DESIGN OF SPECIAL TOOLS BY CAD CAM SYSTEMS

This paper presents a program for the automatic design of special tool s developed under a CAD/CAM (computer aided design/manufacture) system . In particular, the special tools made with standard components have been considered. Since the design of these types of tools was essentia lly related to the selection of their components, this paper deals wit h this aspect, insisting upon the selection of those components direct ly related to the removal of material: the toolholders or cartridges a nd the inserts. To select these components it is necessary to take int o account not only geometrical or technological rules but also economi cal ones, owing to the high amount of possible components they can sel ect. Consideration of economical aspects required the formulation of t he cost equation associated with the use of these types of tools, char acterized because their cutting edges coincide with different cutting velocities. Likewise, consideration of economical aspects allows the s election of the optimum cutting conditions and the cutting components to take place at the same time. Some of the geometrical and technologi cal parameters related to the selection of cutting components are auto matically identified by the system through an automatic identification of the workpiece profile.