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ICAM Technologies Corporation announced today that it has joined the International Parallel Kinematics Consortium (IPKC). Led by Siemens AG, the consortium’s mission is to help the industrial community assess parallel-kinematics machine design. Each member of the consortium is a leader in a particular aspect of machine-tool technology. ICAM will develop NC post-processing technology for the consortium based on the best-selling CAM-POST ® NC post-processor development tool.
Parallel-kinematics machines, sometimes called “machine tool-robots,” show great promise because they combine the strength of a linear machine tool with the speed, flexibility, and precision of a robot. To ensure that the technology is viable, the International Parallel Kinematics Consortium will benchmark parallel-kinematics machines under industrial conditions and generate the technical and economic data necessary for a complete evaluation.
According to John J. Nassr, President of ICAM, the International Parallel Kinematics Consortium is more than a business opportunity: “We believe that parallel-kinematics machines are revolutionary and will soon prove to be a popular and economical alternative for certain multi-axis machining applications. Joining this consortium gives us the opportunity to expand our expertise and to further our position as the industry’s leading developer of NC post-processing technology.”
To evaluate parallel-kinematics technology, the consortium is using the Tricept 805, a machine tool-robot designed by Neos Robotics of Sweden .
The Tricept 805 is a second generation parallel-kinematics machine specifically designed for milling applications. It is equipped with a Siemens Sinumerik 840D control and will be running CAM-POST NC post-processing software.
O riginally developed for precision assembly, the Neos Tricept series has proven to be outstanding for light milling and drilling applications. Customers include Boeing, GM, and Volkswagen. The second generation Tricept 805 is 2-3 times faster than conventional vertical machining centers, possesses up to 45 kN of pressure power, and is capable of 5 side accessibility.
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