Test and Engineering Services Grow with Machining

As opportunity would have it, Yeager and Fransden decided to take their model to the software pavilion at IMTS 2010 and challenge the vendors directly. “We didn’t have the luxury of time,” says Yeager. “We would put the model in front of them and demand a five-axis toolpath while we waited. Plenty of companies said they could, but the wait time would be a couple weeks while they took the model home and had their guru work on it. We needed a solution we could see immediately.”

Where other CAM packages couldn’t, hyperMILL® from OPEN MIND Technologies USA (Needham, MA) could. With a history in 2D, 3D, and five-axis programming, hyperMILL provides a complete resource of analysis, programming, and verification tools. “We bring competitive advantage to our customers with hands-on applications experience and knowledge of 5-axis postprocessors for every machine kinematic and control type,” says Alan Levine, the managing director of OPEN MIND. “Our customers hit the ground running and require less after-implementation support, so their focus can stay on core business.”

hyperMILL software includes analysis tools for determining which element properties in a component model are relevant for machining tasks. Users click on a surface and the software displays individual surface types and can automatically search all planes and radii and mark their positions and sizes. The extensive tool database includes tools, holders, any necessary extensions, and even the corresponding coupling systems.

These items are defined, analyzed, and given a user-controlled offset for use in mathematical collision detection and avoidance routines. This is not possible in software packages where users are required to “sketch“ tool geometry. “The biggest thing I can say is hyperMILL gets it,“ smiles Frandsen. “We can throw a model in and get a toolpath out without having to play with it. And it’s very intuitive – the toolpath you see on the screen looks like the toolpath you get on the machine.“

With multi-axis machining and programming experience in his background, Frandsen praises the quality of training available to hyperMILL users.  “Any problems I’ve had in programming related to needing construction geometries, boundaries, or basic 2D skeltons that I wasn’t aware of, I’ve been able to solve all of my issues over the phone or gotomeeting,“ he says. Frandsen has used hyperMILL’s blade-milling functions for machining blisks and impellers, and tube-milling functions for making enclosed stators. “My confidence in it is phenomenal,“ he says of the software. “It doesn’t do anything stupid like gouge your part while acting like that’s perfectly fine. What I’ve programmed, I’ve gotten. Every time.“

GROWTH GOING FORWARD
In addition to five-axis CNC milling, Aerodyn has also added turning, grinding, EDM, CMM inspection, and assembly to its capabilities, as well as opening a test facility in nearby Whitestown, IN. Yeager says the company is quickly gaining a reputation for successful machining in difficult materials, such as Rene 41 (developed by General Electric for retaining high strength at extreme temperatures) and CMSX-4, used in jet engines and gas turbines.

“Business is growing and the machining sector of our business is a significant driver in that growth. Our increased capability is one of the things our CAM software gives us.“

Aerodyn Engineering, Inc., 1919 South Girls School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46241, 317-334-1523 Fax: 317-334-1548, www.aerodyneng.com.

OPEN MIND Technologies USA, 214 Garden Street, Unit 2, Needham, MA 02492, 339-225-4557, Fax: 270-912-5822, www.openmind-tech.com.