On a Multiaxis Mission

END USER

JR Machine Inc.

715-526-5970

www.jrmachine.com

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

DMG Mori Manufacturing USA Inc.

530-746-7400

us.dmgmori.com

Mastercam/CNC Software LLC

800-228-2877

www.mastercam.com

CHALLENGE

Reduce the number of setups and operations to produce a family of parts while significantly cutting cycle times.

SOLUTION

A mill-turn add-on for a CAD/CAM software package for a five-axis machining center.

Being an aerospace machine shop, every day brings new opportunities and customer demands to JR Machine Inc. in Shawano, Wisconsin. The 50-employee shop primarily performs lathe work on workpieces from 25.4 mm to 457.2 mm (1″ to 18″) in diameter and up to 1,250 mm (49.2″) long, said General Manager Shane Kunschke. The manufacturer relies on 36 CNC turning and machining centers from DMG Mori Seiki Co. in Japan to help achieve its objectives. (DMG Mori Manufacturing USA Inc. is headquartered in Davis, California.)

JR Machine frequently machines heat-resistant superalloys, which was the case for a family of 60 parts in various sizes that were made of 718 Inconel, said Brent Berholtz, JR Machine’s engineering manager. The parts were initially machined on a DMG Mori NLX 2500 three-axis CNC turning center, which required creation of an in-house fixture to hold the part after the second operation. Completing the part, which has some 45° angles with small step-downs and chamfers, required three operations and three setups.

Looking to streamline the 11-hour production process, JR Machine purchased the Mastercam Multiaxis add-on for its Mastercam CAD/CAM software from CNC Software LLC in Tolland, Connecticut, Berholtz noted. JR Machine started using Mastercam in 2010 and in 2024 incorporated the multiaxis machining add-on, which enables simultaneous four- and five-axis machining capabilities with advanced toolpath strategies and reduced setup times.

Kunschke noted that JR Machine purchased the software from ShopWare but now works directly with Mastercam.

The job shop also moved production of the part family to a DMG Mori NTX machine, which provides simultaneous five-axis machining with the direct drive motor on the B-axis.

“We used to run them on an NLX 2500 and the capabilities on that machine are very fast yet very limited to the capacities that we have on our DMG Mori NTX machines,” Kunschke said. “That machine’s capabilities matched with the mill-turn software is what drives us to be able to make this in one operation.”

Instead of performing three setups and three operations, JR Machine was able to machine parts complete in one five-axis machine, eliminating the fixture operation by being able to grab the bar stock with the main spindle, transfer it to the secondary spindle and finish the operation while cutting the cycle time by about 50%, Berholtz said. “You get those two matched together perfectly. If you only had the machine, you wouldn’t be able to have that much cycle time reduction. If you only had the software, you won’t be able to have that. You have to get it from both sides.”

The savings on the run of the family of 60 parts were significant, but Berholtz noted that JR Machine does not know when or if it will see that part again. Nonetheless, Mastercam with the multiaxis machining add-on is software that the shop uses every day across some type of part it is making. In addition to recommendations from the machine tool builder to use Mastercam CAD/CAM software, Kunschke said JR Machine appreciates the software’s functionality, versatility and available options. “They can do anything.”

Berholtz concurred. “We wanted to pair ourselves with some of the best people in the market. We can go to any angle, on any part with any size radius contours. The print will call it out.”

The shop’s programmers appreciate the software as well, Berholtz said. “We can just get going with a part in a matter of minutes. A few clicks and we’re rolling on it. Compared to what we had before, it was quite a lengthy process to get any toolpath going on a model.”

Credits:

Captions: Credits: All images: Mastercam

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JR Machine incorporated the Mastercam CAD/CAM multiaxis machining add-on, which enables simultaneous 4- and 5-axis machining capabilities with advanced toolpath strategies and reduced setup times.

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The Mastercam multiaxis machining add-on enables end users to achieve multisurface roughing and finishing with stock model awareness, advanced gouge-checking, and a 5-axis safe zone around parts.

Pull Quote:

‘We wanted to pair ourselves with some of the best people in the market.’