Innovative 3D cutting from Fagor
1 min read
Fagor Automation, as part of its expansion into new markets, has collaborated with Danobat, a Spanish machine tool manufaturer, on the development of an innovative 3D plasma cutting system, the RPD-T.
Fagor's 8070 CNC makes it possible to carry out any type of cut based on CAM-type trajectory generators. So the operator imports the drawing of the part with the cut to be made and the CNC automatically generates the trajectory necessary to make the cut. This method avoids being limited to predefined shapes, by means of parameterisable macros, as in conventional cutting systems.
In addition to standard machine tool kinematics, the Fagor CNC offers the chance to establish special kinematics to adapt to the needs of the machine, as has been done in the Danobat case. The RTCP (Rotation Tool Centre Point) function optimises the management of these special kinematics, ensuring that the plasma cutting tip follows the profile or tube programmed regardless of the position and orientation of the plasma. When working with RTCP, if the plasma orientation is changed, the CNC adapts the position of the other machine axes to maintain the position of the plasma cutting tip on the surface of the part. With the RTCP, and the Tangential Control function, it is possible to cut a profile while all the time maintaining the cutting angle of the plasma beam in relation to the programmed trajectory.
The possibility of integrating third-party software offered by the 8070 CNC, has allowed Danobat to implement Flex 3D software. The aim of this 3D design program is to make it easier for users to program any type of part, as Flex 3D enables programming to be done in different ways: by importing DSTV files, reducing programming time and optimising machine productivity, running predesigned macros to carry out the most common operations without having to do any design, or designing the part to be machined from zero.