[Don Clement]

Here are some pictures and videos utilizing the advantages of TTS mounted tools. I make a part from 1 1/2" diameter aluminum 6061-T6 stock that has 3 different sized drilled holes, two 6-32 tapped holes and four 1/16" wide slots cut leaving four 0.050" wide ribs that are orthogonally located about the part center. This part is a solid machined compliant mounting that I use to mount a lead screw assembly on my product. here is a picture of the completed part before it goes into the vibratory deburring machine.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...iant-Mount.gif

I hold the part in a 5C pot chuck mounted in an Eagle Rock 5C fixture. The pot chuck securely holds the bottom 0.120" of the 0.5" tall part. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...5C-Fixture.gif

Three different sized holes are drilled followed by tapping two 6-32 holes using a TTS mounted Procunier tapping head with Balax 6-32 form tap.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...f/Drilling.gif
http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...t=100_3184.flv

The final operation is using a 1/16" thick, 3.5" diameter, 30 tooth slitting saw running at 400 rpm @ 25ipm feed. The slitting saw is mounted in a TTS holder that I made from a TTS Machinable Blank (P/N30475). Here is a video of the slitting saw in action:
http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...t=100_3185.flv

One of the major issues with this round part is relocating the part in the collet fixture. Ideally all machining operations should be done with the part fixtured and the part not removed between each machining process. The TTS mounted tools allow me to easily do just that. When the new power draw bar comes it will be just that much easier to change TTS tools. I just machined a run of 50 of the compliant mounts and TTS quick change tools was a real help.

Don Clement
Running Springs, California

[R.DesJardin]

I use up to 8 tools to make some of my parts. I could not imagine how to do that efficiently without the TTS holders and a tool library. I agree that when the Power drawbar becomes available the ease of changing tools will be eased a bit. At least until the tool carousel comes out?

[BlueFin]

TTS quick change tools was a real help.

Don Clement

A lot of the success behind Tormach machining is the music it listens to while working, and I'd say you have a happy Tormach.

[300sniper]

i approve of the pink floyd your tormach was listening to.

[zephyr9900]

A Tormach without TTS is like breakfast without orange juice. That's a very cool slitting video, Don. Thanks for sharing the videos. And my Tormach approves of all Pink Floyd. Especially "Echoes" from the same album, which it considers to be the best single rock track ever recorded.

Randy

[Don Clement]

And my Tormach approves of all Pink Floyd. Especially "Echoes" from the same album, which it considers to be the best single rock track ever recorded.

Randy

Randy,

My Tormach agrees, and doesn't Meddle words in that "Echoes" was the greatest song ever recorded. One of these days...

Don

[zephyr9900]

...though "Your Gold Teeth" by Steely Dan gives Echoes a pretty good run for its money.

The engineer in me wonders a bit about the stress concentration from the square edges in the slots, given that the part is a flexure and aluminum isn't the most forgiving material under cyclic stress. But I'm imagining that this is pretty much a statically-loaded part?

I have the 4- and 6-sided blocks for holding 5C collets in my vise, but that collet fixture looks like something I should have too.

Randy

[Don Clement]

Randy,

The loading on the compliant mount is for all purposes static. I have used the compliant mount in my product for many years and have never had a failure of the compliant mount. I haven't done an FEA study of the compliant mount yet because so far there hasn't been a need. I do own Solidworks 2010 simulation Premium so it might be on my to do list at some point. I do have a solution though. I slit the part a few mils shy of the 0.05" rib, then run a finish pass with a slitting saw with rounded tips so as not to leave a sharp shoulder that could present stress concentration.


I also use 4 and 6 sided 5C blocks mounted in the Kurt D688 vise for workholding. Here is an example of using the hex 5C block with a 5C mounted chuck used in a pinch on the Kurt vise...A poor man's indexer http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...5Cindexer1.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...5Cindexer2.jpg

In addition, I sometimes use a Bison 5C collet chuck mounted on the mill bed or on the 8" RT. Here is an example of using the Bison for holding a part for thread milling using an internal expanding 5C collet: http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ng60mm_1mm.jpg

Don

[zephyr9900]

I do own Solidworks 2010 simulation Premium so it might be on my to do list at some point.

If that is anything like the CosmosWorks that used to be bundled with SW Office Premium it's a matter of a couple of minutes to do a stress test on a single part. Fix a surface or edge, pick another surface or edge and apply a force or moment or pressure and get stress and deflection plots. I haven't done that since my last employer but it was really simple. And you could superimpose loads as simply. Never read a manual but the dialog boxes were step-by-step. If you have your mount modeled already take 5 minutes and give it a try!

Randy

[Don Clement]

Randy,

Yes, Solidworks 2010 Simulation is FEA analysis formerly called Cosmos. I have Simulation Premium that includes nonlinear FEA analysis because movement of the 36 SS or BeCu flexures in my product assemblies are large displacement which are only approximated using linear FEA analysis. see: http://files.solidworks.com/campaign...d_2010_ENG.pdf

The reason why I just don't model the compliant mount by itself is because my modeling and simulation is for an entire assembly with a real life load not just speculation of loading on a single part.

And yes Simulation is integrated with Solidworks so it is possible to automatically optimize designs. see: http://files.solidworks.com/campaign...ization_WP.pdf

BTW Simulation Express comes with every seat of Solidworks 2010 so for a single part (not an assembly) it easy to run FEA studies right from the solid part model. And the controls are very easy to use, exactly the same as the Professional and Premium FEA simulations. In Solidworks 2010 continuity is throughout Solidworks so all applications within Solidworks have the same interfaces, just like MS windows does.

Don

PS Although I don't have an ATC, with the money I saved buying the Tormach with affordable TTS tooling and inexpensive SprutCAM, I was able to buy Solidworks Premium and Solidworks Simulation Premium that will ultimately greatly improve my product much more so than owning an expensive VMC would.