SEE THE LIGHT: MANAGE TOOLS TO MANUFACTURE TOOLS

Walter AG (Tübingen, Germany) is a manufacturer of innovative, high-performance precision tools. Originally founded in 1919, Walter grew into a metal machining leader that develops, manufactures and markets tools with exchangeable carbide cutting edges for drilling, milling and turning applications. The company recently built a new facility in Tübingen that produces tool bodies. In this plant, over 4,000 tool items and tool assemblies, located in three Hanel tool lifts, circulate through turning and milling centers every day.

No one knows tools better than a tool manufacturer, and no one is more aware than Walter AG of the importance of reliable tool data for NC programming, in the tool crib, and in the production area. ?We manufacture high-quality precision tools ourselves,? says Alexander Bayerlein, production manager for tool bodies at Tübingen, ?so we understand the need for high-quality tools and reliable tool data ? always at the right time.?

The plant operates its machining centers under a so-called ?permanent setup? strategy, where a standard set of tools is available at every machining station. ?This makes us much more flexible in organizing production jobs and allows each machine to be independent from all the others,? explains Rainer Rosskopf.

This sort of tool preparation relies heavily on integrated tool data management software from local provider TDM Systems GmbH (Tübingen, Germany) to perform the planning activities that ensure smooth running processes.

Walter installed the TDM software base module and integrated its new Systems Version 4 software into the CAM system of NX Unigraphics so that the Crib and Ordering Module and the Presetting Module could ensure optimum tool preparation and tool logistics. ?Our aim in installing this system is to have a centralized database that supports planning activities and production processes with tool data,? states Uwe Sauer, manager of projects and engineering at TDM Systems ? and the person in charge of this software installation project.

The Order Entry, Tool Preparation, and Permanent Setup modules provide transparent working procedures that identify which tools to prepare by automatically generating detailed lists of all tools and assemblies required for every job. Information on the status of each production job comes from FACT (Factory Automation Control Tool), the central control system that is linked, in turn, to ERP software from SAP AG (Walldorf, Germany).

Precise tool selection and planning processes start with the very first steps. By integrating TDM into NX-Unigraphics, NC programmers can directly access all of the geometric and technical data stored in the TDM database where the system selects features of tools based upon manufacturing methods, geometry, or technical data.

The programmers can define tools and tool selection processes in NX, where the CAM software gathers geometric parameters and technology data directly from the TDM database and uses this information to perform calculations for the individual machining steps. ?This data exchange is only possible thanks to the database providing us with complete data for the tools and items we use,? notes Rosskopf. ?The key here is the ?online? integration of TDM into the NX Unigraphics CAM system, which gives each CAM user direct access to the contents of the database to ensure the data are real and up-to-date. What?s more, the user can also transfer information, such as tool lists, back into the database.?

The TDM database contains complete tool data, including 2D and simulation-ready 3D graphics. ?Whenever we add a new tool, it takes no time at all for us to generate data for it with the Data and Graphic Generator and then store this information in the database,? says Guido Wachendorfer, who is in charge of tool organization. ?Creating tool assemblies is more than easy. The system only needs a few parameters to assimilate the various items together into an adequate 3D assembly.?

TDM V4 improves the quality of tool data by being able to attach multiple sets of technology data (materials, access levels, different cutting parameters) to only one assembly in advance. This data can be defined according to the intended application, such as roughing, finishing, or spot facing, thus enabling the NC programmer to make detailed preparatory decisions. ?This feature maximizes comfort in use and makes every search a ?find?,? sums up Rosskopf. ?It lets us see right away how we can use one and the same tool for different types of machining applications.?

Walter uses eM-RealNC from UGS Tecnomatix to simulate machining processes during the planning phase. It starts by sending the 3D tool graphics in STL format to the em-ReaLNC software. Since the TDM Data and Graphic Generator generates 3D tool images in STL format, this means that simulation-ready 3D graphics are generated from the moment that tool data is input into the database.v?Tracking and managing tool data calls for care and attention,? points out user Rolf Rist. He explains that TDM software performs best when data for new tools are regularly added to it. ?In this way, NC programs and CAD/CAM simulations always work with the latest, most accurate data.?

Also important is the reliable logging of tools into the lifts. ?This lift is our ?black box?,? says Rosskopf. ?We put everything into it in active chaotic fashion.? The Crib Module then takes over the task of logging tools into the crib by automatically suggesting the best crib location and bringing them out again.

Bottom line: In this centralized tool data management system, the tool data is always completely up-to-date and transparent in the database. NC programming, simulation activities, and tool preparations have gained in processing accuracy, meaning that in the long run productivity has risen too.

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TDM Systems, Inc., 1901 North Roselle Road, Suite 800, Schaumburg, IL 60195, 847-605-1269, Fax: 847-605-0586, www.tdmsystems.com .