Tebis CAD/CAM Solutions for Free Form Machining

The Tebis software is widely recognised as a leading CAM provider, but it has also established itself as a trusted process solutions provider. Tebis offers consultancy and the implementation services to optimise the manufacturing processes from start to finish, minimising inefficiencies, and achieve higher productivity.

Ryan Waters, Application Engineer from Tebis UK explains: “This software offers outstanding solutions for high-performance machining from 2-axis to 5-axis, turning and mill-turn operations, depending on your machining capabilities. Tebis is also a knowledge carrier: With knowhow and intelligence built into the software, users are able to apply which manufacturing processes are best suited to the machining situation they are dealing with.  Users can benefit from best practices across different parts, materials, and industries.”

Machining companies have very different capabilities, some with 3-axis machines, some 4 axis, 5-axis, lathes or mill-turn and turn-mill centres. Tebis as a CAD/CAM software solution caters for all of these different machine configurations with functionality to give you high quality surface finish and machining strategies for the capabilities you have.

Ryan also states that “Tebis is exactly the right solution provider to expand your product range or better utilise the potential of your existing high performance machines. The customer can start with the functionality they need and grow with Tebis software as their capabilities grow. As they take on more complex parts or get more advanced machines, Tebis evolves with them.”

Ryan also continues to the benefits with more details:

Safety

In Tebis software the user can program within the capabilities of the machine from the start. Collision avoidance (with exact head geometry) are built into the programming stage, not just checked afterward. It is possible to use full-machine simulation (with built in machine kinematics) to program it right the first time. Thanks to the integrated simulation and collision check, even complex machining operations run reliably on the machine.

Efficiency 

Our machining strategies are highly optimised. For example, if you are roughing a part our optimisation can result in faster machined parts with reduced tool stress. Linking to our Virtual Machine, we program within the capabilities of the machine, reducing re-work. Large data and complex geometry are not a problem.

Flexibility 

Our programming and automation are highly customisable. The user is not locked into rigid script templates—it can adapt the automation to your workflow, not the other way around.

Tebis has worked with a wide variety parts such as: an engine case- often machined using 3+2 or even 2.5D strategies rather than full 5-axis to optimise toolpaths with automatic collision avoidance. Another example is compressor and this part requires both efficient roughing and precise finishing, even in tough materials.

Ryan also concludes that the fact is that Tebis software work true surface data that if the user is relying solely on toolpaths generated from triangulated mesh data, this can compromise the precision and quality of a part’s surface finish. This is because surfaces contain true curvature, while mesh data gives a triangulated file with lots of small straight edges. On the actual surface finish it will be visible to see the triangle patches on the part surface, and most of the time the part finish might not be good as expected. In many cases, the finish may fall short of expectations, prompting workshops to manually refine the surface post-machining—adding time, cost, and variability to the process.

With Tebis, it is possible to machine on the True Surface model without triangulation data.  It is important to mentione however that 3D toolpaths can also be generated on triangle meshes and a hybrid of both, giving the maximum flexibility whilst ensuring the best surface finish possible.