The customer manufactures a machine that cuts a metal cylinder into fluted cutting bits for milling machines. The operation employed a mechanical cam follower to tie the bit's rotational speed to the traverse motion of the bit relative to the cutting tool. The cut depth was manually adjusted using a hand crank. This arrangement was acceptable when the company had a cam for the bit they wanted to grind, but in certain cases it required that they make a cam before they could machine the bit or use an expensive CNC screw machine instead.

Machine Objectives:

• Machine must be capable of making low-volume custom bits as well as high-volume standard bits--and be economical for both processes.
• Quick set-up routine
• Operator interface for part entry

Motion Control Requirements:

• Smooth motion
• Four axes of coordinated motion
• 2 axes of linear interpolation
• Math capabilities

Application Solution:

Controlled by a multi-axis step and direction controlled, microstepping motors and drives are attached to four axes for smooth, programmable motion at all speeds. the traverse and rotation axes are synchronized along a straight line to cut a bit at a required pitch while the alignment and chamfer axes remain stationary during the cutting process. The controller's operator input panel and math capabilities allow the operator to enter the bit diameter, pitch, depth, and angle.

Product Solutions:

• Controller - 6K
• Drives - ZETA4-240
• Motor - RS33C
• *The AT6400 servo controller has also been used in this type of application.