AE Process & Tooling – Creating Tool Drawings

Folder Location and Information

You will be making assemblies and drawings and need somewhere to put them. The best way to do this is to create a folder for each individual tool. The folders will include everything for each tool -- tooling components, tool assembly made from the components, and the drawing of the assembly.

The tool folders should be created in  S:Projects<YEAR><PROJECT NAME>2. Process and Tooling3. Tool Drawings and Models2. Tool Assembly Models

Folders should be labeled with tool number and description as shown in the first image below. That information can be found on the Process Sheet. It is located on S:Projects<YEAR><PROJECT NAME>2. Process and Tooling1. Process Sheet and Tool List  

Introduction:

Models for stock tooling such as standard drills, reamers, inserts, etc.. can be pulled from the vendor's website. Sandvik provides a very easy "Build Tool Assembly"* tool on their website that creates the whole assembly for you. Kennametal provides CAD drawings of their tool components. Ingersoll, Sumitomo, and Seco provide models of their components

Other vendors should provide models or drawings upon request if not available online (Big Kaizer, Competitive Carbide, Ellsworth, ...). Special order tools specific to your project should come with drawings and/or models from the vendor as well.

Some tools can easily be modeled by dimensions given by the vendor on their website. Models do not need to include flute details. The only important details are overall length, lead angle, and diameters. 

*Sometimes the Sandvik builder does not work. See next task on building tool assemblies.

Process Sheet and Tool List:

To know what components to gather, refer to the Master Tool List in the Process Sheet under S:Projects<YEAR><PROJECT NAME>2. Process and Tooling1. Process Sheet and Tool List -- shown below

Make sure you select the most recent revision.

Example Project Folder:

S:Projects2019_TK Folder Template - 20192. Process and Tooling1. Process Sheet and Tool List

How to Find Tool Components Online:

Finding the components begins with getting the vendor and part number from the Master Tool List. Once you know the vendor, go to their website and type in the part number. The component should pop up. If not, sometimes the part number on the list isn't exactly the same as the number on the website. It's usually something small like a missing dash or period. In that case, you can type the first half of the part number and there will be a longer list of components with those part numbers. From there, go through and find exactly what you're looking for.

I prefer to find the components in the order that the tool would be built starting with the holder

How to Build Tools with Sandvik

**If this fails, tools must be assembled in SolidWorks**

Step 1- Identify tool to be assembled on the Master Tool List. For this example we will use tool 9 below

Step 2- Go to Sandvik's website (https://www.sandvik.coromant.com) and find the Tool Assembly Builder with the search bar

Step 3- Click the big plus and search for the holder using its part number

Step 4- Add the next component following the same steps. In this example, it's the reamer

Step 5- Continue to add components in the order you would build it in shop. In this example, there are no more components, but sometimes there are more.

You do not need to add the coolant tube to the assembly

Step 6- After the tool is completely assembled, download the model. Make sure it gets sent to the correct folder. You may need to adjust the assembly for proper gage length

How to Build Tools with SolidWorks

Step 1- Identify tool to be assembled on the Master Tool List. For this example, we will use tool  4 below

Step 2- Search for and download the models for critical components for the build. Usually only the holder and cutter, but we want to give the customer a good idea of what the tool is supposed to look like. For this example, all that's necessary is the holder and face mill.

Step 3- Import the components to a SolidWorks Assembly file

Step 4- Build the tool. Use mates to put it together. For drills, reamers, and other tools that get clamped in a chuck or collet, use the length mate to set the tool to the proper gage length. The other mates used should be concentric and coincident.

Step 5- Save the Assembly file in the tool folder. It's best to do this frequently, especially with larger assemblies.

Drawing Information

This is the most tedious part. Each tool assembly must be converted into a tool drawing that includes the gage length, gage point, bill of materials, tool number, tool description, part numbers that are cut with the tool, and project details.

Gage length and tolerance, gage point, tool description, tool number, and part numbers are noted in the Process Sheet. Bill of materials is noted in the Master Tool List.

These drawings will end up in the customers' hands and need to be accurate as possible. That might mean changing or updating the drawings many times as processes and tooling change. 

Once the drawing is in its final form on Solidworks, it needs to be converted to PDF and put in the Tool Assembly Drawings folder ( S:Projects<YEAR><PROJECT NAME>2. Process and Tooling3. Tool Drawings and Models3. Tool Assembly Drawings ). Then the drawings need to be printed off and put in a binder.

An example of a good drawing is below