CAD/CAM SOFTWARE
facturing processes, noted Ben Mund, senior market analyst, CNC Software Inc. (Tolland, CT), developer of Mastercam. “Looking at the programming side, we are seeing more
and more CAM companies developing heavily optimized tool motion intended to standardize chip removal and speed machining. It’s a technique that has roots going back de- cades to radial chip thinning, but today’s computing power and algorithms have created an explosion in powerful new techniques. We’ve seen amazing success with our optimized Dynamic Motion technology, and we continue to apply it to more shop scenarios with every release.”
CAD Tools Simplifying Designs Among some recent trends in CAD are new modeling tools that are aimed squarely at assisting the NC program- mer, CNC Software’s Mund said. “Tools that help prep models, tools that help correctly fi ll in design gaps that might be left in a model, and tools that create additional models that programmers might need, like fi xtures, electrodes and molds—all of these are what we might call ‘CAD for CAM,’” Mund said. “Combined with powerful general creation tools and tight CAD/CAM integration, these tools can be a huge timesaver for shops.”
The Vero Software PartXplore program is a new high-speed viewer that evaluates 3D models from any CAD application and makes any needed repairs.
Other recent CAM software releases incorporating high-
speed roughing include the new FeatureCAM 2016 release from Delcam (Birmingham, UK) that adds new high-effi - ciency roughing capabilities. FeatureCAM’s feature-based software includes new enhancements to Delcam’s Vortex high-effi ciency area-clearance strategy. Vortex gives users fast, safe metal removal from solid carbide tooling, particularly for designs that give deeper cuts by using the full fl ute length as the cutting surface. The technique produces toolpaths with a controlled engagement angle and so maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the complete roughing cycle, giving faster machining and longer tool life, according to Delcam. The new FeatureCAM software adds the ability to adjust and fi ne tune the noncut- ting moves of 2.5D and 3D Vortex toolpaths, with options to retract the tool and/or to increase the feed rate. These op- tions can be set individually, or can be combined to achieve an optimum toolpath, with a reduced cycle time.
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AdvancedManufacturing.org | March 2016
In particular, Mastercam’s CAD engine has been greatly improved, he noted. “Solid Disassemble will separate and organize components of an assembly for easier machining, and users can snap and posi- tion solids to one another with a couple clicks,” Mund said. “We’re expanding our Dynamic Motion toolpaths with refi ned strategies for better control in specifi c cuts. Dynamic toolpaths are also extending into other areas such as turning, in Master- cam Lathe, and will continue to expand in the future. Our
new radial chip thinning feature lets you program to a tool’s specs, delivering effi cient speeds and feeds while maintaining your targeted chip thickness.” New programming tools continue to bolster automation, said Daniel Remenak, product manager, GibbsCAM (Moor- park, CA). “This is what drove the CAM revolution to begin with and continues to drive innovation in our sector as well as in the machine tool sector. Doing more with less labor— whether that means programmer labor or operator labor—is a really big deal,” Remenak said. GibbsCAM helps to ad- dress that fi rst by helping automate programmers’ tasks, he added, supporting timesaving features on modern machine tools to help automate operator tasks. The latest GibbsCAM 2015 is a feature-rich release, Remenak said, based on an entirely new kinematic engine, UKM (Universal Kinematic Machine). “One of the major focuses of this release was improving support for machines with advanced capabilities, and accurately programming and
Image courtesy Vero Software
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