vs. Offline Presetting
Doug Sumner
Equipment Cost: It’s yet another popular misconception that in-machine lasers are standard or included options that come with machine tools straight from the factory. Closer investigation will reveal that you’re still buying the lasers, typically at a cost of around $13,000 per machine. So when you look at the variety of presetters that are available today, cost- effective options may be available that can be used to better monetize and more efficiently operate not just one, but multiple machine centers shop-wide. Return on Investment (ROI): The best answer to the infamous question “How can we make more chips?” is really a simple one. It’s by doing more set- up operations outside of the machine while the spindle is still running and earning you revenue. By setting up tools outside the machine, a shop can increase production without purchasing another machining center that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and ultimately won’t increase production any more than what could be accomplished at a fraction of the cost by investing in one or more presetters. Most of our customers report that their presetter pays for itself within 30 days of implementation, which is a degree of return on investment that you simply won’t achieve when opting for in-machine technology alone. Here’s the bottom line: I’ve said openly before that if you absolutely have to pick only one, I would definitely recommend going with an offline presetter(s) every time. But for customers who are apt to use both lasers and presetters – and we’re seeing more and more customers go this route – the cooperation between the two systems makes for superior manufacturing when compared to what often results when using one over the other.
already loaded into the machine’s tool table, the cutting tool will travel rapidly in approach speed only until it contacts the laser, effectively marking the final check and the beginning of production. If no preset values were in the tool table, however, that same cutter would move slowly and in repeated approach until it contacts the laser three to five times. So by combining offline and in-machine measurements, the client is now calibrating tools in a fraction of the time, making more chips, and using fewer machine passes with both technologies than would otherwise be possible by using only one. Ease of Use: Operators can preset offline tools in preparation for the next job or reset tools after changing inserts while the machine continues to run,
instead of wasting valuable spindle time touching off tooling or making trial cuts. Accuracy: Presetters are simply better at measuring than machine tools, which often fail to measure and store real values for runout and/or length. This, coupled with expected inaccuracies resulting from laser refraction off of diamond and other impregnated cutting tools, and many scenarios can arise with in-machine measuring tools that will still require test cuts, wasted machine time, and scrap parts. As such, it’s only when adding in the precision and functional advantages brought on by an offline presetter that machinists improve their ability to produce a good part on the first try, saving time in the process and reducing consumables costs as well. Presetter image processing and control software can be used to create a tool database that helps guide the operator through the measuring process to ensure correctness and repeatability of the measurement.
CONTRIBUTOR Doug Sumner is the Product Manager TMS at BIG KAISER Email: doug.sumner@us.bigkaiser.com LEARNMORE SPERONI & INNOTOOL MEASURING INSTRUMENTS 2018-2019 bigkaiser.com/measurng_instruments
SPERONI & INNOTOOL MEASURING INSTRUMENTS 2018-2019
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