High cutting performance at low pressure

With the ConSus abrasive mixing unit, waterjet cutting specialist ConSus ANT is enabling the stationary use of water abrasive suspension (WAS) systems. A continuous suspension jet provides a more efficient cutting performance at lower pressure compared with conventional water abrasive injection systems (WAIS). For easy, customisable performance comparison of both methods, a free web app is available.

In many industries, R&D teams regularly develop new materials for which suitable machining processes must be found. For a large number of materials, waterjet cutting with WAS proves to be technically superior and economically more profitable than conventional cutting techniques. Compared with WAIS, the ConSus suspension jet operates at less than half the pressure and up to three times as fast. The user receives thin kerfs without hardening or material deformation. ConSus demonstrates its strengths particularly at increased cutting depths.

In contrast to three-phase WAIS systems with water, abrasive and air, the ConSus WAS system operates with a two-phase cutting jet of water and abrasive at a precisely adjustable flow rate. ConSus applies high pressure to the suspension before it reaches the remotely handled cutting nozzle. The high level of energy creates a cutting jet that emerges at almost twice the speed of sound. Its efficiency is much higher than that of the injection process, where turbulent mixing losses occur due to the contained air. The more focused WAS jet cuts precisely through even the hardest materials. That way, it is possible to cut material with a thickness of up to 1000 mm, while still maintaining very good surface structure.

ConSus operates at a maximum pressure of 1500 bar, even at enormous material thicknesses, which significantly reduces energy consumption and component wear.

For further information
https://waterjet-calculator.consus-gmbh.com

Productivity increase at Klostermann

The precise processing of exceptionally large or thick plates is a job for specialists such as Otto Klostermann GmbH. Klostermann has many years’ experience and comprehensive know-how in processing large plates with its range of XXL-format machines. When it comes to thermal cutting – no matter whether oxy-fuel, plasma or laser – this plate processing specialist from Castrop-Rauxel uses modern, high-performance machines from Messer Cutting Systems.

With its newest investment, a LaserMat II, Klostermann now relies for laser cutting on the problem-solving skills of Messer Cutting Systems.

“Our old laser cutting system was getting on in years,” says managing director Philipp Klostermann. “It was no longer state-of-the-art and spare parts were unavailable. As the machine was totally loaded all year round, it was clear that we needed a new one. We are very satisfied with our existing OmniMat plasma and oxy-fuel cutting systems. They work flawlessly every day and have never let us down. An additional benefit is their size: we mainly process very large plates, and the Messer machines can process these XXL sizes. So, for us, only a laser system from Messer came into consideration.”

With the LaserMat II, the steel specialist found the perfect cutting system. The machine was conceived specially for large plate processing with its CO2 laser, and combines precision with speed – even when processing steel sheets weighing many tonnes.

With its new laser system, Klostermann can, for example, cut mild steel up to 25 mm thick, or stainless steel up to 20 mm thick. Thanks to the on-board laser beam source (resonator), it is possible to process plates up to 4500 mm wide and up to 30 m long.

For further information
https://uk.messer-cutting.com/

Intelligent assistance for TruLaser 5000

Trumpf has equipped its latest TruLaser Series 5000 laser cutting machines with intelligent assistance systems and a TruDisk 12001 disk laser offering 12 kW of laser power. As a result, TRUMPF says users can increase feed rates for medium-to-high sheet thicknesses by up to 50% compared with conventional 10 kW machines.

Higher feed rates mean higher throughput, with these new machines handling up to 20% more sheets an hour. The latest TruLaser Series 5000 machines come with tried-and-tested Trumpf features such as Active Speed Control and BrightLine Fiber, which lead to more reliable processes and higher-quality parts in both flame and fusion cutting.

Hendrik Meidert, product manager for the Trumpf TruLaser Series 5000, explains what makes these new machines so special: “Boosting feed rates by increasing laser power saves time in the cutting process, but that’s only part of the equation. For us, it’s equally important to ensure that we increase sheet throughput in order to improve the machine’s overall productivity. The key here is to reduce non-productive time or eliminate it altogether.”

It is not uncommon for problems to arise that slow down or stop the production process, especially when cutting thick mild steel. There are plenty of factors that might bring the cutting process to a halt, including dirty sheet surfaces, low-quality materials and variations in thickness between different sheets. These issues can lead to wasted time and materials.

“The higher the laser power and productivity of your machine, the more of an impact it will have when something goes wrong and your machine comes to a standstill. Intelligent assistance systems can prevent those problems from occurring,” says Meidert. “That’s why we offer functions designed to make dynamic cutting more reliable, especially for high-speed systems such as our TruLaser Series 5000 machines.”

For further information
www.trumpf.com

CAM system delivers case load of benefits

When Pro-Cut Precision Engineering opened its doors for business just over 10 years ago, the objective was to invest in the very latest equipment to ensure the Milton Keynes business could machine high-quality components in short lead times. As a company that has acquired a multitude of three and five-axis Hurco machine tools for machining complex parts, component programming was becoming a time-consuming process – that was until Pro-Cut invested in the hyperMILL CAM system from Open Mind Technologies.

The subcontract business works across several areas, serving sectors such as motorsport, defence and industrial machinery. Explaining the reasoning behind investing in hyperMILL, Pro-Cut Precision Engineering programmer, Alex Parris-Hammons, says: “We previously had a CAM system, as well as programming many components at the machines, but we were losing time by not being able to stay ahead of the game. hyperMILL allows us to program offline and do all the programming while the machine is cutting a current job. This enables us to build a queue of future jobs.

“We were doing five-axis work with our previous CAM system, but found the collision detection wasn’t great,” continues Parris-Hammons. “In fact, we had to lie to the software system to get the parts we needed. With hyperMILL that isn’t the case; it identifies where the collisions are, both in an internal and external simulation. It provides a list of where the collisions are, and it makes it simple to correct any problems. hyperMILL is known for its collision detection and with that, you can trust the billets going on the machine will come out as 100% correct parts.”

Now with two seats of hyperMILL, Parris-Hammons recalls the initial installation of the system: “The plan was to use it initially for simple components and then build-up to the full capability of hyperMILL, which is five-axis simultaneous tool paths. This would give us better surface finishes and faster machining times. In the early stages, I called the Open Mind technical support team and they were able to walk me through any scenarios by using Team Viewer and a telephone call to resolve any issues.”

Steve Holmes, managing director at Pro-Cut Precision Engineering, takes up the story: “We purchased hyperMILL a little while ago actually, and Alex had done the training, but we naturally kept falling back to our existing CAM provider due to tight deadlines and several other factors. For a little while, hyperMILL was just sitting there, but then this one particular part came along. It was a challenging aluminium electronic casing component that was outside the scope of our current CADCAM system. So, we decided that this was the part that we begin with, where we jump in and manufacture with five-axis simultaneous hyperMILL machining.”

As the programmer tasked with creating the program for the complex aluminium electrical housing part, Parris-Hammons highlights the features that stood out: “The five-axis and the Z-level finishing is very good with this software. We just have to click on a surface, and hyperMILL will machine it. Once you understand how it works, it’s very easy to use and get up to speed. It means we can quickly reach competence levels where we can do complex work much easier.

“The tool library is also very good,” he adds. “It allows you to input a lot of information on each tool and the respective holder. When you put that information into the system to do the simulation, it will then calculate whether it is going to collide with your fixtures or the machine. It will detect and protect itself.”

Taking a closer look at the electrical housing part, Parris-Hammons says: “For the first operation we held the part in a Lang vice, machined the top and all of the internal sections, as well as the outside profiles. This first operation alone required upwards of 25 tools and the hyperMILL tool library keeps that information ready, so we can access it for other upcoming jobs. This makes the whole process of programming a lot quicker and easier.”

Discussing potential collisions and tool path and strategies, he says: “With the tool library we can set up a tool length and how far the tool protrudes from the holder; that data is used when hyperMILL is calculating. This avoids collisions and also tells us how much further the tool needs to stick out to avoid a collision.”

Following the first operation, the aluminium housing was turned over for machining on the opposite face.

“We made a fixture plate to locate on the inside of the component and threaded the tabs to pull down the periphery of the part,” explains Parris-Hammons. “On the second side of the part, we used six tools. Programming the component took a couple of days. However, now that I have undergone this steep learning curve and know what to do, programming similar future components would take significantly less time – we could probably program this part in half a day now.

“Previously, this part would have been very difficult to program without hyperMILL. The second side of the component would have undoubtedly made our previous CAM system crash as there is a lot of information and a lot of code being produced. With hyperMILL, we have machined the complete component in just 15 hours. Now that we have used this very complex part as the first push to get into hyperMILL, we’re very pleased to be using it for all of our parts.”

Concluding on why the company opted for hyperMILL, Holmes says: “Our previous system had its merits, but it didn’t have the process security, collision detection and avoidance, and it would have been incapable of the complex five-axis work that hyperMILL can breeze through. On the shop floor, it’s still early in our learning curve to qualify all the benefits, but we can already see that it’s improving surface finishes. Additionally, when we are rough machining, there is no ‘fresh air cutting’ with hyperMILL – our previous system didn’t have this level of intelligence. hyperMILL really is the next level.”

For further information
www.openmind-tech.com

750,000th FANUC robot

FANUC Corporation, one of the world’s most prominent suppliers of automation technology, has produced its 750,000th industrial robot, which the company says is more than any other manufacturer in this segment. At present, FANUC produces around 8000 industrial robots every month at its factories in Japan, although monthly capacity is available up to 11,000 units. The company will deliver its 750,000th robot to a European customer. While the coronavirus pandemic initially led to a decline in robot orders, FANUC has since witnessed a strong rebound in sales, especially from Asia and the US.

For further information
www.fanuc.eu