CGTech has announced that it will exhibit version seven of its Vericut CNC machine simulation and optimisation software at Mach 2010.

The company said Vericut v7 features enhancements that reduce the time required for manufacturing engineers to develop, analyse, inspect and document the CNC programming and machining process.

CGTech VERICUT 7 software reduces the time for developing, analysing, inspecting and documenting CNC programming and machining.

CGTech said for Vericut v7, it had focused on the customer’s use of the software and how it could be improved.

John Reed, managing director at CGTech, said: ‘We modified the user interface to create a more natural and obvious sequence to the most common user actions.

‘The user’s interaction has a top-down flow through its graphical tree layout, with context-sensitive choices that appear as the user moves along in the NC program simulation.

‘We also focused on system and graphics performance,’ he added.

Vericut is CNC machine simulation, verification and optimisation software that enables users to eliminate the process of manually proving-out NC programs.

It is said to reduce scrap loss and rework.

The program also optimises NC programs in order to save time and produce a higher-quality surface finish.

Vericut simulates all types of CNC machine tools, including complex multi-axis machines from manufacturers including DMG, Mori Seiki, Mazak, Makino and Matsuura.

The software runs standalone, but can also be integrated with CAM systems such as Catia v5, Siemens NX, Pro/E, MasterCAM, EdgeCAM, GibbsCAM, Delcam Powermill, Missler TopsolidCAM and Open Mind Hypermill.http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/cgt/cgt143.html

M&M Manufacturing in Tulsa is a CNC machine shop producing parts, assemblies and tooling for the energy, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors. But, the shop’s specialty is in complex-geometry aerospace components. It uses four- and five-axis machines to manufacture parts that often have three controlling datum surfaces, as well as many contoured surfaces blending into each other.

These parts are programming challenges that M&M addressed with a switch to DP Technology’s ESPRIT CAM. The software makes it possible to apply toolpaths directly to a customer’s solid geometry and view simulations of the resulting program, with the machine, tools, fixturing, etc., included, to avoid crashes.

Creative Workholding, Machining

Machining plan for a Gulfstream G-650 fitting, as demonstrated by ESPRIT software.

“A key difference that we bring to our customers comes through our

creativity in developing a strategy for holding and machining the part,” said Ken Statton, president of M&M Manufacturing. Statton said the shop developed expertise in fixturing as it worked to meet tight tolerance requirements, but these efforts have advanced to using fixturing to reduce machining cycle time. He pointed to a four-station fixture that M&M developed for a four-axis machine that makes it possible to perform a tool change then proceed sequentially through all the operations with that tool on all four parts. “This fixture allows us to machine four parts with only a single sequence devoted to changing, advancing, and retracting the tool,” he said. “The result is substantial time savings.”

M&M began to move to four- and five-axis machining because of the increasing complexity of the aerospace parts it is producing, and this meant it needed a software package that could import complex geometries. It chose ESPRIT because of its programming simplicity and optimizing ability. “ESPRIT gives us the optimum level of control to make sure the cutter stays in the cut as long as possible and that the program works the first time we run it,” according to Statton.

Automatic Feature Recognition

In the past, for example, if the company was making a composite layup tool with many changing contoured surfaces, it had to define each surface independently and generate toolpaths. The cutter had to move around to reach each of the different toolpaths, typically taking several days to generate the program. With ESPRIT, programmers simply import the solid model and access the full functionality for the solid model. Then, the CAM software is used to integrate the solid model to automatically identify the part features.

The next step is to assign metalcutting operations to the features that have been defined. ESPRIT lets users create a knowledge base of pre-optimized machining operations that include a particular tool, cutting speed, feedrate, depth of cut, etc. Programmers choose from several different machining strategies that automatically develop an efficiency approach for machining the feature.

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Comprehensive Milling Package

Release Date: November 24, 2008

CNC Software announced the release of Mastercam X3 Mill, which, according to the company, offers expanded machining flexibility and an increased emphasis on speed and automation.

Features of Mastercam X3 Mill include these:

Feature-based machining (FBM). FBM evaluates a part’s features and designs an effective machining strategy. It can detect solid machining features for pocketing, contouring, and drilling routines. FBM can machine pockets using new 2D HST roughing, rest mill, and finish operations. It also creates drilled, tapped, counterbore, and countersink holes, and performs spot drilling and predrilling based on user-controlled settings. All toolpaths are fully associative and editable after creation.

Multiaxis functions. Both the Port5ax and Flow5ax toolpaths include a new feature that allows an overlap/blend to be added at the beginning and end of a toolpath.

Mastercam in SolidWorks. This new X3 package brings Mastercam toolpaths directly into SolidWorks. It includes a suite of cutting strategies, including feature-based machining, high-speed machining, and a set of automated cleanup toolpaths.

Other new features include:

• import full SolidWorks history trees
• support for cutting STL files
• 3D high-speed toolpath enhancements
• 2D high-speed toolpaths

JetCAM International offers JetCAM Expert 15.59.14, the latest version of its nesting software for CNC punching and profiling machines. The software provides enhanced support for digitizer tablets, improved CAD import and curve-blending routines and backend support to allow integration from Vistagy’s FiberSim.

Additions to the CAM section include expanded profiling corner slowdown capabilities as well as new features for common-line cutting and hole destruction. In addition, all four nesting modules have been enhanced with improvements to broken order logic, hole avoidance, off-sheet cutting and clustering.

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Komo introduces the next version of its CAD/CAM software, Router-CIM 2006, which is fully compatible with AutoCAD 2006. The Advanced Nesting Module option includes Stay Down Nesting and Common Line Cutting. These features eliminate the excess movement of lifting the head to move to the next coordinate, the need for excess read-ins and reduces cycle times on rectangular parts, Komo says.

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