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NEWS/NEWSLETTERS/Vol.7

Newsletter| Vol. 7 No. 3 August 2002

The automated machining center programming software has become even more powerful.

	Mori Seiki has just finished work on development of the CAPS-M⁺ conversational automatic programming software for machining centers. A more powerful version of the previous CAPS-M software, it automatically extracts machining features from 3-D CAD data, thereby reducing significantly program generation and simulation time.
CAPS-M⁺ will change the face of programming.

A host of machining menus is ready before hand.

As computers become faster and memories expand, using 3-D CAD has started to spread like wildfire.
Once a product has a design model made in 3-D CAD, it can be analyzed and assembled all virtually using the data, making it possible to review digital prototypes and data prior to making the physical model. Generating the NC program as well as other data needed for production can be produced even quicker now.
We have installed approximately 200 3-D CAD machines within Mori Seiki and used them to develop new models. We have learned how powerful this tool can be. If you want to be on the winning team in this day and age of rapid changes in the manufacturing industry, 3-D CAD is an indispensable tool. Using this tool and responding to our customers' needs, Mori Seiki has improved the CAPS-M conversational automatic programming software for machining tools.
With a new function for importing data from 3-D CAD machines, CAPS-M⁺ has been developed with the goal of significantly reducing the time it takes to generate programs and to create simulations.

IGES and Parasolid* 3-D CAD Works with solid data.

Geometry pattern recognition

CAPS process list after conversion programming

Cutting simulation

The main feature of the newly developed CAPS-M⁺ programming software is the feature recognition function; a function that automatically identifies locations which require machining. It automatically calculates the size and coordinates of the place to be machined and automatically selects the most appropriate machining method and tools. And the 3-D model display function makes it possible to draw a product model with the same level of quality as in 3-D CAD. These functions greatly reduce the time and effort required for data entry required in conversational programming. They also avoid programming mistakes caused by mistaken calculation and typos-typically human error factors. For example, with the help of CAPS-M⁺ , the newly developed CL engine can handle complex pocket shapes such as inlets, islands, and open spaces, and contributes to reduction in machining time by generating more efficient paths and extending tool life.
We hired engineers specifically with the intention of introducing new technologies such as solid model handling, 3-D model display, and product shape recognition. After acquiring the right people for the job, both in Japan and abroad, we put together the finished product for market introduction in only a year and a half. Parallel development in Japan and the US, with the cooperation with our outstanding multinational team of engineers in the US, have made the powerful CAPS-M⁺ software possible due to our integrated global development system.
We will continue to develop products using 3-D models to enable us to handle everything from process design to verification to set up to quality inspections all in one work environment. For the MT Series in particular, machine simulation functions that allow 3-D interference checks are already becoming standard, so we will continue with work on 3-D CAD data interfaces.

Mori Seiki software products can be used immediately after installation. This m ans that unlike other makers' CAD/CAM systems, there is no need for post processors or reverse post processors, so the software can be up and running quickly and economically. And since the standard conversational function and data are compatible, the conversational data can be compiled to NC language in the machine before converting to NC language, which makes simple correction of cutting conditions very easy. And if the software is installed alongside our network software, it is also possible to transmit data back and forth between computer and the machines via an Ethernet connection.

Mori Seiki is working to deliver software powerful enough to compete with software makers by putting to use our advantages in this environment. It has been five years since we started seriously developing HMI (Human-Machine Interface) software, and we will continue to research and develop highly functional as well as easy-to-use HMI while standardizing the operating environment. It is also our commitment to build a development system that can respond to customer demands through close cooperation between Japanese and US software developers and application engineers the world over.

* Parasolid is a brand name and registered trademark belonging to Unigraphics Solutions, Inc.

Digital Technology Laboratory working together in Japan and the US. (Above: the Nara Team–below: the Sacramento Team)

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