Manufacturers are under constant pressure to reduce set-up times, increase productivity and improve security in every aspect of the production process. This means looking for ways to save money without affecting product quality, which includes addressing the time taken to assemble the tools used in machining.

Creating difficulties in this area is the fact that there are often variations in terminology among cutting-tool suppliers, and this can make it challenging to collect, interpret and transfer information.

It was with this in mind that ISO 13399 was created; by integrating ISO 13399-based tool libraries into their platforms, CAD/CAM developers can help manufacturing companies quickly build databases of tools from multiple suppliers and provide access to 3-D models for accurate machining simulation and visualisation.

The background to this standard derives from the ever-increasing demand for data.

No longer is it simply a case of supplying a cutting tool in a box; along with it has to come the data that allows the tool to be used in a virtual environment. This gave both cutting-tool suppliers and end users the problem of getting the right data in the right format.

Benefit from simulation

Because many companies have not created solid models of their tools, manufacturers have not been able to benefit from simulation during the CAM process. From the perspective of CAM software developers, the problem is equally acute, as they deal with a wide range of manufacturers in a broad range of industries and have difficulty finding the tooling data that their customers need in their CAM systems.

Standardisation provides a common definition of the physical attributes of cutting tools that allows the harmonisation of all tooling suppliers’ product descriptions. This means that commonly structured tooling data from multiple tooling vendors can be used in CAM software tool libraries, allowing for fast and easy population of physical tooling data.

Standardisation also supports the incorporation of tool offset data that can be used at shop-floor level (typically using pre-setting equipment). Furthermore, tools with multiple functions can be defined (an example might be a tool containing one right-handed milling cutter and two left-handed turning tools).

The standard known as ISO 13399 cutting tool data representation and exchange presents for the first time a standardised way of describing cutting data. It was developed jointly by Sandvik Coromant (www.sandvik.com), the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, France’s Cetim (technical centre for mechanical engineers) and other major players in the metal-cutting arena.

The standard, which lets companies work with tools from any supplier, defines parameters that take in four main groups of item: cutting item (insert); tool item (insert holder); adaptive item (tool-holder extension/back end); and auxiliary item (screws and clamps, for example).

Complete tool assemblies — created by the end user from the individual tool elements — can be defined by the standard. Companies can download product data from the tooling supplier’s Web site and use it directly in their CAM software suites to assemble tools used in production.

The trade-marked tool library Adveon is an open platform that can be fully integrated into CAM systems. The library is designed specifically to facilitate quick and safe CAM programming.

It allows users to: develop their own tool library; select tools for production; overview and maintain the assortment; build tool assemblies quickly and safely; see immediate results in 2-D and 3-D; and instantly export to CAM or simulation software. Moreover, Adveon works with any tooling supplier that bases its catalogue on ISO 13399.

Sandvik says the advantages of Adveon are far-reaching. The open catalogue area allows for a drastic reduction in the time spent finding and defining cutting tools; it also eliminates the need to search for information in catalogues or interpret data from one system to another. This in turn helps manufacturers gain rapid access to the required cutting-tool information in order to source the most suitable machining solution paired with the most efficient cutting-tool selection.

Virtual tools

With Adveon, users can select the tools used in their daily operations, maintain and amend the assortment and create their own tool libraries by copying and pasting from the catalogue area. Virtual tools can be assembled in a fast and secure manner and data quickly exported for CAM programming and simulation.

A further benefit is that customers ‘reading’ tooling catalogues into their CAM systems can now stay on top of new technology far more easily. According to CAM system suppliers, the automated input of cutting-tool data to CNC systems can significantly increase the productivity of a machining process.

Edgecam is the first CAD/CAM software company that has integrated the Adveon open tool library; this integration was undertaken in co-operation with Sandvik Coromant.

The Adveon tool library is now built into Edgecam’s 2014 R2 software release, which supports a wide variety of milling, turning and mill-turn machining requirements — including 3-D milling and multi-axis operations.

Edgecam’s general manager, Raf Lobato, says the move “helps customers boost productivity and security, especially in three- to five-axis machining operations. Adveon is included free of charge in all new Edgecam licences and delivers a single tool library for multiple applications.”