades can be one of the more complex tasks for NC programmers. With as many as 40,000 lines of code required to mill the blade surfaces to the exact tolerances required, programming and proving-out the data can be a daunting task. Alstom Power Stromerzeugung GmbH recently decided to change its machining strategy for manufacturing turbine blades in order to improve its part accuracy. In business since 1900, the Nuremberg company makes blades for steam and gas turbines. Together, Alstom Power Stromerzeugungs and its sister company, ABB Alstom Power, employ more than 50,000 people worldwide.
Alstom switched from multi-spindle to single-spindle machining and invested in five modern HURON machining centers that are networked together and controlled by a Sinumerik-840D. "The machining process with one spindle is easier than with multiple spindles," explains engineer Rainer Pfeufer. "And we’re doing short runs, so the production of small quantities is more effective with one spindle." Changing machining strategies also presented an opportunity to improve the NC programming process. Part of that change was looking into a new NC verification solution. Engineers at Alstom use CATIA for design. All CAM functionality, measurement, and quality control are handled by internally developed software. After selecting VERICUT for third-party verification, each NC programmer attended two days of basic training where they experienced first-hand the type of results they could expect to achieve. "That provided quite a bit of motivation for working further with the system," says Pfeufer.
But the real productivity gain was evident on the shop floor. Because programs are quickly and easily tested on the computer, Alstom was able to dramatically reduce the prove-out cycle. "Setting-up jobs is now much faster than before – we need just half the time. The programs can be very easily tested with VERICUT. Unnecessary motions are found quickly so they can be avoided."