What's New in ESPRIT 2015

Transcription

1 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

2 What's New in ESPRIT 2015 Copyright 2015 DP Technology Corp. All rights reserved. Information is subject to change without notice. No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted, translated in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from DP Technology Corp. The software described in this document may only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of the furnished license agreement and/or non-disclosure agreement. It is illegal to copy the software onto any medium except as specified in the license or non-disclosure agreement. All DP Technology Corp. software products contain integrated security programs and/or plug-in modules that are required for the software license to properly operate. It is a violation of the DP Technology Corp. copyrights and U.S. Copyright law to disable or attempt to disable or remove or otherwise operate the software without the security programs and/or modules installed. Any software not supplied by DP Technology Corp. which is intended to allow the operation of the software without the required plug-in security module and/or integrated security programs is a copyright violation. ESPRIT is a registered trademark of DP Technology Corp. All brand or product names or proprietary file types mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Contact the appropriate companies for more information regarding trademarks and registration. DP Technology Corp Avenida Acaso Camarillo, California USA Phone: Fax Printed in the United States of America 2 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

3 New and Improved Features... 4 Auto Chain support for solid faces, loops and edges... 4 New Wall Feature Recognition... 5 New Flip Feature... 7 Face Profiles is obsolete... 7 Enhanced data exchange... 8 Enhancements to simplify solid models...10 Merge Faces...10 Covering...10 Face Extension...11 Connect Faces...12 Milling enhancements...13 Stock Automation function in Facing, Contouring, Pocketing...13 Improved Wrap Contouring: Conical stock and parallel walls...15 ProfitMilling enhancements...17 New Bottom Up strategy in Z-Level Roughing...17 New Bottom Up Pocketing...19 Improved handling of slots in Z-Level Roughing...20 New parameter for transition moves...22 New Max Feedrate for Z-Level Roughing Axis milling enhancements...24 Enhanced collision detection in Z-Level Roughing...24 New undercut machining in Z-Level Finishing...26 Enhanced Concentric Finishing with extra moves...28 Separate Entry and Exit Strategies Axis machining enhancements...31 New Blade Roughing...31 New Port Roughing...32 New Swarf Milling...32 New 5 Axis options for Z-level 3-axis toolpath...34 New Chamfering strategies in 5-Axis Contouring...37 Improved Composite Milling at a fixed orientation...37 New 4-axis roughing strategy in Impeller Milling...39 New Tilt control in Channel Milling...40 Slot Mill tool now supported in Port Milling and Composite cycles Axis Roughing is obsolete Support for barrel-shaped cutters...42 Wire EDM...43 New EDM Expert System...43 Enhanced Sodick support

4 New and Improved Features Enhancements have been made to the Auto Chain command to allow the creation of chains directly on solid models and new Wall Recognition replaces Face Profiles. Auto Chain support for solid faces, loops and edges The Auto Chain command has been enhanced to create chains from solid faces, face loops, and edges. Figure 1: When connected faces are grouped, a chain is created around the outer border and any internal openings. Figure 2: When a face loop is grouped, a chain is created on the loop. Figure 3: When connected edges are grouped, a single chain is created on the edges. 4 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

5 New Wall Feature Recognition The new Wall command recognizes the upper and lower limits of vertical connected faces on a solid model. Figure 1: Simply group the faces to recognize. Figure 2: Click Wall to create the feature. A profile feature is created at the highest point on the wall, with the feature depth set to the lowest point on the wall. New and Improved Features 5

6 Figure 3: If there is a gap between the grouped faces, separate features are created. Figure 4: Tapers on walls are also recognized. Figure 5: The orientation of grouped faces is recognized regardless of the active work plane. If the W axis of the active work plane is parallel to the wall faces, the active plane is used as the feature plane. If the active work plane is not parallel to the faces, but the walls are parallel to another existing work plane, the parallel work plane is assigned to the feature. Otherwise, the system creates a new work plane automatically and assigns it to the feature. 6 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

7 New Flip Feature The new Flip Feature command lets you flip the orientation of chains and FreeForm features. Chains and profiles are flipped in the -Z direction of the original work plane, up to the feature depth. The orientation of the new work plane is a rotation of the original work plane 180 degrees about the X axis. If a work plane with this W direction does not exist, a new one is created at the start depth of the flipped feature. All associated feature properties (draft, top blend, bottom blend, etc.) are flipped also. FreeForm features created from surfaces can also be flipped. The new orientation of the work plane is a rotation of the original work plane 180 degrees about the X axis. If a work plane with this W direction does not exist, a new one is created. Face Profiles is obsolete The Face Profiles command has been replaced by the functionality in the new Wall command and the Auto Chain command. Face Profiles was previously used to recognize faces that were adjacent to a selected face, face loop, or edges. This functionality is replaced by the Wall command. Face Profiles could also be used to create a chain feature on 3-dimensional edges. This functionality is replaced by the enhanced solid selection in Auto Chain. Face Profiles is now obsolete and removed from the ESPRIT user interface. New and Improved Features 7

8 Enhanced data exchange New geometry is now available through the ESPRIT FX data exchange: sketches, feature profiles, curves. This data will always be imported from CAD file types Catia, Pro-Engineer, and NX/UG. In addition, annotations and dimensions are now imported with DXF/DWG files. By right-clicking on a sketch or feature profile, you can choose to: Create geometry Create construction geometry Create the plane of a sketch Activate the plane of a sketch 8 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

9 By right-clicking on a curve, you can choose to: Create a curve as geometry By right-clicking anywhere on the feature tree, you can: Create all geometry, which creates all sketch geometry and construction geometry Create all planes Create all curves When a DXF or DWG file is opened, dimensions and annotations on the drawing are imported as dimensions and annotations in ESPRIT. Enhanced data exchange 9

10 Enhancements to simplify solid models Four new commands let you merge faces on a solid, cover openings in solid faces, add extensions to faces and connect gaps between faces. Merge Faces The new Merge Faces command has been added to the Solid Modeler toolbar. Merge Faces is useful for merging tiny tangent faces into a single face on an imported solid model. An option allows the creation of a single surface on the faces instead of modifying the underlying model. Covering The new Covering command has been added to the Knitted Surfaces toolbar. Covering creates surfaces over openings in solid faces. 10 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

11 Covering will find and cover openings in the selected solid faces and also lets the user exclude individual openings from being covered. Gaps and channels along borders can also be covered using smooth transitions. Face Extension Another new command on the Knitted Surfaces toolbar is Face Extension. Face Extension extends the edges of a solid model. The extension can be created as a surface, as show above, or as an open solid called a sheet. The advantage to creating a sheet is that other Knitted Surface commands can be applied to it since it is a solid. For example, you can add another extension to a sheet. If you create the extension as a surface, you must use the Extension command on the Surfaces toolbar, which offers fewer options. Enhancements to simplify solid models 11

12 Connect Faces A third new command is Connect Faces. Connect Faces creates a single surface or solid sheet between selected edges. Connect Faces is also useful when you are having difficulty covering a complex opening. In the example below, opposite edges are first connected with a sheet. The new face helps define an edge that is missing on the model. Then a cover surface is created using both the sheet and the faces on the solid model. 12 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

13 Milling enhancements Milling cycles have been enhanced with a new Stock Automation function and Wrap operations can now be applied to stock with a non-constant diameter (conical stock). Stock Automation function in Facing, Contouring, Pocketing Facing, Contouring, and Pocketing have a new Stock Automation function to calculate toolpath only where stock remains from previous operations. The new Stock Automation option is located on the Strategy tab. When Stock Automation is enabled, ESPRIT maintains awareness of the stock removed by previous operations to generate cutting passes only in areas where stock remains. Milling enhancements 13

14 In the Pocketing example shown below, the pocket was roughed with a larger tool. The final pocketing operation uses a smaller tool, stock automation, and the ProfitMilling strategy to remove only the material remaining in corners and narrow slots. In the Contouring example shown below, the boundary was roughed with a larger tool. The final contouring operation uses a smaller tool, stock automation, and a Trochoidal Strategy to remove only the material remaining in corners and narrow slots. 14 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

15 Improved Wrap Contouring: Conical stock and parallel walls Two major enhancements are available in Wrap Contouring: Toolpath can now be generated on stock with a non-constant diameter A new option is available to cut slots with parallel walls The Wrap Contouring cycle has been enhanced to allow "Radial Wall" or "Constant Offset" milling with a non-constant diameter. Toolpath is wrapped, while keeping one linear axis at a constant value, even on features with a nonconstant diameter (conical shapes, etc.). This allows for machining wrap shapes on machines with a non-programmable Y-axis. Figure 1: During this wrap operation, the Y axis is maintained at a constant value. A new option is now available for the Move Type parameter. The Parallel Wall option offers a simple and quick way to cut slots with parallel walls. Milling enhancements 15

16 A common application for this option is to cut a slot for a locking mechanism. The slot has parallel walls in order to guide a pin that locks into the end of the slot (J-slot). Previously, this type of slot had to be cut with a 5-axis swarf cycle and it often required geometry construction. When using the Parallel Wall option, you need to input the width of the slot. Width of the slot is necessary in order to calculate the proper Y-axis when cutting both sides of the slot. Figure 2: Wrapped toolpath on a J-slot. 16 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

17 ProfitMilling enhancements ProfitMilling technology has been improved with a new Bottom Up strategy that lets you rough your parts faster than ever, improved control to prevent slot machining in narrow channels, and the addition of a maximum feedrate in Z-Level Roughing. New Bottom Up strategy in Z-Level Roughing A new Bottom Up strategy lets you take advantage of the large incremental cutting depths made possible by the ProfitMilling strategy in a way that lets you attain a small residual stock height. When large incremental depths are applied from the top down, the resulting stock has large steps. Additional machining operations are required to get the stock model to resemble the target model. Figure 1: Large incremental depths often produce large steps in the stock model. In Z-Level Roughing, the new Bottom Up strategy utilizes a new increment parameter: Maximum Vertical Plunge ProfitMilling enhancements 17

18 When Depth Strategy is set to Bottom Up, cutting passes start at the user-defined maximum depth and increment upward. This strategy lets you use a large step to clear the bulk of the material at each level and then apply incremental passes at a smaller distance to produce a more accurate stock model. Figure 2: Incremental depths start at the Max Vertical Plunge and then increment upward. Figure 3: The new Bottom Up strategy produces a more accurate stock model in less time. Incremental depths are applied as follows: 1. The first roughing pass is applied at the Maximum Vertical Plunge. By default, this depth is set to 95% of the cutting length of the tool. 2. Then smaller Incremental Depth steps are applied from the bottom towards the top of the stock. 3. If necessary, an additional pass is generated at the Maximum Vertical Plunge with respect to the previous maximum depth. 4. The second maximum depth is followed again by Incremental Depth passes from the bottom towards the top. In this way another deep step is accurately roughed. 5. The sequence is repeated until the bottom of the stock is reached. 18 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

19 New Bottom Up Pocketing The new Bottom Up strategy in Pocketing lets you attain a small residual stock height on pockets with multi-level islands. To create cutting passes that increment upward in Pocketing: 1. Set Total Depth and Incremental Depth to the same value. When the ProfitMilling strategy is used, Total Depth can be set to 95% of the cutting length of the tool. 2. Set Incr. Depth Calculation to Constant. The Constant option creates passes at the incremental depths first, followed by remainder passes at the tops of islands. Figure 1: Cutting passes start at the Total Depth and then increment upward only to Z-levels where stock remains. This strategy generates less toolpath to remove stock in less time. ProfitMilling enhancements 19

20 Improved handling of slots in Z-Level Roughing Z-Level Roughing has been enhanced to prevent slot machining in narrow channels when the ProfitMilling strategy is used. Previously, the system automatically converted trochoid motion to slot machining when the minimum radius was too big to fit into an area. The parameters Min. Trochoidal Radius and Minimum Corner Radius are now used in combination to determine how narrow channels are machined. Example 1: Minimum Corner Radius < Min Trochoidal Radius and Width of channel Trochoidal moves are executed. Slotting strategy is not executed. 20 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

21 Example 2: Minimum Corner Radius > Min Trochoidal Radius and Width of channel The channel is closed. Trochoidal moves are not executed. Slotting strategy is not executed. Example 3: Minimum Corner Radius < Min Trochoidal Radius > Width of channel Trochoidal moves are not executed. Slotting strategy is executed instead. ProfitMilling enhancements 21

22 In this case, the Slotting Strategy parameters MUST be set to avoid a toolpath where the tool goes straight into the channel with full engagement. New parameter for transition moves Transition moves link trochoidal moves from the end point of the last pass to the start point of the current pass. Transition moves are typically flying over areas that have already been cut, allowing for a much faster feedrate. Previously, the system would calculate the distance and determine whether to insert a micro-lift during the transition move. The new Direct Link Max. Distance parameter lets the user decide whether to keep the tool at cut level or insert a micro-lift to lift the tool slightly above the surface. Now the user can enter the maximum distance to keep the tool at cut level. The distance is entered as a percentage of the tool diameter. Direct Link Max. Distance is new in Pocketing and Z-Level Roughing. Any transition move less than this distance will keep the tool at the cut level. Transition moves greater than this distance will insert a micro lift along the transition pass. The tool ramps at a 20 degree angle to a lift height of inches or 0.1 mm above the surface. Figure 1: Micro lifts inserted in transition moves. 22 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

23 New Max Feedrate for Z-Level Roughing A Max Feedrate parameter has been added to Z-Level Roughing as a High Speed option. This feedrate represents the upper limit for the feedrate, to avoid exceeding the limits of the machine tool. When a ProfitMilling strategy is used, the system is optimized to keep a constant value of Chip Flow (the volume of material removed in the time unit). This is accomplished by dynamically increasing the feedrate when the chip section (Cutting depth by Stepover) is reduced. Use the Max Feedrate to avoid exceeding the machine tool limits in cases where the chip section becomes very small. ProfitMilling enhancements 23

24 3-Axis milling enhancements Z-Level Roughing has better collision detection against the tool assembly, Z-Level Finishing now supports undercut machining, and Concentric Finishing produces better surfaces with extra moves in the toolpath. Enhanced collision detection in Z-Level Roughing Collision detection in Z-Level Roughing has been enhanced to produce toolpath that avoids all collisions between the tool assembly (holder + extension + shank) and the stock. This allows the tool to cut the maximum stock possible while considering the shape of its assembly (with clearances specified for the assembly components). In every FreeForm 3-Axis Finishing cycle, there are 4 choices for Collision Detection: None Check and report collisions Avoid collisions by Trimming Avoid collisions by Tilting Until recently, the Roughing cycle offered only 2 choices. It did not support toolpath trimming or the Autotilt transformation. None Check and report collisions The reason for the limited options is the nature of the Roughing calculation that generates the toolpath, cutting only over the existing stock. Trimming and Autotilt could not grant safe approaches to the stock. Any consideration of the shape of the tool assembly must be done during the toolpath calculation, considering the stock that is dynamically being shaped by the successive passes. Now there is a third choice for collision detection during Roughing: Avoid collisions with Assembly. 24 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

25 When this option is chosen, the system checks for collisions with the tool assembly (holder + extension + shank) as roughing toolpath is calculated and automatically adapts the shape of the toolpath to avoid collisions between the tool assembly and the stock model. Figure 1: Without collision detection, the holder extension collides with the stock model Figure 2: With collision detection against the tool assembly, the toolpath is calculated to avoid collisions 3-Axis milling enhancements 25

26 New undercut machining in Z-Level Finishing 3 Axis Z-Level Finishing now supports undercut machining. Previously, only the 3 Axis Legacy Z-Level Finishing cycle supported Undercut Machining. Undercut areas are any surfaces that are not visible when the part is viewed from the top. When the following conditions exist, undercut areas will be machined automatically: 1. The Part surfaces in the FreeForm feature have some undercut areas. 2. The selected tool is an UnderCut Mill or Slot Mill (the tool has an upper cutting edge). Figure 1: Undercut machining with an UnderCut Mill tool. Figure 2: Undercut machining with a Slot Mill tool. To cut horizontal planes precisely with the upper cutting edge of a Slot Mill tool, a proper value for Top Z Limit must be entered manually. Use the following formula: Top Z Limit = Z value of the plane + Incremental Depth - Tool Thickness Operation Tolerance 26 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

27 Z-Level Finishing has also been enhanced to let you create interrupted toolpath in areas where there are no touch points of the tool on the faces in an undercut area. Figure 3: Interrupted toolpath where the tool has no contact with undercut faces. To skip over areas where the selected tool loses contact with undercut faces, select a Check surface in the FreeForm feature that will not have an effect on the machining. In the example below, the bottom face of the solid model is defined as a Check surface. Figure 4: A Check surface in the FreeForm Feature enables interrupted cuts in undercut areas. Otherwise, Z-level toolpath will machine around those areas even though the tool is not touching any of the faces in the undercut area. 3-Axis milling enhancements 27

28 Figure 5: Toolpath generated in areas where the tool is not touching undercut faces. Enhanced Concentric Finishing with extra moves A new option called Extra Moves has been added to the Concentric Finishing cycle. Previously, the Concentric cycle could leave extra stock material, particularly in the center of concentricities and around sharp corners in the toolpath. Figure 1: Extra material around sharp corners and at the center of concentricity. The new Extra Moves option calculates extra cutting passes and replaces sharp corners with rounded moves to eliminate excess stock material on the machined surfaces. 28 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

29 Figure 2: Small uncut areas are eliminated with Extra Moves. The new option is available on the Tool Path tab. The previous "Round All Corners" option has been removed because the logic has been incorporated into the Extra Moves toolpath. 3-Axis milling enhancements 29

30 Separate Entry and Exit Strategies A new Exit group has been added to the Links tab of all 3-axis and 5-axis milling cycles that allows the user to define individual exit strategies. Previously, the strategy defined for entry moves was also used for exit moves. 30 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

31 5-Axis machining enhancements Three new 5-axis cycles have been added: Blade Roughing, Port Roughing, and a consolidated Swarf Milling cycle that replaces the previous Ruled Swarf and Surface Swarf cycles. 3-axis Z-Level cycles have new 5-axis options that replace the 5-Axis Roughing cycle and enhancements have been added to 5-Axis Contouring, Impeller Milling, and Channel Milling. New Blade Roughing A new Blade Roughing cycle has been introduced to complement the Blade Finishing cycle. Now turbine blades can be completely roughed and finished in ESPRIT using specialized 5-axis machining cycles. This new roughing cycle has two options to control the shape of the toolpath: a constant offset of the blade surfaces or an adaptive toolpath that adjusts between the external shape of the stock and the final shape of the blade. 5-Axis machining enhancements 31

32 New Port Roughing Port Roughing is similar to Port Milling except that the shape of the toolpath is an offset of the port surfaces, starting at the surface and proceeding inward at a constant stepover. New Swarf Milling A new Swarf cycle unifies the previous two swarf cycles: Ruled Swarf and Surface Swarf. The tool follows a path synchronized between upper and lower profiles. Now the input for Swarf toolpath can be defined by profiles or a single Ruled feature. 32 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

33 A new algorithm has also been developed to approximate the surface to be machined with a ruled surface, reporting the maximum discrepancy between the cut and the designed surface. The new Swarf cycle addresses the challenges of machining impeller blades, because the sides of the blades are typically not ruled surfaces and, therefore, cannot be cut with a swarf cut. A new algorithm has also been developed in ESPRIT that is able to approximate the surface to be machined with a Ruled one, reporting the maximum discrepancy between the cut and the designed surface. There are now 7 rules for controlling the Tool Axis Orientation (Profile Synchronization): 5-Axis machining enhancements 33

34 When Profiles Synchronization is set to Adapt TA For Best Fit, the system automatically creates a new Ruled surface which is a controlled approximation of the target surface and will drive the cut. The new surface is created only if the original surface is not ruled. So the system is able to recognize the surfaces that are true ruled surfaces and the ones that need approximation. The ruled property of the surface is fundamental to properly driving the tool axis (TA) during the machining. New 5 Axis options for Z-level 3-axis toolpath When 5-Axis Roughing was introduced in ESPRIT 2013, the new cycle was based on the 3-axis Z-Level Roughing cycle. Many of the machining parameters were the same, except that the roughing passes could be applied to revolved or cylindrical floors. The goal was to maintain the same ease-ofprogramming offered in the 3-axis cycle to more complex parts. Now, to eliminate the duplication of machining parameters, Z-Level Roughing has been enhanced with 5-axis options. The change also makes it possible to extend 5-axis functionality to the Z-Level Finishing cycle. X X 5-Axis Roughing is now obsolete. Please use the new 5-Axis options in Z-Level Roughing. Figure 1: New 5 Axis tab added to Z-Level Roughing and Z-Level Finishing 34 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

35 Three options are available to define the curved floor. Cylinder: The floor has a single curvature (a cylinder) based on a point on the diameter and axis points the user selects Revolution Surface: The floor has varying curvatures (a revolved surface) based on a 2D profile and axis points the user selects Surface: The floor is an existing 3D surface the user selects 5-Axis machining enhancements 35

36 Figure 2: Instead of planar cutting passes, curved passes can be generated When creating a 5-axis operation, it is important to remember to set Work Offset Transformation (on the General tab) to RTCP. The default setting is None for 3-axis operations. 36 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

37 New Chamfering strategies in 5-Axis Contouring 5-Axis Contouring has two new strategies for chamfering edges. The new Chamfering strategy chamfers edges lying along a 3D curve. This function is particularly useful when the chamfer is not designed on the edges of the 3D model. The new Undercut Chamfer strategy chamfers edges on the internal faces of the model. Improved Composite Milling at a fixed orientation Previously, to define a fixed orientation for the tool axis in the Composite cycle, the user was required to input the X,Y,Z components of a vector (with respect to the global reference system). Alternatively, a point could be selected and the system applied the components of the segment from P0 towards this point. From experience, we realized that such components or a point are not always easy to define. 5-Axis machining enhancements 37

38 The logic for defining a fixed tool-axis orientation has changed. The previous Orientation Strategy option "From Fixed Vector" is now replaced by "Fixed to Feature Plane" and the parameter "Orientation Vector X,Y,Z" has been removed. Now, the user simply needs to apply a proper work plane to the FreeForm feature, on which the Composite cycle is applied, similar to the definition of work planes for 3-axis indexed operations. The tool-axis orientation will then be held parallel to the W direction of the work plane. Figure 1: The orientation of the feature work plane controls the orientation of the tool axis. 38 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

39 New 4-axis roughing strategy in Impeller Milling The Impeller cycle has been improved with a new Rough 4Axis/5Axis strategy. The former Rough strategy has been renamed Rough 5Axis. The new 4Axis/5Axis strategy lets you set values for Angle Limitations, including a Fixed Angle with a reference axis. This lets you perform 4-axis roughing, with one of the rotary axes locked. Experiences demonstrate that working with 4 axes, instead of 5 continuous, allows a faster cycle time on the machine. A new parameter has been added that lets you place an additional limit on the tilt of the tool axis during impeller machining. Previously, the tilt of the tool axis could be limited to a minimum angle measured from the reference axis. Now, the tilt of the tool axis can also be limited to a maximum angle. The allowable range is from 90 to 75 degrees. 5-Axis machining enhancements 39

40 New Tilt control in Channel Milling Channel Milling has a new option to control and improve the calculation of incremental depths for roughing passes. When incremental depths are calculated between channel walls, the tilt at each depth is calculated by morphing the geometry between the two walls. Depending on the geometry, the tilt of each incremental depth can vary widely. The user now has an option to limit the descent angle. Slot Mill tool now supported in Port Milling and Composite cycles Until now Port Milling only supported Ball Mill or UnderCut Mill tools having a diameter twice the tool radius. Now Port Milling also supports Slot Mill tools. Now the Composite cycle also supports the Slot Mill tool, enabling you to machine with the top and bottom edges of the cutter. 40 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

41 To cut with the top edge of the cutter, use an orientation From Fixed Angle, with a direction that points towards the top (in this example, X+). 5-Axis Roughing is obsolete 5-Axis Roughing is obsolete, replaced by new 5-axis options in the 3-axis Z-Level Roughing cycle. 5-Axis machining enhancements 41

42 Support for barrel-shaped cutters Barrel-shaped cutters are now supported in 5-axis Blade and Composite cycles. A barrel-shaped cutter produces a much better surface finish when compared to a regular ball end mill, even when the stepover is doubled for the ball mill. Geometrically speaking, a barrel-shaped cutter is characterized by an oval shape that has a ball end (r1) linked with a radiused flank (r2). The barrel tool is defined in ESPRIT as a Custom mill tool. When a barrel-shaped tool is created as a Custom tool, the ESPRIT Mold cycles recognize the shape formed by 2 tangential radiuses and treats it internally as a specific barrel tool. The barrel tool is supported by the Blade cycle and the Composite cycle. Blade finishing is the most typical application for a barrel tool. 42 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

43 Wire EDM The multiple databases of the previous EDM Expert Systems have been replaced with XML files that have a smaller file size and are easier to update and customize. This release also includes enhanced support for Sodick machines. New EDM Expert System Data in an XML file is easier to update than data in a database. XML files can be updated in any text editor or XML editor. Wire EDM 43

44 The file for the Expert System is defined in EDM Machine Types on the Tools menu. 44 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

45 A new viewer is used to display the XML data for any type of EDM machine. Enhanced Sodick support ESPRIT now supports two commands for Sodick machines: Anti-rust MTRL command for machines equipped with an anti-rust unit Barreling control CSP command (SL machines only) In addition, there is a change to how the register range for PIKA circuit patterns is output in the NC code. Wire EDM 45

46 Anti-rust (MTRL) command A separate anti-rust unit can be integrated into a Sodick machine to prevent rust when cutting ferrous materials. Output of the anti-rust MTRL command is now controlled in the post processor with a new system variable: Output_Rust_Control. Output_Rust_Control : 1 ## 0:Off 1:On Sample NC output: MTRL00; Material codes are output as follows: 00: Steel 01: Cu 02: WC 03: Al 04: GR1 05: GR2 06: NAK 07: SUS 08: CUW : MTRL09...MTRL15 XX The anti-rust unit must be installed to use this command. Barreling (CSP) command on SL machines Sodick SL machines have an option to reduce the effect of barreling. Barreling causes a slight hollowing on walls between the upper and lower contact points of the wire. The new SL control adds a new BSA field to the start of the NC output. ON OFF IP HRP MAO SV V SF C PIK XTRL WK WT WS WP OFFS PC SK BSA The barrel control circuitry is activated by the second digit in the BSA instruction: 1 active, 0 inactive. Output of the barreling CSP command is controlled in the post processor with a new system variable: Output_Barrel_Control. Output_Barrel_Control : 1 ## 0:Off 1:On 2:Auto_Detect The CSP command is output with 11 digits: CSP*********** The digits are encoded with the following instructions directly from the Sodick database: Digit 1: Machining fluid (water/oil) Digits 2,3: Wire diameter Digit 4: Wire type/kind Digits 5, 6: Workpiece material (00: Steel, 01: Cu, 02: WC, 03: Al, etc.) Digits 7,8,9: Workpiece thickness (25mm=025, 150mm=150, etc.) Digit 10: Machining type (1:Punch, 2:Die) Digit 11: Nozzle position (1:Close, 2:Open-U, 3:Open-L, 4:Open) 46 What's New in ESPRIT 2015

47 All data is in metric format. Please refer to the machine manual for details. PIKA register output The post processor typically outputs cut condition data as Cxxx register values, followed by PIKA registers as C9xx in sequential order. Sample NC output: C000 C001 C002 C903 C904 These C9xx registers specify what is called a special PIKA circuit pattern, which determines the level of energy used during machining of the associated cut. C9xx register specifications: C900, C902: Energy small (PIKA2-Oil) C901, C903...C907: Energy small (PIKA2-Oil) C908, C909: EF (PIKA) C910, C912: S-PIKA-O (Energy small) C911, C913,...C919: S-PIKA-O (Energy small) C920...C929: PIKA-W Now the numbered output of PIKA registers can be controlled in the post processor with a new system variable: Sodick_C9xx_Start_Index. The register range can be output in sequential order or the range can start at C900. Sodick_C9xx_Start_Index : -1 ## -1:Sequential 0:Start from C900 However, the Sodick database contains a flag that is used to trigger the C9xx registers. That flag is the very first data bit of the raw cut condition data instruction within the database file. This flag is set by Sodick and cannot be edited by the user. Wire EDM 47

48 48 What's New in ESPRIT 2015