ProfitTurning – The cutting edge of tomorrow’s CAD/CAM software ProfitTurning, releases in the latest version of the ESPRIT CAM software, represents years of ground-breaking research. A lathe roughing strategy that significantly reduces machine cycle time, ProfitTurning has hurdled a grueling series of tests, delivering a performance that promises to take machinists, engineers and industrialists to greater levels of precision, quality control and productivity.

ProfitTurning is a high-speed lathe roughing strategy developed by DP Technology Corp. for OD/ID/face cutting and other tasks. Fast, secure and efficient, it also extends tool life by significantly minimizing wear. Compared to conventional ramping methods, ProfitTurning reduces machine cycle time as well as the frequency tooling inserts need to be replaced.

DP Technology’s R&D Director of Product and Engineering Ivan Kristic reveals the science behind ProfitTurning’s performance:

“ESPRIT 2016’s ProfitTurning toolpath maintains consistent cutting forces and chip loads, allowing cutting speeds to be significantly increased. By employing trochoidal turning and controlled engagement techniques, the ProfitTurning toolpath also reduces vibration and residual stresses, which in turn makes it particularly well-suited to thin walls or hard materials, especially super alloys. The net result is significantly reduced cycle times and maximized productivity.”

Physics-Based Cutting Engine
ESPRIT 2016 uses a physics-based cutting engine which provides the foundation for the technologies such as ProfitTurning.

While traditional cutting strategies consider only the geometry of materials, ESPRIT 2016 taps deeper into the science of how different industrial materials can be cut in the most efficient ways possible. Its new toolpath technology uses the principles of physics to formulate unique strategies for each cutting challenge.

To do that, ESPRIT 2016 inputs all relevant factors in the toolpath algorithm such as tool material, tool shape, workpiece material, tool speed, feed rate, chip deforming, chip load, machine tool power, acceleration and deceleration. This helps establish complete control of the cutting environment, allowing for optimal cutting everywhere along the toolpath.

The ESPRIT CAM & Smart Manufacturing seminar hosted by DP Technology in Beijing, China on September 22, 2016 was a great success.

DP Technology along with the College of Electromechanical Engineering at Beijing Union University and the Beijing Intelligent Mechanical Innovative Design Engineering Research Center hosted the ESPRIT CAM & Smart Manufacturing seminar on September 22, 2016.

DP Technology joined the College of Electromechanical Engineering at Beijing Union University and the Beijing Intelligent Mechanical Innovative Design Engineering Research Center to host the ESPRIT CAM & Smart Manufacturing seminar in Beijing on September 22, 2016. The seminar brought into focus the most critical manufacturing topics in China today in order to better support the ten-year national plan, Made in China 2025. The Made in China 2025 program promotes the transfer into smart manufacturing, improves applications in smart manufacturing and fosters the next generation in a wide array of manufacturing industries. The event was attended by more than 60 people from local manufacturing companies, universities and members of the press. The seminar was a joint speaking engagement for outstanding businessmen and technicians. It featured many topics to support attendees and ESPRIT users on their path to success, including Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, manufacturing automation and the partnership between industry and academia.

Guang Cheng, Dean of College of Electromechanical Engineering of Beijing Union University, addressed the current status and major trends in the future of smart manufacturing from historical, conceptual and practical aspects. Mr. Cheng stated that the College of Electromechanical Engineering is committed to developing high quality application engineers with an international point of view. He also stated that, “We would like to facilitate cooperation with DP Technology to further the development of smart manufacturing. The current research focus of Beijing Intelligent Mechanical Innovative Design Engineering Research Center covers a wide range of smart manufacturing technologies, including prototype design and manufacturing, human-machine interaction and usability testing, and smart manufacturing and service.”

“With more than thirty years’ experience, ESPRIT CAM is the only software which is capable of supporting B-axis multi-tasking, 2-5 axis milling, 2-22 axis turning and 2-22 axis, Wire EDM and offers a platform which gives users customized solutions through any object-oriented programming language. With customers across the world, ESPRIT CAM has been applied in a wide range of industries, including aeronautics and astronautics, automotive, industrial machinery, education, medical machinery, energy and so on. In order to provide better service to customers, DP Technology operates sales and technical support centers in multiple locations: Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou in order to provide high performance professional and efficient services. DP Technology also adds value to education in China as a part of their ongoing commitment to support the ‘Made in China 2025’ plan. For many years DP Technology has partnered with higher education institutions, technical middle schools, technical high schools, and technical colleges. DP Technology works hand in hand with local schools and colleges to create certification and training centers and to help build the education revolution in China. DP Technology will be an official and major sponsor of the 7th National Vocational Students Skills Competition- CNC machining contest and will also provide technical support at the event. To sponsor the biggest machining contest in China, DP Technology is taking a proactive approach in engaging with the stakeholders in these industries, but also shows the capability and determination to support the Made in China 2025 plan “, said Mike Lauer, General Manager at DP Asia-Pacific.

In the seminar, David Zhang, vice General Manager in DP China, and Cliff Ji, sales engineer in DP North China also shared the most up to date CNC technology in ESPRIT CAM. “With a continuing thirst for new technology in the modern industry, CNC manufacturing has become popular in many areas. ESPRIT CAM is able to provide a complete package for customer’s manufacturing solutions in many different industries. In addition, ESPRIT CAM is compliant with IoT and the Industry 4.0 initiative. In this way, ESPRIT CAM not only provides users a new concept of automatic machining but also reduces the programming time with easy operations for high quality parts. As a global CAD/CAM company, DP Technology believes that through the cooperation with educational institutions, they have the power to improve manufacturing in China. DP Technology has always been committed to being the world’s leading CAD/CAM technology to college educators and students, specifically when multi-tasking machining with high-speed cutting. Introducing CAD/CAM technologies also helps provide high-end technical personnel to the industry. While we have been in this game for a long time, we will never stop learning and improving upon our cooperation with academia.” said David Zhang.

Cliff Ji also shared several benefits of ESPRIT CAM in the seminar.
1. ESPRIT CAM offers customized solutions for any type of machine tool to cut parts with any shape of geometry
2. ESPRIT CAM provides edit-free post processors with accurate G-code
3. ESPRIT CAM’s full machine simulation prevents machines from collisions
4. ESPRIT CAM is a cloud-enabled CAM to simplify the selection of cutting tools and automatically obtain the recommended ones.

In the seminar, application engineers from DP Technology also demonstrated ESPRIT CAM’s multi-tasking and 5-axis capabilities with ease to allow attendees to experience the power of the innovative ESPRIT CAM software.

The manufacturing industry has evolved into a new generation with automation, numerical control and smart manufacturing. DP Technology continues to improve their technologies by watching new cutting edge developments in the manufacturing industry, fulfilling customer requirements, and providing innovative solutions to improve product quality, productivity and reduce production cost.

GDS Präzisionszerspanungs GmbH is a professional supplier of products related to grinding. GDS designs and manufactures work holding, clamping devices, grinding wheel adapters and accessories suitable for tool grinding machines. Spindle sleeves and tapered sleeves for external cylindrical grinding, grinding arbors and accessories for internal grinding. Furthermore, GDS manufactures components that are required for balancing and dressing grinding wheels, as well as other necessary components for the grinding process equipment.

The company GDS
GDS Präzisionszerspanungs GmbH, based in Ofterdingen near Stuttgart, Germany, started its business 20 years ago as a part supplier to different sectors, including the Medical and Machine Tool industries, mostly comprised of grinding machine companies. Their key differentiator was making the impossible, possible, by manufacturing complex, very precise rotational parts.

GDS produced what others could not, specifically when it came
to the micro precision of parts. Today, their specialty remains in supplying wheel adapters for the grinding machine tool industry.

In 2009 during the industrial crisis GDS recognized an opportunity to refocus the company and launch their own product line of grinding wheel adapters.

At that time Dietmar Duerr, CEO of GDS also recognized that
he had to review the way the company was operating to be able to master this challenge. Starting a new dedicated business meant reorganizing and optimizing all of GDS’s processes from design to manufacturing.

More importantly it meant getting the GDS employees on board with all the necessary changes needed to develop this new business venture. “We looked in-depth at all the steps in our manufacturing processes, even inviting GDS employees to get involved and contribute to those changes we needed to make to successfully manufacture our new product line. We listened to our employee’s needs, and as a result provided them with the necessary tools to make all the changes needed.

“The usage of ESPRIT in Production allowed us to reduce the cost pressure and keep the price of our components stable at the same level.”

Today GDS employees continue to be happy and feel like a part of the GDS family. Our production capacity has also increased a
lot compared to 3 years ago, which has allowed the company to accept new contracts, and be more flexible than ever before” Mr. Duerr confirms.

ESPRIT in action
As a part of the necessary changes GDS optimized its processes to support production, and introduced a new CAD software Solidworks, and a new CAM solution, ESPRIT CAM software to machine the parts. These changes were key to
the success of GDS’s grinding wheel adapter business, helping the company enormously grow than in the past 4 years, plus increased their overall product quality by 25%.

GDS chose ESPRIT CAM
based on the unrivaled ease of importing all feature information from a SolidWorks CAD file into ESPRIT to machine the parts. “Using ESPRIT, we almost doubled the number of jobs
in production over a certain
time” says Alexander Seyboldt, Manufacturing Manager at GDS. “Having the option to save defined processes for one part
to a disk, and reuse them by dragging and dropping them
into the next part, helped reduce programing time by 50%. The integrated simulation in ESPRIT, including complete tools and fixtures, secured our process and helped ensure high production quality’’ he adds. The Report generated out of ESPRIT helped the person at the machine
feel comfortable that all the information needed for running production of the part was included.

“The usage of ESPRIT in the Production allowed us to reduce the cost pressure and keep the price of our components stable at the same level.” resumes Dietmar Dürr.

“By using the KBM functionality in ESPRIT efficiency was increased by 30% when programing new parts” confirms Mr. Seyboldt.

Using ESPRIT CAM software allowed GDS to effectively produce more, pursue new customers or projects, and most importantly for GDS Management, made employees even more happy to work for GDS – which GDS knows is one of the most fundamental components to their success.

Camarillo, Calif. CAM industry innovator DP Technology Corp. has announced a new version of its pioneering flagship product ESPRIT 2016.

ESPRIT 2016 features a new innovative high speed lathe roughing strategy, called ProfitTurning that implements ESPRIT’s new Physics-Based Cutting Engine. While traditional cutting strategies only consider the geometry of the part, ProfitTurning creates

the toolpath considering multiple cutting factors and machine characteristics that impact machining performance. “ESPRIT 2016’s ProfitTurning remarkably improves chip control on hard materials, such as Titanium and Inconel. In addition, ProfitTurning reduces irregular cutting forces and vibration tendencies. The net result is a drastic reduction in cycle time, up to 50% more compared to traditional cutting methods”, said Cedric Simard, Global Marketing & Communication Director at DP Technology.

Simulation speed also plays a pivotal role in CAM software and ESPRIT continues to be at the forefront of accelerating simulation without compromising accuracy or stability. ESPRIT 2016 includes increased simulation speed and higher quality surface finishing saving the user valuable time.
Advanced Tool Settings in ESPRIT 2016 provide CAM programmers enhanced tool management solutions. Additional Barrel Tool Support has also been extended to cover more 5-axis and 3-axis cutting cycles. Furthermore, Cloud-Enabled ESPRIT supports the MachiningCloud APP, which enables users to retrieve ideal cutting tool solutions and import them directly into ESPRIT with ease.

ESPRIT 2016 also features enhanced CAD recognition functions to correct and detect any acute unseen defects in imported CAD models. In addition, users can now edit or remove fillets or even extract a spine curve from fillets as a tool drive curve in machining operations. The new Hole Feature Recognition features in ESPRIT 2016 include automatically recognizing different types of complex holes and names them accordingly. ESPRIT also measures the curvature angle of open holes, making complex drilling operations more accurate and productive.

Wire EDM improvements in ESPRIT 2016 make rough cutting easier and prolong tool life. The Optional Cut-Off Clearance in ESPRIT specifies additional clearance for cut-off moves to reduce the amount of grinding required. Another new Wire-EDM feature is the Optimize First Cut-Off, which protects the wire from rethreading where there is no pre-drilled thread hole.

Fluid 5-axis features in ESPRIT 2016 eliminates unwanted plunge-type moves in Swarf cycles, and smooths any concealed defects in Spiral Finishing part surfaces. The feed rate of Spiral Roughing can now also be increased for non-cutting moves to save cutting time. ESPRIT 2016 accelerates machining with increased simulation speed and innovative cutting strategies that save users programming time and optimize profits.

CAM industry innovator DP Technology Corp. is pleased to announce the release of a new version of its pioneering flagship product ESPRIT® 2015. ESPRIT helps increase productivity for a full range of machine tool applications by generating more efficient toolpaths while also saving time by providing substantial improvements in computer numerical control (CNC) programming productivity.

Besides increasing productivity, the release also provides many new and improved features specifically in the areas of intelligent machining, strategic machining, CAD-CAM data exchange and Cloud-Enabled CAM.

Intelligent Machining
Intelligent machining features in ESPRIT 2015 accelerates the machining process by providing new and unique 5-Axis cycles that reduce cycle time. This makes it possible to completely machine blades in a single setup. ESPRIT’s 5-Axis Blade Roughing tool motion is morphed across the blade from any size stock shape to uniformly offset stock allowance so it can be immediately followed by a finishing cycle.

“ESPRIT 2015 offers unique features in 5-axis to make complex machining more efficient, allowing users to have more tool path options with features like blade roughing and chamfering.” said Cedric Simard, Global Marketing & Communication Director of DP Technology. “ESPRIT 2015 blade roughing enables users to remove material down to uniform stock around the blade and eliminates the need to follow semi-finish cycles. Users in the aerospace, energy, medical and automotive industries will benefit the most from these time-saving operations for precision parts.”

The Port Roughing cycle, another intelligent machining improvement in ESPRIT 2015, is a brand new 5-Axis cycle. It creates a 5-axis roughing operation to remove the material inside an area where the tool must enter through a restricted opening. The shape of the toolpath is an offset of the port surfaces, starting at the surface and proceeding inward at a constant stepover.

Productivity Boost
ESPRIT 2015 also includes features that increase machining productivity. The new Bottom Up roughing strategy helps take ESPRIT’s ProfitMilling high speed material removal cycle to the next level. The new Bottom Up strategy lets you attain a small residual stock height during the stock removal process. Even more, it can be combined with ProfitMilling – our unique high-speed machining roughing technology – for a major improvement in overall productivity. ProfitMilling optimizes toolpaths with engagement angle, chip load, lateral cutter force and material removal rate to massively reduce cycle time and increase tool life.

Strategic machining
The strategic machining capabilities of ESPRIT 2015 have been expanded with completely redesigned stock automation capabilities for multi-tasking machines with mill, turn and drill capabilities. Available for the Facing, Contouring and Pocketing milling cycles, the new stock automation function maintains awareness of the stock removed by previous operations to generate cutting passes only in areas where stock remains. This function greatly reduces air cutting which in turn drastically reduces cycle time.

Additional strategic machining improvements have been made by providing support for slot mill tools in the Port Milling and Composite cycles. Slot mill tools save machining time on operations as tee-slotting and square shoulder milling and their geometry generates lower cutting forces in soft materials and unstable setups which increases tool life. Barrel-shaped cutters are now supported in 5-Axis Blade and Composite cycles. Barrel-shaped cutters provide a much better surface finish than ball end mills because their geometry provides a larger effective radius of engagement, resulting in smaller cusps between toolpaths.

CAD to CAM
New data exchange features in ESPRIT 2015 make it easier ever before to move information from your CAD system into the CAM environment. Three new geometry types — sketches, feature profiles and curves — are now available through ESPRIT FX data exchange from Dassault Systemes CATIA, Parametric Technology Pro/ENGINEER and Siemens NX/UG. The additional information obtained from these geometry types can be easily manipulated to cover complex areas for roughing operations or extend surfaces to get a better finish on edges.

ESPRIT 2015 provides another important improvement to shorten programming time by increasing the accuracy of automated feature recognition. The enhanced Auto Chain support for solid faces, loops and edges lets you create chain features directly on solid models. In addition, a redesigned wall feature recognition command automatically recognizes the upper and lower limits of walls, even tapered walls, in a solid model.

Cloud-Enabled CAM
ESPRIT 2015 allows you to select tools based on the features of your parts in minutes — saving you the drudgery of flipping through catalogs to find ideal tooling. With the ESPRIT MachiningCloud Connection, programmers have access to complete and up-to-date tooling product data, cutting hours of programming time by eliminating manual tool creation. ESPRIT 2015 simplifies the selection of cutting tools and automatically obtains the recommended ones.

About ESPRIT
ESPRIT is a high-performance computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system for a full range of machine tool applications. ESPRIT delivers powerful full-spectrum programming for 2–5 axis milling, 2–22 axis turning, 2–5 axis wire EDM, multitasking mill-turn machining and B-axis machine tools, and high-speed 3- and 5-axis machining.

How has the journey been for DP Technology?
DP Technology was started in 1982 with an aim to provide simple solutions to the complex machining operations. We (Paul and his partner Daniel Frayssinet who is currently CEO of the company) had realised the need for user friendly CAM software when CNC technology was taking its baby steps in the market. Infact the name DP from our company name ‘DP Technology Corp’ stands for our first name Daniel and Paul.

The three words that characterise DP Technology is passion, vision and commitment. Back in 1982, when the concept of CNC was very new and there were no simple solutions for programming machine tools, we had an idea and that’s how it all began. Our passion for the technology has kept us going for years. We also have a very passionate team and many of them have been with us for more than 15 years. Our associate team in India is also very energetic and this is one of the most important factor that has helped us grow.

When it comes to vision, ours is to be the technology leader. Throughout our journey we have had many firsts and intend to continue with the good work. We were the first during mid 90s to come up with pure windows based software. In early 2000, we saw a new trend, multitasking machining, multitasking function, mill turn machine. None of our competitors saw that but we immediately started developing software capability and rewriting software so that you can make milling and turning programme in same software. It was very difficult task; all our competitors had separate software for milling and turning operation. But today it paid off, today we are the leaders in mill-turn multitasking machining.

Coming to commitment. We believe in either giving our best or don’t do it at all. We had given the same kind of commitment to the Indian market. We are present in India since the late 90s, The country holds huge opportunity for CAM providers. Before focusing on selling more we invested in service and training. We did all this for free to satisfy our customer. We have bigger ambition for India and we are here to stay, even after I retire (chuckles). We will be here serving our Indian customers closely.

What are the changes that you have observed in CAM industry? How has the technology evolved?
The development of high-end machines has always been the driving force for the CAM technology. Technologies like mill-turn, multitasking machining, started several years ago in USA and Western Europe because of the demand for high accuracy and lack of trained manpower. Now, you have these machines where you put the raw material and outcome is the finished part, this trend is coming to India of late. It has already been adopted by big companies and you will see the technology soon making it to mid-side and smaller companies.

How do you see the demand for highly automated technology and business for CAM providers like you in India?
Well, it starts with deriving more productivity and high accuracy. Any kind of complex machine which requires neat shape will or rather are driving the business for us. Indians need to come forward to adopt these technologies. India has to adopt these technology to be competitive, to provide higher accuracy with low cost. India cannot rely exclusively on the fact that labour is cheap, because for those complex machines cheap labour is not going to help. If India wants to continue to build simple parts, they will eventually lose out on competitiveness.

On the other hand, India that is emerging has lots of ground to cover in terms of infrastructure and that infrastructure demand will lead to demand from various sectors. And all of this needs to come from India rather than importing which is expensive.

Are you are optimistic about the Indian market?
Absolutely! 2014 was a great year for us. We tripled ourselves in terms of business compared to 2013. We are starting small but we see a lot of potential in the country. I don’t pretend to know much about Indian political situation, but I have heard from people that there is a definite pro-business stance in India right now with the new government. This is great news for everyone who wants to do business in India.

The Indian rupee has changed a lot against dollar in the last couple of months, how much has it affected your business?
We had decided many years ago that whenever we go and make a commitment to any market be it China, Japan, Western Europe or India, we would adjust our price according to the local currency. So we have a price listing for all these countries, in that way our distributors don’t have to worry about the change in exchange rate. This is very important for us too, as we want to be local we have adopted the local culture and provide solution as per their needs.

What are the challenges that you face in the Indian market?
India is very large country, sometime it’s tough to reach out to all the manufacturing destinations. DP is moving towards establishing and expanding itself in the market and have plans to hire people to address this coverage issue. As we grow and solidify ourselves in the market, finding right people is going to be tough. Also, at times it is difficult to convince people in India about the latest technologies as they have been using the conventional methods. It will take time to make them see the benefits of these new and advanced high end softwares and technology.

By Nishant Kashyap

To leverage best from the aerospace market and make its presence felt in the market, ESPRIT launched customized module for Aerospace and medical Industry at flagship exhibition Imtex 2015. The high-performance ESPRIT CAM SOFTWARE offers powerful programming for any CNC machine tool. The company will be showcasing from Stall A102-B, Hall 1B.

ESPRIT’s full-spectrum functionality includes programming for 2-5 axis milling, 2-22 axis turning, 2-5 axis wire EDM, multitasking mill-turn machining, and B-axis machine tools and special customized modules for Aerospace and Medical industry. ESPRIT’s universal post processor effortlessly creates the high-quality G-code customers need to fully exploit their machine tool investment. The high quality and accurate simulation engine of esprit helps them to avoid any kind collision on the machine and get full virtual production.

The launch of a separate Aerospace module from the ESPRIT Cam team focusing only on the aerospace parts customization and optimized production has been of a great benefit to customers providing them more flexibility. This module not only have features of swarf milling, contouring, composite cycles, Profit milling ,Blade machining etc , but also has automation features of Add Ins and KBM-knowledge base manager.

The module contains customized features. ESPRIT provides an integrated programming environment specifically designed for multitasking, multi-function CNC machine tools. ESPRIT supports any combination of independent, synchronized, and synchronous milling and turning utilizing any configuration of A, B, C, X, Y, and Z axes. ESPRIT’s five levels of functionality for 2–5 axis machining fully support your mill-turn needs, including milling with full, simultaneous 3-axis and 5-axis 3D multi-surface solid machining.

Capitalize on the power and flexibility of mill-turn machines with B-axis capability for precise 5-axis simultaneous and 5-axis index milling — on the front and back of any workpiece. ESPRIT’s full 5-axis control lets you easily program the non-perpendicular multi-axis tool movements required to machine the intricate features and compound angles of medical components, complex valves, tool holders, oil drilling tools, and the like. ESPRIT provides advanced 5-axis control for its machining cycles including facing, boring, grooving, threading, contouring, pocketing, hole making, and 3D finishing.

The best point of esprit users is that they get the contouring feature, Blade Machining of different size Impeller/Compressor valve machining features, B axis machining feature, Swarf Milling option and various Composite Cycles are provided to customer as a single package. This means customers will have to procure and learn the software module once for applying different features of esprit.

One of the main advantage of using esprit cam system for aerospace is the “Automation-through ESPRIT’S Knowledge base Manager” which helps the companies make all their process automatic and save lot of time in production. The production of similar components of different sizes can be done in esprit in just few clicks with minimal manual intervention. Esprit’s capability of providing Probing Cycles makes it unique in its own ways.

Comparing Esprit with other cam systems, On the Milling side, to perform wrap contouring and pocketing on the diameter, they need a 5axis cycle, so, it is more complicated to manage such operations for them but it is not the case with esprit.

Most of the cam software in the market can’t manage multiple channels, and so there is no synchronization. If the customer would like to use the head and the turret together on any multi-tasking machine, he should be in problems with use of any other cam systems, apart from esprit.

They don’t have the management of the sub-spindle and this is perhaps the strongest point for esprit. Others can’t manage tools mounted inclined and support for B axis turning which is the specialty of esprit.

With the growing trends in the manufacturing of India, Esprit cam software is definitely making its space in the higher end machining segments of users especially in the aerospace market. With worldwide success of having customers like Boeing, Quest Global,3 points Aviation,Hartwell etc , the success in India for the esprit cam software is bound to reach greater heights. With worldwide recognition and success, DP TECHNOLOGY is making its best efforts to make sure that the tag line of their company i.e. ESPRIT-THE RIGHT CHOICE, proves to be true for all customers in India also.

To leverage best from the aerospace market and make its presence felt in the market, ESPRIT is all set to launch customized module for Aerospace and medical Industry at flagship exhibition Imtex 2015. The high-performance ESPRIT CAM SOFTWARE offers powerful programming for any CNC machine tool. The company will be showcasing from Stall A102-B, Hall 1B.

ESPRIT’s full-spectrum functionality includes programming for 2-5 axis milling, 2-22 axis turning, 2-5 axis wire EDM, multitasking mill-turn machining, and B-axis machine tools and special customized modules for Aerospace and Medical industry. ESPRIT’s universal post processor effortlessly creates the high-quality G-code customers need to fully exploit their machine tool investment. The high quality and accurate simulation engine of esprit helps them to avoid any kind collision on the machine and get full virtual production.

The launch of a separate Aerospace module from the ESPRIT Cam team focusing only on the aerospace parts customization and optimized production has been of a great benefit to customers providing them more flexibility. This module not only have features of swarf milling, contouring, composite cycles, Profit milling ,Blade machining etc , but also has automation features of Add Ins and KBM-knowledge base manager.

The module contains customized features. ESPRIT provides an integrated programming environment specifically designed for multitasking, multi-function CNC machine tools. ESPRIT supports any combination of independent, synchronized, and synchronous milling and turning utilizing any configuration of A, B, C, X, Y, and Z axes. ESPRIT’s five levels of functionality for 2–5 axis machining fully support your mill-turn needs, including milling with full, simultaneous 3-axis and 5-axis 3D multi-surface solid machining.

Capitalize on the power and flexibility of mill-turn machines with B-axis capability for precise 5-axis simultaneous and 5-axis index milling — on the front and back of any workpiece. ESPRIT’s full 5-axis control lets you easily program the non-perpendicular multi-axis tool movements required to machine the intricate features and compound angles of medical components, complex valves, tool holders, oil drilling tools, and the like. ESPRIT provides advanced 5-axis control for its machining cycles including facing, boring, grooving, threading, contouring, pocketing, hole making, and 3D finishing.

The best point of esprit users is that they get the contouring feature, Blade Machining of different size Impeller/Compressor valve machining features, B axis machining feature, Swarf Milling option and various Composite Cycles are provided to customer as a single package. This means customers will have to procure and learn the software module once for applying different features of esprit.

One of the main advantage of using esprit cam system for aerospace is the “Automation-through ESPRIT’S Knowledge base Manager” which helps the companies make all their process automatic and save lot of time in production. The production of similar components of different sizes can be done in esprit in just few clicks with minimal manual intervention. Esprit’s capability of providing Probing Cycles makes it unique in its own ways.

Comparing Esprit with other cam systems, On the Milling side, to perform wrap contouring and pocketing on the diameter, they need a 5axis cycle, so, it is more complicated to manage such operations for them but it is not the case with esprit.

Most of the cam software in the market can’t manage multiple channels, and so there is no synchronization. If the customer would like to use the head and the turret together on any multi-tasking machine, he should be in problems with use of any other cam systems, apart from esprit.

They don’t have the management of the sub-spindle and this is perhaps the strongest point for esprit. Others can’t manage tools mounted inclined and support for B axis turning which is the specialty of esprit.

With the growing trends in the manufacturing of India, Esprit cam software is definitely making its space in the higher end machining segments of users especially in the aerospace market. With worldwide success of having customers like Boeing, Quest Global,3 points Aviation,Hartwell etc , the success in India for the esprit cam software is bound to reach greater heights. With worldwide recognition and success, DP TECHNOLOGY is making its best efforts to make sure that the tag line of their company i.e. ESPRIT-THE RIGHT CHOICE, proves to be true for all customers in India also.

JD MACHINE CORP., OGDEN, Utah, is a contract manufacturer that has recently moved from single purpose to multitasking computer numerical control (CNC) machines. The company previously used one of the leading solid model based CNC programming systems, but discovered that posts from its previous software weren’t ready for the new machines. They looked at alternatives and selected ESPRIT® from DP Technology, which has partnerships with leading multitasking machine manufacturers.

“We are now able to produce code that runs on our multitasking machines without hand editing,” said Matt Wardle, president of JD Machine. “This code produces parts in less time because the new software gives us greater control over the capabilities of multitasking machines. The result is that we have reduced cycle time on the average part by 10 percent and cut programming time by 25 percent.” 1992, Don’s son, Matt Wardle, took over and helped guide the company through a period of substantial growth. Today, JD Machine occupies an 18,000 square-foot building and has about 50 employees.

JD Machine uses advanced multitasking machines such as the Mori Seiki NT 4250SZ and NL-2500SY lathes. The NL-2500SY lathes have two spindles, live tooling and a Y-axis for milling off center. The NT-4250SZ is a multi-axis, 2-spindle machining center with full 5 axis milling as well as a lower turret. Both machines provide the capability to machine parts in one operation that previously required three or four opera- tions, thus increasing part quality while reducing manufacturing costs.

“Multitasking machines offer the potential to obtain substantial increases in productivity and part quality,” Wardle said. “But, at the same time, they substantially increase the complexity of the programming task. You are performing the same operations, but the opera- tions are combined into much more complex machines and often performed simultaneously. Our previous CAM software developer provided posts for the new multitasking machines, but we had great difficulty in getting the code to run on the machines. For example, sometimes when we performed a milling operation on a lathe, the tool ran in reverse.”

“We also were unable to take advantage of some features of the machines without custom coding,” said a fore- man for JD Machine. “For example, the previous software gave us only one option for a clearance plane for moving the tool into and out of the cut. On an outside diameter, it was necessary to go straight into the OD. That’s not good when you have a small diameter on the front of the part because it causes the tool to feed through air for a long period of time.”

“There were also many operations that had to be performed manually at a considerable cost in time,” added a programmer for JD Machine. “When you cut holes around the radius of a part with our old software, for example, you had to create another view, figure out where the holes begin and end and manually enter the depth of the holes. Another concern was that the simulation included only the tool and the part, so there was no way to identify and avoid situations where the tool might crash into the machine.”

Selecting new CAM software
The company decided to look for a programming tool that did a better job of supporting multitasking machines. “We went to the International Machine Tool Show and spent time talking to the leading software developers,” Wardle said. “Several dealers visited us and provided on-site demos. DP Technology and their ESPRIT software stood out because they have obviously gone to a tremendous amount of effort to support multitasking machines. They have partnerships with Mori Seiki and other manufacturers of multitasking machines and they have many features in their software designed to take full advantage of their capabilities. We talked to their references and heard very good things about their technical support team.”

JD Machine made the decision to implement ESPRIT software. “We discovered right away that ESPRIT’s posts were much more mature,” the foreman said. “Most of the time, they work the first time without any hand editing. In the few cases where we have run into problems with the posts, ESPRIT has fixed them very quickly, either the same day or, at most, the next day. For example, there are two ways to do threading cycles on a lathe, with G-76 or with G-92. The ESPRIT post originally used G-76 while we prefer the G-92. It took them only two days to change the post to give us the option of either method.”

More programming options
“ESPRIT also gives us many more options that make it possible to take fuller [full] advantage of the capabilities of multitasking machines,” said the programmer. “For example, it provides eight different options for clearance planes used for entering and exiting the cut. You can set the clearance plane very close to the diameter. Then the tool will rapid advance to the clearance plane and avoid wasting time cutting air. You can also have the tool enter in the Z axis, in which case it will automatically recognize the x-axis position of the cut, feed in from a perpendicular direction and again begin the cut without wasting time cutting air.” “Another useful option in ESPRIT makes it possible to turn on or off the look-ahead command on the machine, which calculates whether or not the feed rate is so high that it will not be possible to decelerate the tool in time to turn a corner,” said the foreman. “With our previous software, this option was always on so the tool slowed down before every corner. This is necessary in a finishing operation, but in roughing and many semi-finishing operations it is a waste of time. ESPRIT enables us to turn look-ahead on or off as we wish, which allows us to make significant reductions in cycle time.”

“ESPRIT saves time in both programming and machining by automatically recognizing where holes start and stop even if they are on an angle or counter-bored,” the programmer said. “You don’t need to calculate the depth and the tool is automatically rapid traversed to the beginning of the cut without cutting air.”

Improved simulation capability
“The simulation capabilities of ESPRIT are also much better suited to the complexities of programming multitasking machines,” said the programmer. “Multitasking machines have more turrets and spindles and they are all moving at once, so the potential for a crash is very real. ESPRIT makes it much easier to visualize the potential for a crash by modeling not just the part and tool but also the spindles, turrets and other parts of the machine. ESPRIT provides the models for the machine as part of the post at no additional cost.”

“Another feature of ESPRIT that reduces cycle time is its ability to morph the tool from the center of a pocket to the outer edges to avoid repositioning moves,” the foreman said. “The tool starts cutting out the pocket by following the path of a rectangle. Normally, the toolpath would continue as a rectangle as long as possible and then cut out the metal that remained to be removed in order to match the precise shape of pocket. The ESPRIT approach of gradually morphing the rectangular to match the actual pocket shape is considerably faster since it allows the complete shape to be produced in a single smooth sequence of machine motions.”

Saving programming and machining time
“Another advantage of ESPRIT is its ability to analyze the solid model and automatically recognize machining features,” said the foreman. “This saves us the time that would otherwise be required to manually define features and generate additional surfaces and drive curves. This combined with ESPRIT’s ability to generate clean code that rarely requires additional edits results in substantial reductions in programming time. Our typical part took four hours to program with our old software and takes only three hours with ESPRIT.”

Even more important from an economic standpoint is the ability of ESPRIT to take full advantage of the capabilities of multitasking machines to reduce machining cycle time. “The many clearance plane options, its ability to morph a toolpath, turning look-ahead on or off, and other features make it possible to substantially reduce cycle times,” Wardle concluded. “These savings are particularly beneficial because they are repeated over and over again on every part we make. The bottom line is that ESPRIT has substantially improved our ability to program multitasking machines and it also does a great job in programming all of our more conventional CNC machines.”

Article by Jerry Fireman
Image courtesy: Travis Minning
This article appeared in the October 2008 issue of Tooling and Production Magazine.

ESPRIT is easy to use for quick jobs, yet packed with power to handle the most complex production milling work. Whether you are programming 2 1/2-axis parts or 5-axis machining, ESPRIT will give you the programming power you need and the ease-of-use you are looking for.

Production Milling with 5-axis Machines
ESPRIT SolidMill Production adds 5-axis machining capability to ESPRIT’s milling cycles. Programmers can use multiple fixture offset with local or global work coordinates to machine any part face, using any ESPRIT machining cycle. ESPRIT’s 5-axis indexing supports any combination of rotary tables and tilting heads to orient the part, then machines with 2 1/2 and 3-axis operations using one or more ESPRIT cycles.

Rotary Wrap Milling
ESPRIT rotary milling is performed directly from the 3D features of solid models or from flat 2D features. ESPRIT readily programs rotary contouring,pocketing and drilling utilizing a simultaneous 4th axis. ESPRIT converts one of the standard 3-axis movements (X, Y, or Z) into a rotary C-axis movement, wrapping the profile around a rotary axis and employing an optional Y-axis offset to ensure straight walls.

Roughing and Pocketing
ESPRIT’s pocketing cycle provides full tool control and extensive automation for roughing and finishing pockets. ESPRIT can dramatically simplify your programming whether you are machining straight-forward squares or complex pockets with irregular boundaries, multi-level islands, and multiple bosses and sub-pockets. The broad variety of pocket machining and finishing patterns provided by ESPRIT yields virtually unlimited options for your pocket milling needs.

Contouring
CNC programmers find ESPRIT’s contour machining cycle a flexible and powerful tool for a variety of machining applications, ideal for profile cutting, roughing, slotting, semi- finishing and finishing straight or tapered walls with constant or variable cutting depths. Simply set
your machining parameters and ESPRIT will read the feature properties required to create the toolpath for cutting any geometry. For more comprehensive tool control, ESPRIT will manage individual tool movements while providing you control over individual machining parameters at any point during the cut.

Rest Machining
ESPRIT’s intelligent rest machining cutting cycle automatically recognizes the machining operations and cutting tools associated with a
given part feature, compares the workpiece ‘as machined’ to the original part ‘as designed’, and automatically performs pocketing and contouring of the uncut areas of remaining material. ESPRIT programmers use the rest machining cycle to easily perform roughing and pre-finishing work with optimal cutting tool choices.

Drilling and Hole Making
For drilling and hole making, choose between ESPRIT’s machining cycles and your machine tool’s canned cycles,or use a combination of both. Cut complex holes that require multiple cycles and tools in a single step with ESPRIT. Using the Process manager, in one step you can spot drill with chamfer, through drill, counter bore, and ream a set of holes. ESPRIT’s thread milling machining cycle gives you the ability to machine internal or external right- or left-hand threads, and ESPRIT’s spiraling cycle is ideal for milling holes. ESPRIT automatically generates optimized toolpaths, minimizing cycle time.

Custom Machining Cycles
ESPRIT’s custom machining cycles give you complete control over individual cutting tool movements. With ESPRIT’s insert technology function you can adjust machining parameters within a machining cycle at any point during the cut, and the custom cycle gives you the option of inserting commands, in-line G-code,and special cutting tool movements at any point in the CNC program. ESPRIT gives you the power to pause the cutting process and retract the cutting tool for part or tool inspection with the park function and graphically edit the toolpath with the toolpath editor.