Nathan Byman from Wolfram Manufacturing shows us the value of using the TMAC Tool Monitoring Adaptive Control System from Caron Engineering. TMAC 3.0 is a real-time tool wear and breakage detection system. This latest version has a new browser based user-interface for remote access to live monitoring and system control from any network connected device. TMAC uses high-resolution sensor data to measure tool wear in real-time. Through direct interfacing with the CNC control TMAC makes automatic and instantaneous corrective adjustments during cutting, without the need for human intervention. TMAC maximizes your investment in the entire machining process through optimisation and the elimination of downtime, resulting in more profitability. MTDCNC’s Tony Gunn is super impressed.

Full Video Transcript

Tony: Well, Nathan, we were standing in your office and I was kind of looking at all your cool posters of Indiana Jones and Star Wars and Marvel, but I noticed something popped up on your screen where you got to go, “Oh something just happened. What happened there?”

Nathan: Well so this was a little unexpected, but it’s part of manufacturing, so what happened is we were looking at the machines, you know I tend to keep an eye on them. On the side, we have monitors up and we triggered a TMAC alarm. So one of the machines stopped and raised its hand asking for attention. Well we’re preparing for our Grand Opening so people are everywhere doing other stuff. I thought I would come out and take a look at it. So, I can show you a little bit about what caught my eye. I was looking at our production overview screen. This is software called OnTakt, spelled o-n-t-a-k-t. It’s something that we wrote ourselves and the machine we’re standing in front of is LB3 l3PO and this yellow line popped up. Now I know that that yellow line is like woah. In the Caron world nothing bad has happened, it finished making its cut and then it says hey I used more power than I should have to make that cut, I think I’m a worn tool. So we call them wear alarms. So I can hop in and look at it. Now before we got out here the guys addressed it and they got the machine going again, but it’s great to be able to step out here and take a look.

Nathan: So of course I can click on this alarm and I can get some additional detail. I can hop over and launch recordings of exactly what that tool saw. Now, I have already pulled up one of the recordings. So this tool was a half inch end mill and basically it was going through its life in this blue section. If the work had stopped before that blue section was completed, we would have called that an under wear, so not enough work to have made a good part. This normally means like I’ve lost a flute or I’ve lost a tool. Almost always bad if you don’t get enough work to make a part.

Nathan: This green range means everything’s just cruising, cruising, cruising and then when we get into the yellow it starts to add up: this is work over a brand new sharp tool. So on this one we had a 100 limit, so the difference in horsepower between sharp tool and worn tool is about double the horsepower seconds. So the actual work done on this one over here which tapped out at 101 percent, raised its hand basically, “Uh would somebody like to come take a look and tell me whether I’m good to keep running?” So the next thing that I do in that circumstance is I come back to our OnTakt software and I look to see where that tool was in its tool life. If I wanted 200 parts out of that tool did I get 200? Am I close? If so, somebody’s going to change the part.

Nathan: Now, this one is a half inch end mill. When I pulled it up, it said 110 out of 170 parts produced. That is way too early to be getting a wear alarm. I should be getting a wear alarm at you know 170, 175, 180… But 110? That’s not great.

Nathan: Now the funny thing is we had called out the tool manufacturer to visit our shop, because we had seen a step change in their tooling from between two batches of tools, so convenient timing all around. They were able to look in the machine and we were able to bring up recordings of the actual cut. We brought up recordings and overlaid them showing what earlier cuts would look like and how they used less horsepower. So again, now the tool manufacturer is taking real data home instead of just what they always have to decide if you’re just complaining or if they’re going to take you seriously. But people take it seriously when we pull the data together.

Tony: Nathan please do not drop the microphone physically but guys that was a mic drop. And that’s how you prove a point or convey a message. Nathan, incredible incredible message thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Nathan: All right thank you, Tony, it’s been great.

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