Page 56 - Fall 2024 EDM Today

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IMTS Update

Hexagon has many software products that are commonly
used in our industry. Both VISI and WORKNC have been
around for many years. Hexagon acquired both, and they
have each been further developed and enhanced. VISI stood
out as the product of choice for many reasons. William
gave me a detailed demonstration of the software. I was
impressed with how intuitive the operator interface behaved.
Unlike other CAD/CAM software that is somewhat gener-
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al-purpose, VISI was developed specifi cally for the mold
and die industries. It differs from WORKNC in that where
WORKNC is a high-end CAM software, VISI is a much more
comprehensive CAD/CAM package that combines 3D design,
plastic fl ow analysis, sheet metal stamping, and multi-axis
milling all in one software suite. VISI includes support for
both Die Sinking and Wire EDM.
William walked me through designing a simple mold cavity. The process is intuitive and straightforward, in many
ways similar to SolidWorks. The real magic happens after the 3D geometry is put in the mold. That geometry is then
extracted and automatically applied to the electrode shape. Literally, in seconds, you can have a complete electrode
designed and toolpaths created.
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One of the very nice features is automatic collision detection. William explained that you could design the electrode
to fi t on a certain pallet, be it System 3R, Carl Hirschmann, EROWA, or other – even custom designed pallets. If there
is standing geometry on the mold that the pallet will hit, the software will fl ag it – very nice. Dick explained that VISI is
updated often. Typically they have three update releases per year. I was impressed.
hexagon.com

JINGDIAO NORTH AMERICA Booth 339153
Starting as a software company in 1994, Jingdiao has grown rapidly.
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In 2024, they have 7,000 employees and a global footprint.
They have evolved from a software company to a major OEM building high end CNC machine tools. While they have
a very wide range of CNC milling machines for many applications, it is their expertise with graphite mills that caught
my attention. The Jingdiao booth was literally across the aisle from the EDM Today booth in the South building, yet
they were so busy that it was not until Saturday, the last day of IMTS, that I was able to sit down with Jingdiao North
America Sales Manager P. J. Naughton.
We discussed the many graphite
mill offerings, including the popular
Jingdiao model GRA200-GRAPHITE
5-axis milling machine. Designed
specifi cally for graphite machining,
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the machine comes standard with
a 24,000 RPM spindle. P. J. stated
that some models are available
with up to 32,000 RPM. P. J. added
proudly that these graphite mills
are incredibly popular. Just in the
fi rst quarter of 2024, over 1,000
machines were sold. There were
several features that I liked. One
was automatic part alignment with
a Renishaw probe. Another was
automatic compensation based
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on spindle temperature. A chiller
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