The science of managing cutting tools is gaining bigger traction, with numerous solutions offered to customers. There are many stand-alone products such as Wintool, tdmsystems, machining cloud etc. that are specifically used by companies to manage cutting tools. However, while most tools do a decent job of managing the inventory of the cutting tools, new times dictate new demands for all kinds of manufacturers. Simply planning machining operations and maintaining a record of available tools is not enough – the modern metalworking industry requires virtual, non-material solutions that will be an essential feature of product lines of tomorrow.
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform can be leveraged to manage the cutting tools efficiently and to take it to the next level with options such as:
- Applying a lifecycle to tools
- Managing redundant or obsolete tools
- Managing changes in a formal controlled way
- Classifying tools into libraries with a central location that cab be shared across different manufacturing locations
Needless to say, having a centralized repository of the latest available tools that could be managed online on any mobile device has an immediate appeal to almost anyone in the manufacturing realm.
In the attached video, I have created a library of cutting tools, and have further created different classes for a variety of tools. Kindly note that the samples provided are for sparking ideas in the reader’s mind. By no means are these libraries comprehensive, but they could be built really well and robustly with every possible attribute applicable to the tools.
