Caron Engineering develops CNC machine optimization solutions to improve performance, productivity, and profitability for the metal cutting manufacturing industry. At IMTS 2018 in booth 135636, it will unveil their 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 new 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 smart phones) and allows monitoring multiple processes and even multiple machine channels simultaneously.
TMAC can optimize almost any cutting operation but also mitigates specific manufacturing challenges with difficult to machine materials. Typically, programmers must plan for the worst material condition, which leads to lengthy cycle times and accelerated tool wear.
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 federate 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 uses 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.
At IMTS 2018, Caron Engineering’s Booth 135636 will feature a FANUC ROBODRILL outfitted with the new TMAC 3.0 and their entire product line of optimization solutions to achieve a fully automated cell. In addition to TMAC, they will have ToolConnect, their 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 tool holders. 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 be detecting extreme conditions using a vibration sensor and their 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 1000 available modes and audible alarm.