CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

16 March 2009

Events News

GibbsCAM 2009 Featured at WESTEC 2009

Cimatron Limited announced that Gibbs and Associates, developer of GibbsCAM®, its software for programming CNC machine tools, will demonstrate its latest version of GibbsCAM at WESTEC 2009, in exhibit #3268, at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, from March 30 – April 2, 2009.

“We have incorporated many new features and enhancements across the GibbsCAM product line, but the most significant are those we made for Advanced 3D High Speed Machining” says Bill Gibbs, founder and president of Gibbs and Associates. “All the additions are geared for ease of use and productivity, with interface, interoperability, programming, verification and machine simulation features that decrease programming and prove-out time for even the most complex machine-tool configurations.”

Significant capabilities were added to the lathe modules, but the greatest enhancement for GibbsCAM 2009 was the addition of machining methods for multi-surface hard milling and high speed machining in SolidSurfacer®, to provide high quality surface finishes that reduce or eliminate polishing.

Advanced 3D HSM (High Speed Machining) Enhancements – These offer machining styles for smooth entries, exits and cutting motions, with steep or shallow angle limits, rest passes, tool-holder collision checking, and options to change cutting style, all applicable to multiple applications.

•  Constant Step Over Cut – User-specified step distance drives this routine to generate 3D passes with constant separation along a part’s surface, from the outside in, to achieve extremely smooth finishes through user-controlled steps.

•  Flats Cut – This routine automatically recognizes and machines flat areas, using minimal distance retraction when moving from one section of a work piece to another, avoiding work piece features while minimizing non-cutting motion.

•  Contour – For finishing and semi-finishing passes, Contour computes equal Z increments and generates toolpaths at the various levels, automatically providing clean transitions with smooth entries and exits from one level to the next.

•  Lace Cut – Like Constant Step, but cutting in a single direction, this provides consistently smoother cuts. By using the toolpath filleting option, also available within other HSM routines, users optimize smoothness in cutting motion.

•  Intersections – This automatically identifies seams of a part surface and generates toolpath along those seams, following and conforming to the part’s 3D shape. Additional offset passes generated from the original seam pass provide a superior surface finish.

•  Automatic Core Detection – For machining cores, this automated routine machines from the outside in, always climb cutting to protect inserted cutters. Toolpath direction changes automatically from inside to outside when internal pockets are detected, minimizing need of full-width or helical ramp-in cuts.

•  Improved Pocketing – Like Automatic Core Detection, but specially geared for cavities, it works from the center outward. By computing equal Z increments on the model, it generates toolpaths for each level and removes large areas of material rapidly.

Extensive New Lathe Features – These provide greater efficiency through tool control, and take advantage of newer high-tech cutting tools to turn harder materials and machine smoother surfaces. They include advanced entries and exits, entry feed rates, enhanced no-drag, clean-up pass, multi-pass plunge roughing, notch ramp roughing, offset contour and tool edge path contour, threading entry and tapping tools, and groove-tool deflection compensation.

MTM Enhancements to Sync Manager – New additions to Sync Mgr and Op List and new Op Mgr associativity make multi-task machining easier and more efficient with the added flexibility.

Additional Enhancements – GibbsCAM 2009 incorporates multiple ease-of-use and productivity enhancements, including faster toolpath simulation, visualization features for multiple perspectives, hot keys for quick viewing options in Cut Part Rendering, updated certification for Windows Vista and Solid Edge v20, and many additional interoperability and interface features.

GibbsCAM 2009 shipped to domestic customers at the end of 2008, while the international version, with localized documentation and additional enhancements for simultaneous 5-axis machining, will be shipping through the first quarter of 2009.

For more information about GibbsCAM and the GibbsCAM 2009 release, or to locate your local GibbsCAM reseller, go to http://www.gibbscam.com/, call 1-800-654-9399, or email info@GibbsCAM.com.

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