Heidenhain has incorporated new software into its TNC control systems that allows complex trochoidal milling routines to be programmed conversationally on the shop floor, without having to download the cycles from a CADCAM station

OCM (optimised contour milling) functionality is a new option available for the company’s TNC640, TNC 620 and TNC 320 CNC systems.
The OCM algorithm takes conventional ideas for trochoidal milling, traditionally used to achieve high material removal rates when slotting, and considerably expands the range of application. In addition to the roughing of any open or closed pocket or island, the software also offers cycles for finishing the floors and side walls.
A milling tool’s wrap angle can be limited to reduce heat generation and prolong cutter life. As cutting forces are lower, delicate and thin-wall parts can be machined with greater accuracy, and even spindles with low power and torque can be used successfully, says the company. Moreover, as the milling cutter occupies less of the area of a slot or pocket during machining, the accumulation and re-cutting of chips is minimised, which is particularly important for features that are deep in comparison with their width.
The control automatically calculates the best tool paths for maintaining constant cutting parameters. Subsequent machining operations run with continuously optimised cutting values, resulting in increased machining speed and a noticeable reduction in tool wear, reports Heidenhain. A sample part produced recently in Germany demonstrated the effectiveness of the new milling strategy: OCM lowered the machining time and raised tool life by a factor of three compared with conventional milling strategies.
For further information www.heidenhain.co.uk

The DP Technology team has launched the first commercial version of Esprit CAM software that includes additive direct energy deposition (DED) cycles.

Esprit’s additive capabilities are the product of the team’s more than 35 years of experience in tool-path generation, and include the same intuitive user interface that users expect from the software. The product release includes three-axis, four-axis and five-axis DED support. Combined with subtractive processes into a single software, DP Technology brings a full spectrum of support to hybrid manufacturing. Esprit’s additive DED cycles include additive simulation and verification, as well as global support from the software’s technical teams.
Notably, DP Technology validated its post processor through collaboration with major machine manufacturers and educational nstitutions.
“For more than a decade, we’ve been working on additive manufacturing, including research on DED tool-path trajectories and AM thermal simulation,” says Frederic Vignat, head of the additive department at Grenoble University in France. “Esprit’s additive DED solution is the result of close collaboration between DP Technology and Grenoble University, a world-leading research institution on additive DED technology.”
The new additive cycle offers users a full-spectrum additive solution, from CAD file to finished part.
For further information www.espritcam.eu

CAD/CAM/CNC software specialist, ModuleWorks, is celebrating a special milestone with the millionth commit to its software version control system.

“This is a special day because it means we’ve improved, enhanced and extended our software 1,000,000 times,” says David Plater, technical director of ModuleWorks. Founded as an independent CADCAM component supplier in 2003, ModuleWorks has grown into a 200-strong international team whose software solutions are optimising the quality and efficiency of manufacturing processes in over 500,000 seats of installed CADCAM and CNC software around the world.
For further information www.moduleworks.com

During the pandemic, with the help of machining centres from DMG Mori, German firm Franke GmbH is meeting the challenge of soaring demand for the urgent supply of system components used in medical equipment such as CT scanners.

High-end special bearings with integrated drives for CT scanners, bearings for ceiling lights in intensive care units, and special bearings for medical centrifuges and laboratory equipment, are just a few examples of the components Franke produces for manufacturers in the medical industry.
To meet the high quality that users demand, Franke relies for its production on six machining centres featuring turning capability from DMG Mori, including some with twin-pallet change and an accuracy pack. A special focus at present is on the imminent delivery of two more DMC 125 FD duoBLOCK mill-turn centres with 1,250 x 1,250 x 1,000 mm working volume.
Sascha Eberhard, managing director of Franke, says: “We are being presented with a challenge during the pandemic of ensuring uninterrupted supply of our products to vital industries, while at the same time diligently implementing social distancing and other protective measures in our factory.”
The company has used machining centres from DMG Mori since 2008 to ensure flexibility of production. Depending on the type of product, batch sizes are between 1 and 1000-off per project. Workpiece materials range from diverse types of wire, through aluminium, brass and cast steel, to plastics and carbon fibre.
One of the two recently ordered DMC 125 FD duoBLOCK machines will be equipped with the DMG Mori ‘gearSKIVING’ technology cycle to enable the in-house production of straight and helical external/internal spur gears using skiving tools, reducing both cost and throughput times.
For further information www.dmgmori.com

One of the UK’s fastest growing digital manufacturers has begun work on a £10.5m investment that will increase its 3D printing capability by 50% to meet growing demand for this technology. Protolabs, which specialises in custom prototypes and low-volume production parts, is building a new 5000 sq m production facility in Putzbrunn, Germany, which will give customers even greater access to the firm’s automated manufacturing processes and quality systems.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic impacting economies across Europe, construction of the new building has started, with the initial shell scheduled to be completed by the end of December, and the fit-out and machinery due to be installed in several stages, beginning in May 2021. Up to 25 further machines will be added to the existing technology, while a CNC machining centre will be installed to support the finishing of 3D printed parts for high-end applications.
For further information www.protolabs.co.uk