New five-axis options in Delcam's PowerMILL boost Rojac

August 8, 2002 - New five-axis capabilities in Delcam's PowerMILL machining software have provided a considerable boost to productivity at Rojac Tooling Technologies, a major supplier of models, patterns and moulds to the aerospace and automotive industries, based in Wednesbury, near Birmingham, UK. The software is used together with a new Correa five-axis machine, the latest addition in the company's relentless drive to improve its products, processes and customer service.

"Even though the Correa has full five-axis capabilities, we use 3-plus-2 machining whenever possible as it allows us to use faster feeds and speeds than continuous five-axis operation," said Rojac's CADCAM Manager, Gerry Hart. "With this approach, we can machine deep pockets with shorter cutters that experience less deflection. This means that we can produce a better surface finish at a higher speed. Also, it is easy to align the machine head to a workplane within PowerMILL and so ensure that there is no possibility of gouging."

The continuous five-axis ability of the new machine becomes essential when machining a sharp corner along a complex profile. "With three-axis machining, we had to use a ball-nose cutter," explained Mr. Hart. "This left a small fillet in the corner that needed to be removed by hand to produce a sharp corner."

"In contrast, by using an end-mill and continuous five-axis machining, it is possible to machine the sharp corner directly. The amount of hand finishing required is minimal, giving considerable time savings and helping to ensure accurate components. Similarly, using five-axis operation allows components to be trimmed normal to their faces and so also gives a better appearance with less hand finishing."

Another big challenge that has been overcome is machining holes into the surface of the tools. Since all these holes need to be normal to the surface, they are usually all at different compound angles so a separate set up was needed for each hole on the three-axis machine.

"Now, we can simply read the file into PowerMILL, produce the five-axis drilling program and drill the holes in one set up," commented Mr. Hart. "We got perfect results, even the first time we used the new approach. For a typical tool, requiring around 30 holes, we have reduced the drilling time from two days to an hour."

"Even though we have used Delcam software for many years, when we started looking for five-axis software, we were unaware of the strength and breadth of PowerMILL's capabilities in the area. We investigated many alternative systems before we found that PowerMILL could best provide the five-axis functionality that we needed," concluded Mr. Hart.

www.delcam.com 

 

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