GibbsNews - GibbsCAM
Transcription
GibbsNews - GibbsCAM
GibbsNews FALL 2013 GibbsCAM Solutions for Industry MORE ONLINE » AEROSPACE | AUTOMOTIVE | DEFENSE | ENERGY | MEDICAL Greetings from Bill by Bill Gibbs, Founder and President, Gibbs & Associates Greetings everyone. Let’s talk about GibbsCAM 2013. Were you able to attend one of our numerous rollout sessions? There were many worldwide, and they provided a great way of seeing all of the new software capabilities in GibbsCAM 2013. If you were unable to attend one, we have videos and datasheets about GibbsCAM 2013 and the new features posted for you on our website. Have you had a chance to decide on your favorite new capability? I’m fond of the new geometry capability for loops and shapes. Geometry is now easy to extract from solids. Adding, subtracting, and intersecting solids is so much faster and easier than detailed geometry editing to create desired new shapes. Give GibbsCAM 2013 a try, and let us know what your favorite new feature is. As a leader in supporting complex, multi-axis machines, we have been working on the next generation of GibbsCAM software to support these ever increasingly complex machines. We call this technology UKM which stands for Universal Kinematic Machine. This technology is extremely important to allow us to support your future requirements for programming machines like this as well as significantly simplifying generating GibbsCAM post processors. We have started early testing of post processor creation and associated machine simulation. You will be hearing much more about UKM in the upcoming year. Good luck with the rest of the year, Online Resources » PAGE 2 Customer Showcase » PAGE 3 Video Showcase » PAGE 3 Customer Spotlight » PAGE 4 Tech Tip » PAGE 7 Events & Training » PAGE 10 GibbsCAM.com » Valuable GibbsCAM Resources Available Online | PAGE 2} Over the last few months we have been holding GibbsCAM 2013 roll-out sessions around the world. One of the important presentations during many of the roll out sessions was on the value of GibbsCAM Maintenance and the many online tools available for GibbsCAM Maintenance customers. It was a huge surprise to see how many customers were unaware of these valuable resources. As you may already know, GibbsCAM Maintenance is a critical component in making sure that you’re getting the most out of your investment in GibbsCAM. It provides you with optimal performance and productivity, whether through adding the latest industry-related technologies, post processor modification and creation compatibility, CAD interoperability, latest Windows operating system support, bug fixes, compatibility with new GibbsCAM options, and much more. You may be aware Maintenance helps provide not only further software development, and other critical services such as Tech Support and Post Processor Support, but it also provides you with much more than just updated software and support. Another critical service is providing our many online resources. In recent years, Gibbs has made a significant investment improving existing online resources at (www.GibbsCAM.com) and adding more content to better support our customers. Online.GibbsCAM.com serves as a central hub for communication with and tools for our Maintenance customers. It’s there we provide a simple way to contact Customer Support, a library of training videos, interim software update downloads, information on the latest release version, and sign-ups for our release update newsletter, GC News. Maintenance customers only: GibbsCAM support, training videos, interim software updates, and GC newsletter sign-ups. Our main website, www.GibbsCAM.com, also houses content that may be of interest to you, even though it isn’t restricted to Maintenance Customers. We feature video webinars on popular topics such as 5-axis, MTM, and shop productivity, and we have forums and social media platforms where our users can connect with us and one another. We also publish this newsletter, GibbsNews, as a courtesy to our customers. If you haven’t explored the GibbsCAM website recently, you should. You’ll be surprised at what is available to you. Customer Showcase COMPANY: | PAGE 3} Cerritos College LOCATION: Norwalk, California www.cerritos.edu USER SINCE: December, 2009 WEBSITE: COMPANY DESCRIPTION: Cerritos College’s Machine Tool Technology (MTT) program aims to provide students with the practical, working knowledge required for careers in manufacturing. PART DESCRIPTION: Students were guided through the modeling, NC programming, and machining of a guitar body, and then instructed on finishing and assembling the guitar. The GibbsCAM educational version is identical to the industrial, so that students employed by industry see no difference from their learning platform, with the same functions, capabilities and features, such as Cut Part Rendering, the GibbsCAM toolpath verification feature, which enabled students to test the toolpath programmed for a K2CNC 3-axis router. Are you doing some really cool programming with GibbsCAM? Would you like to show off your stuff in front of other GibbsCAM customers? If your answer is “Yes!” then forward your VNC files to us, along with pictures and other interesting information about the job. A panel of qualified experts will select winners to be published in the next customer newsletter. Entries that get published will receive free GibbsCAM swag. But here’s the best part: all submissions will be reviewed for potential selection as a case study story that may be published in a national manufacturing trade publication. Interested? Then e-mail [email protected] or call us at (805) 523-0004. GibbsCAM Video Showcase Our GibbsCAM Video Library includes an assortment of videos from our customers and partners sharing their GibbsCAM successes. “5-Axis Technology – Does It Make Sense for Your Shop?” Webinar The advantages of 5-axis machining can be significant, including both cost and time savings, with a direct impact to a shop’s bottom line. This webinar demonstrates many of the advantages of 5-axis machining including various application examples and how participants can benefit from the use of this technology. Watch Video Online » Introducing GibbsCAM 2013 Listen in as Bill covers the improved functionality, quality, reliability and performance of GibbsCAM 2013 in addition to new specialized options for turbomachinery and porting applications. Watch Video Online » Do you have GibbsCAM video footage and/or plan to prepare video footage that you would like GibbsCAM to consider for the new video library? If your answer is “Yes!” then please contact us at [email protected]. Customer Spotlight | PAGE 4} Far from Progressive Tool’s beginnings, these parts represent a new specialization: tiny components for strategic and tactical defense. Pictured left to right are a machined adjustment clamp for a satellite, a detent for optical adjustment of a night-vision goggle and a part for a satellite circuit board. A Big Move to Small-Parts Manufacturing PROGRESSIVE TOOL * PROBLEM Needed a CAM system for small- parts manufacturing * SOLUTION GibbsCAM from Gibbs and Associates * RESULTS Ability to machine small, hidden features, improved product quality, reduced reduced machining time While riding the ebb and flow of larger-part manufacturing for military contractors, Ron Markoff, president of Progressive Tool, began to notice a trend of parts becoming smaller and lighter. To ensure survival and success, Mr. Markoff decided to change Progressive’s direction and gradually replace its machines with those geared for smaller, more precise work. To complete this shift, Progressive integrated GibbsCAM software from Gibbs and Associates (Moorpark, California). Now, the shop is able to supply a different niche of military parts that are smaller in size and weight. The Binghamton, New York, shop was founded in 1956. For decades, most of the shop’s work consisted of removing massive amounts of material to reduce weight in larger parts and creating pockets to house electronic components. However, in the early 2000s, RFQs for these traditional parts began to fade. New composites were making lighter parts possible through lay-up and vacuum forming, and other parts were getting smaller through miniaturization of electronic and electro-mechanical assemblies, which could use much smaller enclosures. It licensed a new CAM GibbsCAM VoluMill saves the shop 15 to 20 percent of machining time in production runs of small, pocketed parts. Here, a VoluMill toolpath for stepping down a corner cleans out the bottom of a deep pocket with a 0.125-inch end mill. Continued on pg. 5 » Customer Spotlight CONTINUED FROM PG. 4 system in 2004, but it ultimately failed due to lack of support and bug fixes, among other issues. After a two-year struggle with the software, Progressive cut its losses and licensed GibbsCAM software. Programming the machines is now quick and simple, says Pat Crowley, plant manager. Unlike the previous system, GibbsCAM is able to open CAD models, including solids as well as IGES and STEP files from CATIA and PTC® Creo Customers. The software can be used on variety of machines, | PAGE 5} difficult to discern, reliance on solid CAD models and GibbsCAM increased. Mr. Crowley explains that GibbsCAM enables machinists and programmers to inspect customer models and add or subtract features for machining. Often, he found that making tooling and fixtures as he programmed parts didn’t take much work because the software picked up geometry from part features. “I can model anything I need, right here. We don’t need any other CAD,” he says. The CAM software’s associativity became more important as it transitioned to small parts with many pockets and tiny features. For instance, Mr. Crowley can select CAD model geometry and link part features to tools, operations and GibbsCAM VoluMill optimizes tool paths for fast material removal while compensating for changes in cutting direction. Here is a close-up of a 9-by-11-inch instrumentation cover. The toolpath used a 5/16-inch end mill on pockets measuring 0.750 to 1.250 inches wide. including the company’s wire EDM, lathes, 5-axis machining centers and multi-tasking machines. Mr. Markoff and Mr. Crowley quote jobs together as they review parts with GibbsCAM. In fact, effective visualization and quick and easy programming enable Mr. Crowley to do some programming while quoting. The machining process he creates becomes part of the NC programming when the shop gets the job. “With small parts, the time to machine small and hidden features becomes important, especially with tiny tools, deep grooves, and shape pocket corners,” he says. By programming some of those features ahead of time, the company knows what it takes to machine the part, and its quotes are more accurate. Plus, some critical work gets done ahead of the job. Using the new machines and GibbsCAM, the company has been able to transition from the common 24-by-24-by-4-inch work of previous years to 2-by-2-by-0.500-inch work. As tiny features and undercuts in drawings became more Pat Crowley, plant manager and lead NC programmer, and Jeff Garrett, quality control inspector, discuss a detent, which is part of the optical-adjustment mechanism for a night-vision goggle. layers. “The ability to isolate and associate features by operations or sequences saves a lot of time,” he says. “If you call up a tool or layer, everything linked to it shows up.” Another important benefit of the new CAM software is ease of use, says 16-year machining veteran and first-time CAM user, Brian Fish. Production demands on his job as CNC lathe supervisor, machinist and lathe programmer, left him no time to learn GibbsCAM on his own, but he learned the software quickly with occasional in-house training sessions. “I would call our GibbsCAM Reseller when I had questions, but otherwise, I just turned on the software’s help feature,” he says. “I could get on-screen explanations for menu buttons. It was very straightforward and useful.” Continued on pg. 6 » Customer Spotlight CONTINUED FROM PG. 5 As Mr. Fish programmed two-axis lathes, he began doing things the shop had never done on those machines and reduced the number of operations required to make several parts. After similar success on a high-volume part for an electric bus, he started to consider how more capable machines might provide further efficiencies on that job. This led Progressive to acquire its first multitasking machine, an eight-axis Nakamura Tome WT-300, just to make that part. Moving from two-axis machining to eight was difficult because he had no experience with multitasking machines. Yet, using GibbsCAM, Mr. Fish was able to reduce five operations on two lathes to a single operation– with total operations reduced from eight to three. Time also improved from 3 minutes for each of the previous five operations to 5 minutes for the single operation. Reduced handling and setups ultimately improved part quality. | PAGE 6} tools, speeds and feeds are tiny by comparison. “We might be hogging out a pocket with a .125inch tool, or cutting a .31-inch-wide, 0.5-inchdeepslot with a 0.025-inch cutter, and GibbsCAM helps us drive them without breakage,” Mr. Crowley says. “It lets us machine any way we want, with any toolpath pattern. We know most of the alloys really well, so we enter speeds and feeds on the fly, but when we use a less-common alloy, the software’s default values are right on the mark,” he says. CNC lathe supervisor Brian Fish sets up an NC program generated with GibbsCAM, which he uses to program various lathes, a dualspindle Takisawa, a Nakamura Tome 150 with live tooling and this eight-axis Nakamura MTM. A year ago, Progressive also acquired its first five-axis machine, a Brother TC-S2C-0 with Nikken rotarytilt table. To program it, the shop added the GibbsCAM 5-Axis module, which Mr. Crowley was able to learn on his own. “We don’t do much five-axis work, so I don’t use it often, but it wasn’t difficult to learn,” he says. “There’s always a way to find the information you need, right in the software.” Using GibbsCAM and its new machines, Progressive Tool now makes small parts with tighter tolerances than previously required. It supplies small military parts, including those for satellites and night-vision goggles, made from titanium, stainless steel, aluminum alloys and various Kovar alloys. Work has changed from hogging out 2-footlong parts to parts as small as 0.500 by 0.500 by 1 inch. The relative percentage of material removed is about the same, but he As with large parts, toolpath efficiency makes a difference in the profitability of a production run, but tool life for fragile tools is even more important. For both reasons, Progressive recently added VoluMill for GibbsCAM. This software optimizes tool paths for fast material removal while compensating for changes in cutting direction. This ensures a constant load on the cutting tool, or constant chip thickness, to minimize tool deflection and extend tool life. “After you select pockets and your cutting tool, a single mouse click is the only interaction you need to activate VoluMill for your tool path,” Mr. Crowley says. GibbsCAM VoluMill cuts 15 to 20 percent off cycle times for the company’s small parts. Reprinted from the June 2013 MODERN MACHINE SHOP Magazine and Copyright © 2013 by Gardner Business Media, Inc. Tech Tip | PAGE 7} Tech Highlights In our continuing efforts to improve on the quality of GibbsCAM, we are providing this brief summary of some of the exciting new developments in the GibbsCAM product. Additional information can be found online in the “Gibbs Online” secure website as a documentation download. This will explain these and additional features in detail. This Tech Tip is for the purpose of highlighting a few of these newly implemented options: Geometry Geometry from Solids > Outline: GibbsCAM 2013 is Windows® 8 Compatible. Keyboard shortcuts: Frequently accessed commands Do It and Redo have now been assigned CTRL+.(period) and CTRL+,(comma) as keyboard shortcuts. Contour options to replace plug-ins: Contour processes now allow you to specify “Ramp Down” (replacing the Z-Ramp Contour plug-in) or “Extra Offsets” (replacing and improving upon the Offset Contour plug-in). Pocketing improvements: You can now specify Outermost Shape As Boss rather than as a pocket, without creating additional geometry. Mixed-shape pocketing has been further improved, with smarter entry and exit behavior. And a new plug-in, Bottom Up Hit Flats, allows the deepest parts of a pocket to be cut first (at full depth), while hitting every flat surface; this is useful for parts made of soft materials with many shallow flats to be cut. 5-Axis Machining CS selection: 5-axis processes can now be specified relative to machining CS’s, not just the primary CS on each spindle. Lathe threading / Thread Whirling definable from shape: You can now define lathe threads from any valid shape, including shapes that contain arcs or splines. The Thread Whirling plug-in can handle arcs and splines as input, with threaded arcs as output. Pre-existing (pre-v10.5) posts will output arc threads as line thread segments. Rendering for Lathe Rough Auto Finish: Lathe Rough processes that use Auto Finish now render the finish pass in both CPR and Machine Simulation. Form Tool image for Reporter: Reporter now supports output of the Form Tool profile as an image for Lathe as well as for Mill. Plug-Ins and Operation Modifiers: New plug-ins have been added to support Autodesk Vault for dependency update checking and other capabilities, and ISCAR Tool Advisor (ITA), to recommend and load appropriate tools from the ISCAR catalog. The functionality of the two most commonly used Mill plug-ins and operation modifiers, Offset Contour and Z Ramp Contour, has been incorporated into the Contour process dialog. The Transform Toolpath has been renamed (to Transform Ops) to reflect its modified approach. Reporter has been enhanced to support output of Form Tool profiles for Lathe. Macros: New macro capabilities are continuously documented in the Macros wiki: http://macros.GibbsCAM.com. In addition, two new instruction videos have been placed on our secure website for viewing by maintenance users. Continued on pg. 8 » Tech Tip CONTINUED FROM PG. 7 | PAGE 8} Profiler: The Profiler now offers four modes directly from the main toolbar. Clicking the button toggles the Profiler on or off. To change modes, click and hold the button and choose from the drop-down list. In Slice Plane mode, the Profiler is planar to the current CS. To dynamically display the part’s cross-section geometry, drag the slicing plane up or down along the depth axis. In Slice Spun Body mode, the Profiler is planar to CS1, the primary CS (which might not be the current CS), and slices the outline of the body that would result from spinning all elements around the rotary axis. In Slice Silhouette mode, the Profiler is planar to the current CS, and displays the outline of the “shadow” cast by all bodies from rays of light normal to the plane and shining down on it. Each body (even a multi-lump body) casts a single shadow with a single outline. Multiple bodies cast separate shadows with possibly overlapping outlines. In Slice Cylinder mode, the Profiler is cylindrical perpendicular to the current CS. To radially expand or contract, drag the slicing cylinder outwards or inwards. Mill Contouring In addition to the Mill Feature tab that now appears on all mill-type process dialogs, Contouring has been enhanced in the following ways. 1. Ramp Down: Replaces and improves upon the functionality of the former Z Ramp Contour plug-in. For contours with vertical (not tapered) walls, creates a continuous spiraling toolpath with one finish pass at final depth. Unlike with the plug-in, the resulting operation keeps the parameter setting with Redo. 2. Back & Forth: Replaces the option buttons (One Direction / Back and Forth) formerly in the Wall Choices dialog. Allows you to specify how the tool moves from the end of one pass to the start of the next: either always cutting in the same direction (unselected), or else alternating between climb cutting and conventional cutting (when Back and Forth is selected). 3. Extra Offsets: Replaces and improves upon the former Offset Contour plug-in and operation modifier. You can set a positive number of extra offsets and set a stepover value to generate multiple operations. Each operation’s toolpath corresponds to an additional stepover. 4. User Plunge: Provides the same behavior for Contour as for other Mill processes. Allows you to set the (X,Y) of a plunge start point. The tool will feed from the Entry Clearance Plane to this point and then plunge into the material. Continued on pg. 9 » Tech Tip | PAGE CONTINUED FROM PG. 8 9} Surface Flow Cut In SolidSurfacer in GibbsCAM 2013, version 10.5, the Surface Flow Cut strategy provides new functionality and a more powerful algorithm that better accommodates more kinds of blended faces. We have enhanced the machining capabilities to provide a superior tool path between surface trims. Spiral: A new option, Spiral, provides an alternative to Back and Forth. Support for more kinds of blends: Now smoothly handles most non-planar fillets and other blended faces. When a contour’s faces are not all “Long Edge” or all “Short Edge”, the algorithm now looks at the contour as a whole rather than handling each face individually. Pre GibbsCAM 2013 GibbsCAM 2013 Bottom-Up Hit Flats: Performs specialized machining on thin parts containing many flat regions. For pocketing operations on solid bodies, the Bottom-Up Hit Flats plug-in cuts the deepest parts of a pocket first, at full depth, and then works upward, using material only, to mill every flat surface at lesser depth. The operation tile has a modified appearance to let you know that pocketing will proceed from the bottom up. This machining approach is most useful for thin parts of soft material, with many shallow flats. Best practice: First create a pocketing process with a single Z step, specifying Hit Flats and Material Only. Generate the pocketing operation to verify results, and then apply the plug-in to reverse the sequence of depths. For additional information or to report any usage issues, you are encouraged to contact our Technical Support Department for assistance. We can be reached by phone at 800-654-9399 or 805-523-0004 and by email at [email protected]. Upcoming Events | PAGE 10 North and South America A 2013 User Conference Dec 4, 2013 • Mazak National Technology Center Florence, KY • Booth N/A A Okuma Demo Day Dec 4, 2013 • 4727 S Pinemont Dr., Houston, Texas Houston, TX • Booth N/A A Haas Demo Day: Richmond, BC, Canada Dec 5, 2013 • Thomas Skinner Showroom: 13880 Vulcan Way, Richmond, BC, Canada • Booth N/A Europe A MNE 2014 View a complete list of all upcoming events at GibbsCAM.com » Feb 5 - 6, 2014 • Kortrijk Xpo • Kortrijk, Belgium Booth Stand B20 Event Website » GibbsCAM Training Schedule Standard Training Intro Milling & Turning Jan 29-31, 2014 (Geometry Creation, Milling, Turning) A Advanced CS Feb 3, 2014 A SolidSurfacer I Feb 4-6, 2014 A Advanced Training SolidSurfacer II Feb 7, 2014 A 5-AxisFeb 10-11, 2014 A MTMFeb 12-13, 2014 A PLEASE NOTE: Dates and scheduling are subject to change. For additional information about Training Classes, please visit the GibbsCAM Training Page at: www.GibbsCAM.com, or contact the Sales Department at [email protected] or (805) 523-0004. GibbsNews is published quarterly by Gibbs and Associates, a Cimatron Company, based in Moorpark, CA, and is distributed free of charge to GibbsCAM customers and others interested in GibbsCAM. ©2013 Gibbs and Associates, a Cimatron Company. All rights reserved. The Gibbs and GibbsCAM logos, GibbsCAM, Virtual Gibbs and “Powerfully Simple. Simply Powerful.” are either trademark(s) or registered trademark(s) of Gibbs and Associates in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. This document is for informational purposes only and is subject to change.
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