Techical Tip – Mesh based 5-Axis SWARF machining

SWARF machining is a popular topic and one where we do a lot of R&D work.  Our technology can be applied to both Surface model and STL meshes and we have progressively automated use to make it both easy to use and quick to implement in the host system.
 
The majority of SWARF cycles use an upper and lower guide curve to control the tool tilt angle. Traditionally, the selection of these curves is something of a manual process and often the actual surface geometry is not considered in toolpath generation, potentially leading to gouging.

ModuleWorks has developed the ‘Best fit’ cycle with automatic curve creation and using the underlying surfaces as a basis of the toolpath calculation.

 This has a number of benefits:-
•    Highly automated toolpath generation. Upper and lower guide curves, best fit contact line and tool tilt angle are all automatically calculated.
•    Easy to use, only the basic surfaces need to be selected.
•    Gouge free toolpath
•    With the 2011.8 release, the automatic selection can be overridden to give a higher level of control.

Until the next time

The ModuleWorksBlogger