RhinoCAM at Piedmont Composites and Tooling
Note: This blog post is a portion of a larger MecSoft Corporation written case study on the successful implementation of RhinoCAM at Piedmont Composites & Tooling located in Taylorsville, NC. You can read the full case study here.
Piedmont Composites & Tooling, LLC (PCT), Located in Taylorsville, NC and founded in 1972 is a specialized manufacturer of high-quality fiberglass composite parts and tooling, serving diverse industries such as architectural, marine, signage, communications, and transportation out of their approximate 200,000 sqft facility. The company relies on its two CNC routers primarily for creating the tooling necessary for its composite molds.
The company set up its first router around 2017 and quickly became adept at its operation with hard work and the use of RhinoCAM Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software from MecSoft Corporation a critical factor in the successful implementation of their new digital workflow. Based on the success achieved and expanding on its reputation of being the best shop in the industry, Piedmont Composites & Tooling added on to its facility to install a large format CNC from C.R. Onsrud “LR” (Light Rail) series 5-axis CNC router with a cutting area of 28.5ft L x 13.2ft W x 8ft H using RhinoCAM software from MecSoft Corporation. We sat down with them to discuss the experience…
The CR-ONSRUD 5 Axis Machining Center
PCT proudly describes their brand-new C.R. Onsrud “LR” (Light Rail) series 5-axis CNC router as a massive head-to-head gantry machine boasting an enormous work envelope of approximately 28 ft in X, 13.2 ft in Y, and a full 8 ft (96 in) of Z travel. They call it “a pretty big machine”. This router dwarfs their other 5×10 ft CMS 5-axis CNC machine. The 91 in long × 54 in wide Baptistery studied below was essentially the machine’s very first production job. PCT reports that the results were outstanding. The EPS foam cuts came out perfectly with no accuracy or finish issues. The C.R. Onsrud “LR” (Light Rail) series 5-axis CNC router at Piedmont Composites & Tooling is shown below.
Above we see the brand-new C.R. Onsrud “LR” (Light Rail) series 5-axis CNC router at Piedmont Composites & Tooling. It is a massive head-to-head gantry machine boasting an enormous work envelope of approximately 28 ft in X, 13.2 ft in Y, and a full 8 ft (96 in) of Z travel!
RhinoCAM at Piedmont Composites & Tooling
The part shown in the CR-ONSRUD 5 Axis Machining Center is a Baptistery Basin plug form measuring approximately 91” long x 54” wide x 36” tall. It is cut from EPS 2 lb density foam. The part requires indexed 5 Axis machining (sometimes referred to as (3+2) machining) to form the resulting cut model shown above. The machined part will be used as a form (sometimes referred to as a “plug”) upon which fiberglass composite materials are deposited to form the production Baptistery Basin. The machining job in RhinoCAM contains 13 Indexed 5 Axis Setups consisting of 3 Axis Horizontal Roughing and 3 Axis Parallel Finishing operations as well as 2½ Axis Engraving operations. You can refer to the full illustrated case study here [link here].
