CAM & NC PROGRAMMING
With the growth in the
use of 5-axis machine
tools comes the need for
software to program
them. Here we cover
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Edgecam 5-axis strategies plus Waveform
technology are winners for subcontractor
Tridan Engineering
Subcontractor Tridan Engineering says
5-axis work, programmed by Edgcam, has
become a major part of its manufacturing
process. The company has customers in
the aerospace, motorsport and medical
sectors that demand faster turnaround
times and tighter tolerances.
Edgecam (https://is.gd/uciway) is
employed to program a total of 16 Mazak
CNC machines, of which six are 5-axis
models, including a Variaxis i-500 with a
Palletech automation system.
One of the biggest challenges facing it
is keeping up with ever-changing tooling
for the range of components across
several industrial sectors. For example,
Tridan manufactures aerospace parts
including frame racks, wing actuators and
wing braces for the Bombardier Airbus;
motorsport components such as gearbox
transmission systems and differential
cases for rally cars; along with a number
of medical components.
Says machine shop manager Paul
Coupland: “We work with two main tooling
suppliers, ITC and Iscar, and they’re
improving their tools all the time. Edgecam
provides us with the optimum machining
strategies every time the cutting tool is
updated, including those for powerful
5-axis programs.
“Edgecam programs all our machines
to their absolute top tolerances – we
regularly have a 2 micron tolerance on
most of our jobs, and we can guarantee
that they’re manufactured to that required
high precision every time.”
The combination of 5-axis machining
with the CAM software’s powerful and
game-changing Waveform Roughing
Strategy has been a major in uence on
how the company machines components.
Everything is now processed by using
Waveform trochoidal milling, with cutting
strategies changed to take a full ute
length of cut.
Lead production engineer Mark Proctor
says Tridan Engineering has had some
spectacular results with it, but admitted
there was nervousness at rst about the
prospect of ramping up feeds and speeds
and using the full ute length. “When we
were told we could machine a piece of
S143 stainless steel at 8 m/min, we
thought the cutting tool wouldn’t last two
seconds,” he says.
But Proctor adds that once the
company saw the resulting faster cycle
times, and that the tool was safe from
damage, it made the decision to
undertake all Waveform roughing at the
Edgecam’s Waveform
Strategy is slashing
cycle times at Tridan
Engineering
machine’s fastest feed rate.
“For instance, we needed a nished
component that’s only 20 mm thick,
coming from a 6” S143 round billet, which
means there’s an awful lot of metal to cut
away. For that job we used a 12 mm
cutter for a 24 mm depth of cut at a feed
rate of just under 9 m/min and the job ran
for 10 hours before the cutting tool
needed replacing.”
Overall, the company, which is based in
the Essex seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea,
ships around 9,000 parts a month to
customers around the world – anything
from small components to workpieces up
to 1.6 m, both as single units and in large
batches. And almost every part it
produces goes through Edgecam.
Describing 5-axis machining and
automation as the way forward for Tridan
Engineering, Coupland says the recent
acquisition of the Mazak Variaxis with a
Palletech automation system adopts both
of those aspects. “Five-axis is de nitely
the future for us, as it enables us to
machine much faster than 3-axis can,
through the ‘Done In One’ capability,
without the need for additional set-ups.
And the automation system on the
Variaxis can manage six pallets, which is
perfect for our needs. We can add six
pallets at any stage of the operation to
14 September 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
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