Virtually no problems: by exploring the virtual reality of a project with solid modeling, Dave, and the shop, can find issues and resolve them before the chips start to fly.

Every so often a project will come to the shop that is above and beyond the standard job that normally rolls through. Such was the case when a group of three similar parts came across my desk. The parts, at first, looked intimidating. Large blocks made of forged steel, they had two precision bores as well as many cross-drilled holes, SAE ports, and on top of those, they were to be whittled into shape from solid blocks of steel. This would be a challenge from all standpoints of manufacturing engineering. With the help of many talented people, the project came together. A constant aid in a project like this was my solid modeling software.

At Ansco we use SolidWorks design software for many aspects of job preparation. For this particular job, I first sat down with the prints and created solid models of the parts.

This step may seem redundant, but it lets me understand the part. But, the modeling process can be similar to the machining process: as I remove stock from the model, I can visualize in my head how we would remove the stock from the piece itself. Doing this part of the process early in the manufacturing cycle also is a way to check our understanding of the part before we've invested a lot of time and energy into the part.

Discovery Phase

In this particular case, we discovered a few small errors on the drawing that could have had major consequences if discovered during an inspection process after the machining was done. This let us clean up the problems, and let us raise machining questions to our customer's engineer. This resulted in some feature changes that didn't affect the performance of the part, but made it easier for us to machine.

Once we had the parts modeled, and a keen understanding of them, my father Mike, my brother Jon, and I locked ourselves in a room to brainstorm and collect ideas. After much deliberation and many cups of coffee, we had a whiteboard filled with sketches of each of the part's operations. We had confidence in our methods, and after getting the approval of our milling foreman. Tim, I set to work in SolidWorks again.

After snapping a digital picture of the whiteboard, I started modeling the fixtures, one by one. After the basics of the fixtures were done, I began to knit them together to make an assembly of the pallet of the machine.

Modeling in such a way provides early feedback as to whether or not the idea will work in real life: Is there enough room for a clamp there? Can we bolt the part to the table properly? Can we attach the fixture to the machine's pallet?

All of these questions are answered as the assembly comes together.

Fixture Fixes

Once we saw that the fixtures would fit together, it was time to separate them into individual parts again. This time we used SolidWorks to create drawings of the individual fixture parts for manufacturing them on the floor. We were not just using parts we were machining ourselves, we also would be buying some fixture components. We can model these parts of the fixture too, but sometimes there is no need.

Several retailers, such as Carr Lane, Reid Supply, and Jergens offer solid model downloads of their products. This saves time modeling the components, as well as ensures that what we're ordering will fit together when it's time to make it happen on the machine.

With a few mouse clicks, I had my extra components modeled, and had them ordered, too.

The fixture models are important in tool selection as well. Tool reach becomes an issue when put in the middle of the pallet. By modeling the spindle nose and the tools themselves, we made an early determination whether a particular tool would reach its target.

The last aspect of project design using the solid model is programming. Ansco owns a CAM system that is integrated into SolidWorks. It has a fair integration into the whole process, and I can use the models I create to generate the G-code for use on the floor.

Admittedly, it doesn't always work like it says on the side of the box, but with some extra tweaking we can establish the groundwork for a solid horizontal machining center program.

Solid modeling played an important role in the engineering portion of this project. Most of the tasks could be performed without it, but I certainly wouldn't want to do without it. When the next time a big project comes into the shop, I'll be ready.

Dave is responsible for programming, tool selection, and fixture design for Ansco Machine's 20 CNC machines in Peninsula, OH.

What do you think?

Let us know by e-mail from our website at www.ModernApplicationsNews.com or e-mail the editor at pnofel@nelsonpub.com.

Dave Sterling, Application Engineer Ansco Machine Co.

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