S h o p f l o o r A u t o m a t i o n w i t h F i k u s V i s u a l c a mTalleres Cridi S.L. is a Spanish company, that providesservices along the complete manufacturing processchain, including product design, rapid prototyping, tooldesign and high­precision manufacturing, qualitycontrol and the assembly of parts. Founded 25 yearsago in the Barcelona area, the company has meanwhileprestigious customers in the automotive and aerospaceindustry, the packaging industry as well as in thehealthcare and pharmaceutical industry. In its facility ofabout 2,000 square meters about 30 highly­skilledprofessionals are using the newest manufacturingtechnogies for CAD/CAM and CNC machining. TalleresCridi S.L. is ISO 9001:2000 certified for the high­precision manufacturing and assembly of parts.

Talleres Cridi S.L. has invested in themost modern CNC Machiningcentres where Milling strategies from3 axes up to 5 simultaneous axescan be applied. The machine parkincludes two MIKRON machinesVCE 600 Pro and UCP 800 Duro 5­axis, several machines from Kondiaand a ZAYER KFU­5000 machine,that enables milling of large parts upto 5 meters. Besides of severalturning machines the company isnow also using a MAZAK 250 M Mill­Turn centre, that enablesmultitasking operations in one partsetup.Sometimes the milling of mold or diecomponents in hardened steel haslimitations, when sharp­edged holesor pockets need to be cut in thickmaterial . For these applications thecompany has installed a Wire EDMmachine ROBOFIL 240 from AgieCharmilles to cut the parts. As WireEDM is not affected by constantwear like traditional milling tools, theresults of wire cutting are alwaysexact, no matter how complex thejob is.

In the Engineering departmentTalleres Cridi is using high­levelCAD/CAM systems like CimatronEand Fikus Visualcam. CimatronE isfocussed on the 3D design and themilling of the core and cavity parts.For all other CAM jobs like WireEDM or 2.5D Milling the company isusing Fikus Visualcam, an easy­to­use shop floor programming softwarefrom the Spanish supplier MetalcamS.L. It provides an efficient CNCprogramming solution for Wire EDM,Milling, Lathe, Millturn and NCCutting & Routing applications. FikusVisualcam is a native Windowsapplication, that also enables thecreation and modification ofgeometry as well as the import ofgeometry from other CAD systems.The world­class "Fikus for WireEDM" module produces 2­ to 4­axistoolpaths quickly and accurately forall types and ages of Wire EDMmachines. After the part file has beenimported from Cimatron E, the FikusWirePath Manager enables an easygeneration of wire procedures.

Application reportDecember 2010

Wire EDM programming of a sharp­edgedpart with Fikus Visualcam

www.metalcam.com

For WireEDM Talleres Cridi is using anAgieCharmilles ROBOFIL 240,programmed with Fikus Visualcam.

These procedures are a combinationof geometric and technological datapresented in a logical tree, easy tocreate and edit at any stage in theprocess. Fikus provides powerfulpostprocessors that enable users togenerate machine programs for thewhole variety of EDM machines onthe same programming platform.Due to its ease of use, the WireCutprogramming with Fikus normallytakes no longer than 10 minutes.The manufacturing of a completemold requires also a lot of pocketing,drilling and profiling operations, thatcan be programmed with the "Fikusfor Milling" module. This module is acomplete, easy­to­use solution forthe 2D, 2.5D and 3D Programming ofMilling machines. The basic 2Dfeatures enable contouring androughing operations with multiplecontours and islands.

During the creation of the part, Fikusallows the user to visualize it as asolid rendered object anddynamically pan, zoom or rotate itusing the OpenGL standard graphicsincorporated. Modifications made areautomatically shown on the screen.During the toolpath simulation, Fikuscan also show the parts as solidrendered objects and zoom, pan orrotate the scene.The "Fikus for Milling" module isspecifically designed for theprogramming of CNC machiningcenters. Fikus automatically detectstechnological situations like core orcavity and opened or closed parts.Due to the machining intelligence of"Fikus for Milling" the user must onlyselect the roughing or finishingphases. Fikus then sets thenecessary parameters automaticallyand creates the appropriate paths.Fikus incorporates a powerful CNCeditor with the most common editionfunctions, together with functionsdeveloped specifically for the editionof CNC programs. It can also sendor receive the programs directly tothe different machines connected tothe computer, using the differentprotocols and communicationspeeds.

Metalcam and Fikus Visualcam are registered trademarks of Metalcam S.L. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respectiveholders. Metalcam S.L. is not necessarily associated with any other products or vendors mentioned herein. This document is for informationalpurposes only and is subject to change. © Metalcam S.L. 2010. All rights reserved.

Finished component of a blood analysismachine manufactured by Talleres Cridi.

The sreenshot shows how Fikus Visualcam can be applied to the machining of a multiholecomponent of a blood analysis machine.

About MetalcamMetalcam, the Spanish developer of FikusVisualcam, is constantly investing in theresearch and development of innovativeproducts. The result are software solutions,that are easy­to­use and maximize theproductivity in manufacturing. Metalcam´ssuccess is based on its long termexperience in manufacturing applicationsand the close technological partnershipwith customers and machine tool supplierslike AgieCharmilles.

Application report Talleres Cridi S.L., December 2010

The new version 16 of FikusVisualcam supports an enhancedTool Table for Milling, Turning andMill­Turn operations. When a toolfor a new toolpath is selected, thetechnological tool data willcorrespond to the choosen machineand material. The simulator cannow visualize "T" and conical tools.Furthermore, options have beenadded to save the resulting materialin STL format and to show the chipvolume removed.

Josep Marsol, Programmer in CridisCAM department, summarizes:"Due to the variety of parts wemanufacture, we need a robust,flexible and easy­to­use applicationlike Fikus Visualcam, that reducesour overall programming time andultimately improves the machiningcapabilities of our WireEDM andMilling machines."

Josep Marsol, CAM Programmer in theTalleres Cridi shop floor.