CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
24 March 2008
Product News
New VX Intelligent Machining Automation Speeds Up CNC Programming Productivity
VX Corporation announced Intelligent Machining Automation that helps eliminate machine shop bottlenecks by speeding up machine tool programming productivity.
The task of machining a block of steel into a highly finished part, whether it’s a mold core/cavity, electrode or discrete part, is a multi-faceted undertaking involving many different tool paths. Collectively, these tool paths define a comprehensive approach from the initial roughing phase to the final finishing phase. Some of the decisions that go into the overall approach are tool paths to use for different areas, types of tool paths for roughing and finishing operations, cutters used for each tool path, feed rates, step-over widths, depth of cuts and much more. While many of these decisions can be automated, each machine shop has its own unique approach and rules for machining based on their operational strategies, age and condition of equipment, experiences and preferences of their machinists and a host of other factors.
Defining the machining for a part tailored to a machine shop’s specific needs can span multiple days causing bottlenecks and restricting the number of new jobs a shop can accept. One of the main obstacles is that often there are only a few machinists who have the knowledge and experience to properly set-up the machining for any particular shop. Solving this problem is where the value of VX’s Intelligent Machining Automation comes into effect.
Intelligent Machining Automation is made possible by the way VX takes a whole part approach to machining. With VX, users establish their own rules for machining a part, and once the tool paths are developed and saved for a part, VX can use these tool paths and rules as a knowledge base for intelligently automating development of machining for a vast array of other parts. This greatly reduces the time required for programming new parts from a matter of days to a matter of minutes. In essence, VX captures and uses the knowledge and logic of an experienced machinist for automatically generating machining. In addition to reducing bottlenecks, this helps manufacturers cope with difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled machinists.
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