SP Tools in India gets high material removal rates with WorkNC

SP Tools based in Pune, India is one of the best known toolmakers and produces injection molds and precision toolroom parts for leading companies such as Sridevi Tool Engineers, Varroc Polymers and Shapers India, relying on Sescoi’s WorkNC CAD/CAM software to program parts quickly and accurately.

<< SP Tools has such confidence in WorkNC that it is able to leave machines cutting unattended out of normal working hours, further increasing productivity... >>

To offer its customers the best possible service, the company has invested in five BFW vertical machining centers with Mitsubishi controllers. The machines, manufactured in India by Bharat Fritz Werner, range in capacity from 650 x 450 x 450mm to 1700 x 900 x 800mm and enable it to handle and machine large and intricate molds as well as small electrodes. Sescoi provided postprocessors for all the machines to optimize the capabilities of both the machines themselves, and their control units.

A common feature of the injection molds produced by SP Tools is the requirement to rapidly remove large volumes of material before semi-finishing and finishing operations. WorkNC’s Global Roughing strategies achieve this by using highly accurate stock and rest models so that the software knows exactly where excess material is located, minimizing redundant air cutting and retract moves and ensuring that shock loading of the tool is avoided. To maximize metal removal, WorkNC automatically applies technology which generates toolpaths which can smoothly machine with large Z depths of cut and step-overs of up to 95% of the tool diameter. The techniques used include trochoidal machining, where the cutter describes a spiral path when it encounters a full width cut condition, helicoidal lead in moves, which again avoid cutting with the whole tool, and spiral and smooth radial movements at corners. These stop the tool rubbing in corners and avoid sudden direction changes, keeping tool loads constant.

WorkNC’s Flat Surface machining further speeds up metal removal. With this strategy, the software can automatically identify flat areas in the mold directly from the imported CAD model. It can then apply the fastest cutting trajectory, using large tools to machine the area in the shortest possible time. Not only does this result in quicker machining, but it also produces a superior surface finish.

Running a three shift system, ensures that SP Tools maximizes the utilization of its machinery. However to keep the CNCs cutting requires fast, easy and reliable CAM programming. The company uses WorkNC on the shop floor as it appreciates the ease of use of the software. It has been able to learn the software quickly and the automated toolpaths generate reliable and collision free CNC code right first time, essential in a mold making environment where errors can be very costly. SP Tools has such confidence in WorkNC that it is able to leave machines cutting unattended out of normal working hours, further increasing productivity.

SP Tools’ aim is to provide high levels of customer satisfaction through improved efficiency, high quality levels and short lead times. It started its operations in 2010 and has already grown to become one of the best known toolmaking companies in India. WorkNC has played an important role in this development. Its automated and smooth toolpaths have helped the company to achieve high metal removal rates, deliver high quality surface finishes and, at the same time, reduce machining times and improve productivity, making it a valuable asset for the company.