Available with integrated full CAD/CAM system, MazaCAM CAD/CAM and Editor v5.0 provides 3D programming cuts that output in Mazatrol as well as ability to take long programs and automatically convert them to multiple Manual Units that are continuous. User interface in MazaCAM Editor provides programmer with interactive plot-shape and tool-bar icons. With Post-Processor Assistant, MazaCAM helps G-code users create customized post-processors for both mills and lathes.

CNC Programming Software minimizes mill and lathe downtime.

MazaCAM CAD/CAM & Editor Version 5.0 helps Mazak Shops Become More Productive

SolutionWare Corporation, the developer of smart technology to increase productivity for both Mazak and G-code CNC machines, introduced The MazaCAM CAD/CAM & Editor Version 5.0 - MazaCAM is the leader in off-line programming for Mazak’s Mazatrol conversational language concentrating on giving users the programming tools to cut their parts efficiently and quickly.

SolutionWare has providing CNC programming solutions for 35 years and has now gives the Mazak user many more capabilities not common to Mazak machines.

MazaCAM’s Mazatrol management tools have helped busy machine shops reduce down-time for both mills and lathes. But with MazaCAM’s introduction of new features, it will help the users customize their software; features like new 3D programming cuts that output in Mazatrol, and the ability to take long programs and automatically convert them to multiple Manual Units that are continuous (this capability was previously only usable in G-code).

MazaCAM Editor enhancements include new user interface that makes it easier for the programmer to work, such as interactive plot-shape, tool-bar icons, etc.

MazaCAM also helps the G-code users with its new Post-Processor Assistant, which helps a user create their customized post-processors for both mills and lathes.

MazaCAM also comes with its new Material and Tool Library Technology Engine, this enables the user to easily and intelligently create their libraries for their multiple machines and various types of tools.

MazaCAM is available with an integrated full CAD/CAM system that gives the users more options and control over their various Mazak and G-code CNCs. As Mazak shops include different generations of machines, it is important for these shops to get the edge over the competition by taking advantage of every tool at the users’ disposal.

About SolutionWare Corporation:

For more than 35 years SolutionWare Corporation has been continuously advancing software and training that gives CNC shops the flexibility to utilize all their CNC equipment for the greater productivity of their shop. For more information, call 408-249-1529 or visit our booth E-3854 at IMTS 2010.

http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/MazaCAM-CAD-CAM-and-Editor-Version-5-0-helps-Mazak-Shops-Become-More-Productive-581356

Mills CNC has introduced the 360 Training Academy in recognition of the need for precision manufacturers to change existing manufacturing methods and business practices.

Jeff Hart, 360 Training Academy manager, said the academy was established and precision manufacturers looking to improve performance should consider CNC programmer training as a strategic and cost-effective way forward.

‘Through investing in high-quality training, manufacturers can get the most from their CNC machine tools by sharpening up the knowledge and skills of CNC machine tool programmers and operators, allowing commercial and bottom line benefits to be realised,’ he added.

Hart said that these benefits include: job set-up completed more quickly and more efficiently; time and resources spent checking and re-checking work is reduced, and the likelihood of having to re-work or scrap jobs is eliminated; machine tool utilisation is improved and production bottlenecks are avoided by being able to exploit the full functionality of machine tools; and higher-value contracts can be won more easily as manufacturers can demonstrate that they have the right people, with the right skills, to deliver on time and on budget.

The 360 Training Academy is part of Mills CNC, a UK machine tool supplier and exclusive distributor of Doosan CNC machine tools in the UK and Ireland.

All CNC programmer training courses have been designed and are delivered by industry experts.

The courses are practical and hands on - the emphasis being on ‘learning by doing’.

Courses take place at Mills CNC’s facility in Leamington, which allows course attendees direct access to the very latest Doosan CNC machine tools and the ability to try out their newly learned skills in real time and in a real manufacturing environment.

Fanuc programmer courses cover everything from two-axis lathes right through to multi-axis turning centres - and milling machines through to mill-turn centres - with specialist and advanced Custom Macro A and Macro B courses also available.

Heidenhain programmer courses cover all aspects of three-, four- and five-axis milling.

All 360 Training Academy CNC programmer courses are supported by course manuals (supplied to course attendees) and, following successful completion, all attendees receive a 360 Training Certificate that details the course they have attended and the skills they have acquired.

‘Although the 360 Training Academy is located at Mills CNC - you don’t have to be a Doosan machine tool user or existing Mills customer to attend these courses,’ said Hart.

‘Since the academy was launched in September 2009, more than 40 per cent of course attendees have been users of other CNC machine tools,’ he added.

http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/mil/mil197.html

Over $550K worth software to be used at Campbell Graduate Engineering Center and CU-ICAR

Gibbs and Associates, developer of GibbsCAM software for programming CNC machine tools and a Cimatron company, announced today that it has granted  the Clemson University Campbell Graduate Engineering Center 50 seats of its GibbsCAM software for the university’s use in undergraduate and post-graduate mechanical and automotive engineering research and curricula. The software will be used for advanced CNC machining simulation and analysis at the university campus and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). Clemson University uses CAD, CAM, and many other advanced analytical and manufacturing technologies in its mechanical and automotive engineering programs. At CU-ICAR, it offers a Masters of Science degree in automotive engineering and the only Ph.D. in automotive engineering available in the country. Gibbs and their regional reseller installed and support the GibbsCAM software, which is now in use, on a network implementation, at Clemson University facilities.

“GibbsCAM covers a broad range of capabilities, from programming the simplest CNC machine tools, to verifying the most complex toolpaths, to simulating the most sophisticated machine tool motion,” explained Bill Gibbs, Gibbs and Associates company founder and president. “We are confident that our products will help Clemson students understand machining and assist their research and preparation for careers in automotive and general manufacturing. It is with this expectation that we are pleased to partner with Clemson University, by providing them a uniquely powerful CNC programming system for their innovative, first-of-class, automotive research and manufacturing programs. We look forward to their students’ success.”

The software, valued at over $550,000, includes 3-axis, rotary, and 5-axis milling, multi-task machining (MTM), and lathe turning, plus tombstone management, machine tool simulation, postprocessors, and CAD-specific translators, together with software maintenance.

“Because of this generous gift, students now have an extremely cost-efficient way of testing and analyzing different machining parameters,” said mechanical engineering assistant professor Laine Mears. “The software allows simultaneous use by up to 50 students across our graduate and undergraduate curricula. With this access, students will be able to use state-of-the-art software to help them simulate machining processes such as milling, turning and 5-axis freeform machining, and to produce and test programs before using them to make parts on the machining centers.”

About Gibbs and Associates and GibbsCAM

For over twenty five years, Gibbs and Associates has been a leader in providing cutting edge CAD/CAM technology, while maintaining its signature ease-of-use and productivity.  Powerfully Simple, Simply Powerful is the guiding philosophy at Gibbs. Gibbs believes in empowering the NC programmer, machinist, and manufacturing engineer, not eliminating them. Gibbs’ goal is to introduce manufacturers to new technologies and new ways of working that makes their machining easier and their businesses more profitable. To achieve this goal, Gibbs creates tools that are naturally intuitive, graphically interactive, extremely visual, associative, and just plain enjoyable to use. Gibbs provides a total quality solution with the service and support successful customers require.

The current GibbsCAM product line supports 2- through 5-axis milling, turning, mill/turning, multi-task simultaneous machining and wire-EDM. GibbsCAM also provides fully integrated manufacturing modeling capabilities that include 2D, 2.5D, 3D wireframe, surface, and solid modeling. GibbsCAM is certified for Microsoft’s Windows Vista. GibbsCAM’s data exchange capabilities are able to access the broadest range of native and industry standard CAD data formats. GibbsCAM is certified under the Autodesk Inventor Certified Application Program, is a Solid Edge Certified Select Product, and is a SolidWorks Certified CAM Product. GibbsCAM is either offered or endorsed by a number of leading worldwide control and machine tool manufacturers, including GE Fanuc, Infimatic, Siemens, Doosan Infracore, Haas, Index, MAG Fadal, Mazak, Mitsubishi, Mori Seiki, and Tornos. Gibbs and Associates distributes its products worldwide through a network of international Resellers.

In January 2008, Gibbs and Associates merged with Cimatron Ltd, and is now operating as a wholly owned subsidiary. For more information about Gibbs and Associates and its CAM software packages, call 1-800-654-9399, or visit the company on-line at www.GibbsCAM.com.

About Cimatron

With over 25 years of experience and more than 40,000 installations worldwide, Cimatron is a leading provider of integrated, CAD/CAM solutions for mold, tool and die makers as well as manufacturers of discrete parts. Cimatron is committed to providing comprehensive, cost-effective solutions that streamline manufacturing cycles, enable collaboration with outside vendors, and ultimately shorten product delivery time.

The Cimatron product line includes the CimatronE and GibbsCAM brands with solutions for mold design, die design, electrodes design, 2.5 to 5 axes milling, wire EDM, turn, Mill-turn, rotary milling, multi-task machining, and tombstone machining. Cimatron’s subsidiaries and extensive distribution network serve and support customers in the automotive, aerospace, medical, consumer plastics, electronics, and other industries in over 40 countries worldwide.

http://www.tenlinks.com/news/PR/gibbs/112009_clemsoniniv.htm

Problems are bound to occur when you use multiple laptop PCs with a communication program to load and unload CNC programs into more than 100 CNC-controlled Swiss, second operation and EDM machines. Just ask Bruce Cerepak, engineering/special projects manager of KELCO Industries (Minneapolis, Minnesota). KELCO, a MedSource Technologies Company, provides contract machining services to the medical industry for precision metal implantable devices. Components are used in pacemakers, defibrillators, drug delivery systems and hearing improvement devices, to name a few.

“Although the laptops worked, backup of the CNC programs from the laptops wasn’t performed regularly,” Mr. Cerepak says. “We had the same programs on a couple of different laptops, so we always had to check for the most current version. The laptops lasted less than a year due to normal use or wear and tear. And because the laptops served multiple areas, when the people responsible for programming wanted to use a laptop, they had to go search for it. It was easier to leave the programs in the CNC control if the part would be run in the near future.”

Mr. Cerepak says that in the case of some of KELCO’s second operation CNCs where the programs are small, the same programs were stored in five or six machine controls. When a new program was needed at a second operation CNC, it was entered into the control by manual data input (MDI). “It took time and mistakes were made, but that was easier than finding and using the laptop.”

Because of management’s desire to eliminate the use of laptops and provide daily backup of all CNC programs, KELCO began the switch to MultiDNC from Xpert CNC Technologies, Inc. (Corona, California), with two 32-port systems when it was still written for Windows 3.1. After MultiDNC for Windows 98/95/NT was released, KELCO eventually installed five additional MultiDNC systems. At that point, says Mr. Cerepak, “our problems were gone. MultiDNC eliminates programming steps and wasted time. There are no laptops to search for, replace or repair. And MDI is rarely used.” Now KELCO’s CNC programs are saved to the network, which is backed up daily. In the case of a catastrophe—a tornado, for example—Mr. Cerepak says that not having to recreate the programs would be a great advantage. Programming is done off the machines, the changes are easy to save, and programs can be loaded into the CNC machines from the CNC machine control.

“MultiDNC is extremely versatile in terms of configurability as far as communicating with different types of machines and doing different translations as programs go in and programs go out,” says Mr. Cerepak. “It’s smart enough to get the program to the machine in the format that it needs. Just the other day, we had a couple of new machines on the floor and they needed to see the program just a little bit differently in one area. So rather than just rewriting the programs entirely, we were able to take the programs we have and do a translation during send. This is a major convenience.”

CNC programs can now be shared among all seven of KELCO Industries’ systems departments. Because of MultiDNC’s remote function, saving or retrieving a CNC program can now be done without having to leave the CNC machine. “Basically, MultiDNC does what we need, when we need it,” says Mr. Cerepak.

http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/0100bp4.html