CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
15 December 2008
Product News
SURFCAM Velocity 4 – Ships Today
Surfware, Inc. announced the release of SURFCAM Velocity® 4. New features have been added to the SURFCAM 3-Axis and Multi-Axis products. These new capabilities, along with many other enhancements in SURFCAM Velocity 4, fulfill wide-ranging customer requirements.
“We have been using the beta version of SURFCAM Velocity 4 to prototype, test and produce impellers for the turbo machinery industry,” says Jeff James, R & D Manufacturing Engineer for Oxnard, California-based Vortech Engineering. “We upgraded from SURFCAM Velocity 3 and were really impressed by the outstanding versatility of SURFCAM Velocity 4 and its many additional options for machining. Also, the customer support for this product is excellent.”
With increasing demands for shorter cycle times and improved part quality, high-speed machining is a critical component for the success of many machine shops. SURFCAM Velocity 4’s new 3-Axis HSM strategies feature smooth and fluid toolpaths that ensure superior surface finish while accommodating maximum cutting speeds that shorten the machining cycle. New machining strategies feature faster processing, multi-processor support, automatic arc filtering, optimized retracts and adaptive stepdown. Among the newly implemented HSM operations are Rest Machining, Steep/Shallow, Offset Pencil and 3D Offset.
SURFCAM Velocity 4 Multi-Axis has been elevated to a new level. Newly implemented gouge avoidance strategies allow users to specify up to four separate check surface groups; individual gouge avoidance strategies can be applied to each successive group. New lead-in and lead-out moves accurately control the tool motion when approaching or leaving the machined part. Users now can also custom tailor the retract motions to be closer to the part type and orientation, thus reducing cycle time and allowing safer tool repositions. Numerous enhancements have been made to gap handling, surface edge control and Swarf machining.
Other new and notable features in SURFCAM Velocity 4 include:
• Solid Tool display -- ensures realistic visualization of the tool motions when backplotting a toolpath
• Part and Surface Boundaries -- creates various types of boundaries using the entire part or using a set of selected faces. New boundary types include silhouette and the shallow areas boundaries.
• Current CAD Interoperability – SURFCAM Velocity 4 supports the most recent releases from SolidWorks®, Autodesk®, CATIA®, Pro/Engineer®, and UG® (NX) to ensure accurate data exchange.
• SURFCAM Velocity 4 is available with TrueMill®, Surfware’s patented toolpath technology that manages tool engagement and controls material removal rates to increase productivity and extend tool life.
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