ComputerAided_Design_Engineering_amp_Manufactur.pdf
ComputerAided_Design_Engineering_amp_Manufactur.pdf
ComputerAided_Design_Engineering_amp_Manufactur.pdf
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Cutting Tool Selection<br />
Selection of the best cutting tool for a given operation is one of the complex tasks to be performed by<br />
the process planner. When developing a generative process planning system, it is necessary to incorporate<br />
mechanisms for automatic tool selection in the system without user intervention.<br />
Many CAPP systems contain a tool selection module with varying degrees of sophistication which<br />
gets the required data from other modules of the system. Since a large variety of cutting tools are available,<br />
the tool selection problem often becomes complex. It is further complicated by the large number of<br />
factors to be considered for tool selection. However, some general guidelines for selecting a cutting tool<br />
can be established based on production practices (Chen et al., 1989; Metropoulos and Hinduja, 1991;<br />
Yeo et al., 1990; Opitz, 1970; Halevi, G. and Weill, R.D., 1995).<br />
Tool selection essentially involves the specification of tool material, tool holder, and insert (shape,<br />
geometry, and grade). The main variables that control the selection process are<br />
• The operation<br />
• The work material and its condition<br />
• The component geometry<br />
• The machine tool<br />
• The production rate<br />
• The manufacturing quality.<br />
Each of the above variables would not only have its independent influence on the selection process<br />
but also sometimes be linked with the other variables. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a number of<br />
rules, based on the experience on the shop floor, as to how the tool selection is to be carried out.<br />
To make the selection process, it is necessary to store the details of the cutting tools as resources. A<br />
typical data structure that could be adopted for this is given in Table 5.5 in the appendix. The tool data<br />
base contains information about turning tools, grooving tools, threading tools, boring tools, etc. A<br />
separate data base can be made for form tools which can store the features produced by each of these<br />
form tools in that data base. The availability of a particular cutting tool on the shop floor can be indicated<br />
by changing the field “tool.available.”<br />
Selection of Turning Tools<br />
The selection of tools involves the determination of the key parameters and searching the tool data base,<br />
based on those key parameters. The guidelines in the tool selection module are based on the practices<br />
followed in the participating industry and a tool manufacturer’s handbook (Widia, 1989). The inputs<br />
coming from the models of the CAPP system such as PDIR, MRIR and PPIR are shown in parentheses<br />
below:<br />
1. Based on the operation and nature of cutting (pocket.operation, pocket.nature from PPIR), select<br />
the cl<strong>amp</strong>ing system.<br />
2. Based on the work material (global data from PDIR), nature of cutting, and the cl<strong>amp</strong>ing system,<br />
decide the insert shape and insert clearance angle.<br />
3. Find the tool-access and tool-out directions based on the geometry of the pocket (pocket shape<br />
and dimensions from PPIR).<br />
4. Based on the tool-access, tool-out, and feed directions, select the holder style.<br />
5. Based on the pocket dimensions and tool holder style, select the insert size. The steps involved<br />
are (a) determine the largest depth of cut from the pocket dimension; (b) based on the approach<br />
angle, find the theoretical cutting edge; and (c) find the exact cutting edge based on the insert<br />
shape.<br />
6. Find the maximum shank diameter on the machine tool selected. This parameter is obtained by<br />
searching the machine tool data base (from MRIR) with the help of machine tool code (from<br />
PPIR).