Two brands from Vero Software are driving a variety of CNC machine tools for live machining demonstrations at the forthcoming Seco Open House.
Edgecam will be programming two Mazak machines, along with a DMG Mori and Matsuura, with WorkNC running a Hermle during the two day event at Seco Tools’ UK headquarters in Warwickshire.
Mazak Nexus machining demonstration of a stainless steel shaft coupling, programmed by Edgecam:
Many machined components in the oil and gas industry have to withstand harsh, unforgiving environments. Therefore, the raw material selected, the component design and the machining process are all critical in achieving a reliable and consistent lifecycle for the part.
Using 316 stainless steel, a common material in the oil and gas industry due to its molybdenum content for increased corrosion resistance and improved resistance to pitting, this machining demonstration will highlight the strategies used to achieve an excellent surface finish to help improve component performance.
DMG Mori CTX machining demonstration of a flange, programmed by Edgecam:
The actuator being machined in this demonstration has gone through a process improvement programme, as the customer wanted to improve the existing process to reduce cycle times and production costs. This required a total re-engineering of the machining process.
Cycle times have been cut by 43 per cent, and production costs by 32 per cent. The demonstration showcases the optimised machining, highlighting issues that occurred, and how they were overcome.
Matsuura 520P4C machining demonstration of an aerospace rotor crank, programmed by Edgecam:
The complex scaled helicopter rotor cover in this demonstration is produced by optimising the Matsuura’s 5-axis machining capabilities and Edgecam’s powerful programming strategies.
Mazak I400 machining demonstration of a duplex gear valve, programmed by Edgecam:
Duplex stainless steels are commonly used in the oil and gas industry because of their twin-phase austenitic and ferritic microstructure, giving double the strength and toughness of regular stainless steel. These properties create a unique set of machining challenges.
The demonstration focuses on machining strategies based around the Mazak’s 5-axis capability of maximising tool life and productivity in conjunction with Edgecam’s game-changing Waveform Roughing.
Hermle machining demonstration of a blisk aero blade, programmed by WorkNC:
Traditionally, jet engine compressor fans are produced with a single disk and multiple renewable blades. But multi-axis machine tools and latest programming strategies men that blisks can be manufactured – these are components where the disk and blades are machined in one piece.
Manufactured from titanium or nickel-based superalloys, aerospace blisks present a number of challenges due to the nature of the material itself, and complex, difficult-to-machine profiles. This demonstration highlights WorkNC’s latest roughing strategies which optimise cycle time. These include ‘lens milling’ the side wall profile, to deliver a significantly improved surface finish compared to the results of a typical scanning finishing strategy.
The Inspiration Through Innovation event highlights manufacturing best practice. Seco Tools UK Managing Director Richard Jeffs says all the machining demonstrations are based on real customer requirements.
As well as the live demonstrations, Edgecam and WorkNC are also showcasing the latest releases of the software in a new area in Seco’s Design and Planning facility.
And VISI will be highlighting its Reverse Engineering functionality, which scans an existing part and creates a model for manufacture. VISI Product Manager Marco Cafasso says: “A point cloud can be loaded either from a Hexagon Romer Absolute Arm or an external file, and the desired, optimised mesh generated with special tools. This mesh can then be the starting point to create the relative surfaces through the modelling function, or used as it is for machining.”
Mike Fleming, Seco Tools UK’s Sales and Marketing Manager, says: “In previous years the machining demonstrations took place in the main exhibition area, surrounded by Technical Partner exhibition stands. This means that visitors didn’t always have good access to the demonstrations. For the 2018 event we’ve created a large, specific machining demonstration zone, totally separate from the exhibition area.
The full two-day event is very much focused on the future and is aimed at component manufacturers looking to get more from their manufacturing processes and systems.”
He says it reflects Seco’s ethos that collaborative approaches to problem-solving and sharing best practice with customers, delivers truly inspirational and innovative solutions. “The focus for 2018 in on the partnership-led machining demonstrations, augmented by a comprehensive seminar and tutorial programme.”
Edgecam, WorkNC and VISI - Seco Tools (UK) Open House, October 9 and 10.
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