Milling

New features include the addition of plunge-milling cycles to the 3D and 5-axis strategies for machining cutting edges. Material is removed by plunging movements to reduce vibration and improve surface finish, especially helpful for machining edges with steep walls. When 5-axis machining, undercut areas can also be reached by specifying the lateral inclination on the tilted tool. By specifying a distance, circular or linear movement profile, the tool is optimally retracted from the part.

The new version of the solid carbide plunge mill is based on the same technology as the short version, transferred directly to the new one. Now it is possible to plunge perpendicularly into the material and reach the maximum milling depth of 5 x d in a few steps. Despite its length, the milling cutter is extremely stable and at the same time impresses with its cutting speeds, chip removal rates as well as a long tool life and surface quality, all this from a milling diameter of one millimeter (.039”). 

TungForce-Feed features a large rake angle and positive inclination angle on the cutting edge that provide excellent chip control while reducing spindle loads and energy consumption. This allows a higher feed rate or greater depth of cut to be applied for improved efficiency and, by working in synergy with the cutter’s high insert density design, produces 130%-150% gain in metal removal rates. 

The unique thickness of the YG-1 ENMX insert offers a series of benefits. First, YG-1 makes the inserts 20-25% thicker than others on the market. This allows normal flank wear to develop without encroaching on the secondary edge and results in full use of all four edges for a more economical solution.

Enhancements to the Page Manager have improved toolpath management. These include the ability to create named groups and functions for copying and modifying existing toolpaths, which speeds up the process of creating finish paths that use the same tool set-up as the rough paths.

The LT360 is configurable and compact, consisting of a cutting head mounted on a 6-axis robot, and a working table with a work area of 1500 x 1000 mm.  For increased productivity, a  20 kg capacity handling robot and part holding table can be integrated. Available with a 2 kW or 3 kW fiber laser source, the cutting head features capacitive height sensing, allowing maximum freedom for cutting any three-dimensional profile in space to truly cut at 360° with an accuracy of ±0.15 mm (.006”) and a repeatability of ±0.05 mm (.002”).

CAD analysis benefits from a new function which improves the suite of analysis-shading modes. Draft Analysis has been added to the existing Undercut and Accessibility shading, performing an on-the-fly analysis of the draft angle. This uses the same technique as in the undercut mode, but extended to more ranges. The colors and angular value of each range can be changed by simply clicking on the colors or numeric labels on the graphics toolbar.

This 32mm capacity machine (with the capability to increase to 38mm) has a new design that helps improve productivity and operating convenience.  The standard 12 cutting axes includes a B axis for angular drilling and contour milling.  In addition, the 10 station turret with half index capability provides 20 positions. 

A number of these productivity boosts have been achieved by reducing calculation time with EDGECAM 2021’s enhanced parallel-processing capability. Two of the most popular machining cycles – Roughing and Profiling – benefit from improvements to the software’s multi-threading technology algorithms. Three significant time savings: EDGECAM’s world-leading high-speed Waveform Roughing strategy is now significantly faster when generating toolpath for both solid and wireframe components. 

The mill is best suited to machining steel, stainless steel, cast iron, non-ferrous material and materials with difficult cutting properties. This wide range of uses results in lower tooling and administrative costs, as does the fact that its 90° approach angle dramatically decreases the need for finishing operations. Walter Tiger·tec cutting tool materials, the high number of teeth, and small indexable inserts also makes it ideal for workpieces with small machining allowances.