Datron Dynamics Parters with Autodesk
High-speed machining technology from Datron Dynamics Inc. (Milford, NH) has combined with software innovation from Autodesk Inc. (San Rafael, CA) as part of the Autodesk Generative Design Field Lab located at the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) facility in Chicago, IL. DMDII is part of Manufacturing USA, a network of 14 institutes all focused on advancing individual technologies and revitalizing U.S. manufacturing. Their goal is to bring together the processes that manufacturers employ inside a single digital manufacturing and design facility equipped with the world’s most advanced technology.
Ultimately, DMDII is a place where companies of all sizes meet up with innovators to develop disruptive technologies and plot the future of manufacturing. Its mission is to provide U.S. factories with the tools, software and expertise they need to build things more efficiently, less expensively, and faster, so manufacturers can win more business and bring jobs back to the United States. One of the prominent spaces within this 100,000 sq ft facility is occupied by Autodesk. In developing this space, they decided to include additive, subtractive and hybrid additive/subtractive manufacturing equipment to leverage the full power of their software. For the subtractive manufacturing piece of the puzzle, they chose the Datron neo, a compact high-speed CNC milling machine with a revolutionary image-driven touch-screen interface that eliminates traditional numerical input required to program most conventional CNC equipment.
The neo is a compact machine tool with a footprint of 27.5 in x 51 in. Inside the machine is an integrated camera/probe combination designed to eliminate the time-consuming task of setting up jobs. The camera shows the machining table below and the operator can select the workpiece simply by tracing the area on the touch-screen where the workpiece is displayed. Once the part is located and the machining parameters are set, any irregularity is automatically compensated for in the software. This virtually eliminates part rejection due to improper setup. An on-board “CAM Assistant” guides the operator through the program and tool management on an interface that looks and feels like using a smartphone. All of these tools combine to help even a novice operator create a machined part in just four steps. This type of innovation is exactly what makes the neo a logical fit for the DMDII Generative Design Field Lab.
Datron will be using this installation at DMDII at their Midwest Technology Center in Chicago, where they will host events and demonstrate their technology for prospective customers and machining enthusiasts.
