The prototype development, based on a Kitamura Bridge Center 6G double-column machining centre (Leader CNC Technologies), entrusts the machine tool with the machining operation – a “world first”. Requiring the creation of no NC program, using a 3D model and a material model of the component, the machine tool will determine the optimum machining process, using a database of machining information and cutting conditions. This development could potentially pave the way for intelligent manufacturing systems, reduced costs, and faster production times, say the developers.
A prototype set-up was exhibited at the EMO biennial manufacturing technology show held in Milan last October and the process has been likened to a 3D printing version of subtractive cutting.
In metal 3D printing, for example, final geometry (modified with support structures as necessary) is created directly by melting powder, building a part up layer by layer. In similar fashion, the report says, the machine tool prototype requires no intermediate NC program to drive it to produce final geometry, just start and finish shape data, with the machine then cutting away material. (In fact, CAD data requires some preparation prior to metal 3D printing, as metal additive manufacturing expert EOS makes clear.)
By avoiding the creation of an NC program, the researchers say that “in addition to the huge amount of labour required to create each program, this method has potential issues, as the machines cannot make adjustments to the machining process or respond to unforeseen problems”. They go on to say: “Metal components can also be shaped using metal 3D printers, but this too has disadvantages: the metal powder used as a raw material is extremely expensive, and the surface of the finished component is poor quality.”
This new development could speed up the manufacture of custom-made products such as dental implants and artificial bones, potentially shortening production times and reducing costs, it is suggested.
The intelligent machine tool is an output of one of three Kobe University ‘Innovative design and manufacturing technologies’ projects that have been selected for Japan’s ‘Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), a project headed by the Japanese Cabinet Office’s Council for Science, Technology and Innovation.
