Caron Engineering develops CNC machine optimization solutions to improve performance, productivity and profitability for the metalcutting manufacturing industry. Caron will unveil its newest tool monitoring adaptive control system, TMAC 3.0. TMAC monitors using customized sensors for power, vibration or strain to measure tool wear. TMAC learns the cut, allowing the operator to visualize the actual cutting to make the necessary adjustments to run at optimum efficiency.
By measuring tool wear in real time, TMAC will automatically expire a tool if excessive wear is detected (and can signal a redundant tool) or immediately stop the machine and retract the tool in the event of breakage. This direct interface with the CNC control allows machines to run unattended.
The TMAC 3.0 offers an intuitive user interface designed to handle the complexity of the software while providing simplicity for the user. The web-based UI has completely customizable user views with a dynamic display that can be accessed from any device (including smartphones) and allows monitoring multiple processes and even multiple machine channels simultaneously.
TMAC can optimize almost any cutting operation and also mitigates specific manufacturing challenges with difficult to machine materials, such as hard aerospace components. "Typically, programmers must plan for the worst material condition, which leads to lengthy cycle times and accelerated tool wear," said a company spokesperson. "This is especially true with aerospace components since they are machined from alloys and composite materials, and from either a casting or forging or single solid block of material. TMAC adaptive control overrides the machine tool feedrate to automatically make adjustments based on the cutting power load of the tool. Thus, TMAC is increasing the feedrate with low power cuts and decreasing with high power cuts and as tools wear. By making real-time adaptive control feedrate adjustments TMAC optimizes the entire cutting process, extends tool life and reduces cycle time up to 60%."
TMAC collects a large amount of data for analysis. It utilizes a separate high-speed processor capable of quickly processing data from multiple different sensors including power, vibration, strain, coolant pressure, coolant flow and spindle speed. Users can overlay cutting data to compare cuts, interrogate alarms and events, access historical tool wear data, inspect CNC position data and even analyze bearing health with the bearing analysis feature.
Caron Engineering will feature a FANUC ROBODRILL outfitted with the new TMAC 3.0 and its entire product line of optimization solutions to achieve a fully automated cell. It will also feature ToolConnect, a tool identification and data transfer system, loading the tools and automatically transferring tool measurement data to and from the CNC control via RFID tags in toolholders. A collaborative robot will unload the part and place it in the Fowler zCAT CMM for measurement. Caron Engineering's AutoComp software will read the measurement file and automatically adjust tool offsets to the CNC control.
DTect-IT, a USB sensor monitoring system developed by Caron Engineering to effectively monitor any area of concern on a CNC machine tool or fixture, will detect extreme conditions using a vibration sensor and the fault detection analysis mode.
Caron Engineering will also have a CEI Smart Light system on the ROBODRILL that will be showing the part's progress on the CNC machine. With direct communication to the control, the CEI smart light not only indicates cycle status, but can be programmed to indicate any machine status using the 1,000 available modes and audible alarm.
For more information contact:
Caron Engineering, Inc.
116 Willie Hill Rd.
Wells, ME 04090
207-646-6071
marketing@caroneng.com
www.caroneng.com
IMTS 2018 Level 3, Booth E-135636