largest installed base in terms of seats. “Multitasking makes machining on today’s high-powered turn- ing centers and full-functioning machining centers simpler and easier than ever before,” said Gary Hargreaves, CNC Software director of business development and international sales. “Machines that eliminate multiple setups, manual part handling, redundant fixturing, and reduce idle time boost production and maximize profitability.
Integrated High-Speed CAM With its new 3D iMachining technology, CAM soft- ware developer Solid- CAM Inc. (Newtown, PA, and Or-Yehuda, Israel) offers machine shops intelligent high-speed machining capabilities that are said to dramatically boost metalcutting performance. The 3D iMachining function- ality builds on the earlier 2D iMachining technology added to SolidCAM, an inte- grated CAM package that runs within SolidWorks from Dassault Systèmes and also as InventorCAM under Autodesk Inc.’s (San Rafael, CA) Inventor design software. “We decided to focus on the machine itself and
Photo courtesy Gibbs and Associates.
Next-generation MTM (multitask machining) solution in GibbsCAM shown at IMTS 2012, shown simulating a B-axis turning operation.
intelligent machining element that helps further speed up the process, he said. “In 2.5 D, it’s a high- speed roughing toolpath, but again we went to the next level. If you’re driving at night with a super-fast sports car, you’re going to hit a tree, unless you just have some dandy headlights,” Mymudes said, “so we developed the wizard as your headlights.” Based on the geometry, the machine tool and the material being cut, the wizard enables SolidCAM to determine the optimal speeds and feeds, Mymudes said. “All you tell us is how aggressive you want to be, and we’ll tell you depth of cut, speeds and feeds—we’ll set up all the param- eters in real time that’s going to best optimize your cutting,” he said. “In most cases, it’s 8-9 times what most people would consider running at. And what we automatically do is depending on how much contact the cutter has with the material, we’ll slow
what we could do to make the machine go faster,” said Shaun Mymudes, SolidCAM chief operating officer. With its patented iMachining technology, the company determined methods to avoid overloading the tool, Mymudes said, allowing machinists to dra- matically speed up machining times in 3D program- ming of complex or prismatic parts. SolidCAM’s latest iMachining wizard adds an
SS14
it down, or we’ll speed it up.” The iMachining technology allows CAM program- mers to morph their geometry, slowing or speeding it, to account for factors such as fixturing and materials. “It could be titanium, with small tools for medical that have never been done before. You don’t have to worry about deflecting the tool,” Mymudes said. “It gives it the ability to encounter so much less force on the tool, and you can go much faster.”
Finding the Right CAM System With technology advancing at an exponential rate,
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