As advances in CNC machine tool technology continue to change the face of advanced manufacturing, the digitisation of cutting tool design is becoming more and more essential.
Rows of computerised numerical control (CNC) machine tools sharing a workspace with industrial robots that transport machined parts, accompanied by a minimal number of machine operators, are already a common characteristic of the modern metalworking plant or machine shop. CNC machines are the catalyst that created progressive advances in computer data engineering that have enabled this new reality. Advanced multi-axis machines facilitate the production of very complicated shapes with minimal set-ups.
Advanced milling and turning capabilities, combined together in multitasking machines, open new opportunities for effective process planning. Innovative CNC metal cutting systems are on the verge of single set-up, full-part production – the ultimate dream of every manufacturer. A quantum leap in CNC technology is enabling a practical understanding of machining methods that had been theoretical for a long time, such as power skiving. The progress made in the world of computerised numerical control is impressive. It has impacted related spheres such as workholding and toolholding – as well as the diverse world of cutting tools.
So, what are the expectations of the machine tool producers from the cutting tool producers? What are the requirements that modern cutting tools must meet? How should tool manufacturers be driven when planning their production program for the near future?
The answer is simple … the next generation of tools must be better! To cut faster, to provide higher tool life, to ensure better surface finish and more.
These are obvious and undoubted demands, which every tool manufacturer needs to contend with to assure its future. However, the progress in CNC technology has highlighted one more feature in tool design – the digital component. This virtual element has turned into an integral part of the cutting tools of tomorrow.
The contemporary evolution of smart manufacturing is based on network technologies. In a smart factory, CNC machines perform under real-time conditions and combine mutual information exchange from an environmental context that blends both the real and the virtual worlds. The systems interact with the context via the Internet of Things (IoT).
For example, the real world shows the position of a cutting tool and the acting cutting forces, while the virtual world specifies 3D tool paths during an operation combined with predetermined machine stock allowance. Subsequently, the real and virtual worlds find themselves in a cutting tool where they naturally complement each other.
A digital tool component possesses vast amounts of information or data. Its elements are comprised of 3D and 2D models, estimated tool life, accumulated cutting time, possible limitations such as maximum rotational speed, optimal machining data and additional essential information. Tomorrow, the gates of a smart factory will be closed for tools without such components – consequently cutting tool manufacturers have started to prepare and adapt for changes. The virtual element is now focusing on the development of new tools and tooling solutions.
For centuries, technical drawings were considered a common language for defining tool features. Computer aided engineering (CAE) and CNC systems require another means for data exchange. Co-operative efforts of world specialists from various engineering and scientific fields have resulted in the creation of the ISO 13399 standard, which specifies computer representations of information related to cutting tools and their holders, which forms the lexicon base of the language. Adherence to this standard means that the platform for a tool’s digital component remains independent, and computerised systems can utilise the data seamlessly.
This new standard is merely the first sign. The smart factory will require additional smarter manufacturing systems and smarter tools for these systems. Information about tool properties – such as the remainder of its tool life period, a specific tool identification, or service limitations – necessitates uniform rules for specifying the information and its computer representation – like the ISO 13399 standard, yet much more comprehensive. These will require the intensive co-operation of companies and governmental institutions.
Today, a cutting tool customer expects to receive not only a tool as the physical product, but also quick access to accompanying information such as virtual assembly options for collision checks, finding the optimal tool configuration, clear machining data, and learning how changing cutting parameters will reflect on tool life. This has already formed the virtual tool component, and its significance will only grow.
Iscar is aware of the key importance of tool digital elements. The company’s latest developments relate to both cutting tools and the tool’s informational essentials as well. Tool assembly options in 3D and 2D formats in Iscar’s electronic catalogue; Neo-Ita, the Iscar digital tool adviser; online engineering calculations; and Matrix, the automated tool dispenser that is an integral part on the shop-floors of a smart factory – these are just a few examples of the tooling virtual environment.
From technologists working on process planning, to engineers designing tool assemblies or preparing the tooling part of a complex key project, CNC programmers checking a tool path in a CAD/CAM environment, to application specialists optimising machining operations, and even sales managers assisting in selecting a more effective tool – all might spend hours adopting tool data from tool manufacturers to integrate with the customer’s software.
Iscar’s electronic catalogue provides a digital twin representation of the tool assembly based on the ISO 13399 standard. This guarantees the successful communication between current and future software support in a digitised smart factory. The virtual assembly ensures fast, reliable simulation of the operation – as well as collision (interference) avoidance – by checking and tool path optimisation and the design of workholding fixtures. As the selected machining method affects the forces acting on workpieces, and a tool configuration influences the shape of workholding elements, simulating the operation by use of the tool assembly model may be also considered an effective instrument for jig and fixture design. In addition to milling, drilling, and threading virtual tool assembly options, Iscar has recently introduced the turning tool assembly function, which expands the range of its electronic catalogue’s digital services.
The Iscar tool adviser, which assists users in selecting the right tool, has now been rejuvenated under the brand name Neo-Ita. It features advanced analytics based on artificial intelligence and a big-data platform. The upgraded adviser version utilises new capabilities such as new machine brands, material libraries, integrated machining calculations, and the ability to export p21 files as an integral part of tool recommendations.
One more useful digital assistant is 4 PRO – an online product information and machining recommendation tool that makes tool and insert information availaible at the user’s fingertips. The 4 PRO scans the 2D data matrix barcode on an Iscar tool or insert packaging label while assuring access to the necessary data on a CNC shop floor. Diverse 4 PRO options provide product geometrical information presented in accordance with the ISO 13399 standard, and tie together inserts and tools to match up with recommended cutting speeds and feeds. The 4 PRO also bonds the insert geometry and its coating to the correct type of metal, allowing better choices at the planning stages of a given process.
Intelligent CNC machines, network technologies, real-time information exchange and virtual twins of physical objects are the necessary bricks for building manufacturing in the era of Industry 4.0. Digitising cutting tools will ensure that tools will be used in smart factory environments.