OPEN MIND, a specialist for intelligent CAD/CAM applications, develops a software solution for a faster and more reliable post-processing of additive manufactured parts.
Named hyperMILL®, the modular and flexible CAM solution is widely used by industries operating conventional manufacturing processes such as 2.5D, 3D and 5-axis milling as well as mill turning and machining operations. Further developments have led to the creation of hyperMILL ADDITIVE Manufacturing which can be combined with the digital twin and the hyperMILL BEST FIT to achieve an enhanced post-processing of 3D printed parts.
hyperMILL ADDITIVE Manufacturing opens up the flexible possibilities of highly complex 5-axis simultaneous machining for both the Direct Energy Deposition (DED) process and Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). The material application can be conveniently programmed with OPEN MIND’s software and automatically simulated for collision avoidance. Even in additive manufacturing with the powder bed fusion (PBF) process, the potential can be fully exploited by hyperMILL. And finally, post-processing, for example the removal of support structures in the 5-axis machining process, can also be programmed in advance in hyperMILL.
Apart from the still rather rare special case of hybrid solutions, in which additive and subtractive manufacturing take place directly one after the other without a machine change, the post-processing of an almost finished raw part with often small dimensions requires alignment in the machine tool.
Software adapts to reality
The process is based on the virtual machine in hyperMILL. A 3D measurement is used to scan the unaligned blank on the machine and then the measurement report is sent to the CAM. Here, hyperMILL BEST FIT then adjusts the NC code to the determined part position. Or put another way: In this case, the virtual world (programming) is adapted to the real world (clamping) – and not vice versa. The corrected NC code is then simulated in the virtual machine on the actual clamping situation and automatically optimized. The process is said to work so well that even complex molded parts requiring the highest precision, such as artificial knee implants, are given near-perfect surfaces in this way during post-processing.
Source: Hannover Messe. Remember, you can post your job opportunities in the AM Industry on 3D ADEPT Media or look for a job via our job board. Make sure to follow us on our social networks and subscribe to our weekly newsletter : Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram ! If you want to be featured in the next issue of our digital magazine or if you hear a story that needs to be heard, make sure you send it to contact@3dadept.com