Dashboards vs. Okuma NAVI

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Categories: Using MillMax

Some history first. Navi is based on the CRAC algorithm invented by BlueSwarf co-founder Dr. Tom Delio (who you met in Windsor). It was not released in the U.S. until his patent expired in 2012. We had some legal back and forth with Okuma’s U.S. patent attorneys at the time:
https://www.google.com/patents/US5170358
 
Simply, put Navi and our Harmonizer software (now a free smartphone app) are REACTIVE and our Dashboards are PREDICTIVE.
 
In order for Navi or Harmonizer to work, you first must be in chatter. They both measure the chatter frequencies with a microphone. A second version of Navi uses a sensor to detect chatter. But, again, you must be IN CHATTER. With Dashboards, you avoid chatter in the first place.
 
The Dashboard shows where a tool can run across the entire range of the machine’s spindle before taking a cut, before quoting a job and before writing a part program. It is fully interactive and automatically calculates for millions of potential combinations of speed, feed, width and depth of cut.
Description: dashboard_new.tiff
Navi can stop chatter on any milling tool (if there is a chatter-free speed available-sometimes there are not), but what if you have the wrong tool?
 
“…OKUMA software currently provides the customer the same information for any holder used.”
 
Navi cannot not make a bad tool good. 
 
These stability lobe diagrams show that one toolholder (using the same endmill) in red was clearly better. That was a Briney and started this project.
  
What we are doing with this project is to analyze toolholder and endmill combinations in a specific machining center model. We will pre-publish Dashboards, so the user can see what the tool will do before they buy it. We will optimize the endmill selection and tune the tool lengths for maximum performance. WE WILL PROVIDE THE BEST TOOL
 
Navi and Harmonizer will calculate and suggest the next closest speed to eliminate the chatter frequencies. They do not show the best possible speed, just the closest stable one as shown in this Okuma graphic (using our stability lobe diagram BTW).

The grey dot is chatter and the red dot is the Navi recommended stable speed. But, the faster lobe and deeper cut are missed (red arrow). The Dashboard finds this.
 
It is possible to use Navi or Harmonizer to find the MAXIMUM speed and depth of cut (that you get instantly from the Dashboard) but it would take a while. You would have to take multiple test pass increasing speeds each time until chatter is reached. Then let Navi or Harmonizer calculate a new faster speed. Then you would take additional test passes at that speed increasing the depth of cut until chatter is detected. You would keep repeating this process until Navi or Harmonizer no longer suggests a faster speed.