PowerMILL 2016 makes it easier to program mirrored or symmetrical parts.
Delcam will demonstrate the latest releases in its range of manufacturing software at the Advanced Engineering exhibition to be held in Birmingham on the 4th and 5th November. New releases will be on show of the modelling-for-manufacture CAD system, PowerSHAPE, the PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining, the FeatureCAM feature-based programming system and the PowerINSPECT inspection software.
The 2016 release of PowerSHAPE Pro software will help 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 will make 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 automatically 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 release of PowerINSPECT makes it easier to complete fast and accurate inspection of complex assemblies, such as a mould tool. The main improvement for users of CNC CMMs is the addition of support for MCR20 and FCR25 probe change racks. PowerINSPECT can now incorporate probe changes into fully-automated measurement sequences.
The new version also includes automatic feature extraction for point-cloud batch inspection, easier navigation of the history tree, better control over RPS alignments and new options for collision checking.
