Page 34 - MMI- Aug2022

ing technology from DMG Mori,
Makino, Doosan, and Grob, the Requirement
shopfloor at Castle is a lesson in Castle Precision Engineering was on the lookout for a Physics-based
housekeeping and efficient or- optimization software for it to be competitive on a global scale.
ganization for all to see. Looking
more like a cleanroom than a Solution
workshop, it highlights what a The company opted for CGTech’s VERICUT Force, which offered immense
class-leading aerospace supplier benefits, including the ability to identify where chip load spikes occurred
should strive to achieve and cre- and slow the feed rate to level them out, reducing tool wear and
ates an environment that nur- improving both tool life and process stability. It also helped Castle reduce
tures professional behavior at consumables spend.
every level.

VERICUT, a safety net ments are made using VERICUT is where we win or lose,” he says.
Protecting this advanced manu- because the software offers the “The pressure within the Aero-
facturing capability is VERICUT opportunity to prove edits in a space industry on cost is enor-
CNC simulation software. Yuile virtual environment. “We don’t mous, and for us to stand against
says: “CAD is at the front end of edit at the machine console global competition, we have to
our engineering workflow – we because of the risk involved,” be smarter, faster, and more ef-
either import a 3D model sup- Yuile adds, “If you mess up, you ficient. Physics-based optimiza-
With plied by the customer or draw have no safety net. Instead, our tion software has been on our
VERICUT one up from a 2D definition and engineers bring the code back radar for a while, and we started
an estab-
lished part break this down into the vari- into VERICUT, make their edits, looking at it seriously a couple of
of Castle’s ous stages of manufacture, from and then hit simulate to check years ago.”
business for material supply to finished part. that the program is safe to re- “There are a few key players in
the past 12 These stage models and their lease. Smashing pixels is much that market, and we evaluated
years, the accompanying fixtures or work- cheaper and safer than writing them all. There’s a lot of clever
software
has proven holding devices are transferred off a machine tool, so verifying math behind it, but the basic idea
its ability to to CAM, where we build tools, code using a digital twin before of physics-based optimization is
protect the generate toolpaths, post NC we put anyone or anything at to analyze a toolpath line by line,
company code, and then port the whole risk is an integral part of our calculate the forces acting on the
as well as job straight into VERICUT using workflow. This risk-based ap- cutting tool at any given point
being a key
improve- their CAM interface.” proach is absolutely crucial, not in time, and then adjust the feed
ment tool for He continues: “VERICUT has just in aerospace and defence, rate to balance or control that
its manu- been an established part of our but for any high-value product force and chip load,” he adds.
facturing workflow for over a decade – and business.” “This means there’s a lot of num-
processes. nothing goes out to a machine ber crunching involved, but be-

without first going through May the Force be with you fore you even get there, you need
VERICUT, and that is across the With VERICUT an established to build an accurate digital model
board. It is an essential safety net, part of Castle’s business for the of the machining process. Since
not just for the product but also past 12 years, the software has we already simulate every job
for our machines and personnel. proven its ability to protect the in VERICUT, the major advan-
We have some programs in our company as well as being a key tage of VERICUT Force is that
factory that have been around improvement tool for its manu- building this model takes almost
for 10 or 20 years, alongside jobs facturing processes. Yuile states: no additional effort – all Force
that are fresh out of CAM. We “VERICUT Force is a step further needs is a bit more information
use VERICUT to simulate any along this curve. Moving beyond on tool geometry and material
new or modified code before it the goalkeeper functionality, characteristics; everything else
goes out to a machine. We have Force allows us to start optimiz- is already there. The cycle time
a digital twin for almost every ing our processes as well as prov- savings you can expect to get
machine tool, and because VERI- ing that they are safe.” from this kind of optimization
CUT reads the same G-code as Every manufacturing business are typically 10-20 percent, and
the machine controller, it’s com- faces the same three challenges VERICUT offered an almost ‘plug
pletely CAM-agnostic and can from its customers: quality, deliv- and play’ solution for both mill-
simulate code from any source.” ery, and cost. “Generally, quality ing and turning that was really
Very often, process improve- and delivery are a given, and cost attractive to us,” adds Yuile.

34 | July-August 2022 Modern Manufacturing India