3-D Touch Probes for 3rd Party Controls

its 3-D touch trigger probes to make them available to be used on many CNC controls for milling, drilling and boring machines, and machining centers.
The company said its UTI 192 Universal Touch Probe Interface makes its probes compatible with CNC controls via a fast switching input.
The UTI 192 supports two lines Heidenhain 3-D touch probes, the TT tool touch probes and TS workpiece touch probes. This interface is designed to convert output signals of the Heidenhain 3-D touch probe to the machine control signals in accordance with IEC 61 131-2
Heidenhain said the probing functions that are actually available on the machine depend on the software cycles that are implemented in the respective control. The company offers cycles for automatic alignment and measurement of workpieces, workpiece presetting, and tool measurement on non-TNC controls.
The UTI 192 features a compact design, and can be fastened quickly on a standard mounting rail in the electrical cabinet. Heidenhain said it features a wide range of interfacing possibilities so that the touch probes can easily be connected to the different controls.

waterjet cutting

Process Description
The waterjet cutting process uses a low volume, very thin stream of ultra high pressure water for cutting high precision parts. This thin stream of water leaves the cutting head at over twice the speed of sound, which is why it is able to cut such a wide variety of materials. The application of the waterjet cutting process can be further categorized into two separate processes - abrasive and non-abrasive cutting.

Waterjet Cutting (Non-Abrasive)
The waterjet cutting process begins with an ultra high pressure pump that can deliver water at pressures up to 60,000 PSI through a plumbing system to a cutting head. Inside the cutting head, a sapphire, ruby, or diamond orifice restricts the high pressure water flow to a diameter ranging from 0.002" to 0.025". This focused stream of supersonic water is capable of cutting rubber, plastics, food, insulation, cardboard, carpeting, and many other soft materials. As most of these materials are so easily cut, a large number of water jet systems purchased for cutting soft materials are configured with two or more cutting heads, thereby greatly increasing the production capability of the machine.

Waterjet Cutting (Abrasive)
Harder materials can be cut when an abrasive powder, such as garnet, is mixed in with the stream of water. The abrasive cutting head incorporates a mixing chamber below the orifice. The flow of high pressure water through this chamber creates a venturi effect, which in turn draws abrasive powder into the stream. This abrasive enriched waterjet stream is then re-focused by a mixing tube, which typically has an internal diameter between 0.020" to 0.050". The exiting abrasive stream produces a kerf width that is roughly the same size as the nozzle ID and is ideal for cutting aluminum, steel, titanium, granite, marble, composites, wood, glass and many other materials.

HEIDENHAIN Now Offers One of the Most Accurate 3-D Machine Tool Touch Probes in the Market Today

With the introduction of the TS 740 infrared touch probe, HEIDENHAIN offers machine tool users the opportunity to perform measuring tasks that require an especially high probing accuracy and repeatability. Boasting a probing accuracy of ≤ ± 1 µm and a repeatability factor of 2 s ≤ 0.25 µm, the TS 740 workpiece touch probe is one of the most accurate 3D touch probes for machine tools in the market today.
To do this, the HEIDENHAIN TS 740 touch probe features a new sensor whose principle of function is completely different from that of the optical sensor of their standard touch probes. The new technology involves the use of three sensor elements. When probing a workpiece, the stylus is deflected so that a force acts on these elements. This results in the generation of charges that are detected by the electronics and converted into trigger signals. This system allows for more accurate results.
Also in spite of its low probing forces, the TS 740 is designed in such a way that it is well suited for use in modern machine tools with a fast tool changer. Rapid acceleration or deceleration does not cause uncontrolled trigger signals, as is common with those with low probing forces that are typically sensitive to mechanical disturbances.

Liquid Tite Conduit

The conduit used here is called "Liquid Tite" I believe. Makes for a clean installation!

A Tribute to John Bogstandard

I've put together a bit of a tribute to the model steam turbine work of Bogstandard, who has contributed a number of articles on the HMEM boards. John is another of those rare guys who not only does fabulous work, but shares his methods in a way that makes it possible for all to learn. One of the most fascinating areas John worked in was that of model steam turbines. I'm quite sure I hadn't seen such a thing before coming across Bog's engines, but they sure look fun:

Faceplates for Eccentric Turning

Over the years, some people have built special fixtures to make eccentric turning easier. It's common when building engines and other projects to have to do eccentric turning to create cams or crankshaft offsets. Here is one such faceplate that accomodates either a flat tooling surface or a v-block to hold the workpiece at various offsets

Getting Geared Up to Wire the Box

I've been getting in a plethora of odds and ends to start wiring up the enclosure. I've now got everything except a relay I will use for the E-stop circuit and the master AC on/off switch for the front panel. I also did a number of versions of the overall schematic. The latest is on the enclosure page. Based on my latest schematics, I've done a layout for how I'll go about mounting the various sub-boards in the enclosure:
My goal this weekend would be to get the enclosure to the point I can actually mount the boards and begin the wiring process next weekend, and hopefully try spinning some servos (though not on the machine) next weekend as well. There's quite a bit of work to do there, but if I get enough hours I should reach that stage. Fingers crossed!
I still need to make an arm to support the keyboard and monitor, I need to mount the enclosure to the rolling cabinet, and I also need to paint it.
There's still a lot of fussing. I haven't spec'd or ordered any of the auxilliary panel connectors, for example. I have some sitting around the parts bin that will hopefully work. Have to look at them as well. If need be, I can delay VFD and coolant wiring until after the servos are running and it would be no big deal.

CNC Software integrates wtih CATIA V5.

Irvine (CA) - Today CGTech announced the release of VERICUT 5.3, which features a tight integration with CATIA V5.

VERICUT is CNC machine simulation, verification and optimization software that enables users to eliminate the process of manually proving-out NC programs. It reduces scrap loss and rework. The program also optimizes NC programs in order to produce the most efficient tool paths possible that both save time and produce higher quality surface finish. VERICUT supports G-codes or native CAM output to simulate milling, drilling, turning, wire EDM, and mill/turn machining operations.

The CATIA V5-to-VERICUT Interface follows the successful VERICUT interface for CATIA V4, and provides a smooth upgrade path for CATIA users who have transitioned to CATIA V5.

"This is a significant enhancement for VERICUT software and the CATIA community," said Bill Hasenjaeger, Product Marketing Manager at CGTech. "The CATIA V5-to-VERICUT Interface tightly integrates the two programs to help users create the most accurate and efficient NC programs possible. It makes verifying and optimizing NC programs and simulating CNC machines a much easier and more efficient process."

Users can verify individual operations, a series of operations, or a set of complete NC programs. All stock, fixture, and design geometry is automatically transferred to VERICUT in the correct orientation, along with NC program, tooling, machine and control data and other simulation parameters.

VERICUT runs independently of the CATIA process, so you can continue working in CATIA version 5 while simulating and optimizing your NC programs. With VERICUT as your simulation package, you can also verify and optimize NC programs from other CAM systems in CL or post-processed G-code format.

VERICUT runs under Windows and UNIX. CGTech is the recognized world leader in CNC simulation, verification and optimization software technology for manufacturing. The California-based company has subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, France, and Japan, and resellers throughout the world.

GREENING OF THE COMPANY....

Mastercam has made environmental efforts since its inception, before greening became a catch phrase. Efforts made by the company include:

• Reducing the size of printed product brochures
• Posting more content to the web site rather than printing on paper
• Changing the product packaging from four-color printed boxes with coatings to a smaller box using recycled, unprinted cardboard
• Printing manuals on 100% post-consumer recycled paper

A new 12,000 sq. ft. addition features a soon-to-be-completed 72kw photovoltaic solar array to produce 25% of the company's electricity.

Other efforts include:

• Geothermal heating and cooling
• Radiant floor heating
• Spray foam insulation
• Insulation under the concrete slab
• Energy efficient Andersen windows
• FSC certified lumber – Forestry Stewardship Council
• Enviro interior doors – no formaldehyde
• Energy efficient T8 lighting
• Dual flush toilets and low water use urinals (1 pint)
• Super engineered thermally efficient NanaWall garage door
• Solar photovoltaic panels
• Low-VOC paints and finishes
• Low-VOC carpet (no PVC)
• Fresh air exchange
• Herman Miller modular furniture

MASTERCAM PRODUCT LEVELS

With the release of Mastercam X (10), the application became a true Windows-based application, as opposed to one ported over from DOS. It also represented a fundamental shift in the way the application was configured. Mastercam X2 provided many enhancements over the previous version and adopted a true Windows application feel. Mastercam supports many types of machines, each with a choice of levels of functionality, as well as offers optional add-ins for solid modeling, 4-axis machining, and 5-axis machining. The following list describes the Mastercam product levels:

• Design—3D wireframe geometry creation, dimensioning, importing and exporting of non-Mastercam CAD files (such as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Inventor, Parasolid, etc.).
• Mill Entry—Includes Design, plus various toolpaths (top construction and tool planes only), posting, backplot, verify.
• Mill, Level 1—Includes Mill Entry, plus surface creation, many additional toolpaths (for all construction and tool planes), highfeed machining, toolpath editor, toolpath transforms, stock definition.
• Mill, Level 2—Includes Mill, Level 1, plus additional toolpaths, toolpath projection, surface rough and finish machining, surface pocketing, containment boundaries, check surfaces.
• Mill, Level 3—Includes Mill, Level 2, plus 5-axis wireframe toolpaths, more powerful surface rough and finish machining, multiaxis toolpaths.
• 5-Axis add-on—5-Axis roughing, finishing, flowline multisurface, contour, depth cuts, drilling, advanced gouge checking.
• Lathe Entry—3D wireframe geometry creation, dimensioning, importing and exporting of non-Mastercam CAD files (such as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Inventor, Parasolid, etc.), various toolpaths, backplot, posting.
• Lathe, Level 1—Includes Lathe Entry, plus surface creation, C-axis toolpaths, stock definition, stock view utility.
• Router Entry—3D wireframe geometry creation, dimensioning, importing and exporting of non-Mastercam CAD files (such as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Inventor, Parasolid, etc.), various toolpaths (top construction and tool planes only), toolpath transformation in top plane, backplot, verify, posting.
• Router—Includes Router Entry, plus surface creation, rectangular geometry nesting, additional toolpaths (for all construction and tool planes), highfeed machining, toolpath editor, full toolpath transformations, stock definition.
• Router Plus—Includes Router, plus additional toolpaths, toolpath projection, surface rough and finish machining, surface pocketing, containment boundaries, check surfaces.
• Router Pro—Includes Router Plus, plus True Shape geometry nesting, 5-axis toolpath functionality, multiple surface rough and finish machining, multiaxis toolpaths, toolpath nesting.
• Wire—2D and 3D geometry creation, dimensioning, various 2-axis and 4-axis wirepaths, customizable power libraries, tabs.
• Art—Quick 3D design, 2D outlines into 3D shapes, shape blending, conversion of 2D artwork into machinable geometry, plus exclusive fast toolpaths, rough and finish strategies, on-screen part cutting.

CNC SOFWARE/MASTERCAM

Founded in Massachusetts in 1984, CNC Software, Inc. is one of the oldest developers of PC-based CAD/CAM software and one of the first to introduce CAD/CAM software designed for both machinists and engineers. Mastercam, CNC Software’s main product, started as a 2D CAM system with CAD tools that let machinists create parts on a computer screen, as well as to machine parts in the shop. Since then, Mastercam has grown into the most widely used CAD/CAM package in the world (based on the number of installed seats, as reported by the independent research firm CIMData). CNC Software, Inc. is now located in Tolland, Connecticut.

Mastercam’s comprehensive set of predefined toolpaths—including contour, drill, pocketing, face, peel mill, engraving, surface high speed, advanced multiaxis, and many more—enable machinists to cut parts efficiently and accurately. Mastercam users can create and cut parts using one of many supplied machine and control definitions, or they can use Mastercam’s advanced tools to create their own customized definitions.

Mastercam also offers a level of flexibility that allows the integration of 3rd party applications to address unique machine or process specific scenarios.

Mastercam's name is a double-entendre: it implies mastery of CAM (computer-aided manufacturing), which involves today's latest machine tool control technology; and it simultaneously pays homage to yesterday's machine tool control technology by echoing the older term master cam, which referred to the main cam or model that a tracer followed in order to control the movements of a mechanically automated machine tool.