Uncovering potential savings in tool and mould making

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How user-friendly is this technology?

Creating the NC programs is very easy and convenient. All the user needs to do is select the faces to be machined, and the toolpaths are then generated automatically and fully checked for collisions. The CAM system implements Hypermill 5-axis simultaneous strategies for 2D manufacturing tasks that appear to be simple, which means even the deepest pocket walls can be milled extremely efficiently. For planes that do not need to be machined simultaneously, the faces are distributed strategically in order to allocate some of them with fixed tilt angles.

This is a completely new and extremely simple method of programming steep and flat planes. Our customers also confirm that it is very easy to use. They create the programs in half the time that it would otherwise take them if they were machining with ball mills. They find the programming very convenient. Users are very impressed with the easy programming, the milling results and the short manufacturing times.

Sales partnership

ETG signs deal with Mastercam and Cimco

What does this mean specifically for tool and mould making?

Our experiences with customers and during trial machining processes with machine manufacturers have also been consistently very positive. We would venture to say that our strategy increases productivity by at least a factor of five. The machining time of a moulding plate for a large injection mould, whose geometry features a large number of planes, was reduced from 16 hours to two hours. What is important in this process is to keep the cutting conditions constant and stable. The 5-axis tangent plane machining strategy enables an astonishingly high degree of precision that far exceeds what is possible when machining with a ball mill. Contrary to what one might think at first glance, the measured roughness values are often five to ten times lower than the measured roughness values achieved by machining with ball mills.

What do you have planned next?

We are always further developing our products. For example, we have released the 5-axis tangential machining strategy. Our next plan is to expand the technology so it can be used for all continuous moulds. We also plan to extend the collision avoidance feature and improve ease of use. Furthermore, we are developing analysis functions that check whether faces can be machined with certain milling tools.

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