b'\x1b\x1a\x19 \x1f\x18\x1d\x17\x16Get With the ProgramPRECISION MACHINING IS A TEAM SPORTBy Jesse Trinque magic. Better-than-expected results can occur that are repeatable on a shop floor.O ne of the helpful trends for users of manufactur- An example of a recent project was among CNC ing technology is that the various companies thatSoftware Inc. (the CAD/CAM software), Helical Solu-constitute a machining system are partnering moretions LLC (the cutting tool) and Makino Inc. (the ma-frequently on research and development. As a CAD/ chine tool). It all began when Helical Solutions sent an CAM software developer with an in-house manufac- email introducing its high-efficiency six-flute endmill turing lab, weve been immersed in this partnershipwith a chipbreaker. Mike Fecteau, senior applications concept for decades. To best develop our toolpathsengineer at Makinos mold and die facility in Auburn and post-processors, we must know the capabilitiesHills, Michigan, received that message, was intrigued and nuances of hundreds of CNC machine tool brandsand wanted to test the endmill on a high-horsepower, and models. To populate our cutting tool libraries andgeneral-purpose machine platform. He reached out to Don Grandt, national application engineer at Harvey Performance Co. LLC, which owns Helical Solutions. Grandt then contacted me, knowing that our Dynamic Motion toolpath would help get the most efficient speed results out of the tool.Grandtsgoalfrom the start was to achieve a material removal rate of 655 cm/min. (40 in./min.). Thats an aggres-sive aim with a 12.7 mm (0.5") endmill. In addi-tiontoprogramming, CNC Software my role was to design Mastercams Dynamic Motion roughing toolpaths contributed to ambitious material removal in the demoa 4140 alloy steel work-part.piece that looked cool advise on ideal speeds and feeds, we likewise need tobut also had to have real part features that would be know the intricacies of myriad cutting tools availablecommon in a mold or die component. We didnt want to end users. This knowledge comes from coopera- this demonstration to be in a tightly controlled environ-tion, communication and camaraderie among the nu- ment with conditions that couldnt be replicated on a merous applications engineers at different companiesshop floor. We wanted to show that when these three involved in machining systems. These engineers workelements are combineda dynamic toolpath, a high-to help manufacturers more efficiently make superbefficiency cutter and a well-built machinethese are parts. the results that users can expect.It may sound easy, but the reality is much more chal- After several emails back and forth as Fecteau ran lenging, from aligning schedules to competing withtests in Michigan and tweaked horsepower, speeds and other priorities. It takes drive by individuals to seefeeds, he actually could increase all those aspects. So through a joint R&D project. When there is commit- we then had our demo and the research to share with ment, however, the synergy among entities can be likepeers and end users. The operations involved roughing, 8AUGUST 2021 GetwiththeProgram.indd 8 7/19/21 10:45 AM'