I have a call in but haven't heard back yet. Right now I'm just trying to get usable code with the upper turret. I have done extensive programming of 4 and 5-axis machines so the indexing aspect should be pretty straightforward. What WCS should I use for setting up my parts? For my HMCs I have always set the parts up as the machine is and created planes for B-axis indexes as opposed to setting it up to use Mastercam's right and left planes for 90 degree indexes. I would like to do the same for mill-turn (part axis on Z, X towards ceiling, Y back of machine) but it doesn't look like Mastercam handles it that way. Any thoughts? Good to be back

Okay, that is encouraging. I have no experience there, just going off what I have been told by the machine AEs. Currently my post is outputting the wrong tool number (T7005 when it should be T6005) and the G41 command is on the same line as an XYZ move which doesn't seem right. Any thoughts? G41 X3.332 Y3.445 Z1.5

Little late to the party on this but I'll add what we do. We run Vericut which on a scale of 1-10 is an 11 in my opinion. I also make it a habit to scroll through the entire program and confirm a consistent WCS when indexing. That generally takes a minute or two and it is an SOP in my shop. At the machine we typically run on G54 and we will set G55, 56, 57, etc... to zeros for X, Y, Z, and B to the machine will generally throw an over travel alarm if one mistakenly gets posted. For my HMCs the posts are hard coded to G54. Lastly I tell my operators aren't standing at the machine for a front row seat to a crash or major mishap, they are there to prevent it. When operators bring my a piece of stock with an end mill buried in it because of a rapid move they get an earful and that is exactly what I tell them.

Okay, I have taken the plunge and bought a new DMG-Mori NTX2000 with all the bells and whistles. It has the B-axis head for 5-axis milling and turning and also a lower turret with live tooling and a Y-axis. Also has twin lathe spindles (right and left chucks), part unloader, bar feeder, mist collector, and high pressure coolant. I bought Mastercam's mill-turn to program this and so far it isn't going well. Based on what Mori's AE said we also went ahead and bought Esprit. He said typically it takes MONTHS for Mastercam users to get the post fixed to the point where they are getting good code without a xxxxload of hand edits. What have others out there experienced? I will be learning both software packages so it will be interesting to see the differences between the two. Maybe I'll make a series of Youtube videos... Right now mastercam isn't posting the tool number correctly and I can't even open the control definition to poke around, LOL! In my opinion one of the biggest strengths of Mastercam is the ease of which users can modify and customize Mastercam and the posts to suit their needs. It is a real bummer they have the mill-turn stuff so locked down.

I just spoke the a Mazak AE and their machine will not do eccentric turning apparently.

The application would be if there was an existing impeller that needed to be modified to within tenths. The only way to do it other than spending hours setting it up would be to probe it and apply these functions to the turning.

Right, but for tuning. The video above shows a machine turning a feature off-center with the cutter following the wobble in one axis. What if it were turning a disc that was off center and slightly canted. This would require the turning insert to be moving in two axis, maybe three.

Anyone know if there is a tool holder mounted RFID system out there capable of reading tags on fixtures? Basically when a pallet/ fixture comes into the machine, the machine would grab the RFID tool holder, read the fixture data from fixture mounted RFID tag, then proceed to machine based on the contents?

Are there turning equivalents to the 5-axis functions of TCP, TWP, and WSEC?

I get it and it makes me nervous as well. A lot of this is being driven by the customer and they will be handling the financial aspects.

Anyone know if these bigger machines can do off-center turning as shown in the video?

Ok, fixed.

The Okuma VTM1200 will work and the Okuma rep told me these can be put into a Fastems cell. I have always had a lukewarm feeling on Mazak but that is entirely from what I have heard over the years. I think very highly of Okuma for the exactly the same reason, what I have heard over the years. We are currently an all Makino shop and if they made something in this category it would be a no-brainer. I have nothing but good things to say about them. I do want to maintain that level of quality in this shop.

Not sure. I need a work envelope of around 45" dia x 45" tall +/-

We finally got AS9100 certified and ITAR registered. Been doing a lot of aerospace work with the focus more on the space side. We are getting pushed into bigger parts by our customers and this style of machine would kill it.

Will they go into a cell?

Here is a video of the machine. To me it looks more like a mill with turning capability versus a lathe with milling capability. Anyone have experience with these?

The way I avoid this is to pay close attention to the toolpaths in backplot. I have gotten in the habit of checking the toolpaths closely to make sure they are doing what I want and I catch it there 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time Vericut catches it for me.

Hi All, been a while. Been working my @ss off I am looking into getting a new cell and the only machine I have come across that does what I need is the Mazak Integrex i630/6. This is a large 5-axis mill with turning capabilities. The main requirements are: Able to put in a cell 5-axis milling turning My questions are: How are Mazaks as far as reliability? Are there any other manufacturers that make a machine that will satisfy these requirements? How is Mazak's control? I do a lot of probing where the probe is updating control parameters and I also do a lot of macro programming. Does Mazak's control support these features well? Obviously I will be hitting up the sales rep and getting in touch with an AE but I figure I'll get a faster answer here.

In my experience the biggest roadblock in implementing a tool management system is this right here. If done right they are fantastic but it requires discipline from everyone involved.

I would pick that out with Optirest after the flats have been finished, then try pencil. If you get crappy results with the HST pencil try the standard surface machining pencil. In my experience the flowline works well with simpler radii but that part looks like it might take 6-8 flowline toolpaths to run efficiently where the cut direction isn't changing 20 times. Another thing I like about pencil it is will collapse reducing the need for perfect roughing. With some finessing you should be able to finish that entire part with 1-2 pencil toolpaths and it will run very well (smoothly). Another dark horse is the multi-axis morph between curves. Maybe Ron will chime in on this. It really is amazing what that can do though it is a little work to get it going if not familiar with it. How many of these are you producing? Repeat job?

I look at it as giving myself a raise. This $80 part at 118 minutes gave a shop rate of $40/hr. At 36 minutes it is $133/hr. At 30 minutes we will be at $160/hr. Pretty good gain for 3-4 hours of effort.

Winner winner chicken dinner! Thanks Ron. After tweaking I got a perfect toolpath out of this.

I have created perfect surfaces using the revolve surface feature (3X). The flowline curves look perfect and Mastercam will create perfect flowline curves. In the flowline toolpath the cut direction looks perfect as well. For some reason it just doesn't like the geometry. How do I merge surfaces?

I have a part that I am trying to squeeze every second out of and one of the features would be most efficiently machined with a flowline toolpath but I can't get it to work. Imagine plunging a 1" ball mill .25" into material and machining a 90 degree arc (2D contour) , then retracting, and this is what the feature looks like. The part is a consumer product so it needs to look PERFECT which is why I don't do just that. I worry about possible dwell marks at the entry and exit and the part isn't very well supported to take the pressure of that cut. I need flowline because with the spiral motion the tool never slows down during transitions from pass to pass. I have tried projecting a pocket toolpath but the transitions aren't smooth. I have tried reconstructing all surfaces from scratch but flowline still doesn't like it. I have tried blend but couldn't get it to work right. Any ideas on how to accomplish this? I am looking for a toolpath that follows the external shape of the feature and spirals inward with smooth transitions so the cut load will be consistent and the machine will haul @ss. The first cycle was 1 hr 58 min and our last was 36 min. My goal is to get it under 30 min.