On Friday, April 27 at its head office in Cambridge, ON, Mazak Canada hosted an “Evolution of Digital Machining” lunch and learn demonstration for customers and industry partners.
Sandvik Coromant Canada and In-House Solutions co-hosted.
The event kicked off with presentations. Kevin Burton of Sandvik Coromant provided an overview of digital technology, culminating in the company’s online offerings, including ToolLibrary, ToolGuide and the Prime Turning Code Generator. Burton also offered a glimpse at what’s coming online on the CoroPlus SilentTools platform, illustrating a boring bar with equipped Bluetooth connectivity and directly embedded sensors.
Felicia Gowing of In-House Solutions discussed the company’s Mastercam CAD/CAM software, first launched in 1983. She finished with a glimpse at Mastercam 2019, which is expected to launch this June with new features such as haspless codes, toolpath hole definition (drill point selection) and hybrid containment boundary smoothing.
Tom Shannon of Mazak Canada presented the company’s Mazatrol programming language, outlining new features being added to the SmoothX and SmoothG platforms, including variable acceleration control, which allows operators to calibrate tool acceleration to the maximum acceleration of each axis.
Brian Mac Neil outlined how Sandvik Coromant’s Online Solutions can enhance data management and efficiency, and Jeff Stoesser of In-House Solutions concluded the presentations by walking attendees through the process of exporting an assembly from Sandvik Coromant’s ToolLibrary directly into Mastercam and also into SmoothX.
Attendees then assembled in the showroom for machining demonstrations on Mazak’s Integrex i-200 ST multi-tasking machining centre and VC 500A/5X vertical machining centre. The demonstrations showcased Mazak simulation capabilities and Intelligent Safety Shield, which allows operators to anticipate and prevent machine interference.
“The feedback was great in regards to the software applications and the easy transition between our cutting tools software and the CAM environment, given the open API it runs on,” said Alex Durkovics, partner marketing specialist with Sandvik Coromant Canada. “It really does shorten the time between tool selection, choosing the correct feeds and speeds and then running the part in the machine once the program is complete.”
“This event was key in educating customers on the integration of these Mastercam, Mazak and Sandvik solutions, and how they can use these products to save cut cost, save time on set up and programming while using dynamic toolpath to save on tool wear,” said Felicia Gowing.
Over 50 customers attended, said Ray Buxton, general manager of Mazak Canada. “The level of questions was very high. This is certainly a topic that has many customers’ interest, especially when it comes to a practical application of the technology.”
Further events are planned. A major announcement is forthcoming from Mazak about an automation-focused event later this year.
