Delcam’s stand at the Fornitore Offresi exhibition to be held in Erba, north of Milan, from 5th to 7th February, will highlight the company’s recent developments in feature-based CAM programming and in machining with robots. The latest versions of the PowerSHAPE Pro CAD program for design and reverse engineering, and the PowerINSPECT inspection software will also be on show.
In the 2015 release of the FeatureCAM feature-based CAM system, programming of complex parts has been made easier and more reliable with the addition of automatic collision checking of the tool shank and holder, as well as the cutter, for both three-axis roughing and finishing toolpaths. The user has the choice of either stopping the simulation immediately when a gouge is detected or of running the complete toolpath with any gouges being highlighted on the model as they are detected. The toolpath can then be recalculated with any segments that will cause a gouge clipped away.
Another improvement in three-axis machining allows stock models to be used in conjunction with other geometry, such as the part surface dimensions, solid models, the stock dimensions and boundary curves. This addition gives better control over the area to be machined by each toolpath and so gives more efficient machining by allowing the user to confine toolpaths to specific regions and to eliminate air-cutting by referencing the stock model.
Five-axis programming of multiple holes has also been made easier in FeatureCAM 2015. It is now possible to create patterns of holes of similar size with regular positioning. Any subsequent changes to the program can then be made for all the holes in the pattern in one operation, rather than having to edit the toolpaths separately for each individual hole.
A series of improvements have been introduced to make turning with FeatureCAM more efficient. The software now produces toolpaths that rapid up and over previously machined diameters, rather than feeding along them. This reduces the overall cycle time and avoids dragging of the tool.
Delcam’s PowerMILL Robot software makes it as easy to program a robot for machining as it is to program a five-axis machine tool. With the interface being a fully-associated application inside the PowerMILL CAM system, users have access to all the multi-axis machining strategies within PowerMILL and can use all the system’s project management options to manage, store and retrieve data.
With PowerMILL Robot, robots can be programmed for tool-to-part applications, making them ideal for machining large parts, such as composite panels that need to be trimmed, or for part-to-tool applications, such as grinding or linishing.
PowerMILL Robot can then be used to simulate the complete machining operation and to control the robot’s movements through different variables, such as axis limits, axis priorities and workplane constraints. Any issues that may prevent the toolpaths from being completed successfully are highlighted, with notifications of the robot potentially reaching axis limits, singularities and collisions.
Once the results of the simulation have been reviewed, and modified if necessary, the program can be output in the appropriate robot native language, for example for KUKA, ABB, Fanuc, Yaskawa Motoman or Stäubli equipment.
