Sometimes it’s best to aim for efficiency, not speed.
Faster isn’t always better, at least in the machine tool realm. With the high expense of tools running in CNC machines, sometimes it’s better to slow down the process to ensure tools are not breaking. This provides several benefits at the end of the day, including time and money savings.
Instead of focusing on accelerating the tool through the cut at super-fast speeds, the objective should be to push a tool to perform at its highest efficiency. With tool optimization methods, including adaptive controls and tool monitoring, it’s possible to get ahead of the machine tool and stay ahead of it.
Automation is priceless
With the machine tool’s ability to monitor tool load in real time, automate tool life management, and access adaptive feed rate control, machinists tending a machine for an entire shift are no longer necessary. By implementing a tool optimization system such Slytrackr (product of Slytek, Inc., an AME partner), cycle times can be decreased by as much as 35%. Other benefits include less scrap parts produced, an increase in tool life, and more opportunities for lights-out machining.
Historically, talented machinists could modify feeds and speeds based on what they heard and saw inside the machine tools as they ran. But with the lack of skilled workers like these to be found, it’s ideal for the machine to automate these processes by adapting the tool based on chip load with adaptive feed rate control. This advanced system contains sensors that sense the horsepower draw on the spindle load, therefore adapting the feed rate every millisecond based on that load.
Tooling optimization sytem (TOS) within Slytrackr can detect dull or broken tooling inserts. When a broken tool is detected, the system can stop the cycle via macro interrupt, grab a new tool, and then pick up where the last one left off. This efficient system can improve cutting quality and lessen tool change frequency, which equates to less process interruption.
More about adaptive controls
To understand how adaptive feed rate controls function to provide the most efficient machining experience, the following list provides several scenarios where adaptive controls might speed up or slow down a tool in the cut:
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Rounding the outside of a corner: Only a small percentage of the cutting tool radius is in the cut. Therefore, the tool can move faster.
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Inside of a corner: There might be three-fourths of that radius in the cut, so a heavier load is present. Therefore, the tool will slow down.
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Material that is not uniform: Some pockets in a material are harder than others, which results in a tool slow down.
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Dull tool: When a tool is dull, it can’t cut as fast as when it’s sharp. Therefore, more force is necessary (think of cutting cheese with a dull knife).
Talk to AME about Slytrackr!
To learn more about how to get ahead of the machine tool and stay ahead of it, talk to AME to start improving your machine tools’ performance. These tool optimization solutions have been designed specifically to be compatible with legacy machinery.
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