[step-manufacturing] Minutes of Conference Call #10

[Martin Hardwick]

_Attendees_
Martin Hardwick, STEP Tools, USA
David Loffredo, STEP Tools, USA
Bengt Olsson, Sandvik, Sweden
Fred Proctor, NIST, USA
Leon Xu, Boeing, USA
Mikael Hedlind, KTH, Sweden
Ian Stroud, Switzerland
David Odendahl, Boeing, USA
Anna Valente, ITIA-CNR, Italy

_Apologies for Absence_
Sid Venkatesh, Boeing, USA
Aydin Nassehi, U.Bath, UK
Stephen Newman, U.Bath, UK
Magnus Lundgren, KTH, Sweden
Larry Maggiano, Mitutoyo, USA
Alain Brail, AlBavis,  France


The recommended material for the tool wear demonstration is ISO 1.3 
Steel or US Grade 1060 with US Grade 1055 being a reasonable second choice.

The recommended cutting tools are:

1. A 16mm end mill.
2. A 10mm spot drill.
3. A 10.5 mm drill.
4. A 5mm drill.
5. A 6mm tapping tool.

The tool wear will be measured for the 16mm end mill. To reduce costs 
Boeing will use a 5/8 inch  (15.875 mm) end mill. The tool size may 
cause an issue at NIST because the tool holder on the 5-axis DMG machine 
is limited to half inch tools. Possible solutions include

1. Replace the holder with one that can take larger tools
2. Grind the shank of the tool to fit in the holder
3. Scale the part
4. Use one of the 3-axis machines at NIST instead

Boeing and CCAT are both planning to run their experiments using a 
3-axis machine so adopting the same type of machine at NIST will allow 
for easier reuse of data between sites. The main issue with using a 3 
axis machine is the time required for 12 setups during a live 
demonstration. Methods to reduce this time include:

1. Machining 12 parts so that the machine makes a complete Boxy but on 
12 pieces.
2. Using the power of the STEP-NC Explorer to adjust the toolpaths for 
the actual coordinates of a part that has been rapidly re-fixtured 
between setups.

The second solution will require the machine to have a probe or other 
measurement device.

We reviewed the feed-speed optimization process in the STEP-NC Explorer. 
The following observations were made:

1. The base line feeds and speeds need to be changed to 19mm per minute 
and 279 rpm for the selected material.
2. The optimization function will be able to find more feeds that can be 
changed when better cross section data is available.
3. There are some caching issues in the STEP-NC Explorer where lists are 
not being updated properly when different choices are made in selectives.
4. The selective choice data needs to be made persistent so that it can 
be shared between sites.

We discussed the possibility of adding a tool wear measurement function 
and agreed that it should be possible for us to code one from the Taylor 
equations.

We discussed other demonstrations for the meeting. Sandvik is preparing 
a tool geometry assembly system that will create an AP-214 model of a 
cutting tool using ISO 13399 and AP-214 models of the tool components. 
The University of Bath is continuing to work on its path planning tools 
and hopes to have a system that will export data from two CAM systems 
ready to demonstrate by April 22nd.

The next call will be at the regular times on Wednesday March 17th. A 
video of this call is on the ftp site.

ftp://ftp.steptools.com/private/NIST/stepmanuf_telecon_20100303.wmv

Martin Hardwick
Team Leader STEP-Manufacturing

Action Items
----------------
Boeing to prepare a new version of the Cross Section data.
STEP Tools to correct the caching bugs in the STEP-NC Explorer.
NIST to investigate solutions to the 1/2 inch tool problem
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