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END USER: Brinkman Machine Tools and Manufacturing Laboratory, Rochester Institute of Technology, (585) 475-6573, www.rit.edu/kgcoe/ise/brinkman. CHALLENGE: Teach engineering students to use new machining technology. SOLUTION: Integrated machining system, including tool management and tool presetting. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: Okuma America Corp., (704) 588-7000, www.okuma.com; Kennametal Inc., (800) 446-7738, www.kennametal.com; Zoller Inc., (734) 332-4851, www.zoller-usa.com

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If you're ever skeptical about the future of the U.S. metalworking industry, a visit to the Earl W. Brinkman Manufacturing and Machine Tools Laboratory at the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology (RIT) might change your mind.

The result of the vision of Bob Brinkman, a leader in Rochester manufacturing, the 3,000-sq.-ft. lab is dedicated to advancing manufacturing technology through applied research, education and industrial outreach. Its machine technology includes vertical machining centers from Okuma America Corp. and other machine tools, a Kennametal Inc. automated tool storage system and Zoller Inc. tool measurement and inspection equipment to help students learn techniques for improving cycle time and ensuring accuracy in the machining processes they design.

"This is where students learn the concepts and fundamentals of machining," said John Bonzo, director of the Brinkman Lab and facilities manager of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at RIT. "They learn that manufacturing is taking something and making it more valuable." About 250 undergraduate students in the industrial and mechanical engineering programs are exposed to the lab through the materials processing class in the winter quarter. Other undergraduate and graduate students also use the lab throughout the year.

According to Bonzo, the lab's equipment works together to help students learn about productive metalcutting. "The Okuma THINC open-architecture control allows us to streamline communication between the Kennametal tool inventory system, the Zoller presetter, bar feeders and inspection equipment. This reduces potential errors and wasted time. The main thing our students learn is how to efficiently set up a real-world manufacturing system."

Students begin by developing a CAD/CAM file and a machining process for a specific part, then request the tools needed to perform the process. Tools are measured, inspected and preset on the Zoller smile unit, and tool offset data is stored in the CNC. The presetter also stores a parts list for tool assembly and tool setting sheets. Measured and set tools are stored in the ToolBOSS tool storage and inventory management system from Kennametal, Latrobe, Pa. During machining, tool-life data is sent to the vision-based presetter and measuring machine, then tools are stored again in the tool inventory system after machining.

The tool presetter and measuring machine can accommodate drilling, turning and milling tools. According to Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Zoller, it is aimed at small job shops, is compatible with all types of machine tools and is easy to operate. The system software can store 99 adapter zero points and data for thousands of tools. Automatic zero-point control prevents the wrong tool from being installed on a machine, helping to eliminate crashes and downtime.

Courtesy of Zoller

Tyler Brent, RIT student and Brinkman lab assistant, uses the lab's smile tool presetter from Zoller.

"We use the presetter the way any shop would: to measure tools and set up offsets offline, and to inspect tools—mainly CAT 40 tooling for the mills," Bonzo explained. The system minimizes potential errors and saves time by eliminating the need to set tools by touching off the tool tip. The Zoller unit is more accurate than on-machine tool setting, and students save 3 to 5 minutes of setup time for each tool, according to Bonzo.

"If a machine operator 'fat-fingered' a tool offset, entering an incorrect figure into the menu, it could make a significant difference when machining starts," Bonzo said. "The error-reduction alone has prevented many tools in the lab from being demolished in the machines." The Zoller unit evaluates the offsets, compares them to the CAD data and alerts the user to potential errors before the tool is loaded into the machine.

Zoller has also developed an interface with Mastercam CAM software from CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Conn., a THINC partner. (A group of suppliers established by Okuma to promote collaborative machining solutions, Partners in THINC also includes Kennametal and Zoller.) This permits students to import jobs from Mastercam, plan the job in the software, prepare the job, measure the required tools and send the results to the machine.

According to Bonzo, students see the benefits of offline tool presetting in terms of reduced scrap, increased tool life and fewer tool crashes. The lab also uses the presetter to research tool wear and quality trends in certain applications, comparing the effects of coolant, speeds and feeds and other factors, furthering the program's goal of applied research.

"Another important use of the manufacturing lab is to show local shops what is possible with new technology," Bonzo said. "Most small shops need to be globally competitive, but they do not have the time or resources to evaluate and purchase new machines and software. So the lab opens up once a year to show local shop owners how new technology can make their operations more productive."