New high-performance roughing strategy for hyperMILL^®

Wessling, 19 October  2010 – OPEN MIND Technologies AG has released its new hyperMAXX^® optimisation strategy for stock roughing within hyperMILL^® 2010. hyperMAXX® is powered by Celeritive Technologies’ Volumill™ toolpath layout engine. The high-performance roughing module, which is fully integrated in hyperMILL^®, combines optimal milling paths and maximum material removal with minimised machining times. In particular, features like the constant radial depth of cut and fully automated dynamic feedrate and infeed adjustment facilitate fast and gentle milling and provide the basis for perfect cutting conditions.

The new optional hyperMAXX^® high-performance roughing module generates ideally distributed 3D milling paths. hyperMAXX^® removes large volumes of material efficiently and reliably, reducing the wear and tear of both milling machine and cutting tools. This is achieved by establishing and maintaining ideal cutting conditions throughout, regardless of the shape of the part. Milling parameters are set based on best-case scenarios, rather than according to the usual “worst-case” situations like cornering, entry moves and connection paths.  Feedrates are also adjusted dynamically in special machining conditions to ensure constant volume removal.  Roughing time savings of 50% or more are typical.

Moreover, as the new strategy is fully integrated in hyperMILL^®, there is no need to open any additional software tools, change the program or adjust the post-processor. hyperMAXX^® toolpath layout optimally complements the other roughing strategies in hyperMILL^®. The Celeritive Volumill toolpath kernel has been successfully used in the market for years within standalone versions and other integrations.  This is matched with proven hyperMILL analysis for slicing, stock management, collision detection and more.

hyperMAXX^® increases the machine’s service life and reduces milling times

As hyperMAXX^® performs all machining jobs in a predictable, consistent manner, the tools and machine are subjected to an even load, resulting in an increased service life. The tool paths are completely free of abrupt changes of direction and other extreme tool movements, thus providing the basis for a high surface quality. hyperMAXX^® ensures maximum material removal and the fastest possible safe positioning of the tool, resulting in reduced machining times and more efficient production.

Intelligent, flexible, user friendly

The high performance of hyperMAXX^® is made possible by intelligent automated functions, such as a feature that accounts for the material and dynamically optimises both the feedrate and infeed during 3D arbitrary stock roughing to control the volume of cut. This option is seamlessly integrated with hyperMILL’s roughing procedure to simplify learning and implementation.  There are also two selectable functions: The first‚ “opening cut”, is suited for full-cut machining of areas that are difficult to reach, and is highly effective in softer materials, such as aluminum. The “side cutting only” option enables opening via lateral infeed movements without full cutting, and is designed for machining harder materials. The plunge macro always creates a complete helix or ramp movement and automatically determines the helix radius. Up to 100 per cent of the tool diameter can be processed by infeed without any rest material remaining between adjacent paths.

Process reliability and broad range of applications

For axial infeeds, the process is absolutely reliable up to the maximum cutting length. hyperMAXX^® is suited for machining soft as well as hard materials that are hard to chip, such as titanium, nickel-based alloys or stainless steel. Both machining large parts and performing micro jobs can be handled quickly and efficiently using hyperMAXX^®. The function range of the high-performance roughing strategy also includes a collision check that accounts for tool lengths as well as plane detection in automatic mode. In addition, the residual geometry can be defined as a stock for subsequent job steps. OPEN MIND Technologies USA Managing Director, Alan Levine says “It is very interesting to watch experienced manufacturing professionals’ positive reactions to the performance of hyperMAXX^® during successful test cuts.”

About OPEN MIND Technologies AG

OPEN MIND Technologies AG is a leading developer of CAD/CAM software and postprocessors for designing and manufacturing complex moulds and parts. OPEN MIND offers an extensive range of products, from 2D feature-oriented solutions for milling standard parts through to software for 5axis simultaneous machining.

With their hyperMILL^® software, which is used in the automotive, tool and mould manufacturing, mechanical engineering and aerospace industries, OPEN MIND Technologies AG is represented in all the important markets in Asia, Europe and North America.

OPEN MIND Technologies AG is a Mensch und Maschine company ( www.mum.de).

Additional information is available upon request or from our website at www.openmind-tech.com.

Head office:

OPEN MIND Technologies AG, Argelsrieder Feld 5, 82234 Wessling, Germany
Phone: +49 8153 933500, Fax: +49 8153 933501
E-mail: info@openmind-tech.com, website: www.openmind-tech.com

About Celeritive Technologies Inc.

Celeritive Technologies, Inc. was founded to develop and market advanced productivity-improving CAD/CAM technologies. VoluMill™ is a patent-pending ultra high-performance toolpath engine that significantly increases machining productivity and tool life. VoluMill is a full-featured, 2- and 3-axis toolpath engine for any geometric configuration. For more information, visit the VoluMill web site at www.volumill.com.