Germany-based ModuleWorks GmbH (www.moduleworks.com), a supplier of CAD/CAM software for machining and simulation, has successfully tested its latest calculation strategies for rotary and geodesic machining using a barrel milling cutter for faster finishing.

The trial was conducted at the Hommel and Okuma Technology Centre in Langenau on an Okuma Multus B200W multi-tasking CNC machine with standard tooling from MMC Hitachi Tool, including barrel milling cutters.

The selected workpiece was a spiral mandrel distributor, which provided a realistic and technically advanced challenge for the new multi-axis milling algorithms.

A key focus of the trial was to test the new barrel mill machining strategies for pre-finishing the workpiece walls. ModuleWorks says that the barrel shape of the tool generates smaller cusps and delivers a high-quality surface finish while using large step-overs that significantly shorten the machining process; it adds that using a taper barrel tool optimises performance further, because the walls can be machined using the large barrel section of the cutter and the inner corners using the tip.

Deburring was performed using the ModuleWorks deburring cycle, which automatically creates a tool-path for spherical tip tools along all sharp edges of a workpiece.

This saves time and effort, because machine operators no longer need to manually adjust the conventional generic tool-path strategies.

Instead, they select the entire workpiece and the algorithm automatically finds the edges and applies automatic tilting to calculate a collision-free tool-path.