Indexable drill for turning operations

[marinoc357]

Does anybody know if there will be an indexable drill option for turning tools in 2019? It is an extremely standard procedure to drill a hole and then bore/chamfer with the outer insert of the drill, and I was very disappointed that I had to lie to the software and call the drill a boring bar in 2018 version.

[akash.kamoolkar · Accepted solution]

@marinoc357

We have had more requests for this functionality so we will be looking at possibly implementing it. Unfortunately as of now I cannot offer you a timeline as to when it will be done.

Regards,

Akash Kamoolkar

[safeharbor74]

I second this option. 

[scottmoyse]

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@marinoc357 wrote:

 I was very disappointed that I had to lie to the software and call the drill a boring bar in 2018 version.

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This isn't the end of the world. There are bigger things to be disappointed about at this point. Save your disappointment for other things :-).

It totally needs to be solved at some point. Akash and crew will get it sorted at the right time for sure.

[ross.belloni]

I agree, this would be a very nice addition.  Has a date been established for its introduction?

[akash.kamoolkar]

@ross.belloni 

I'm sorry to report that we still don't have a date for this feature.

Regards,

Akash Kamoolkar

[marinoc357]

That is quite alright as I have given up on HSM works and Autodesk completely and have moved on to a much better CAM package with fantastic support.

[alindemannAEEBR]

Hi All,

I ran into this issue as well. But I found a really easy fix. I use this method in production on my DMG Mori all the time now.

Fusion actually makes it really easy to use an indexable drill as a boring bar:

1) Make two different tools in the CAM library

2) Assign the same tool number but a different offset to each (consult your machine for offsets that can be used)

3) One tool will be modeled as a drill. The second tool will be modeled as a boring bar, but use the holder and geometry for the outer insert.

In order for this to work, I have two separate offsets for the same tool position. In my case that would be Tool Position 3 on the turret. With the same tool but a different offset the post will produce g-code that calls T0303 for the "real" drill and lets say T0351 for the "fake" boring bar. I know the Haas and DMG Mori post-processors will support this. I can't speak to any others.

I can use the drill tool with a normal Fusion CAM drilling operation. I then use the boring bar tool with a normal Turning Profile toolpath set for "inside turning".

I've attached a sample file that uses one of these tool combos from my production library. The actual drill is a Sandvik CoroDrill A880. The exact model number is documented in the tool library of the example part. Just be sure you model the geometry correctly for the insert (IC, Width, Holder angle, etc). Sandvik's website has all the information you may need on that. I'm sure other vendors do also!

I hope this helps. It may not be the most seamless solution (The simulation can be weird sometimes) but it's reliable for me and maybe int the future something nicer will come along. Fusion is growing on my everyday.

Drill masquerading as a boring barThe real drill

[ross.belloni]

Very helpful.   Thank you very much for your comments.

[john]

How on gods green earth can Autodesk spend years on not providing a possibility for adding an indexable drill after users have requested this?

Here's me hoping for a direct import of tools - I can see that this won't be happening in my lifetime.

2021: CTRL+C "Nope, still haven't done anything about this".

Sorry for appearing unprofessional, but seriously Autodesk - do you not think we have any other commercial options?

I'm not looking forward to moving our company to Solidworks, but we'll do what we need to do. Doing CAM from within CAD is a given these days.

And finally: Why was this reply tagged as a solution to the question raised when clearly nothing has been done??

[lenny_1962]

John there is the other Inventor CAM (had the name before AD switch to it from Inventor HSM)

They also has a SolidWorks version too.

[john]

Hi @lenny_1962 ,

I'm slightly confused.

What I have installed in my computer is the Manufacturing suite with Inventor "Ultimate" CAM (allows mill & turn).

My impression is that this is what used to be called HSM which Autodesk purchased a few years back.

I suspect that since Autodesk have not developed this product from the ground up then they might be lacking the programmers who know the software inside out - hence the few updates & improvements.

Today I tried cheating by selecting a "form mill" where I imported the DWG outline of an index drill.

Might have to tweak the NC code since the index drill is spinning around & the stock is not.

[lenny_1962]

I was being nice to AD... but here is the original InventorCAM : https://www.solidcam.com/en-us/cam-solutions/cad-integration/autodesk-inventor/

[john]

Many thanks, will check it out before I invest too much time in the CAM I've got.

Too me it seems AD is spending all their CAM development time working on Fusion, but that software just doesn't cut it for a Y-axis lathe. I use Fusion just for our router, where it's perfect.

[scottmoyse]

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@john wrote:

but that software just doesn't cut it for a Y-axis lathe.

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Really?!? People are using it with Multi-tasking machines. It might fall foul in a couple of areas, but it is more than capable of running a Y-axis lathe in the vast majority of circumstances.

[john]

@scottmoyse,

In terms of value for money Fusion is prob the best CAM in the world.

Here's the catch though. If you've spent well over a 100k USD on the hardware, then you want to have some software that is a bit more refined to keep things safe and efficient. 

Things that I am looking for in CAM is tool collision simulation, direct tool import from likes of Kennametal and Sandvik software and of course stuff like knowing what an index drill is. Fusion doesn't know the latter either, along with HSM. If I were to be picky one would also like to control the tool paths better to get a better surface finish. 

That being said I'm comparing 500USD software to 10000USD software, so it's unfair to expect this from Fusion. Inventor CAM Ultimate is under par though. Ultimate what I wonder. 

[scottmoyse]

The issue is all that stuff is coming... But the timeline doesn't work for a lot of people. Also your view about the cost of CAM as a ratio to the value of the machine purchase is firmly in the minority I'm afraid... I'm. Glad you see it that way... Another issue is Fusion is so **** cheap that when people get prices to do posts for more advanced or odd ball machines they push back expecting it to be equally cheap.... Even if they've spent North of US$200k on their hardware.

Fusion is increasingly capable of programming these types of machines. And for a lot of people they are willing to forego the features you correctly point out and are happy to run fairly complex 'y-axis' lathes with it.

Don't get me started on what's happened with 'Inventor CAM'.

[lenny_1962]

The application guys there are good, Ken Meritt really knows the software, I've known him for 25 years.

He's a machinist that got into the CAM support game, worked for surfcam (Surfware days) , EdgeCAM and now SolidCAM.

[john]

@scottmoyse 

It's sad to see AD has dropped further proper development of the Inventor CAM. Inventor is ace, so that's why I was so disappointed with the CAM add-on. I would really like all the CAM stuff integrated in the IPT files. 

I am convinced that AD are spending all their efforts on Fusion, so I'm **** out of luck. Keeping all our CAD files in the cloud is something I really don't want for our company. 

[geomorphosis]

2023....still no way of using the indexable as a boring bar?