Delcam releases PartMaker 2012

25 Jan 12

Delcam releases PartMaker 2012 for turn-mill centres and Swiss-type lathes.

Delcam’s PartMaker division has released PartMaker 2012, the latest version of its CAM system for turn-mill centres, bar-fed mills and Swiss-type lathes. Major highlights of the release include improved visualisation, more powerful simulation of vertical and horizontal machining centres, support for the latest breed of multi-axis bar-fed mills, turn-mill centres and Swiss-type lathes and greater flexibility and control in process development.

PartMaker 2012 includes a new, powerful 3D surfacing strategy as an enhancement to the Surface Machining Wizard module. This new strategy allows the user to perform 3D surface machining using cylindrical interpolation. This powerful, new rotary machining functionality allows for creation of more complicated features for complex parts being made on four-axis mills, turn-mill centres and Swiss-type lathes.

PartMaker 2012 supports the simulation of the latest generation of Swiss-type lathes, those equipped with a programmable “B-axis” on a gang slide, giving the ability to add more live tooling in a single set-up. The software can simulate and collision check complex simultaneous five-axis tool paths, allowing users to better understand the benefits of using B-axis gangs. This improved simulation supports models from the leading
Swiss-lathe builders offering machines with this novel architecture.

Full-machine simulation for milling

PartMaker 2012 extends the software’s powerful Full Machine Simulation technology to vertical and horizontal machining centres as part of the new Kinematic Milling Simulation module. This new functionality simulates the kinematic motion of a CNC milling machine’s programmable axes. It supports three-, four- and five-axis vertical mills, as well horizontal and vertical tombstone set-ups, and provides more realistic simulation
and more comprehensive collision detection.

PartMaker 2012 features the ability to import fixture models into the PartMaker programming environment to simulate toolpaths for vertical and horizontal milling machines in a more realistic manner and avoid collisions between tools and work holding. The new Set-Up Assembly Feature, part of the new Kinematic Milling Simulation module, allows the user to quickly designate the various components within the Set-Up Assembly as a stock, fixture or machining table in a visual and intuitive manner. Fixture models can be imported from virtually any 3D CAD system or directly cut and paste from Delcam’s PowerSHAPE software. PartMaker 2012 allows the user to optimise and rearrange machining processes faster and easier than ever before. The new version allows processes to be simply dragged and dropped into place on PartMaker’s Process Table.

It also lets multiple processes be selected and moved at the same time, rather than having to move processes individually, as was the case before.

Enhanced toolpath visualisation and control

PartMaker 2012 supports a number of new, cutting-edge architectures found on today’s latest bar-fed mills and turn-mill centres. This new technology has been developed in cooperation with a number of the industry’s leading machine-tool builders. It includes support for such novel machine tool architectures as the Star SF and Mori-Seiki NTX, where the sub-spindle can work at articulated positions in addition to the articulation of these machines’ tool head in the B-axis plane.

PartMaker 2012 provides much improved visualisation across the entire application. This includes the ability to display a 3D model of the stock being machined at any time without having to import a solid model, as well as the ability to see toolpaths and toolpath verification on a 3D stock model, even when no 3D model is available. This allows the user to see the part in 3D before going to machining simulation, speeding up programming and reducing the chance of error.

Additionally, the visualisation and creation of toolpath Approach and Escape points have been improved by allowing these points to be quickly defined with convenient snap modes. Approach and Escape points can also be much more clearly visualised after creation.

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