CNC West Feb March 2019

CNC WEST February/March 2019 www.CNC-West.com 55 Mastercam fo to not only de drawings, but foot FaroArm callipers or tra enough. “Mastercam is ask it to do. Y material, so y further than y toolpaths for t bushing install Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS® software allows Miya- moto to not only design his own and import customers’ CAD drawings, but to reverse engineer existing parts us- ing a 9-foot FaroArm for more accurate measurements when callipers or traditional measuring techniques are not enough. He measures the part in 3D, designs it in SOLIDWORKS, and then imports the 3D model into Mastercam. The process is seamless and ideal for tough to measure parts such as the front bumper of a car. Miyamoto does all the programming for the machines, which takes up typically about half his day. “With proto- types, every part is brand new, and every part is pretty intricate. What we produce is fairly small in size – a half- inch to 7-inches. Tolerances are tight, he said, but noth- ing tighter than a few 0.0001”. “We do a lot of traditional surfacing parts with tapered walls, with flat bottoms. But we can do anything you can get to with a 3-axis or 4-axis mill.” However, when producing prototypes, Miyamoto is making one new part with its unique intricate geometry. He said, “I’ve got to do it fast, and it’s got to be right. Mas- tercam is very intuitive and it does exactly what you ask it to do. You can set how high it pulls-up out of the material, so you don’t waste too much time, rapiding up further than you need.” The software’s high-speed Dynamic tool- paths shave valuable time off of the actual machining time by detecting (via proprietary algorithms programmed into the software) changes in the material and adjusting tool length and stepovers to accommodate them. By re- maining constantly engaged with the material, the tool rarely leaves the material, ploughing through as fast as programmed. “The time-saving results from using the software for high speed machining mill work is amazing,” Miyamoto said. “Just put in ‘percent of a tool width’ that you want to take a cut at, and let it go! It used to be that you’d have to stand at the machine and just watch it, to make sure it didn’t crash. Not now.” They use the Verify feature to make sure things are running okay, and, once he makes sure his Z’s are set correctly, Miyamoto walks away and starts another project. Miyamoto is not fazed by parts that need to be ma- chined to exact tolerances or exact measurements. “In- tricate parts that have very intricate cuts or holes in the enough. “Mastercam is very intuitive an ask it to do. You can set how h material, so y u don’t waste to further than you need.” Here toolpaths for the base and gui bushing install tool for a jeep p Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS® software allows Miyamoto to not only design his own and import customers’ CAD drawings, but to reverse engineer existing parts using a 9-foot FaroArm for more accurate measurements when callipers or traditional measuring techniques are not enough. “Mastercam is very intuitive and it does exactly what you ask it to do. You can set how high it pulls-up out of the material, so you don’t waste too much time, rapiding up further than you need.” Here Miyamoto programs the toolpaths for the base and guide bushing of a shock bushing install tool for a jeep product line.