Castings and forgings represent a host of challenges to accurate and efficient machining. From the semi-finished shape of the parts to the variation in thickness and stock locations, it can be difficult to fixture the component. Variations in the incoming part can also make it impossible to know if a good part will be machined.

Using adaptive manufacturing techniques these issues can be eliminated. The part can be inspected before machining and the toolpaths can be fit to the component guaranteeing a good part will be produced. In cases where stock variation can cause a significant amount of scrap, the inspection methods used can identify in advance that all features are properly generated. Further, it can realign the toolpaths to fit them inside the stock that does exist, or indicate that the raw material that will not allow for a quality component to be machined before machining thereby saving time and consumable costs that would otherwise have been wasted on a part that was impossible to produce.

Repair is one of the most challenging arenas to create an efficient and accurate machining process. Often the repair area is an amorphous shape that is difficult to define geometrically for an efficient roughing routine so the programmer creates a safe zone and spend hours in an air cutting mode just to ensure the cutting tool does not become overloaded. Also, the original parts will not perfectly represent the original CAD models due wear and thermal stresses making it impossible to accurately blend the repair are back into the parent material.  Traditionally this has resulted in long cycle times and a lot of manual blending operations.

Delcam eliminates all of these problems with adaptive machining technologies.  By introducing inspection into the machining process we are able to accurately define the stock model of the repair region to ensure maximum efficiency of the cut and minimizing air cutting time. Additionally, the inspection data can be used to accurately blend the repair region into the surrounding surfaces eliminating the need for manual blending operations after the machining process.

Repetitive stress injuries and other health concerns from grinding and polishing operations along with the lack of a skilled workforce are requiring new approaches in the areas of grinding and polishing operations. Whether using machining centres, dedicated equipment in work cells, or robotics, Delcam is experiencing rapid growth in these areas. The use of in-process inspection to make intelligent, automated, real time decisions about the process are critical to ensuring the accuracy and stability of these processes