Milling, Turning and Tooling Updated in Edgecam

The milling, turning and tooling capabilities of the Edgecam CAM system all benefit from major developments in the latest release of the software. In addition, the software's Solid Machinist, Simulator and Part Modeler functions also gain substantial upgrades, with 30 per cent faster loading times in storing solid models in the part file. One of the most important new functions in Edgecam 2011 R2 is linear axis limit checking, where Edgecam now reports when a cycle exceeds the limits of the machine tool and indicates axis and direction.

This allows the user to take immediate corrective action, improving machine checking and reducing prove out time. Five-axis users can now convert a Profiling cycle to a five-axis cycle by using the new three- to five-axis Cycle command, which is available with ballnose tools. This new function, which is claimed to be an easy way of creating a five-axis cycle, means shorter tools can be used to improve stability, and the shank and holder are protected from collisions. Improvements have been made to storing solid models in the Edgecam part file, giving up to 30 per cent faster loading times and up to 10 times faster switching between render models.

Edgecam 2011 R2 introduces a new licence for Solid Machinist for NX. This allows a wider range of NX files to be loaded, gives support for NX assemblies and supports the latest NX release. Following improvements to collision checking in the last version, Simulator has been further enhanced, allowing all machine graphics to be checked against the stock, fixtures and other parts of the machine. This enables machine setup to be proven safely offline, ensuring that the actual setup can be carried out with confidence. Simulator has been upgraded to support 64-bit architecture to handle much larger memory requirements, giving improved performance, smoother running on large simulation parts and the ability to save large STL models.

View management in Edgecam has been enhanced to include dynamic view rotation and creation of views relative to world co-ordinates, machine co-ordinates or a construction plane. There are now four isometric views to choose from and the view menu is dockable in the browser to optimise the display layout. Viewing a turning part in Simulator also benefits from the improved Profile Turn View and the ability to specify which quadrant to base the three-quarter turn view on.

To ensure users are kept up-to-date about the software, the customer notifications feature issues messages about software and licence updates, and tips and tricks. These messages are delivered via the client licence server (CLS), allowing users to stay instantly up to date with the latest Edgecam software. The Through Coolant option has been added to the Spindle tab of all turning toolchange dialogues - and it is also available on the turning Tool Geometry tab in Toolstore. Previously, the F Distance option was only available for turn and bore tools. In Edgecam 2011 R2, this has been extended with the F Distance now able to be set for grooving, parting off and threading tools in toolchange dialogues and Toolstore.

As a Silver Value Added Reseller and Autodesk Authorised Developer, Edgecam has gained full certification from Autodesk for the 2011 R2 release to be used with its Inventor 2012 CAD software. Edgecam also offers support for the loading of models the from latest releases of other popular CAD products including Solidworks, Solid Edge, NX, Creo Elements/Pro, Spaceclaim and CATIA V5. A number of licences for new CAD loaders are available for purchase, allowing NX, Creo Elements/Pro, CATIA V5 and ACIS files to be loaded into Part Modeler.

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