Tool compensation meets aerospace standards for cutting tool forms

A cutting tool measurement/grinding compensation program for Walter Helitronic grinding machines that enables batches of complex profile cutters, as used in the aerospace sector, for example, to be consistently machined to +/- 2 micron is fully automatic (rather than manually guided) and is therefore faster and operator-independent. It carries out a full profile scan of a tool’s cutting edge rather than simply of a selection of points. Following Helicheck comparison of the first-off tool to original specification, which can be expected to be accurate to +/- 5 micron, the program will then automatically update the Walter Helitronic grinding machine (either via direct link or memory stick) to enable the machine to consistently produce a batch of tools with complex forms using the same grinding wheel.