Redefining Manufacturing Productivity

Siemens PLM Software (plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us) has increased the integration of design, analysis and manufacturing for increased productivity across the board with new, time-reducing enhancements in NX 7, the latest release of its flagship CAD/CAM/CAE software package. Among the enhancements of particular interest to manufacturers are two new functions, Turbomachinery Milling and Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) Inspection Programming. Turbomachinery Milling works to reduce the time needed to program complex components, while CMM Inspection Programming maximizes the efficiency of offline CMM programming.
 

Here’s a closer look at these two new features:
 

Turbomachinery Milling
NX Turbomachinery Milling speeds the programming process for complex, five-axis multi-bladed rotational parts including blisks, impellers and gas turbines, parts commonly manufactured by Siemens customers like GE Aircraft Engines and Rolls-Royce. “Addressing that kind of geometry can be quite challenging,” says Vynce Paradise, Marketing Director for Siemens PLM Software, NX CAM. “You may have to do a lot of geometry construction to constrain the toolpath. So this application is very specifically designed for this case in programming these kinds of components.” Turbomachinery Milling is supported by existing NX CAM functions such as machining simulation that is directly driven from the post processor output. This helps validate NC programming decisions.
 

Without Turbomachinery Milling, it is common for programmers to switch over to proprietary applications that come with advanced machine tools when programming complex components at the heart of parts such as gas turbines. Other users would attempt to program the toolpaths using generic CAM software. The Turbomachinery Milling addition not only eliminates the need for stand-alone software, but can generate complex toolpaths in half the time of ordinary CAM software. “The result is far faster and far easier, especially for the inexperienced programmer,” Paradise says. “Time can indeed be reduced by half. It gives you options that are the kind of options you want.”
 

Additional Turbomachinery Milling features include five-axis roughing functions, hub finishing and blade and splitter finishing. It also features rest milling for automated removal of remaining material from previous operations and optimized tool engagement.
 

CMM Inspection Programming
NX CMM Inspection unites the shop floor with manufacturing planning and design so floor operators and design engineers can easily share the same data. This offline inspection programming application works in the context of a 3D solid model environment that includes the measuring machine and the part. Inspection features and probing paths are generated directly and automatically from product manufacturing information (PMI) data, which is attached to the 3D model. This helps reduce common manual programming mistakes such as selecting the wrong probe.
 

What’s more, this application features simulation and collision avoidance to help validate programming decisions. It also offers a machine and probe library to improve programming efficiency.
 

“The big thing is I can read the PMI data and generate an inspection program and then validate it by simulation,” Paradise says. With this application, he says, programming time can be reduced by up to 80%.