Lead Angle: Rise of the soft machine

In the machine shop of the future, a digital thread will weave through the pre-, in- and post-machining processes. 

Premachining processes include design, operations planning and production logistics. After machining, part verification and outbound logistics enter the picture.

This coming scenario was a central theme at the Global Press Preview Event held March 28-30 at the Sandvik Coromant Center in Sandviken, Sweden. In his presentation, Magnus Ekbäck, AB Sandvik Coromant’s vice president of business development and acting head of digital machining, said, as a result of this digital thread, the amount of tool software will increase three to four times by 2025. Meanwhile, the amount of tool hardware will remain about the same.

One example of this software is Sandvik Coromant’s PrimeTurning code generator. PrimeTurning is compatible with various CNC systems and creates the ISO programming code and techniques for the toolmaker’s new turning methodology. According to the company, the PrimeTurning methodology enables parts manufacturers to perform longitudinal facing and profiling (forward and back), as well as conventional turning (from part end to chuck), with one tool. 

More information is available by using the search in the upper left portion of this website and searching for PrimeTurning. (Or just click here.) However, I’d like to share the results of one application. After switching from conventional turning to the new methodology, an Italian manufacturer reduced the cycle time for machining a shaft from 2.42 to 1.36 minutes. It also extended the tool life per edge from four pieces to nine. The competitor’s conventional insert ran at a cutting speed of 150 m/min. (492 sfm), a feed rate of 0.3 mm/rev. (0.012 ipr) and a DOC of 2mm (0.079"). By contrast, the CoroTurn Prime B-type roughing insert (A-type is for finishing) ran at double the cutting speed and DOC, and a feed of 0.8 mm/rev. (0.032 ipr) when turning forged, ASTM B564 nickel alloy with a hardness of 250 HB on a Doosan Puma 3100M horizontal machining center.

Because the manufacturer produces 5,000 of these shafts per year, the conventional process was likely optimized as much as possible. Mia Pålsson, senior manager of product unit turning tools for Sandvik Coromant, estimated that if PrimeTurning was applied to produce just one piston for each of the 67 million cars made annually around the world, the cycle-time savings would equal 51 years. She noted, however, the new methodology is not suitable for all turning applications.

With the rising level of software development for machining applications and the need to advance machining analytics, Ekbäck added that toolmakers must attract people who often find work at technology-focused companies.

That can be a challenge, especially because most of these people do not view manufacturing as a high-tech field. Therefore, they are not automatically drawn to working in the industry. Nonetheless, Klas Forsström, president of Sandvik Coromant and Sandvik Machining Solutions, emphasized that if young people are asked about their interests, they will realize, if properly informed, that those interests frequently mesh with what a manufacturing career offers: working with people, design, computers and—above all—developing innovation. 

“Our DNA is built around innovation,” he said. (Click here for the Q&A with Forsström.)