programs are going to run correctly, NC
programmers can be assured that the
process is actually producing the part as
intended and process engineers and
quality control can easily trace errors or
issues in the design or NC program. All
this data can be collated before any
actual machining is done, without wasting
machine time, and can be fed back to
high level personnel for operational
planning and budgeting.
So, when the virtual world matches
the real world, chances for surprises are
massively reduced, the manufacturing
work ow operates more ef ciently and
maximises time and therefore cost
savings. VERICUT connects the process
together and ensures that the most
accurate and reliable representation of
the real world is achieved.
Turning now to process optimisation,
this links all the machining operations,
end-to-end, to evaluate and improve the
entire manufacturing process. Each step
along the way, through engineering,
design, CAM programming and machining
and up to the nal quality and inspection
phase, can and should be optimised.
Simulation ensures programs are errorfree
and that all operations work together
as intended, but optimisation ensures the
whole process is operating as ef ciently
as possible, saving time and money.
As machining gets more complex and
customers expect more for less, there is
room for improvement in any
manufacturing process. These
improvements – which are not just about
reducing costs – might include reduced
NC program runtimes, increased
throughput, making parts cheaper or
getting a product from start to nish and
out to market faster.
VERICUT CNC simulation and
veri cation software does a superior job
in nding problems that may be hidden
within NC programs and warning users of
unexpected machine behaviour, even
those occurring between multiple
machine set-ups. It lets programmers
resolve these issues before they reach the
shop oor, crash the machine and waste
valuable machine time.
With VERICUT, the shop oor can be
con dent that programs will run correctly
and the free VERICUT reviewer at the
machine tool is a huge bene t to both
shop oor and programmers, as it avoids
“what happens next?” concerns during
Force and Force analysis charts – The impact of optimising is dramatic, including
reduced machining time and longer tool life, which will help the shopfl oor by giving
more machine capacity and maybe even postponing the purchase a new expensive
machine. There will be less post machine clean up because produced parts will be
better quality saving even more time per part. Programmers are going to benefi t from
having correct speeds and feeds information to achieve consistent machining results.
All these positives reach all the way back to the quoting and estimating and mean
manufacturers can be more aggressive and competitive with schedules and bids
one-off or rst-off production.
There’s also a positive ripple effect for
other departments that coordinate with
programming. Engineering and design can
learn through veri cation whether parts
can be manufactured or if changes need
to be made before metal cutting.
Planning and scheduling will have more
accurate cycle times and they won’t have
to schedule prove-out times on the
machines. The quality control and
inspection team can expect higher levels
of conformance and fewer quality issues,
which makes it easier to approve parts
and get them delivered.
These are all areas where VERICUT is
helping save time and money. But there
are also the hidden issues, inef ciencies
and missed opportunities to optimise
processes that erode pro t margins.
Things like poor cutting methods, nonoptimal
feedrates in new and existing NC
programs, over- or under-utilising cutters
and/or machine tools, all of which can be
draining money with every part made.
Some companies work really hard and
very diligently optimising programs, but
there are opportunities and savings to be
had for all machine shops. This is where
Force and Force analysis charts come in.
VERICUT Force recalculates feedrates
to maintain ideal constant chip thickness
while simultaneously reducing feedrates
when needed to maintain safe cutting
forces and spindle power, and it does this
for each tool. Force is based on
calculations and proven cutting data
that’s been gathered from tooling
manufacturers, material speci cations
and dyno testing.
It uses very speci c cutting
parameters, takes into consideration what
kind of material is being used, as well as
tool type and geometry. Force couples
this with the cutting conditions that
VERICUT collects to give the best data
that can be used to analyse and optimise
the NC program.
Force charts visualise what’s
happening during the machining process
and expose areas of opportunity that exist
in each NC program, such as erratic chip
thickness, chip thinning and inef cient
CAM paths that can all be resolved by
optimising feedrates. The charts also
show areas of concern, for instance where
the force exceeds what the tool capable
of, such as excessive cutting conditions or
potential for chatter, broken/chipped
cutters or damage to part of the machine.
In these instances, VERICUT Force will
lower the feedrate to keep the force
under the limit that of the tools capability.
Simulating, verifying and optimising
simultaneously with VERICUT Force
equates to a cumulative effect on process
optimisation, resulting in signi cant time
and money savings.
www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets | September 2020 39
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