Secrets of 5-axis Machining

Mastercam is 28 years old this year. It is amazing how many great things have started in someone’s garage. The continued success of the Mastercam product line is directly proportional to its ability to continuously adapt to changes in technology. As CNC Software, Inc. and its flagship Mastercam continue to grow and expand into new markets and technology, our focus remains on our customers. We are committed to delivering tools that support the higher productivity and greater precision demanded by todays, and tomorrow’s manufacturing.

Evolution is change. Change is the only thing constant. The changes we made since that garage are huge but they came over time and the focus always remained on how to make something better for our customers. Better has multiple meanings: faster, more precise, more functionality, easier to use, for example. The trick is to balance all of these attributes.

Mastercam has a long established and very robust set of multiaxis toolpath generation capabilities. For X5 we redesigned the multiaxis user interface in order to simplify the user interaction. Ease of use promotes training and day-to-day interaction which is bringing this powerful capability to anyone’s reach.

There are numerous multiaxis toolpaths available, but they all share the above workflow. Just start on the top and choose a Toolpath Type, select a Tool, a Holder, chose from an available Cut Pattern, select the Tool Axis Control method and continue down the same path every time.

This is the new look:

Notice that the Toolpath Types are organized into 6 logical groups.

The toolpath dialogs are also organized with ease of use in mind. It only takes a quick glance to the tree-style dialog to see what branch is currently active. All the controls that are used in multiple toolpaths are positioned in the same place. On the right-hand side there is a large, dynamic image which changes every time the user clicks on any of the dialogs – giving the user an instant representation of what he or she is about to set/change.

If you need more information please click here to watch a video.

The clock is ticking and before you know it another year passes by. Have you ever noticed that when you enjoy your work you tend to work harder and not even notice the time passing by? This is what has happened to me since my last blog.

Managing the Multiaxis milling product at Mastercam is the most fun I had in years. It has many challenges, it preoccupies my every waking hour and it requires constant attention. It makes me feel alive. I find myself thinking about work, after work, in the most unlikely places . . . on a hiking trail, on my bike, or in the middle of a lake in my kayak. Actually, my best ideas come to me during one of those activities.

I am very proud of the changes that had happened in the last year or so and I am very excited about what is coming in the future. We have completely redesigned the Mastercam X5 user interface to promote consistency and to create a user-friendly environment. We have conducted extensive focus group studies and kept a close eye on user feedback since the release of X5 and the response has been great.

Machine Simulation is now an intricate part of Mastercam and there are 17 of the most popular Multiaxis machine configurations installed with X5. We also install realistic, real life sample files for every Multiaxis toolpath. These sample files are designed so that they can be used as templates for the most popular Multiaxis applications.

We are in the process of adding more custom applications in an effort to transform complex jobs into routine ones and to bring them into the reach of all users.

It is very exciting to watch concepts turn into reality.

My latest article in CNC West is now out. It covers basic 5-axis workholding principals. You can view the article here.

Impeller machining represents unique challenges. Please take a minute to carefully observe the following model.
As Michelangelo observed, we must remove all the excess material from the blank in order to free the design model. First, a simple cylinder will be turned to get the raw blank.

Note that there are two kinds of blades on this split impeller, full and half blades. Both are curved and warped possessing a variable fillet on their leading edges. The intersection between the hub and blade surfaces forms a variable radius fillet. The blades are not perpendicular to the hub surfaces and the intersecting angle is changing as you move down the blade. The height of the blades triples from one end to the other.

The first challenge is roughing out the excess material in between the blades. Multiple depth cuts are needed, but roughly 3x more depth cuts are needed near the leading edge than near the trailing edge. The most efficient cutting method is desired—one where the tool spends only a minimum amount of time cutting air. The tool length needs to be kept to the minimum to avoid vibration and to prolong tool life while allowing the most aggressive roughing possible.

The roughed part should look similar to the one shown bellow:

Stay tuned for future blog posts when the machining process will be covered in greater detail . . .