WorkNC partnered with Hermle, Ingersoll and Gressel to provide a one-stop machining solution for a motorsport prototype wheel carrier.

Utilising WorkNC’s diverse 2D, 3D and 5-axis toolpaths, the wheel carrier was machined from AlMgCuPb aluminium using adaptive trochoidal roughing and global re-roughing strategies and finished largely with 3+2 axes.

WorkNC Wheel carrier

It was carried out on a Hermle C32U machine, with the stock held in place by a Gressel workholding system. The Ingersoll cutting tools included FormMaster pro for the pre-roughing and machining of the back of the carrier, ChipSurfer for re-roughing, OctoPlus for facing, ChipSurfer Ball for contour finishing, and a variety of tools for drilling, tapping and boring.

WorkNC Wheel carrier

Gerhard Hermann, Sales Engineer at WorkNC, says the partnership shows co-ordinated teamwork in the manufacturing chain between machine tools, cutting tools, workholding and CAM software. “We have worked together on many occasions in the past few years. This wheel carrier for a racing car is a perfect example of how a proven, single source solution ensures manufacturers can optimise their machining process.”

WorkNC Wheel carrier

In producing the wheel carrier WorkNC automatically considered the tool holder during calculation, to obtain optimal machining of all areas. “This was achieved principally through the use of a dynamically updated stock model,” says Gerhard Hermann. “Due to exact information about the current state of machining, only areas with remaining stock were milled. WorkNC automatically separated those 3-axis toolpaths into several inclined 3+2-axis paths. The angles can either be set by the user or defined in a very simple way using the Auto 3+2 module, reducing programming to just a few clicks.”

In addition, WorkNC’s 5-axis simultaneous milling generates continuous toolpaths, creating an excellent surface finish with short tools. “Programming is considerably simpler as only a few toolpaths need to be defined.”

Each WorkNC toolpath can be automatically converted into a collision-free 5-axis path, meaning there is no need for time-consuming definition of guide curves or surfaces.

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