Case Study

AUDI

“ WorkNC is extremely easy to program and handle,

which is especially important in single part machining.
It allows us to do the programming for even highly

”
complex parts in a quick and intuitive manner.

WorkNC CAM software is the premier automatic CNC software for

surface or solid models in mold, die and tooling businesses for 2 to
5-axis CNC programming. WorkNC is used by all western, Japanese
and Korean automotive makers and well-known OEMs from a range of
other industries.

WorkNC is best of breed, complementary CAM software that enhances

all design and manufacturing systems by providing the most reliable,
efficient, easy-to-program cutter paths, resulting in unmatched
productivity and safety.
Audi Toolmaking Steps On
The Gas With WorkNC
The new WorkNC high feed rate strategy reduces machining time
during pre-finishing by up to 30 percent for car-making giant,
Audi.

Vero Software GmbH has developed a new WorkNC high feed rate
strategy together with the cutting specialists at Audi Toolmaking.
Their achievement: Audi has reduced processing times in various About The Company:
pre-finishing pressing tools by up to 30 percent while tool service
life has trippled at the same time. Name:
Audi
The toolmaking department at Audi AG (officially known since
Business:
2017 as the “competence centre for plant equipment and Car making giant - The
forming technology” or “KCU”) has always been one of the competence centre for plant
core competences of Audi AG. It is in charge of press tools for equipment and forming technology.
components such as vehicle doors, engine bonnets and side
panels, as well as plants for building chassis. Driven to deploy Benefits Achieved:
external service providers by international competition, the people
in charge are constantly on the lookout for innovations to improve • Reduced machining time
processes and results. during pre-finishing by up to 30
percent.
One such person who deals with innovations on a daily basis
is Markus Brunner, a member of the Machine Technology • Extremely easy to program and
handle.
Management team at the KCU in Ingolstadt. One of his tasks
is optimising the toolmaking cutting production in terms of CAD • Allows programming for even
and CAM technology. highly complex parts in a quick
and intuitive manner.
“Single-part machining is one of the challenges we are confronted
with here, and it gives rise to special requirements,” he explains. • Versatile and Efficient.
“Above all, frequent product changes necessitate high flexibility
in machining. Efficient CAM programming is also very important • Cost-effective.
in this regard.
• Significantly higher tooth feeds
and increase the metal removal
Markus Brunner is primarily occupied with increasing processing
rate many times over.
quality and throughput times with the use of modern, CAM-
programmed machining technologies, thus reducing processing • Significantly increased the level
costs. His partner in programming software is Vero Software of automation in single-part
GmbH, with its WorkNC CAM system, which Audi Toolmaking has production over the past few
been using for many years now. “We continuously use WorkNC years.
from 3 and 3+2 axis to 5-axis simultaneous milling of forming
tools, and increasingly 2.5D processing as well,” Markus Brunner Comments:
explains.
“WorkNC’s options for
“WorkNC is extremely easy to program and handle, which is subsequently modifying
programmed milling paths, such
especially important in single part machining. It allows us to do
as offsetting and cutting paths,
the programming for even highly complex parts in a quick and are extremely important to us.”
intuitive manner. WorkNC also offers many ways of standardising
and automating machining tasks and the programming for them, in Markus Brunner
spite of single part production.” He also describes the processing Machine Technology Management
strategies which WorkNC offers as “versatile and efficient,” as
they make it possible to “program and process every component
in a cost-effective manner.”
Vero is constantly refining WorkNC software in order to make milling
work even more efficient in the future. For instance, the current
release includes a new high-feed strategy which was proposed by
the toolmakers at Audi and created in a close and partner-like co-
operative effort.

While high-speed cutting (HSC) primarily involves creating high-

quality surfaces, high-feed cutting (HFC) provides short processing
times in roughing and pre-finishing. Various suppliers have developed
special tools with high-feed geometries for this purpose, with cutting
edges that have a much larger line of contact with the workpiece than
conventional round inserts.

This reduces the radial cutting force load on the mill and the machine
spindle so much as to allow significantly higher tooth feeds and
increase the metal removal rate many times over. This is especially
advantageous for reducing processing time and production costs in
roughing and pre-finishing work with intensive cutting.

Before Vero presented its new WorkNC solution, the users found
themselves confronted with the following problem when using these
tools: Up till then, CAM systems were not able to sufficiently reproduce
the new high-feed geometries, which led to an undefined allowance
on the component surface. This, in turn, impaired processing reliability
in the downstream finishing process.

The new high-feed strategy now factors in deviations in milling tool

geometries with irregular cutters. WorkNC thus prevents undefined
allowances from appearing on the workpiece. Markus Brunner is
enthusiastic about the result: “This new strategy enables us to use
milling tools of any contour, even ones with cutters which deviate
from a regular geometry such as a sphere or torus. This even allows
us to use milling tools which were specifically designed for a defined
application case.”

His enthusiasm doesn’t come from nowhere. After all, Brunner and
his colleagues were the driving force behind the new development.
They also provided machine capacities for testing purposes. For
instance, they cut the negative surface offset of a press tool for a
car door. Whereas pre-finishing work for the outer door panel used
to take three hours and 15 minutes, and the cutting inserts had to
be changed three times, processing with the new WorkNC high-
feed strategy only took one hour and 42 minutes – without having to
change any inserts. The tool used was a 1DP1E high-feed mill from
Ingersoll Cutting Tools (WSP type PEMT0502ZCTR-HR, WSP quality
IN2505; 65 mm projection length).

“By using WorkNC’s high-feed strategy and the tools to match, we

have reduced processing time in pre-finishing work by up to 30
percent,” says Markus Brunner. The drifting forces are lower than
those with round insert cutters, which contributes to longer tool
life. Since the main machining forces arise in the Z-direction (i.e. the
spindle direction), vibrations are reduced and the tool generally runs
more quietly, which has a positive effect on the cutting process.
WorkNC Tel: +44 (0) 1242 542040
1370 Montpellier Court E-mail: [email protected]
Gloucester Business Park Web: www.worknc.com
Gloucester
GL3 4AH
United Kingdom

“The new WorkNC strategy can also be used with negative surface offset,
which I believe is not possible with any other CAM supplier at present. In the
future, we will definitely be using it with all components in the pre-finishing
processing step.”

To the Audi team, the new high-feed strategy is an example of the productive,
partnership with Vero and the WorkNC developers. However, their
satisfaction extended to a great many other aspects: “WorkNC’s options
for subsequently modifying programmed milling paths, such as offsetting
and cutting paths, are extremely important to us.” He is also impressed with
the short calculation times, thanks to 64 bit and multiprocessor technology,
which he says is very important, especially when programming large parts.

“The flexibility of the overall system is also much appreciated. For instance,
WorkNC’s post-processors are not encrypted, and can be adjusted by the
user at any time. This has enabled us to significantly increase the level of
automation in our single-part production over the past few years.” In addition,
this allows it to quickly adjust the CAM output to the increasingly complex
machine technology, so as to exploit the full potential of the tool machines.