Mastercam NewsFlash April 2008

Mastercam Helps Corvette Lose The “Tink Tink Tink”

“Tink” is definitely not a sound a 430hp small block Chevrolet V8 engine in a 1977 Corvette should be making while idling. After several hours of diagnosis using sophisticated tools, the problem was determined to be the crankshaft pulleys on the front of the engine. These pulleys drive the alternator, water pump, and other things. The “tinking” noise was caused by metal flakes crinkling before breaking off.

At this point, a normal owner would consult a magazine and purchase replacement pulleys. After all…not all Corvette owners have access to a “CNC 3-in-1 machine in their basement and some awesome Mastercam software”, says Bob, owner of the “tinking” Corvette.

Bob got some aluminum and laser-scanned an existing pulley. The new pulley design was created by combining the point cloud data from the laser scanner. The final improved design in Mastercam is shown below.

Bob needed to overcome a couple of manufacturing problems before turning the Mastercam design into a real, functioning pulley.

• The largest diameter that could be turned on the lathe was 7 ¾” and the stock was 8” in diameter.

• The largest width that could be clamped in the Mill vise was 4 ½”.

• The mill and lathe spindles were driven by 1 ½ hp motors (a little underpowered for machining a large part).

He solved these problems by breaking the machining process into the following steps:

1. Strap the part to the table and mill flats on it so it can be placed in the vise.

2. Put the stock in the vise, mill out as much as possible, and get part of the stock small enough to fit into the lathe chuck for turning.

   
3. Finish all of the diameters by turning the part on the lathe.

Bob programmed the part using the power of Mastercam’s Work Coordinate System (WCS), which allowed him to avoid copying part geometry for the multiple machine setups. He created groups of machining operations for each machine setup, each with its own WCS and stock view. Bob also used Mastercam’s toolpath verification functionality to check the toolpaths he programmed before running the toolpaths on the machine.

Bob made good use of Mastercam’s large library of toolpaths to machine the pulley: mill facing, contouring, pocketing, surface machining and drilling, as well as lathe facing, roughing, finishing and grooving toolpaths.

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The final pulley was half a pound lighter than the pulley it replaced. Below is a picture of it before it found its happy home on the front of the engine! Now Bob’s “vette” is both lighter and quieter!

Mastercam X3 News Flash

Mastercam X3 has just entered enthusiastic beta testing, and we’re getting a lot of positive feedback on the many new benefits that the software delivers. Stay tuned – we’ll have continuing updates in future issues of the Mastercam News Flash.

Mastercam IOF Contest Winners

The 2007 Innovators of the Future (IOF) contest ended with Boyd Coddington picking the winning steering wheel design for Mastercam’s 3rd IOF contest.

And the winner is…Bernie Sievers from Vincennes University, in Vincennes, Indiana! Sievers’ Bonneville 300 MPH Club steering wheel immediately caught celebrity judge Boyd’s attention. This steering wheel really stood out as interesting and fresh. The small holes along the bottom and top really added to the sleek racing style of this wheel.

Congratulations to Bernie and all the other entrants to the contest!

For more information about Mastercam’s Innovator of the Future contest, please go to www.mastercamiof.com. Information about the next IOF contest is not currently up there, so check back later to find out more details for the 2008/2009 contest!

Where is my Mastercam Reseller?

Mastercam’s Reseller Conference will be held May 5-9 in Hartford, CT with Mastercam Resellers from all over the world attending.

During the week of the conference, our Resellers will learn about Mastercam’s latest products (the X3 release, Feature Based Machining, Mastercam in SolidWorks, and more), as well as general enhancements to Mastercam. Additional Mastercam training will be offered to get our Resellers up to speed with all the new products that will be coming out shortly.

During the conference week, you might find it a little difficult to get in touch with your Reseller, or that they are not as quick getting back in touch with you. Please remember that they will be trying hard to get in touch with you in their “free” time during the meeting. We are certain that the time they spend at the conference will benefit both their dealership and their customers.

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