E N G I N E E R / B U I L D / M A I N TA I N

SEPTEMBER 2018

Product
Showcase PG 52.

Automation andConnectivity Are the Main
Drivers of Machine-Tool
Innovation PG 14.
Using Real-Time
Production Data PG 20.
Know What to Expect
Before Starting withAdditive Manufacturing PG 24.
A property of Gardner Business MediaVOLUME 21 / NUMBER 9Machining/EDM
VIDEO

Access the related video under
the Videos tab at MMT online.

Automation and Connectivity
Are the Main Drivers of
Machine-Tool Innovation
Machine-tool and EDM suppliers are advancing their offerings to include
automation, better controls, machine monitoring and new five-axis capabilities.

B

ecause moldmakers know that machining makes up
most of the mold-building process, they continually seek
ways in which to cut time and costs out of that process
while maintaining high quality. MoldMaking Technology queriedmachine-tool and EDM suppliers about the machining trends
and challenges that they are seeing and how they are working tohelp customers make those cuts to time and costs.

productivity. “Parts are becoming more complex and the time tomarket shorter. Therefore, there is the need to produce the parts
faster,” António Fernandes, commercial engineer at Cheto Corp.
S.A. (Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal) says. “When we talk about
automation, we talk about efficiency in every process step. Thisis the big challenge that the moldmaker is facing—the shifting of
his production paradigm.”

All About Automation
Automation is not just for use in high-production manufacturing environments anymore. It is the most prevalent trend inmachining for moldmaking today. Every machine-tool and EDM
supplier participating in this roundtable feature says that automation is the dominating factor when it comes to increasing

Machine-tool suppliers are adding automation features like this visual setup
control (VSC) system from Heidenhain Corp., which works like facial recognition
software in that the user photographs and stores the “perfect” machining setup in
the machine. When the next part is loaded into the work area, the CNC comparesthat part to the “perfect” setup. If the system detects any deviation, the machine
alerts the user and stops or moves to the next pallet and repeats the process.

14

MoldMaking Technology —— SEPTEMBER 2018

Image courtesy of Heidenhain Corp.

This article is part of a series of roundtable discussions withindustry suppliers addressing recent trends in moldmaking,the challenges moldmakers are experiencing and the latest
solutions that are or will be available to resolve them.

By Cynthia KustushAndre Ey, vice president of Die Mold Technologies at
Makino (Auburn Hills, Michigan), says that his customers are
implementing automation with various levels of complexity toincrease the use of their machinery and the overall throughputof their companies. “The challenge lies in truly identifying
their total process streams to efficiently automate,” he says.
Michael Cope, product technical specialist for Hurco
Companies Inc. (Indianapolis, Indiana), says he believes more
shops are moving toward automation simply to use more hours
in the day. “It is becoming increasingly important, especially inmoldmaking where runtimes can be extensive,” he says. “Withthe usefulness of today’s automation choices, like pick-and-place
units, shops can set up a list of jobs that will run lights-out andwill capitalize on those hours that are otherwise lost.”
Tom Houle, director of Lumex N.A. at Matsuura Machinery
USA Inc. (St. Paul, Minnesota), concurs, adding that yet anotherreason for automating is the skills gap. “We hear from moldmakers across the country that the biggest challenge they face isthe lack of skilled labor. This issue is driving them to automate
their machining processes using pallet pools and high-capacity
tool changers to achieve true, lights-out manufacturing.”
Anthony Fettig, CEO at Unisig (Menomonee Falls,
Wisconsin), says that in addition to external, part-handling
automation, it is exciting to see further achievements in theway of internal automation like probing for tools and workpieces and closer connections between CAM, CAD and ERP
systems to eliminate lost time and extract full capacity from anasset. “Maximizing internal automation is something that canbe done without increasing a machine’s footprint or reshaping
an entire plant,” he says. “Upgrading to a higher-technology
machine with some of these features can make a dramaticchange to throughput.” Fettig adds that it can be challenging for moldmakers to have so many choices of new products
designed to increase productivity, especially when they arecoming from numerous suppliers. “All of this technology needs
to be pulled together, and the ultimate goal is full integration
with a company’s information technology systems to help
achieve goals that span many different areas of the business.”
Machine Monitoring
Connectivity is also critical today, machine-tool suppliers say.
Many moldmakers install devices to track the activity of themolds that they build, but now data is being collected from all
corners of the shop to drive efficiencies.
“Digitalization of manual processes is the biggest shift wehave seen in recent years. Companies are learning the valueof collecting and analyzing reports coming directly from themachine itself,” Max Preston, director of sales and marketingat Smart Attend Inc. (Aurora, Ontario, Canada) says. “Shops
are capturing more machining parameters and logging more
information than ever before. Operators and managers use thisinformation for more accurate quoting, live part-quality

management, tighter lead times and deliverables and for building more accurate capacity studies.”
Gisbert Ledvon, TNC business development manager for
Heidenhain Corp. (Schaumburg, Illinois), says that moldmakers are increasingly getting involved in networking and monitoring their machining centers to determine where the bottlenecks are when mold production is delayed. “Many mold shops
implement custom solutions,” he says. “We at Heidenhain see
the importance of collecting machine data, but we do not wantto collect just raw data. We also enable the operator to feed
information into the system with a push of a button using predefined problems.” Ledvon says that problems can include nothaving a sister tool, or having a CNC program that needs editing and so on. This way, the manager or supervisor gets thereal picture of why the moldinsert was not completed on
When we talk about
time. “We provide key dataand graphs that are really easy
automation, we talkto understand and that canabout efficiency in every
be downloaded into an Excel
process step. This isfile for future record keeping
or analytics. It is a really relithe big challenge thatable, plug-and-play solution,
the moldmaker is facspecifically for shops that justing—the shifting of his
want to get started analyzing
their efficiency without hiring
production paradigm.
a data analyst who does notbuild molds,” he says.
Unisig’s Fettig sees customers using 3D-laser and electronic-ball bar inspections, which
are performed at machine-tool installations to “fingerprint”
accuracy and use it as a benchmark for future alignment services or in the event of a machine collision. He also says thatconnectivity between machines makes them easier to monitor
and program from a centralized location, plus it lets the original equipment manufacturer access customers’ machines fordiagnostics and updates.
Makino’s Andre Ey agrees that machines are getting smarterand more connected. “Sensor technology and predictive algorithms can inform customers in a preventive way about themachine’s status, potential downtime and service needs,” hesays. This advanced connectivity also enables more efficientscheduling of parts delivery and trouble shooting in real timeusing digital tools.
Better Controls and Motion-Control Systems
With newer, smarter machines comes the need for controlsthat are powerful enough to capitalize on the advanced
machining capabilities. For example, Michael Cope of Hurco
Companies Inc. says that more shops are adopting thehigh-feed tooling as a choice for cutting, which challenges
machine-tool builders to create controls and motion-control

moldmakingtechnology.com

15systems with enough power, speed and look-ahead to keep up
run unattended, reducing the typical activity of moving a comand accommodate the faster feed rates and direction changes
ponent from machine to machine or department to departassociated with these high-feed end mills and tooling.
ment to complete all the required operations,” he says. “OurHeidenhain Corp.’s Ledvon concurs, saying that it is a matone-machine, one-process approach reduces manufacturing
ter of “first part, first fit,” meaning that moldmakers do nottime by up to 50 percent.”
have the luxury of cutting several test parts to tweak the
Evan Syverson, manager of Additive and HSM Business at
machine, program and tool path as they might in a production
Sodick Inc. (Schaumburg, Illinois), points to the way that EDM
environment. “Heidenhain offers unique closed-loop technoltechnology has evolved in recent years. “There was a time
ogy on five-axis machine tools
comprising an entire motioncontrol system CNC, angle
encoders on motors and linear
glass scales for maximum position accuracy,” he says. “All of
this is supported by softwarefeatures like dynamic efficiency
and dynamic precision to ensurethat the cutting tool machines
the mold insert the way that the
programmer wants it to.”Also, Heidenhain Corp. introduced visual setup control (VSC)with which the Heidenhain TNC
can automatically monitor thecurrent setup or machining situation during a program run. This
optional feature snaps reference
photos of the first parts of aseries. The user specifies multiple
places in the NC program where
the control must perform an
optical comparison between thenominal condition and the actualThis deep-hole drilling with milling machine from Cheto Corp. S.A. is one of several new, “multi-use” hybrid machining
centers, the technologies of which are designed to help moldmakers machine more efficiently and economically.
one. If an error is detected, theTNC reacts in a manner selectedby the user.
Unisig’s Fettig speaks of similar safeguards. He says, “Having
when sinker EDM was the default means of producing molds,”
machine, fixture, workpiece and tool-simulation capabilities
he says. “Today, sinker EDM is just one of several different prowithin the machine control enables more optimized machincesses that potentially may be involved. Other processes thating cycles to save time while reducing or eliminating the posmay be involved include hard milling, which has increasingly
sibility of a crash from a programming error.”taken on importance as manufacturers attempt to avoid theadded process of making electrodes for EDM.”
The Combination of Subtractive and Additive Machining
Responding to this trend, Sodick Inc. is offering new postEveryone is talking about additive manufacturing (AM) andprocessing solutions for moldmakers who are implementing
how it fits into the moldmaking world. Many machine-tool
3D printing into their production, he says. “Because equipsuppliers have introduced products on multiple levels of thement used in secondary operations or post-processing tradiAM spectrum. To assist the moldmaking community, fortionally has not been designed with additive in mind, it has
example, Matsuura Machinery USA Inc. launched a hybrid,
been very expensive for moldmakers to get equipment withadditive, metal 3D printer late last year. It enables programadequate specifications for their printed molds. Many have hadmers to produce integrated core and cavity sets, which Tom
to purchase premium machine models to overcome a single
Houle says replaces the need for a toolmaker to fit inserts into
specification that disqualified the equivalent economy models.
a multi-piece complex assembly. “This same machine will also
Beyond additive machines themselves, Sodick is developing

16

MoldMaking Technology —— SEPTEMBER 2018

Image courtesy of Cheto Corp. S.A.

Machining/EDM

dedicated EDM products specifically with the capacity and features needed for 3D post processing, making it much easier tofinish 3D molds once they have been printed.”
Finally, Pat Crownhart, Product Manager at MC Machinery
Systems Inc. (Elk Grove Village, Illinois), says that many moldmakers are working with aging sinker EDM technologies thatmake producing high-accuracy work a challenge. “If you canmaintain speed and reduce wear it is a big efficiency win, notto mention cost reducer, for moldmakers,” he says. “To alleviate this problem,
we have added completely new machine
circuitry that limits damage to theelectrode with each discharge. When it
takes millions of sparks to complete amold cavity, preventing damage to theelectrode with each discharge means themost difficult burns will see the greatest
efficiency increase because you are making fewer electrodes.”New Machining Advantages
Tom Houle of Matsuura Machinery
USA Inc. says that the emergence of
cost-down, high-quality and automatedfive-axis machining has helped themoldmaker become more competitive
while achieving higher accuracy. “These‘self-contained factories,’ with highcapacity tool changers (that can change
at least 330 tools) and pallet pools (thathave 32 pallets) added days of unattended and reliable five-axis
production,” he says.
“With the aid of five-axis machines,
we can machine more of the partwithout the use of EDM electrodes,
jig grinding and hand polishing,” Dale
Mickelson, Yasda product manager for
Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury,
Massachusetts), says. “The materials thatare molded today, like silicon, flow likewater and require better than 0.0002inch accuracies on shut-offs. Dies madeto cut thinner and more exotic materials also require better than 0.0002-inch
accuracy on the cutting edge,” he says.
“Methods imports some of the mostaccurate machines in the world that canachieve 0.00002-inch accuracies and theability to cut 92-HRC carbide dies using
cutters with special diamond coatings
and advanced geometries.”

Michael Cope says that Hurco Companies Inc. has designed aline of bridge-style machine tools that are more thermally stable
for moldmaking and will help reduce the problems that exist
from the build-up of heat that is present in a traditional C-frame
machine because of the faster feed rates and spindle speeds
associated with high-speed machining. “In addition to machinetool design, offering machines with higher-rpm spindles, fasteracceleration and deceleration and the dual contact type ofAccomplished to Serve Every Market
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moldmakingtechnology.com

17

Machining/EDM

toolholders (like HSK and BigPlus) will also help our customers
achieve better results,” he says.
Clare Welham, marketing coordinator for Schunk (Morrisville,
North Carolina), also notes the increase in the use of higher-rpm
spindles for moldmaking. She says that these spindles require
machinists to think differently about how to make chips, somoldmakers are trying new approaches like chip-thinning techniques. “Schunk is addressing these challenges by using toolholding systems that are capable of a high number of rotations
per minute, that clamp the tool concentrically and are accurate,
repeatable and balanced. They are also easy to use, thereby eliminating the guess work of precision toolholding. High-precision
I/D and O/D workholding is capable of micron precision.”
Another advancement is intelligent toolholding systems withsensors that have the ability to communicate with the machine
to make automatic adjustments when needed, she says.
Likewise, Mickelson says that Methods Machine Tools Inc.
supports customers by guiding them in choosing the best holders, cutters, fixtures and programming techniques to achieve
the highest part accuracy and finish. “Methods teaches thecustomer when to use five-axis and how to get the best finish
and the most tool life using all the different techniques offeredin the most popular software programs,” he says. Additionally,

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MoldMaking Technology —— SEPTEMBER 2018

Methods Machine Tools Inc. built a new tech center in Acton,
Massachusetts, that features new materials testing, cutters
testing, holders testing and so on. “All the latest products thatcome out will be tested here and shared with customers thatpurchase Methods machines.”
Cheto Corp. S.A.’s CEO Carlos Teixeira says that a newmachine concept for small-size, deep-hole drilling with milling
has recently been introduced. “We expect that with this new
equipment, our clients’ production planning and use of resources will change because the machine will provide both deep-hole
drilling and milling ‘all in one’ and will process the parts in a
way that is simpler, faster and more accurate,” he says.
Likewise, Makino has introduced new machine tools withadvanced features. “The machines will have an optimized footprint, reducing floor-space requirements,” Ey says. “They will
come automation-ready and will have connectivity and smart
sensors. They are equipped with the latest processing capabilities like collision safeguards to meet the agility and volumetricaccuracy that is necessary for continuous five-axis cutting.
Makino provides all of this to help increase its customers’competitiveness.”
Just as these suppliers are evolving technologies to meet themoldmaking industry’s needs, the way that moldmakers are
finding and partnering with suppliers, customers and othermoldmakers is also evolving—digitally. One example is throughOrderFox.com (Chicago, Illinois), an internet resource for the
CNC industry. President Brian J. Smith explains that if a company has a machine down and a deadline that it cannot miss, thecompany can confidentially find the right production partner tohelp meet the deadline. If a company has extra capacity and islooking to take on additional work, the company can access theplatform and search for additional work within its area of expertise. “We are not a machine-tool builder, a technology integrator
or even a software company but rather a technology platformthat is focused on building industry partnerships and overall
industry growth,” Smith says.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Cheto Corp. S.A. / 351-256-820-384 / cheto.eu/en
Heidenhain Corp. / 847-490-1191 / heidenhain.us
Hurco Companies Inc. / 800-634-2416 / hurco.com
Makino / 800-552-3288 / makino.com
Matsuura Machinery USA Inc. / 651-289-9700 / matsuurausa.com
MC Machinery Systems Inc. / 630-616-5920 / mcmachinery.com
Methods Machine Tools Inc. / 877-668-4262 / methodsmachine.com
OrderFox.com / 312-587-7699 / orderfox.com
Schunk / 919-572-2705 / schunk.com/de_en
Smart Attend Inc. / 866-210-9630 / smartattend.com
Sodick Inc. / 888-639-2325 / sodick.com
Unisig / 414-252-3802 / unisig.com