At EASTEC 2019, Caron Engineering will release a new version of its flagship Tool Monitoring Adaptive Control system, TMAC 3.0. TMAC not only monitors tool wear and breakage, but with the numerous sensor options and dedicated high-speed processor, TMAC is designed for real-time machine tool condition monitoring, optimization and control.
Caron Engineering's booth #5432 will feature a live cutting demo on a Tsugami vertical machining center. The Tsugami will be outfitted with Caron Engineering's product suite of solutions optimizing the machining process before, during and after cutting. The featured TMAC 3.0 system will be monitoring the spindle power to detect tool wear and breakage. The adaptive control feature of TMAC will be used to automatically make real-time feedrate adjustments through variations in material cutting, thereby maximizing tool life and reducing cycle time.
"Caron Engineering's TMAC system, initially developed in 1990, monitors true motor power instead of current," said a company spokesperson. "It has the ability to make real-time feedrate adjustments through variations in material using adaptive control."
TMAC has a dedicated high-speed processor. The CNC control only allows a small amount of processing power for applications like tool monitoring and adaptive control. By using a separate processor, TMAC handles a large number of high-speed sensors simultaneously, allowing instant reaction and correction to conditions through real-time CNC machine interfacing.
TMAC version 3.0 has a more intuitive interface and the processor houses its own web-server to allow remote real-time monitoring from any network connected device including smart phones. The views are completely customizable for monitoring multiple channels simultaneously. Users can also access all instances of TMAC on a shop floor from a single browser.
Caron Engineering's multi-range sensors allow TMAC to automatically scale the display to the appropriate monitoring range for optimal sensor resolution. In addition to power, TMAC is designed to monitor tool wear and breakage using vibration sensors and even embed strain gauge sensors in micro tools to monitor the slightest cutting operations. Additionally, TMAC can monitor coolant flow, coolant pressure and spindle speed.
All events and historical data are automatically saved and can be exported for analysis. Using the TMAC viewer, users can overlay cutting data to compare cuts, interrogate alarms and events, access historical tool wear data and even analyze bearing health with the bearing analysis feature.
Caron Engineering's MTConnect Manager enables data collection from TMAC and all other Caron Engineering products to easily communicate with any shop floor automation software that supports the MTConnect protocol.
Caron Engineering's newest version of its ToolConnect system will also be exhibited on the Tsugami VMC. ToolConnect is designed to automatically transfer tool measurement data from a tool presetter to the CNC control using RFID technology. A tool presetter is used to write the measurement data to a RFID tag embedded in the toolholder. The tool is then placed at a Caron Engineering custom read station, installed on or near the machine where the measurement data is read by ToolConnect and the geometry offsets are automatically adjusted in the CNC control.
"The demand for ToolConnect has been exceeding our expectations," said Rob Caron, President of Caron Engineering. "Customers are realizing the significant benefits of having a system in place that automatically loads the tool offsets to the control and eliminates the possibility of operators loading the incorrect tool or inputting the wrong data."
ToolConnect is also designed to reduce set-up time. Each ToolConnect systems is uniquely customized to meet the customer's tool load specifications. ToolConnect is capable of automatically indexing the correct magazine position. When the tool is unloaded, the offsets are updated to the RFID tag.
Another one of Caron Engineering's optimization solutions attendees will see in action at EASTEC is the AutoComp software. AutoComp is designed to process measurement data from almost any electronic gauging device, calculate the necessary offset adjustments and automatically make the adjustments to the CNC control. AutoComp requires no manual data entry after set-up, which saves time and eliminates a substantial margin for human error. Caron Engineering will feature a gauging center to show how multiple different gauging devices, including CMMs and vision systems, work with their AutoComp product.
DTect-IT, a USB sensor monitoring system developed by Caron Engineering to monitor any area of concern on a CNC machine tool or fixture, will have a full demo showing its monitoring versatility. With multiple sensor compatibility including power, vibration and strain, users can monitor extreme conditions, run bearing analysis, analyze frequencies and much more.
As a distributor of Blum-Novotest products in the Northeast, Caron Engineering will also have demonstrations of the newest Blum laser measurement technology and machine tool probing.
For more information contact:
Caron Engineering, Inc.
116 Willie Hill Rd.
Wells, ME 04090
207-646-6071
marketing@caroneng.com
www.caroneng.com
EASTEC 2019 Booth 5432