CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
21 March 2008
Events News
Delcam Highlights “Ease of Use” in its Software at EASTEC
The next releases of Delcam’s CAM software PowerMILL and FeatureCAM will be previewed at EASTEC May 20-22, 2008, on booth 5233. The full releases which are planned for later this year, will offer more complete solutions so manufacturing can get done faster and easier on whatever machine you own. Also previewed at the show will be the forthcoming version of Delcam’s CAD software PowerSHAPE, plus the new customized solutions for the dental and footwear industries.
Commenting on the forthcoming release of PowerMILL, CAM Development Director Steve Hobbs said, "Ever since its first release, PowerMILL has focused on the more complex parts. Many of our customers tend to program the simpler tasks, like sizing the starting block of material, and finishing operations, such as cutting off, on the machine tool control rather than by off-line programming. However, as we have become more established in production machining, a growing number of our customers want to program everything with their CAM system. This has always been possible in PowerMILL but the new options in PowerMILL 9 will make the complete programming process much easier.”
FeatureCAM development has always and will continue to focus on maintaining a clear consistent work flow for all types of programming, including turn/mill, 3-axis milling, 5-axis milling and wire EDM, so even a beginner or occasional user can be efficient with FeatureCAM right away. Commenting on latest developments, Tom McCollough, Vice President of FeatureCAM Software Development, explains, "We work very hard to make a product that is easy to use by novices and infrequent users, yet with the all the power needed for advanced part programming. For us, powerful means the ability to control the product to do exactly what the customer needs it to do while utilizing advanced technology to free the user of the burden to specify obvious manufacturing information and techniques. FeatureCAM has long been a leader in CADCAM automation. With the addition of new toolpath editing functions and strategies we have extended the range of options that provide precise control for our customers.”
The development focus for PowerSHAPE, in the last year has been to recapture the simplicity offered by the software when it was first introduced in 1999. "When we first launched PowerSHAPE, customers were impressed by features like the intelligent cursor which made the software so much easier to use than other surface modelers,” commented Delcam’s CAD Development Director, Stuart Watson. "Since then, we have added more and more functionality to the program. While our established users have welcomed this process, it has made the interface more intimidating to potential new customers,” he added. "With our new versions, we have re-organized the whole interface to place commands in a more logical structure and so make it easier both for new users to learn and faster for existing users to operate.”
During the last 25 years, Delcam has built within the organization a wealth of knowledge and experience across many industries. It can be seen in new products like DentMILL, a standalone machining application for the dental industry, and OrthoModel, an engineering solution for the design and manufacture of orthotic insoles.
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