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Avoiding human error with Autodesk PowerMILL: Wrong tool diameter detection

Avoiding human error with Autodesk PowerMILL: Wrong tool diameter detection

Customer challenge

The Spanish Moldmaker located in Galicia had a not so uncommon problem with their tools: because tools are shared by different machines, sometimes a human error occurs and the wrong tool is inserted in the tool magazine. While it is pretty easy to confuse a 8mm ball nose tool with a 10mm ball nose tool, especially when working under pressure, the resulting damage is normally very difficult to correct. Often the whole part has to be scrapped. Matrigalsa approached us and asked if we could help them prevent these human errors.

Project goals

The goal of this project consisted in finding a way to prevent the execution of any toolpath with the wrong tool inserted in the tool magazine. The solution of, Autodesk PowerMILL, should be as automatic as possible and require no or few changes in the workflow.

Solution

We put our minds on it and came up with a customized Autodesk PowerMILL post-processor for Heidenhain, which produces a smart header containing some logic executed by the controller, who compares the programmed tool diameter with the tool diameter stored in the tool table, which is updated automatically by the tool calibration routine. If both match within a configurable tolerance, the remaining NC program is executed. Otherwise, the NC program is interrupted – the machine refuses to use the wrong tool diameter!

Business outcome

The new enhanced Heidenhain post-processor was successfully tested on all machines with Heidenhain controllers (iTNC530 and iTNC640). Whenever the tool diameter deviated from the specified tolerance, the machine would refuse to execute the toolpath and the operator instantly knows that the wrong tool is inserted in the tool magazine. As a result, the number of non-conformities caused by this common human error were reduced to zero.

Conclusion

One avoided mistake will more than pay the specialist post-processor development provided by Norcam and the customer can now cross off one of the most common human errors!

Project summary

    Duration & delivery

  • 3
  • 2021-05-18

    Autodesk solutions

  • PowerMill

    Services provided

  • Custom Application Development

    Customer industry

  • Subtractive Manufacturing
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