CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
7 November 2012
Product News
SmartCAM V19.5 Released Features Threading and Grooving Improvements, New Parting Process
SmartCAMcnc has announced the release of SmartCAM® V19.5. Version 19.5 continues the tradition of focusing the mid-year SmartCAM release on turning improvements, but also incorporates some milling enhancements that build on functionality introduced in version 19.0. Additionally, a substantial amount of core improvements are included that will benefit all SmartCAM users.
The SmartCAM product family consists of applications for Computer-Numerical Control (CNC) milling, turning, fabrication and wire EDM.
Core turning improvements include updated Threading and Groove Roughing capabilities, and a new Parting Process. The Threading Cycle now provides easy access to all threading parameters, and includes new thread options such as Infeed/Outfeed Angles, Start/End Extensions and Spring Passes. Additionally, Thread Blunting is now supported using an ID/OD groove tool in the threading cycle.
The Groove Roughing process has been significantly enhanced to include options to Cleanup Cusps, Finish-to-Size and Reverse Progression of cuts. The addition of cleanup and finishing passes allows the user to create the complete groove using a single process. Additionally, the geometry groove element can now be defined on a layer as a Groove Feature and used as input to any of the roughing processes, including Groove Rough, thereby providing a wide variety of machining strategy options.
"SmartCAM version 19.5 delivers significant core turning improvements. We’ve had many requests for improved threading and grooving capabilities, and are confident our users will be very pleased to see use this new functionality." said Douglas Oliver, SmartCAMcnc’s Senior Product Manager.
A new Parting Process has been added that allows cut-off operations to be defined without the need of additional geometry construction. The Parting process allows radius or chamfer corner breaks to be applied to the edges on either side of the cut-off, and provides options for depth-pecking and controlling a part-catcher. This new feature saves time and improves accuracy and repeatability.
Several significant milling improvements are found in the version 19.5 milling applications as well as the mill/turn capabilities of SmartCAM Advanced Turning. The Part Offset path type introduced in the version 19.0 Region Rough process has been integrated into the other roughing processes such as Pocket, Face, Solid Pocket, and Planar roughing, and now supports the Stay Down option previously introduced for Spiral path type in v19. Additionally, Process container toolpath can now be directly converted to 4th-axis toolpath using the Transform-Wrap command, without the need to first unpack the container, saving time when making changes to the process toolpath.
All SmartCAM V19.5 products will benefit from a wide variety of exciting core improvements and new features. A new Options dialog box provides convenient and easy access to the user configuration and preference settings. The options are grouped into categories such as General Options, System Performance, Presentation, Color, and Data Translation.
The SmartCAM user interface has been updated to provide improved usability and a "cleaner" appearance. New pull-right menus provide direct access to frequently used commands, and additional mouse pop-up menus allow toolbars to be easily configured and repositioned.
"SmartCAM has always allowed the user to customize the interface and application preferences to fit their needs, and the new configuration improvements in version 19.5 make easier than ever." added Douglas. "SmartCAM users will be excited about these new configuration and usability improvements."
ShowPath verification performance has been improved to be faster when displaying nibbled- or filled-toolpath, and to react to mid-verification speed changes.
Customer Requested Improvements Also Added
As with all SmartCAM releases, a number of new and customer-requested core usability improvements can be found in all SmartCAM V19.0 applications, such as:
- CAD Data Default Destination Workplane – Default destination workplane for imported CAD data can be configured by the user
- Merge CAD Data to Active Workplane – CAD data can be optionally merged to active workplane
- Geometry Text Spacing Parameter – Additional spacing between letters can be specified
- All Step/Tool/Layer Macros – New macro commands allow all defined Steps, Tools, and Layers to be easily identified
"SmartCAM has always been very easy to learn and use, and in version 19.5 the new significant user-interface improvements make it even easier to learn and configure to the users preferences." added Douglas. "SmartCAM users will be excited about these usability improvements."
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