Stamps steps up to Wankel prototype programming challenge with Delcam for SolidWorks
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It took Stamps Engineering Services just five weeks to produce a prototype for a client who wanted to prove that a Wankel engine could give conventional turbines a run for their money in offshore powerboat racing. Machinery reports
"The large number of parts and their geometric complexity created a very difficult CNC programming challenge," says Tim Stamps. But when every subcontractor he approached to do the job told him it was too difficult, he decided to tackle it in-house using the feature recognition and toolpath algorithms of Delcam for SolidWorks. Delcam's integrated CAM system for SolidWorks also enabled Stamps to take advantage of an opportunity to obtain time on a Haas VF4 4-axis machining centre. Hundreds of components for a 12 rotor Wankel were programmed and machined in just five weeks.
Stamps admits: "Using conventional CNC programming software it would not have been possible for an organisation of our size and resources to build a prototype of this complexity.
"There was a large amount of very complex geometry that needed to be brought over from SolidWorks to the CNC programming environment. A huge number of features had to be converted into toolpaths. Yet we also needed the ability to create our own geometry in areas where the model did not provide the right definition."
Stamps used Delcam for SolidWorks automatic feature recognition to generate toolpaths for most of the parts. On more complex ones, he used interactive feature recognition, which works by selecting a feature and directing the software to recognise it. This way he could watch the feature being generated and make adjustments as necessary. In the most difficult cases, this meant adding in the geometry needed manually to make the part correctly. After completing the program for each part, the software's integrated simulation module was used to check the toolpath and dimensions of the finished part.
First published online
