A conversation between Contributing Editor Pat Waurzyniak and Mark Briel of Sandvik Coromant.
Manufacturing Engineering: How important is tooling-specific software for manufacturing today?
Mark Briel: With today’s increasing demands on manufacturing, there is a need to combine the latest in tooling solutions and apply those latest tools with optimized G code. This is why Sandvik Coromant built CoroPlus Tool Path and also Tool Guide. Tool Guide helps ensure the customer chooses the right solution the first time.
ME: What’s new with Sandvik Coromant’s offerings in tooling software for CAD/CAM?
Briel: Sandvik Coromant has recently released OptiThreading, which is a solution to help gain chip control while threading difficult to chip materials. The software produces a G code that oscillates the tool up and down, like a sine wave. This results in a chip of varying thickness and allows for much better chip management. The low alloy steel and drawn over mandrel materials are where we see the greatest results, as these materials tend to cause chip control issues with threading.
This solution has been added to CoroPlus Tool Path. To get the biggest gains out of tooling you sometimes need to produce a product-specific toolpath. CoroPlus Tool Path allows the user to easily generate that tooling-specific G code. With the addition of OptiThreading, CoroPlus Tool Path now has the power to apply the latest tooling technology and machining strategies to both turning and threading, with CoroTurn Prime and CoroTurn 266, respectively.
ME: Tooling libraries offer manufacturers a wealth of information today at their fingertips. How does that help the typical machinist on the shop floor?
Briel: Having accurate tooling libraries can give machinists the confidence to run programs the first time with no risk of tool interference. This will save time during the setup of the machine. Prior to having comprehensive tooling libraries available, the programmer would rely on generic models for tool holders, and these were rarely accurate.
With CoroPlus Tool Library the CAM programmer can build and download nearly an exact replica of the entire assembly in a matter of minutes. With this solution also being cloud based, the models are stored securely on the web, where the programmer and other programmers from the same company can access it at any time.
ME: Digitization in manufacturing has become a big push. What’s new with Sandvik on the digital solutions front?
Briel: Sandvik Coromant is always working on and developing our cloud-based digital solutions. For example, Tool Guide has been on the market for years, but we are constantly updating it with new tools and new methods. CoroPlus Tool Library, a cloud-based solution, was introduced in 2021 and is our latest digital solution. Tool Library can let a CAM programmer build entire shop libraries of complete tooling assemblies that can be shared across the entire programming department.
ME: What new digital apps in particular are helping improve manufacturing productivity?
ME: The CAD/CAM software industry has undergone waves of consolidation in recent years, and Sandvik has acquired new assets in companies, like the recent Mastercam acquisition and also Sandvik Coromant with ICAM. What does that add to Sandvik’s toolpath software toolkit?
Briel: These acquisitions position Sandvik Coromant to be a key partner for our customers, but not just in our traditional area of machining. Sandvik Coromant is not just a tooling company, we are a solution provider.
ME: How does the current business climate look overall for the machine tool manufacturing industry?
Briel: Based on what I saw at the end of 2021, the industry is in a state of growth. There is a lot of good momentum in the market, especially around the aerospace and space industries.
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