These are intelligent solutions for product lifecycle and production management. Siemens PLM Software solutions help manufacturers optimize digital manufacturing processes and realize innovation.

Story 1: Telcam Business Boosts Thanks to New CAM System

CompanyTelsmith, Inc. hand three and a half months with the helpNX CAM developed more CNC programs than in 9 months with the previous system.

Building giant machines

Telsmith, Inc. was founded over 100 years ago and specialized in developing new rock crushing equipment for crushing and screening plants. Today Telsmith remains true to its heritage, providing new crushers and screens to meet the growing demands of the modern mining industry. In 1987, Telsmith was acquired by Astec Industries, a recognized leader in the asphalt industry. It was the Telsmith business that formed the basis of the company that is now called Astec Aggregate and Mining Group. Astec is now the largest supplier of crushing and screening equipment in North America.

One of Telsmith's main brands is called Iron Giant - and the equipment produced under this brand lives up to this name. The height of crushers can exceed 3 meters, and their weight can exceed 60 tons. The production of these gigantic machines requires high-power machining centers. For example, Telsmith uses a vertical rotary table machining center that can process parts up to 2.7 meters in diameter, up to 2.5 meters in height and weighing up to 45 tonnes. The company removes more than 45% of the original material when making some parts - and the original material ranges from cast iron to 4140 grade structural steel.

Due to high metal prices and a weak dollar, Telsmith has to struggle to keep its business growing. From a CNC programming perspective, this means ensuring that each machining center is performing at peak performance. At the same time, new programs for CNC must be developed in an ever shorter time frame. “I need to write programs faster, produce more programs than ever before,” says Michael Wier, CNC program developer for Telsmith's industrial engineering department.

Fast development, fast changes

The company's programmers could not have done it without NX™ software from Siemens PLM Software. By migrating from his previous CAM system to NX CAM, Vier is doing much more work than he was previously able to do. “In the last three and a half months, I've completed a volume of work using NX that would have taken us nine months to complete with our previous CAM system,” says Wier.

According to Vier, Telsmith chose NX after a thorough review of almost every CAM system on the market. The NX platform was chosen for several reasons. The main selection criterion was the minimum time required to complete operations at each stage of programming CNC machines. “When I work with NX, I don't have to wait 4 to 5 minutes before I can move on to the next step,” says Wier. “The computing power of this system is incredible.”

Synchronization technologies save a lot of time. This direct approach to creating geometric models is feature-based. Vier considers it very important for making changes to CAM models. “With synchronization technology, I can directly manipulate and change the features of models. This is one of the best features of NX, says Vier. - There are associative connections between models and tool paths, thanks to which when making corrections I do not have to start all over again and rewrite the program. Thanks to synchronization technologies, I can quickly make changes to the geometry, and the code I write adapts to those changes.”

NX's trajectory modeling technology also saves significant time. It eliminates errors that would otherwise only be detected on the machine. “I can't make a programming mistake that could damage the part,” says Wier. “With NX modeling, I can see these errors in the 3D model before we encounter them in reality.”

Telsmith rates its machines by how difficult it is to program them and uses a special formula to calculate programmer productivity.

“The formula takes into account that it is easier to write programs for simpler machines,” explains Wier. “My programmer rating using NX CAM is 225% - 193% higher than programmers using other CAM systems.”

Optimizing machine performance

It is very important to Telsmith that the machines operate at peak efficiency and the company greatly values ​​the technical support from Siemens. “I can call them at any time and they will solve my problem,” says Vier. - I don't have to wait a few days. In this case, real experts provide support. Not only do they solve my problems, but they can also come up with new ideas. The support specialists from Siemens provide me with all the information I need to have an enjoyable and successful experience.”

Telsmith uses Siemens 840D controllers on all new machines. “The Siemens 840D controllers give us the flexibility to bring all our ideas to life,” says Vier. The company frequently processes large parts and it is important to ensure minimal wear on machines and machining tools given that machining is often performed at high speeds. The NX CAM system provides advanced support for high-speed machining and offers techniques to avoid tool overload through constant material removal rates and automatic trochoidal tooling.

The time savings achieved with Telsmith's NX CAM system are not measured in minutes or hours. “One of the benefits of the new solution is that we have confidence in the results of our programs and know that there will be no problems running them on the shop floor,” comments Vier. “We measure time savings not in minutes or hours, but in the number of shifts.”

Story 2. Accelerate form design and consulting services

CAD- AndCAM-systemsNX™ combined with controllerSINUMERIC 840 Dhelp the companyMoules Mirplex Reduce form development time by 35%.

Experience in mold design is a major advantageMirplex

Moules Mirplex Inc. (Mirplex Molds Inc.) has over 25 years of experience in mold making and precision machining. Mirplex clients operate in a wide range of industries: sports and outdoor activities, pharmaceuticals and retail. The size of the molds the company designs varies greatly, from small molds for bottle caps to giant ones that weigh up to 15 tons on each side (these are used for amusement rides). Mirplex manufactures the following types of molds: multi-cavity molds, hot runner molds, slide and cam molds, gas injection molds, injection molds and aluminum alloy molds.

Since purchasing its first CNC machining center in 1987, Mirplex has continuously expanded its CNC machining capabilities to better serve its customers. So, in 2002, a 15-ton overhead crane and a Huron high-speed machining center were purchased. Over the years, the company has gained a solid reputation in the market and many clients invite Mirplex for design consulting. But despite this, the company is always forced to operate under extremely tight deadlines and global competition. “We need to find ways to speed up mold development to stay one step ahead of foreign competitors,” says Pascal Lachance, mechanical engineer and mold designer at Mirplex.

A compelling case for Siemens PLM parts technologySoftware

Mirplex uses NX software to develop its products and SINUMERIK Computer Numerical Control (CNC) technology from Siemens PLM Software to quickly design molds to meet customer quality and precision requirements. Mirplex had previously used I-deas™ software and considered a number of alternative options before implementing the new solution. She chose NX because of the seamless integration of NX's CAD and CAM systems, the availability of the NX Mold Design tool, and the ability to receive technical support in her native language. Other benefits of NX were the ability to create large digital assemblies required for some molds, as well as native support for the Siemens SINUMERIK 840D controller, which Mirplex uses to run the Huron High Speed ​​Machining Center. “The 840D controller helps meet the most challenging mold and die processing requirements with its high-speed cutting capabilities,” adds Lachance.

NX allows simultaneous mold design and tool path selection. As Lachance begins designing the mold, his colleague, CNC programmer Eric Boucher, begins programming in the NX CAM system. Although many design changes are then made by the customer, this is not impossible because making changes to model geometry is so easy in NX. “Our problem is that the designs that customers give us are never 100% complete,” explains Lachance. - Before molding, we carry out some modifications on our part. NX gives us the ability to flexibly change the model using powerful tools such as surface modeling.”

Save time on all fronts

Lachance estimates that mold design takes 25% less time with NX. Part of this is because it now takes 40% less time to implement customer design changes. The NX Mold Design tool also helps save time. “NX Mold Design helped standardize our processes,” says Lachance. “We now have a library of components that we can reuse, such as mold trays.” At the very beginning of work, the mold is already half ready.” Typically, Mirplex designers use a special Parasolid ® format. “NX is also better suited to work with this format,” says Lachance. “The translators are built into NX, and they work so quickly and accurately that we don’t need to spend any time stitching surfaces together.”

Integration between NX CAD and NX CAM makes it easy to update CAM models after design changes are made. Boucher estimates that design changes can now be made 50% faster than NX previously could, because surface mappings no longer need to be reassigned. He also found NX CAM to be easier to work with overall because of its ability to use drag-and-drop operations to define workflows. The use of templates also makes it possible to increase the rate of information reuse. This ability to use existing data, combined with the fact that programming can start earlier and changes can be implemented more quickly, has accelerated toolpath generation by 20%. Boucher notes, “NX CAM is easy to work with because we can track and reuse our machining knowledge through templates.”

“Overall, with NX we can reduce the time it takes to deliver forms to Mirplex customers by 35%. The fast product development cycle combined with the company's rich experience makes the company more competitive in the global market. We sell our expertise,” says Lachance. - The transition to NX has definitely simplified and systematized our methods of working with CAD and CAM systems. We continue to work closely with Siemens PLM Software and strive to further improve our part manufacturing and machining technologies.” Through this initiative, Siemens PLM Software partners and customers are creating best-in-class solutions that enhance CAM and CNC integration, help simulate and optimize machining, synchronize manufacturing and planning processes, and improve overall manufacturing cost efficiency.

Moules Mirplex would like to thank BRP's engineering department and Plastic Age Products Inc. for their assistance in the successful implementation of this ambitious project.

Story 3. Introduction of innovative technologies to increase the accuracy of machine tools

Complete solution for product development fromSiemens PLM Softwaresimplifies the design of large milling machines in the companyFooke.

Unique milling machines

Fooke GmbH was founded as a family business and now takes pride in its centuries-old tradition. The company has found a niche in the machine tool industry that cannot be matched by suppliers from Europe, India, China and the US: very large milling machines, customized to customer requirements and delivered as a single complete solution. The system includes not only the machine itself, but also devices for fixing parts and processing tools, as well as measurement programs and CNC programs. These machines can mill aluminum rail structures up to 30 meters in length, perform high-precision machining of vertical tails, create aluminum or glass- and carbon-fiber reinforced plastic skins using high-precision machining, perform high-speed milling of models for the automotive industry, and perform a variety of specialized applications.

The demand for such machines around the world is steadily growing, but the technical requirements for them are becoming increasingly higher. Therefore, this innovative company, which employs approximately 170 employees, decided to improve its development process. In particular, management wanted employees from different departments to learn how to work more effectively as part of project teams. The company also sought to combine disparate IT systems and components (high-speed five-axis milling machine, clamping device, CNC programs, measurement programs, and complete documentation for worldwide deployment) into a complete solution for the client. Customers not only require durable production equipment, but also high-quality and comprehensive after-sales services: retrofitting, expansion, maintenance and warranty repairs.

An integrated system is the ideal solution

In 2004, the company began searching for three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) for its 15 design engineers, as well as a computer-aided engineering (CAM) module that supported high-speed five-axis machining. “We looked at all the best-known systems on the market,” says Hans-Jürgen Pierick, who, as head of the computer-aided design team, coordinated the system selection process. “To choose one of five CAD systems, company employees participated in negotiations, installed trial versions and watched demonstrations of solutions.”

Fooke selected an integrated product lifecycle management (PLM) solution from Siemens PLM Software. Its components included NX™, NX CAM, NX™ Nastran® and Teamcenter® systems. In addition, the company implemented the virtual CNC kernel VNCK to simulate the operation of the Siemens 840 D CNC controller. “This single system was focused on solving specific problems and was ideal for us,” says Pierik.

The benefits of this solution became obvious during the pilot implementation. Integrating CAD and CAM systems resolved compatibility and conversion issues and saved many hours of time. And the presence of a single “language” (Teamcenter) improved the quality of collaboration between different departments.

Innovations in machine tool industry are becoming a reality

Since 2006, all new Fooke machines have been designed entirely on the Siemens PLM Software platform. The benefits for end users in particular apply to the ENDURA 900LINEAR top gantry milling machine with linear drive and the ENDURA 1000LINEAR moving column milling machine. The new generation of these machines uses an upper movable portal. Using finite element analysis (FEA) during the design process helped create a more rigid, reliable and accurate portal.

Machines of this type are used for five-axis milling of the outer skin of the Superjet 100 airliner, made of aluminum sheets (AlMg3) 1.5 millimeters thick. The portal can move 7 meters along the X axis, 3.5 meters along the Y axis and 1.5 meters along the Z axis. The A axis can rotate from +120 to -95 degrees, and the C axis can rotate +/-275 degrees . The innovative clamping device uses 200 actuators, each equipped with a suction cup, and their positions can be specified using a CNC program. The location of the individual drives is specified in the CAM module. The actual location of the part is determined using sensors from Renishaw.

The customer chose the Siemens 840 D as the control system for all these tasks. The advantages of the Siemens 840 D apply not only to five-axis milling, but also to the special tasks of distance measurement, reference setting and drive positioning. The CAM platform has its own additional advantages. “NX includes a robust and open CAM system that can be extended with programs written in Visual Studio.net to output measurement and control programs for the Siemens 840 D,” says Klaus Harke, CNC specialist at Fooke. “The next step is programming five-axis contour machining.”

The operation of the entire program can be simulated using the virtual CNC kernel VNCK, in which parameters specific to this particular machine can be set (for example, mass and inertia). As a result, for the first time, developers are able to test the conceptual feasibility of solving a problem without damaging expensive parts.

This project particularly clearly demonstrated the advantages of the Siemens PLM Software platform. “The ability to program a machine in parallel with machining design has reduced the overall time it takes to build machines for customers,” says Pierik. Computer modeling has eliminated many of the risks associated with new processing technologies. In addition, customers have increased confidence in Fooke's ability to solve problems due to the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the models. The solution also simplified the implementation of new solutions and training. All stages of the life cycle are implemented on one platform, and thanks to this, Fooke successfully solves all customer problems. Teamcenter becomes the link between all components - this system provides instant access to all product information necessary for further retrofitting, maintenance and repair.

Further expansion is on the horizon

“The integration of the Siemens PLM Software system brings us undeniable advantages,” says Pierik. - Fooke does everything to ensure that its customers feel it too. Each manufacturing enterprise solves customer problems using its production equipment. The high efficiency of Fooke machines is a significant competitive advantage that should not be underestimated when purchasing production equipment.”

Thanks to these advantages, digital product development is now undergoing rapid development. The company plans to use the viewing functionality in Teamcenter to provide product information to people involved in marketing and production. Now that Fooke's software provider, UGS, has become part of the Siemens holding company and became known as Siemens PLM Software, Fooke will have a single, integrated solution to solve internal production problems and customer problems.

Many objects that surround us in everyday life are made of plastic or contain plastic parts. Moreover, plastic is especially common in the most modern designs, and the more modern the item, the more likely it is that it is made almost entirely from plastic parts. They try to make not only body parts, but also often load-bearing elements and numerous parts of mechanisms from plastics. And if we take into account such an industry as the production of consumer goods, then polymers have not only occupied their niche there, but have also significantly displaced traditionally used materials.

What is this connected with?

Like metals and other materials used by humans in manufacturing, plastics are a structural material. But it is wrong to consider them as just a construction material.

Polymers have a number of unique properties of their kind. Most plastics are excellently paintable and have excellent electrical and thermal insulation properties.

But the most important and most valuable property is that plastic, compared to metal or other structural materials, is easier to give the required shape. It is enough to construct a form-generating cavity correctly, and we will be able to obtain an almost unlimited number of parts of the same type. And to obtain the same parts from metal, you will have to perform either stamping operations, or cutting operations, or other rather complex technological processes.

The combination of all these properties determines the widespread use of polymers in modern industry.

Polymer parts are produced using molds. The process of making molds itself is quite complex and associated with considerable costs. But, as already mentioned, once you make a mold, you can get quite a lot of parts. Consequently, the production of parts using molds can only pay off if the products are produced in large quantities. The more parts received in a short time, the faster the molds will pay for themselves.

Based on this, we can formulate two main tasks for the process of designing and manufacturing molds - to do it as cheaply as possible and as quickly as possible, with a given quality of the resulting product.

The first task logically follows from the tasks of the plastic parts themselves. As already mentioned, a mold can only pay for itself if the product is produced on a mass scale. But what to do if you need few parts, and parts are needed specifically from polymers - those made from other materials are not suitable for technological reasons, often because another method of producing a batch of parts is even more expensive. This means that you still need to make a mold, use an injection molding machine, purchase material for these parts, and so on. The most obvious way to save money in production is to make the production process as cheap as possible. This can be achieved using databases of standardized parts - GOST, standards of mold manufacturers ( EMC, DME and others). Standard parts with already proven production technology, interchangeable, help to unify the mold production process. You can also carefully calculate how much and where material and energy needs to be applied to achieve the best result - this will help us do CAD - CAE -systems. This will also help save on material and energy, without investing too much in the design.

That is, the use of standardization and design automation tools makes it possible to reduce production costs and design time.

The second task is related to the fact that the product must appear on the market as quickly as possible. Fierce competition in industry has only intensified in recent years; many products are produced that are essentially the same type. And the consumer often chooses based on a small number of properties. For example, a new product is offered with a minimum of new functions, but the body of the product and the location of the control elements are completely different from the old one. Buyers like it, and the product begins to be in demand. But competitors also develop their own designs, create their own lines, and soon their products begin to be in demand. And, if you do not create something new as soon as possible, then you can very quickly find that they are not buying your products, but the products of your competitors.

The methods used to solve the first problem are also applicable to solve the second problem. By taking a workpiece from the database, there is no need to re-design a plate, bushing, pusher or other part of the mold set, and the design process itself is faster. And in fact, all design can be reduced only to the construction of new formative elements, which would be an ideal option.

Let's take a closer look at CAD.

There is no doubt that working in a CAD environment can speed up and reduce the cost of the design process. But most CAD systems are created with the idea that they can be used to create any kind of design. The design object itself is not specifically discussed. Meanwhile, in the design of specific groups of objects - for example, stamps - there is a set of techniques that allow you to speed up the design process of these particular objects, and are of little use to other production objects. For example, a set of standard parts, tools for calculating and selecting the type of stamp, etc. And these things are unlikely to be useful when designing something else.

The same applies to all other structures.

It is extremely difficult to create a complete computer-aided design system, a kind of global CAD system that will take into account the design of all objects in general. The costs of this system will never be reimbursed, the system simply will not pay for itself - the area of ​​​​use of such a system will be too specific, its complexity will be too great.

And therefore they try to create some kind of average CAD , a core in which theoretically you can create anything you want, but at an average level. That is, when working with CAD In the end, a three-dimensional solid model of the production object will be obtained, and its drawings will also be obtained.

Let's return again to the second task, which is described above. We need to do it as quickly as possible, but let me remind you, without sacrificing quality! And also evaluate the option that will be the cheapest for us, that is, associated with the lowest production costs.

The CAD itself , which includes three-dimensional solid design, as such, gives us very great flexibility in designing and rebuilding design options, but still the speed is clearly not sufficient.

And then another solution was found in the world. If you can't get a fully automated design system, why not automate the design of individual groups of objects?

That is, a certain application is offered to the main CAD program, a software module that works with the main program, which contains everything necessary for the design of a specific structure.

Using these modules allows you to reduce design time even more than when working with only one CAD -kernel, and at the same time does not overload the main program with unnecessary functions. The main program serves as a core on which auxiliary modules are based.

Almost all modern CAD systems offer mold design solutions. The resulting complexes for preparing the manufacture of molds – core- CAD and a software module containing special functions to assist in the mold design process - are used very widely both abroad and in our country.

However, the level of automation and user participation in the mold design process varies quite significantly in some cases.

NX Progressive Die Design - NX module for designing progressive dies

Al Dean

The design of sequential dies is closely related to other pre-production processes, which becomes especially noticeable when changes are made. The author of the article, Al Dean, examined a set of specialized NX tools from Siemens PLM Software to help cope with this complex task.

In recent years O Most of the information published about Siemens' flagship NX system has focused on HD-PLM and synchronous technology, but much less has been said about the product's long tradition of use in pre-production technology. Today, NX is a suite of truly integrated CAD/CAM systems that enable a business to move data between conceptual design, engineering and manufacturing, and includes a wide range of technologies for tooling creation, CNC program development and more. The NX 7 version has significantly expanded the design capabilities of sequential dies, and that is what we will look at in this review.

Construction of sweeps

As with any sequential die design tool, the starting point is the part being manufactured. As a rule, these are parts of complex shape, having a constant thickness and many elements obtained by bending, cutting, and extrusion. Even at a basic level, it is clear that geometry modeling tools from Siemens offer advantages over many other common systems.

The design process for sequential dies is done in reverse order, starting with the final shape of the part, which is sequentially unrolled until a flat blank is produced. To accomplish this task, Siemens has built into the system a variety of tools that either use an automatic processor or, for more complex cases, allow the user to manually unroll folds and punches.

By far the easiest parts to unfold are those with straight fold lines and relatively simple geometry. Thanks to synchronous technology, the system can work with both its own and imported geometry, and quickly identify all bends on the part. The user then creates stamping steps and specifies the order in which they are applied to the blank strip. Each subsequent stage is interconnected with the previous one, which allows you to quickly make changes.

More complex parts require user intervention, but this is where the power of the geometry kernel and NX simulation capabilities come to the rescue. When designing a flat pattern or intermediate stock shapes for a complex stamped part, the user needs to not only analyze the resulting geometry (from which the part will be created), but also ensure that unnecessary stress does not accumulate in the sheet material, and that the worst case scenario - breakage of the workpiece - does not occur. The system has many built-in specialized tools to facilitate analysis of the formability process. They use techniques similar to FEM and allow them to create precise and manufacturable shapes of workpieces. In fact, the system creates a mesh along the middle plane of the part in question (although the mesh can be applied to both the outer and inner surfaces). The mesh is then adapted to the ideal surface on which the part is unfolded. The mesh allows you to track the degree of stretching of the material and serves as the basis for stamping simulation.

Workflow: How to Create a Flat Pattern of a Complex Part Divide the part into linear and free-form areas Define linear pre-bends and springback tolerances Using a one-step calculation (built-in CAE formability analysis tools), define intermediate and flat areas Model transitions between linear and freeform sections Use synchronous technology to refine the shape of the workpiece - removing unnecessary elements and adjusting the dimensions of the material Set the processing sequence

Next, the system calculates the transition from one workpiece shape to another. The entire calculation process is documented using HTML reports, which capture the decision-making process in the appropriate context.

For many parts, this approach (straight bends or free-form surfaces) is not so obvious, and in such cases the system allows users to combine these modeling techniques as needed. It may be that a part requires one complex shaping operation to be completed, and the rest of the part is created using straight bend tools and other structural elements.

Once the design of the stamping steps has been completed, the next step is to optimally position the blanks on the strip fed through the die. It's simple and requires minimal user intervention except to create unique features, such as grooves for correct strip orientation, and overlaps and undercuts for cutting strips. In times of austerity, it is extremely important to use the material as efficiently as possible (or, in other words, to generate a minimum amount of waste). The system constantly displays the material utilization rate, and the unused part of the workpiece is highlighted in color. Thus, the user, by changing the distance between the workpieces in the strip and rearranging the stamping stages, achieves the maximum yield of parts without compromising quality or manufacturability.

Die block design

The next step is to design the die block. Like most modern mold and die design applications, the tools in NX Progressive Die Design are based on supplier catalogs. This allows users to quickly select standard components from selected suppliers.

If you are involved in the production of unique tooling, then you have all the modeling functionality of NX at your service. However, refining existing models seems to be more effective, since the intelligence contained in them is preserved. In addition to the catalog of stamping plates, the system has a whole library of components that describe methods for obtaining the required fasteners, for example, by drilling or threading. After placing the fasteners, you can proceed to creating the forming geometry, which produces the desired part.

The sequence of operations is designed and simulated to verify the correctness of the technologist's plan

At this stage, the fact that the user is working with an intelligent model is important. Although experienced technologists have a good idea of ​​where tooling parts may collide, an accurate picture cannot be obtained until a variety of punching, bending and forming inserts are built. NX provides template-driven operations for creating such features. These operations include: selecting the surfaces that make up a cutout or forming element, extending these surfaces and creating a shank, as well as other additional parts (such as supports, slopes, flanges, etc.), and then associated cutouts or pockets. This will even add a small gap to ensure that the die inserts can be removed if necessary, and the individual inserts can be assembled into a single unit. A large number of other functions are also available.

Whenever possible, these elements are reused in different operations. For example, if the same holes or other cuts are punched into a part, they can be copied and reused, while maintaining a connection with the original data. This is perhaps the biggest advantage of systems like NX Progressive Die Design. When working with both your own geometry and the imported “dead” one, all further work becomes associative. Making changes and amendments is greatly simplified. In addition, the data can be reused in future projects.

In production

Because this solution is based on the NX platform, its tools allow you to use additional system capabilities. A great example of this is die kinematics simulation. It helps verify that different parts in an assembly are not colliding or intersecting and that the die as a whole is functioning correctly. Of course, once the design of the die is completed and all inconsistencies have been eliminated, the next stage is preparation for production.

First of all, this is the generation of tool paths for processing dies, punches and inserts. NX has an enviable reputation as a CAM system and has many advantages not only in the production of plates by drilling, milling and EDM, but also in the creation of inserts. Inserts often have complex shapes that require 5-axis machining to reproduce successfully and efficiently. In addition to technological considerations, it should be noted that there is a wide selection of tools for developing stamp documentation - not only from a technological point of view, but also for describing the processes of assembly, installation and maintenance of the stamp.

Intelligent change management

We are accustomed to the fact that making changes is an integral part of the work process - it is a fact of life and an activity that takes up a considerable part of an engineer’s working time. However, when designing die tooling, making changes becomes a nightmare if the system in use is unable to handle the task effectively. Change tools are built into NX so changes can be made early in a project, starting with a stamp quote request. The cost of standard dies is estimated approximately based on the complexity of the equipment, but for the supplier this, as a rule, leads to a drop in the profit margin on the product manufactured on the die. This situation becomes a complete headache.

If you have underestimated the cost of tooling, for example, as a result of an incorrect calculation of the number of shaping stages and die productivity, then there is a high probability of receiving an incorrect price for the manufactured product. Although a part may look simple to manufacture, an experienced technician will tell you that simple mistakes are the most costly, and in today's challenging economic environment, the cost of such an error can be prohibitive.

Due to the fact that tooling units are built based on the geometry of the part being manufactured by developing and specifying the shaping stages, and this process is completed in a very short time, the system provides a real opportunity to evaluate the manufacturing process of the stamp and other parts in a time period during which many other users can only build a development. Now, having much more complete information about the complexity of the problem being solved, we can reasonably name a competitive price without making assumptions or giving approximate estimates.

From order quotation to production preparation, NX tools enable you to optimize die design with high efficiency. Because all geometry is linked to the original part and its production steps, the system gives users the ability to swap steps, bends and punches to not only achieve the desired shape, but also to achieve the most efficient use of material and ensure reliable operation of the die over the life of the die. .

Conclusion

The Progressive Die Design module for NX is an excellent example of combining a powerful modeling platform with a wide range of specialized, high-end tools. Designing die tooling is a very complex process from the point of view of both the design of the product (die) and the manufacture of its components. In the most difficult economic situation, the ability to not only name the price, but also deliver the finished product in a short time becomes an absolute necessity.

If you need such a tool, then most likely you are working as a subcontractor, which makes the situation even worse. It is required to minimize material waste, be able to make changes to the die design when changing the part being manufactured, and also be confident that the project will be profitable and will meet the customer’s expectations. Of course, everything said is also true for those who develop equipment for the internal needs of the enterprise.

Overall, Siemens PLM Software has succeeded in creating an environment that emphasizes specialized knowledge and automation. This environment provides a rich set of tools for building parts using existing geometry with the creation of developments and shaping stages, design of die equipment and manufacturing technology - and all this is done in the shortest possible time. But even in this ideal automated process there is a place for the process engineer, who can optimize and reuse data if necessary. Is it possible to wish for something more?

On 05/14/2019 at 10:31 am, Ljo said:

Entering the topic of mold design on your own is a very unprofitable task; you can spend a lot of time, but there won’t be much use. You need to either study at courses/universities, at least in our area they take such a course every 4 years, or go to work for a specific company that produces molds.

And MoldWizard is a tool, but you must understand at all stages what and why you are doing in the first place, which stage you skipped and why.

I know it's a hard road," but there won’t be much sense" I disagree with this, such specialists are in demand today, especially since the old generation is thinning out, and there are few such specialists among the young (judging by my country), the younger generation needs it here and now, not many will want to study. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, just my opinion. Thank you for your frankness and for explaining the topic in a focused and precise manner.

8 hours ago, Ljo said:

Calculations can be done constantly if the company has such a direction. In particular, even before designing the mold itself, everyone is interested in cycles and pourability, deformation from shrinkage, etc.

You should take into account that mold manufacturers are also divided into their own groups. Some suffer with hot runner injection with a bunch of caps/plugs, some with large-sized parts with thick walls and glass-filled materials, some with micro parts, and some with optics, or generalists with “clackers” (the simplest molds without sliders, oblique ejectors, etc.). And everywhere there are nuances that other companies may not know. There are practically no worthwhile materials and methods in the public domain. But...

1) Start with proper design of plastic products! (Malloy's book "Design of Plastic Products for Injection Molding")

3) After this, the mentioned Panteleev will come in nicely with calculations in the old fashioned way.

4) Look at analogues of already manufactured molds, notice design solutions. Here you can already look into Gastrova’s “Design of injection molds in 130 examples” and similar collections.

5) Look for literature in English, there is more and more up-to-date information. At this stage, you already need practice, real tasks and counseling on them.

P.S. This is a long way and if you have no ideas to work in this area, then it is enough to limit yourself to the ability to correctly design plastic parts for injection molding.

Firstly, thank you very much for your time, secondly, it was not possible to answer immediately. Yes, I downloaded from the above books, but I didn’t find your admirer)))) Ponteleyev. I have experience in milling and writing programs in CAM (HyperMill from OpenMind) of ready-made designed three-dimensional models, I saw how they were tested, but I want to expand my knowledge and skills in designing molds under pressure. I don’t just “want”, I thought about all your words, yes it’s difficult but possible, nothing is impossible! Many people do it under pressure!