Industry applications:
Impellers

Machining of impellers is one of the most complex 5-Axis machining tasks. There is minimal space for the tool to offset the necessary angular motion and quality of surface finish is critical. Impellors often have very thin ribs tend to be destroyed by vibrations and this has to be taken into account in the machining process.

Best results are achieved with depths cuts based on the stock definition of upper and lower surface of the impeller ribs using conical cutters. ModuleWorks is able to dynamically vary feedrate for optimum surface finish and avoid collisions by varying the lead and lag angle.

Finishing of the impellor blades requires high accuracy and smooth axis movements to avoid surface surface marking. ModuleWorks provides excellent surface finish by allowing tool orientation on 5 Axis toolpaths to be controlled by user-defined tool axis vectors and also warns of local axis reversal in the toolpath, a key factor in unwanted surface marking.