TopTurn/TopMill

With TopTurn and TopMill NC programs can be created with dialog input in an interactive operation mode for any desired CNC control combined with an MTS 3D machine model. The simulation of the NC blocks with material removal is carried out, switchable at any time, either in a 2D top view with cross-sections of the workpiece and the clamping devices or in a 3D machine space representation including the workpiece (or the workpieces), the complete tools, the clamping devices as well as all fixed and moving machine components.

Since the workpiece and the tool cutting geometry are, however, not sufficient for a realistic simulation with collision monitoring, the precise tool representations with cutting edge, holder and tool mounting, the workpiece clamping devices as well as relevant machine components (such as neighboring tools, tailstock, counter spindle, dividing heads, ...) must also be used for collision monitoring.

 

In a first step, the virtual TopMill or TopTurn machine is to be set up like a real machine tool in set-up mode: assembling / inserting the tools into the magazine, determining the tool compensation values, setting the workpiece and clamping the workpiece (or of the workpieces) and determining the workpiece zero point (or points).

For this purpose, TopMill and TopTurn have an easy-to-use and comfortable setup dialog in which all these activities are realistically reproduced on the virtual machines (for example, the scratching of the workpiece by handwheel or in jog mode is possible to fix the zero point in an axis). The setup data are stored in a readable MTS setup sheet as a comments head of the NC program.

Externally created programs can be simulated and optimized if the contain an MTS setup sheet as a comments head. If such a setup sheet is not yet included, it can be supplemented in MTS setup mode.

For the simulation of NC programs generated with CAM, the tool assignment, workpiece/blank geometry and workpiece clamping can be imported in XML format via a CAM import interface and converted into a setup sheet.