Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Any referenced datasets can be downloaded from "Module downloads" in the module overview.
Transcript
00:05
As CAD and CAM software progress in capability and complexity,
00:09
machinists across the industry are seeing an increase in production-ready parts, with the parts themselves increasing in complexity.
00:17
Combining CAD and CAM into a single, integrated environment is even more powerful, allowing the time between iterations to decrease significantly.
00:26
In an integrated CAD/CAM environment, when there are design improvements,
00:30
the machinist can simply regenerate the existing toolpaths using the new geometry,
00:35
and then make any additions or tweaks as needed.
00:37
The conversation between designer, engineer, and machinist also becomes much more coherent.
00:43
Since the design and manufacturing software are taking place in the same platform, giving a common and familiar backdrop.
00:50
Very few designs have ever made it from conceptual design to production part without changes.
00:55
Feedback from the machinist on what can and can't be manufactured given the current capability of their tools,
01:01
is imperative to the success of producing the part.
01:03
Integrating CAD and CAM offers the ability to easily switch between CAD modeling and CAM programming,
01:09
cutting out the pain of exporting, switching software, importing, and then finally starting the conversation.
01:15
So, let's dive in to some common manufacturing processes used in industry.
01:19
Subtractive manufacturing, also referred to as machining, is essentially the controlled removal of material.
01:26
Subtractive manufacturing can take many forms,
01:28
but it is typically a process where a cutting tool, like an endmill, removes material from a solid block called the stock.
01:35
The material is often removed over several passes since tools can only remove so much material at a time.
01:42
The basic parameters used when determining the path the tool take are step-over and step-down.
01:48
The step-over is the lateral or radial amount of material the tool is removing.
01:52
Step-down is the vertical or axial amount of material the tool is removing.
01:58
Manual mills and lathes where the cut is controlled by hand or once common,
02:02
but are becoming harder to find as time goes on.
02:05
Now, subtractive manufacturing is often achieved using a CNC machine where the cut is executed by a small computer called a controller.
02:13
This is where CAM software enters the picture as the code the controller executes is generated using the CAM software.
02:20
In a small prototyping environment, a shop might have a smaller CNC machine and possibly a manual machine.
02:26
In a medium-sized job shop, there will be several CNC machines with varied capabilities.
02:30
Jobs in this environment might go through several machines before they're completed.
02:34
In a full production environment, a factory floor can be filled with machines at the same time, all running the same job.
02:41
Typically, the stock is automatically fed into the machine and the part can be manufactured with minimal human interaction.
02:48
In addition to capable CNC machines, the quality of the toolpath the CAM kernel generates is important to manufacturing success.
02:56
Traditionally, toolpaths were simply offset passes calculated using the constant step-down and step-over parameters.
03:03
These tool paths are reliable,
03:05
but increased forces on the tool in internal corners often lead to breakage without precautions like reduced feed rates.
03:12
Constant engagement roughing tool paths, like Autodesk's adaptive clearing, use algorithms to keep a constant engagement on the tool,
03:19
effectively keeping a constant load on the tool and allowing faster and deeper cuts than the traditional tool paths.
03:26
This is important for production shops, where saving seconds per part, multiplied by the hundreds or thousands of parts produced,
03:33
can make a significant impact on productivity and ability to meet production deadlines.
03:38
Keeping the tool load constant and spreading the wear across the entire flute length also improves process reliability and reduces tool breakage.
03:46
Every tool break means a tool replacement, which can take several minutes, a significant process in a production environment where seconds count.
03:55
Constant engagement strategies enable machinists at all levels to push their machines faster,
03:60
increased productivity and improve process reliability from prototyping to high production environments.
04:06
Another common manufacturing process is additive manufacturing, which is controlled material addition and is commonly referred to as 3D printing.
04:15
Like subtractive manufacturing, additive manufacturing can also take many forms,
04:20
but typically involves adding material layer by layer until the final part is achieved.
04:25
Since material is being added rather than removed from a solid block,
04:29
there are features and shapes additive manufacturing can achieve that are nearly impossible in subtractive manufacturing.
04:36
Internal latticing, sharp internal corners and tall vertical walls are all much more accessible when produced with additive manufacturing.
04:44
For hobbyists and makers, additive manufacturing is very accessible with low cost machines that deposit relatively large layers,
04:51
and use plastics like ABS and PLA.
04:54
These are usually fused deposition modeling or FDM,
04:58
where the plastic is pushed out of a heated extruder and lower-end FDM machines often do not support material.
05:05
Additive manufacturing services for those who do not want to invest in an entire machine are also available.
05:12
In a medium shop, there are professional level additive machines that have large build volumes,
05:17
use several materials at once and print a separate support material, which allows for more complex geometry.
05:23
These can also be FDM and are sometimes stereo lithography, or SLA, where liquid resin is cured using a projection of the layer geometry.
05:33
At the highest and most innovative level of additive manufacturing,
05:37
Selective Laser Sintering or SLS can be used to make parts in plastics and metals by using a laser to solidify a powder into solid parts.
05:46
The ability to create features that are exclusive to additive manufacturing and strong materials,
05:52
like stainless steel and aluminum, broadens the horizons of what manufacturing can achieve,
05:57
and continues to accelerate the development of manufacturing design, software, and hardware.
06:02
Perhaps the most exciting development in production manufacturing,
06:06
is the combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing or hybrid manufacturing.
06:12
Additive manufacturing has opened up the possibilities of what can be produced,
06:16
by removing many of the design challenges associated with subtractive manufacturing.
06:21
In particular, light-weighting strategies like topology optimization and internal latticing,
06:26
are significantly more accessible using additive strategies.
06:31
From small startup operations to full production products,
06:34
the ability to reduce weight while maintaining strength allows increased innovation and high product performance.
06:41
There are of course downsides to additive when compared to subtractive.
06:44
The materials that can be used are limited, it is much slower, and it is much less accurate.
06:50
But that's where hybrid manufacturing comes into play.
06:53
A currently used method leverages a full additive part that is inspected and then finished using subtractive manufacturing,
06:59
to bring critical surfaces to the required tolerance or surface finish.
07:04
The doors also open to develop true hybrid machines that deposit material and then machine the deposited material to the required tolerances.
07:12
There's immense potential in hybrid manufacturing to improve the quality of produced parts, while simultaneously reducing material waste.
07:21
As progress is made in the materials and accuracy additive manufacturing is capable of,
07:27
and in the ability of Generative Design Software to produce valid and improved designs,
07:32
Hybrid Manufacturing will truly play a significant role in the future of manufacturing.
Video transcript
00:05
As CAD and CAM software progress in capability and complexity,
00:09
machinists across the industry are seeing an increase in production-ready parts, with the parts themselves increasing in complexity.
00:17
Combining CAD and CAM into a single, integrated environment is even more powerful, allowing the time between iterations to decrease significantly.
00:26
In an integrated CAD/CAM environment, when there are design improvements,
00:30
the machinist can simply regenerate the existing toolpaths using the new geometry,
00:35
and then make any additions or tweaks as needed.
00:37
The conversation between designer, engineer, and machinist also becomes much more coherent.
00:43
Since the design and manufacturing software are taking place in the same platform, giving a common and familiar backdrop.
00:50
Very few designs have ever made it from conceptual design to production part without changes.
00:55
Feedback from the machinist on what can and can't be manufactured given the current capability of their tools,
01:01
is imperative to the success of producing the part.
01:03
Integrating CAD and CAM offers the ability to easily switch between CAD modeling and CAM programming,
01:09
cutting out the pain of exporting, switching software, importing, and then finally starting the conversation.
01:15
So, let's dive in to some common manufacturing processes used in industry.
01:19
Subtractive manufacturing, also referred to as machining, is essentially the controlled removal of material.
01:26
Subtractive manufacturing can take many forms,
01:28
but it is typically a process where a cutting tool, like an endmill, removes material from a solid block called the stock.
01:35
The material is often removed over several passes since tools can only remove so much material at a time.
01:42
The basic parameters used when determining the path the tool take are step-over and step-down.
01:48
The step-over is the lateral or radial amount of material the tool is removing.
01:52
Step-down is the vertical or axial amount of material the tool is removing.
01:58
Manual mills and lathes where the cut is controlled by hand or once common,
02:02
but are becoming harder to find as time goes on.
02:05
Now, subtractive manufacturing is often achieved using a CNC machine where the cut is executed by a small computer called a controller.
02:13
This is where CAM software enters the picture as the code the controller executes is generated using the CAM software.
02:20
In a small prototyping environment, a shop might have a smaller CNC machine and possibly a manual machine.
02:26
In a medium-sized job shop, there will be several CNC machines with varied capabilities.
02:30
Jobs in this environment might go through several machines before they're completed.
02:34
In a full production environment, a factory floor can be filled with machines at the same time, all running the same job.
02:41
Typically, the stock is automatically fed into the machine and the part can be manufactured with minimal human interaction.
02:48
In addition to capable CNC machines, the quality of the toolpath the CAM kernel generates is important to manufacturing success.
02:56
Traditionally, toolpaths were simply offset passes calculated using the constant step-down and step-over parameters.
03:03
These tool paths are reliable,
03:05
but increased forces on the tool in internal corners often lead to breakage without precautions like reduced feed rates.
03:12
Constant engagement roughing tool paths, like Autodesk's adaptive clearing, use algorithms to keep a constant engagement on the tool,
03:19
effectively keeping a constant load on the tool and allowing faster and deeper cuts than the traditional tool paths.
03:26
This is important for production shops, where saving seconds per part, multiplied by the hundreds or thousands of parts produced,
03:33
can make a significant impact on productivity and ability to meet production deadlines.
03:38
Keeping the tool load constant and spreading the wear across the entire flute length also improves process reliability and reduces tool breakage.
03:46
Every tool break means a tool replacement, which can take several minutes, a significant process in a production environment where seconds count.
03:55
Constant engagement strategies enable machinists at all levels to push their machines faster,
03:60
increased productivity and improve process reliability from prototyping to high production environments.
04:06
Another common manufacturing process is additive manufacturing, which is controlled material addition and is commonly referred to as 3D printing.
04:15
Like subtractive manufacturing, additive manufacturing can also take many forms,
04:20
but typically involves adding material layer by layer until the final part is achieved.
04:25
Since material is being added rather than removed from a solid block,
04:29
there are features and shapes additive manufacturing can achieve that are nearly impossible in subtractive manufacturing.
04:36
Internal latticing, sharp internal corners and tall vertical walls are all much more accessible when produced with additive manufacturing.
04:44
For hobbyists and makers, additive manufacturing is very accessible with low cost machines that deposit relatively large layers,
04:51
and use plastics like ABS and PLA.
04:54
These are usually fused deposition modeling or FDM,
04:58
where the plastic is pushed out of a heated extruder and lower-end FDM machines often do not support material.
05:05
Additive manufacturing services for those who do not want to invest in an entire machine are also available.
05:12
In a medium shop, there are professional level additive machines that have large build volumes,
05:17
use several materials at once and print a separate support material, which allows for more complex geometry.
05:23
These can also be FDM and are sometimes stereo lithography, or SLA, where liquid resin is cured using a projection of the layer geometry.
05:33
At the highest and most innovative level of additive manufacturing,
05:37
Selective Laser Sintering or SLS can be used to make parts in plastics and metals by using a laser to solidify a powder into solid parts.
05:46
The ability to create features that are exclusive to additive manufacturing and strong materials,
05:52
like stainless steel and aluminum, broadens the horizons of what manufacturing can achieve,
05:57
and continues to accelerate the development of manufacturing design, software, and hardware.
06:02
Perhaps the most exciting development in production manufacturing,
06:06
is the combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing or hybrid manufacturing.
06:12
Additive manufacturing has opened up the possibilities of what can be produced,
06:16
by removing many of the design challenges associated with subtractive manufacturing.
06:21
In particular, light-weighting strategies like topology optimization and internal latticing,
06:26
are significantly more accessible using additive strategies.
06:31
From small startup operations to full production products,
06:34
the ability to reduce weight while maintaining strength allows increased innovation and high product performance.
06:41
There are of course downsides to additive when compared to subtractive.
06:44
The materials that can be used are limited, it is much slower, and it is much less accurate.
06:50
But that's where hybrid manufacturing comes into play.
06:53
A currently used method leverages a full additive part that is inspected and then finished using subtractive manufacturing,
06:59
to bring critical surfaces to the required tolerance or surface finish.
07:04
The doors also open to develop true hybrid machines that deposit material and then machine the deposited material to the required tolerances.
07:12
There's immense potential in hybrid manufacturing to improve the quality of produced parts, while simultaneously reducing material waste.
07:21
As progress is made in the materials and accuracy additive manufacturing is capable of,
07:27
and in the ability of Generative Design Software to produce valid and improved designs,
07:32
Hybrid Manufacturing will truly play a significant role in the future of manufacturing.
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