Increasing tool life and increasing the efficiency of your CNC programs are crucial for staying on the cutting edge with your manufacturing processes. A broken or quickly worn-out tool combined with excessive cycle times drives up the cost per part and increases your shop’s waste. Utilizing SolidCAM iMachining can reduce cycle times by over 70% and increase tool life five times over. This is accomplished by optimizing the toolpath’s different aspects, including cut length, feed rate, and cutter angle, to achieve a constant tool load.
What is iMachining?
iMachining is a patented technology that helps redefine expected roughing toolpaths by optimizing cutting conditions in real time. SolidCAM guarantees better machine performance by reducing cycle time and increasing tool life.
SolidCAM iMachining Toolpath
Toolpaths can additionally be optimized by adjusting retract positions and providing secondary tool selections to help get into tighter areas of the part. The result is a better-performing machine tool, which means minimized downtime, faster cycle times, and more profitability.
Due to the increased efficiency and tool life, you’ll end up saving money by reducing the number of tool purchases you need to make. The patented technology is tailored to work with both 2D and 3D machining toolpaths to suit even your most complex optimization needs.
How does iMachining Enhance Tool Life?
Optimal Tool Engagement
iMachining stands out by using a morphed spiral strategy that maximizes cutting time regardless of the shape of a component. Additionally, iMachining makes use of a variable cutting angle to further minimise fresh air cutting. Further flexibility is added with intelligent moat channels added in complex areas.
Adapting toolpaths to geometry
Adaptive Cutting Conditions
Since iMachining is constantly varying the angle of cut, and we want to see a near-constant chip thickness and tool load, a balance must be made. With iMachining, this is done automatically with the feed and speed changing dynamically as the cutter angle changes to ensure this optimal balance is hit. With this, iMachining can help you succeed.
iMachining Technology Wizard
To guarantee that any user can get to grip with this amazing technology as quickly as possible, iMachining has an easy-to-use wizard to automate the process. All that’s needed is to pick a tool for SolidCAM to decide the best depth of cut. This is achieved based on the number of points a cutter would be in touch with the part at once. After this, a slider is used to tuned how fast you want to cut with most applications work.
iMachining Technology Wizard
The Benefits of Using iMachining for Tool Life Optimization
Increased Machining Efficiency
iMachining boosts productivity through intelligently optimized toolpaths and adaptive cutting conditions. It enables faster material removal without compromising accuracy or surface quality, making it indispensable for high-volume production environments.
Extended Tool Life Across All Materials
From tough alloys like titanium to softer metals like aluminum, iMachining adapts seamlessly to almost any material. Its intelligent cutting strategies prevent unnecessary wear, ensuring tools last longer, no matter the application. This versatility makes it a powerful solution for shops handling diverse machining requirements.
SolidCAM iMachining for 2D and 3D
iMachining 2D Overview
iMachining for 2D introduces the patented technology for simple 2.5D geometry. iMachining 2D allows you to machine pockets as fast as possible and even allows positioning in the 5th axis. These tools are essential for all milling machines to keep you on the cutting edge of any job.
iMachining 3D Overview
For more complex geometries, iMachining 3D is a perfect fit. You can be sure to get the optimal results you need by automatically adjusting cutting depths and step-downs, achieving the perfect scallop height. Similar to the 2D version of iMachining, you can position on the 5th axis to work with the most complex parts.
Cutting with SolidCAM iMachining 3D
How will SolidCAM Shape the Future of CNC Machining?
SolidCAM iMachining brings cutting-edge technology to your machine shop today. With its ease of use, there is no costly development or lengthy training needed to decrease cycle times and increase production efficiency. By investing in SolidCAM and iMachining today, you can quickly implement these changes to your production workflow and benefit from the best-in-class technology.
Want to get started with SolidCAM as quickly as possible? Read about our SolidCAM Quick Start Service here.
