CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
26 April 2013
Events News
Delcam Australia to Show Latest CAM Developments at AUSTEC
Delcam Australia will demonstrate the latest developments in Delcam’s complete range of CAM software at the TIMTOS exhibition to be held in Melbourne from 7th to 10th May. Programs on show will include PowerMILL for high-speed and five-axis machining; FeatureCAM for quick and easy feature-based CAM programming; the Delcam for SolidWorks integrated CAM system; and ArtCAM for artistic applications.
AUSTEC will be the first major exhibition for Delcam Australia, following the decision to formally open an official Delcam subsidiary after almost 25 years during which sales and support of Delcam software in the country was ably managed by local sales partner Camplex.
The most important new option in the next release of PowerMILL will be the new Vortex strategy for high-speed area clearance. Vortex, for which Delcam has a patent pending, has been developed by the company specifically to gain the maximum benefit from solid carbide tooling, in particular those designs that can give deeper cuts by using the full flute length as the cutting surface. It can be used for two- and three-axis roughing, three-plus-two-axis area clearance and for rest machining based on stock models or reference toolpaths. Like other Delcam roughing strategies, Vortex toolpaths are calculated to give more efficient machining by following the shape of the part and so keeping air moves to a minimum.
FeatureCAM was the world’s first feature-based programming software when it was launched in 1995. Constant development since then has ensured that the system has retained its leadership in programming speed and ease of use, while an increased range of strategies has been added to provide more efficient toolpaths giving greater productivity on a wider range of machines, including lathes, mills and mill-turn machines. The main change to the 2013 FeatureCAM product family has been the introduction of three levels of 3D machining functionality. FeatureMILL 3D Lite is a new option offering single-surface machining with a basic range of strategies that provides an introductory product for companies moving into 3D machining for the first time.
Delcam for SolidWorks is a fully integrated CAM system for SolidWorks that combines the benefits associated with PowerMILL and FeatureCAM. It provides PowerMILL’s exceptional speed of toolpath calculation, plus the advanced strategies for high-speed and five-axis machining, to ensure increased productivity, maximum tool life and immaculate surface finish, while also offering the same strong focus on ease of use as FeatureCAM. The 2013 release includes a new entry-level 3D milling option, plus many of the enhancements made to the 2013 version of FeatureCAM on which it is based. As a Gold Partner CAM product, it is, of course, fully compatible with the latest release of SolidWorks.
The new release of ArtCAM Pro will make it much easier to create complex designs, especially those that include repeated elements that are similar but not identical within the design. This new way of working, which is called ‘Free Relief Modelling’, allows previously-created reliefs to be identified and swiftly moved, rotated, rescaled and copied, either individually or as part of a group. The overall result is much more natural than simply duplicating a single shape across the design, while also being much quicker than modelling each item individually.
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