Delcam will demonstrate the latest software from its development team, the largest in the CAM industry, at SOUTH-TEC on booth #1423 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC, from October 27th to 29th. Programs to be demonstrated will include PowerMILL for high-speed and five-axis machining; FeatureCAM for quick and easy feature-based CAM programming; the PowerSHAPE Pro reverse engineering and modelling for manufacture software; and PartMaker for production and Swiss-type machining.
The 2016 release of PowerSHAPE Pro software helps users to complete complex designs more quickly and more easily. In addition, a combination of new, more efficient code and the extension of multi-threaded calculations to many commonly-used tasks makes the software significantly faster than any previous version.
One key enhancement allows groups of features to be copied between two solids in a single operation. While the features do not need to be of the same type, the most common application is expected to be in copying patterns of holes from one solid to another, for example from one mould plate to any other plate in the mould stack.
The main enhancement in PowerMILL 2016 is the ability to mirror complete machining projects in one operation and to maintain automatically the machining characteristics, for example to specify whether climb or conventional milling should be used in each section of the toolpath. Previously, only individual toolpaths could be mirrored.
Automatic mirroring saves considerable time whenever right- and left-hand versions are needed of a part or tool. It will also be faster to program the machining of symmetrical objects since it will be possible to program one half and then mirror the toolpaths to complete the program.
The new version of FeatureCAM includes a range of enhancements to give high-quality results on all types of machine tool, including complex mill-turn equipment and five-axis machining centres, while retaining the rapid programming times for which the software is renowned.
The most significant new option is the ability to duplicate the physical constraints of the machine tool in simulations in FeatureCAM. Machine-tool limits can be added to the models to be used in the simulation for three-, four- and five-axis milling machines, for turning equipment, and for mill-turn machines, including those with multiple turrets and/or multiple spindles. It is then possible to check that the chosen machine tool is capable of completing the proposed program for all types of equipment, from the simplest lathe to the most complex multi-tasking machine.
The latest version of PartMaker incorporates a variety of improvements in the software to support today’s latest breed of turn-mill centers and Swiss-type lathes with B-axis options giving the ability to perform milling at any angle, not just in a vertical or horizontal position.
Other highlights include the ability to generate a Post-Processor Reference Guide, an on-command manual explaining how to program a given multi-axis lathe and take advantage of all the machine’s capabilities with PartMaker, as well as more powerful milling and turning functionality, and improvements in the software’s knowledge-based technology for storing optimal feeds and speeds for additional tools.
