VisualCAD/CAM and the DIMD PP10 Stereo Amplifier

In this post, we have a look at how Kirs Tīrelis, of KITEX SIA, a CNC machine tool vendor and manufacturer located in Latvia, uses VisualCAD/CAM to machine the rear facia used in DIMD Audio’s incredible PP10 Stereo Amplifier! The topics below provide a detailed look at how Kirs approaches the machining of this part.
The rear facia is machined from a polished aluminum stock blank measuring 420mm x 61mm x 5mm. The part requires machining from both the front and the back, so you see two Setups in the Machining Job Tree. The sections below provide a detailed review of how an assortment of 2½ Axis machining operations are used to machine this part.

The rear facia plate of the DIMD PP10 Stereo [http://www.dimd.eu/en/] is shown in VisualCAD/CAM 2017. On the far left we see the Machining Browser with two Setups (Face and Back). The Face setup machines the part from the top side while the Back setup machines features on the bottom. (Inset) We see to the right is the Toolpath Viewer/Editor where the tool motion coordinates can be viewed numerically and graphically on the screen.

The Top Setup

In the default Setup named Face, you see that several cutouts and through-holes are required. Kirs uses 2½ Axis toolpaths to rough and then finish this side. Multi-level High Speed Pocketing is used to rough out the material for the larger holes and rectangular pocket leaving 0.4mm of stock. This is followed with a finishing pass using a Profiling operation.
For the assortment of smaller through holes, Kirs uses Profiling, Drilling and Chamfering operations to perform both roughing and finishing toolpaths. The part is shown below in VisualCAD/CAM 2017 with each operation identified. The sequence of toolpath operations in the top Setup Face are shown below:

The Bottom Setup

For the bottom setup named Back in the Machining Job Tree, the part is turned over on the CNC machine. In this setup, three threaded holes are machined first using Hole Profiling and Thread Milling operations. To machine the large bevel on the top inner edge of the plate, Kirs first uses an Engraving operation and a 45-degree tapered milling tool to remove the bulk of the material along this edge. The convergence of beveled edges on this part is shown in the image below.

The Engraving is followed by two Chamfer operations for rough and finishing passes. To complete the part, one final Chamfer operation is used to machine the smaller 0.36mm deep 45-degree bevel along the outer perimeter of the part, again using the 45-degree taper end mill tool. The sequence of toolpath operations in the bottom Setup Back are shown below:

The Standard configuration of VisualCAD/CAM has all of the 2½ Axis toolpaths used in this part. However, the Professional configuration allows Kirs to program both sides of the part (i.e., multiple Setups) in the same part file!

Here are the parts machined with VisualCAD/CAM for DIMD Audio’s PP10 Stereo Amplifier:

DIMD PP10 Stereo components machined with VisualCAD/CAM

Don LaCourse

Don LaCourse is an Application Engineer with MecSoft Corporation. Don brings over 20 years of experience in CAD/CAM operations in both automotive and mold design applications. Don also has extensive experience in documenting CAD/CAM products and is actively involved with writing the on-line help as well as creating training tutorials for MecSoft's products.