In keeping with the Christmas season and its traditions, Open Mind made an exact replica of a famous nutcracker from Erzgebirge, a region in East Germany. Milled from aluminium, the example demonstrated an end-to-end digital process chain and efficient five-axis machining with hyperMILL.

Production took place at Emuge-Franken’s Rückersdorf application centre on a Hermle C32 machining centre in a single clamping operation using five-axis simultaneous machining, thus allowing continuous machining without segmentation. Five-axis helical drilling providedthe opening cut for the large central pocket of the upper body. Strategies from the hyperMILL MAXX Machining high-performance package optimised roughing operations, while thefive-axis rest machining function ensured that the roughing took place safely and efficiently.

Finishing leveraged the benefits of ‘high-precision surface’ mode, whereby hyperMILL generates tool paths on the actual CAD surfaces and not on a calculation model. The large surfaces of the nutcracker that curve in two directions, lent themselves to the use of FRANKEN’s circle segment end mill in various shapes. Open Mind’s hyperMILL offers optimum control of the cutting edge area of circle segment cutters.

“In the nutcracker machining example, we had the problem that the dimensions of the part were actually too large for the work area of the machine – a challenge that many manufacturers face,” explains Michael Förster, senior product marketing manager at Open Mind. “What would normally require many manual adjustments and individual simulations in order to avoid travel limitations and find safe tilt positions can now be implemented quickly and reliably thanks to the virtual machine and NC code-based simulation.” 

The hyperMILL Virtual Machining package includes an optimiser that adapts the connecting movements between the individual milling operations to the kinematics of the machine and solve limit switch problems.

For further information www.openmind-tech.com