X AXIS soft limit reached - Mazak Integrix i630 - mazatrol control

[Aadithya01]

Hi guys ,

There is a problem that I am facing during my benchmark . I did a swarf operation for my customer's model who has the above mentioned machine with b axis head (+120 deg to -30 deg ) and c axis table rotation 

But the problem is that the - x axis limit is only upto -30 mm . So when I run the program it says that the soft limit has actually reached . Is there a way where we can overcome that problem . Please see the below image .. 

What I feel is that when the swarf strategy is limited to a 4 axis operation then the problem can be solved .

1. Do we have this capability for swarf to limit to 4 axis  ? 

2. Is there any other multi axis strategy with which we can solve the X axis soft limit reached problem ? 

link to download the model - http://a360.co/2kYi2Dn

Also I have attached my MAZAK post processor 

Also please see the below screencast video to know about the problem that I am facing - 

Kindly help me ... 

[ArjanDijk]

I do not see how you can run this program 4 axis

[Aadithya01]

Hey Arjan .. That's what I thought at first .. But my customer sees it from another angle which more likely looks possible ... He says that " what if the x axis position , b axis and c axis angle changes rapidly without changing the y axis position of the workpiece ... In that way won't we be able to get that angle ? " 

What he asks for looks some what possible to achieve the taper profile which you can see in my model ..

[Laurens-3DTechDraw]

Are you using a very short holder/tool?

What happens if you take a longer holder/tool?

Or vice versa.

[Aadithya01]

hi Laurens , 

Yes the tool that you see in my model has a body length of just around 40 mm ... Even if I use a longer tool I dont think the soft limit problem can be solved .. And the stability will be lost using longer tool lengths ... And even if a longer tool length is able to solve for this component which has a dia of 4" .. there are components ranging from 4" to 36" .. we will face the same problem in bigger components as well . 

The machine is having B (tool tilt) and C (table rotation) ... Instead if there was A and C axis - this soft limit problem wont be there .. But still he asks for the 4 axis strategy of Swarf - which I think would only solve the problem 

[Laurens-3DTechDraw]

@Aadithya01

What I meant more was the total length of holder and tool.

Do you know on how B and C-Axis are orientated when it hits the limit?

[Aadithya01]

hi Laurens , 

please see the below image for the B and C axis orientation

[Laurens-3DTechDraw]

Yeah the trouble here is that you can't really go beyond the table center and the B-axis doesn't go beyond the -30 degrees.

Pretty sure you cannot swarf this part on this machine. 

[Laurens-3DTechDraw]

I made you two flow paths that could work.

[Aadithya01]

Hi Laurens , 

Yes the machine limits are very stingy here. I also saw the flow path , but the surface finish output wont be as good as the swarf strategy .. cause the customer is expecting the swarf finish .. only then he can achieve the finish that he wanted and the machining time that he wants to reduce to .. Also now he is achieving that taper profile by using 3D Contour Strategy with a ball cutter with very fine stepdowns and achieves the finish .. but the machining time is too high ..So that is why if there is capability to limit swarf to a four axis ? Where without changing the Y movement .. the X , C , B and Z will be changing rapidly to form the taper face then the machining time can be greatly reduced , also is there any other multi axis strategy that limits to a 4 axis while achieving the finish like Swarf  ..

Also I read that there was plans of bringing 4 axis swarf strategy with an option "Use 4 Axis" .. Can the beta version help me for what I am asking for ? 

[Laurens-3DTechDraw]

THe use 4-axis limit means it will only use one rotational axis. But you still want two of those.

Pretty sure you cannot machine the part like that.

So you really need to go 5-axis and swarf is not possible due to the machine. So the only other option is doing small steps on this machine.

[Aadithya01]

Hi Laurens ,

What you are saying is absolutely right . I activated the cam.betamode command in Fusion and tried the Swarf - use 4 axis option . And it says that it is not supported for this type of component .. And yes here the 4 axis requirement is for 2 linear axis and 2 rotational axis which is something that is not supported by any CAM software if I am right .. Also a Senior App. Engineer from the Powermill division said even in that they cannot support for this type operation to be constrained to 4 axis - with very little machine limit .. 

[Laurens-3DTechDraw · Accepted solution]

What could help here is a tool that has a 45 degree angle. That way you could swarf and use the side of the tool.

[Aadithya01]

Hi Laurens , 

What you said is a nice idea . Using a Taper Mill tool will limit the movement of the linear axis and I can see that in the .eia program output as well . Tomorrow I will be going to the customer's site and will check how it works .. Enjoy your christmas Laurens .. Will let you know the status by tomorrow .. 

[Aadithya01]

Hi Laurens,

We did the dry run at the customer site . And like you said we used a tapered mill tool with taper angle of 15 Deg for smaller components upto 10in dia and 30 Deg for components beyond the mentioned diameter and now the problem is solved . Once the customer buys the tapered mill tool we will run and see on the actually component and I will let you know about the surface finish 

Thanks a lot for your support . 

Regards 

Aadithya