June 2010

The MANUALplus 620: Even More User-Friendly

For years, HEIDENHAIN’s MANUALplus controls have been known for their convenience of operation. An additional step in the direction of user friendliness was made with smart.Turn programming, which made it possible to expand the control’s range of applications to single-spindle CNC lathes. HEIDENHAIN also used this opportunity to greatly expand the functions of the MANUALplus 620 once again. The new software supports machining with the Y axis, recognizes multipoint tools, monitors tool life and much more.

New functions for drilling and milling in the C and Y axes
The new software substantially adds to the control’s capabilities in drilling and milling operations: machining with the Y axis, for example, makes it possible to machine slots or pockets with even floor surfaces and vertical groove edges.

The user can choose between various infeed strategies for milling: direct infeed, infeed in a pilot hole or a 3-D approach arc, and helical (spiral) or reciprocating plunge. Appropriate pre-drilling cycles with calculation of the pre-drilling position supplement these new strategies.

Other new cycles are for deburring with the C and Y axes as well as for inscriptions by engraving on a face or lateral surface (XY or YZ plane). For all of these cycles, users only need a few parameters to get the job done.

Also, the graphical interactive ICP contour editor supports work with the C and Y axes in smart.Turn programs. For standard figures such as slots, circles or polygons, only a few parameters are needed. Holes and figures to be milled can be arranged in linear or circular patterns, and even hierarchical arrangements such as figures within other figures are no problem for the MANUALplus 620. One example: the user defines a pocket and, within the pocket, a slot, and then holes within the slot. And all of that without any long-winded computations, because ICP finds the positions of these figures and holes automatically.

Gaining new perspectives:  program run simulation
The numerous graphical simulations for material removal, the proportioning of cuts, and the finished contour have always provided valuable support for program verification. Now, with the new software, the control has been expanded with new views and a convenient, well arranged multi-window depiction of the simulation. Besides the “turning view,” for operations with the C axis it offers the face and lateral surface views, and for working with the Y axis the XY and YZ views. The user simply selects a window combination with up to four views that give him an optimal perspective for checking the program code and the machining operation.

During simulation of an NC program, the control calculates the unit times for the programmed operation. A table clearly shows the machining time and idle time of each working step. That not only helps in calculations, for example to make a quotation for a customer, it also provides a great perspective for finding opportunities for optimization.

Short setup times, long production times
The new “tool measurement by touch probe” function saves setup time. Finding tool dimensions has become surprisingly easy with the HEIDENHAIN touch probe and the new preprogrammed measuring cycles: simply pre-position the tool, select the measuring direction and start the measuring cycle. From the positions measured, the MANUALplus calculates the tool lengths and loads the dimensions in the tool database.

Another new feature is the tool life monitoring with replacement tools. The permissible tool life in terms of time or number of finished workpieces can be individually defined. If the “interchange chain” is also defined, the MANUALplus has all the information it needs to automatically switch to a “sister tool” when an older tool is worn out. The MANUALplus does not stop production until all of the tools in a “chain” have been exhausted.

For more information on HEIDENHAIN controls, go to www.heidenhain.com