Delcam to Show New Machining Software at PRI Show
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Delcam will demonstrate new machining functionality in its PowerMILL 7 and FeatureCAM 2007CAM systems at the Performance Racing Trade Show to be held in Orlando, Florida, 14th to 16th December. Delcam's software is already being used successfully at a number of leading engine manufacturers, including Zytek, the engine supplier for the A1 Grand Prix race series, and Wegner Motorsports, supplier of winning engines in nearly every NASCAR division.
The main benefit of the new release in PowerMILL 7 is the automatic division of the port machining process between areas that can be reached using three-axis techniques, and those that require positional or continuous five-axis operations. With most machine tools, using three-axis or positional five-axis cutting offers greater rigidity; allowing more accurate machining, less vibration of the cutter and higher speeds. However, continuous five-axis machining is required for part of the manufacture of most engine ports.
The new version of PowerMILL automatically optimises the overall machining sequence so that as much material as possible is removed with three-axis and positional five-axis operations, using continuous five-axis machining only where necessary. This reduces the overall machining time, while maintaining the required level of surface finish.
PowerMILL also divides the CAD model automatically to create the surfaces that will be machined from either end of the port. The user can specify the length of the overlap between the two sets of toolpaths to ensure a smooth transition between the two areas.
Mark Forth, PowerMILL Product Manager added, "Engine port machining also benefits from the improved user control over the point distribution in PowerMILL 7. Increasing the number of points in the toolpath gives more even machining with less vibration and more consistent loading on the tool. Both these improvements give a better surface finish and less wear of the cutter."
Toolpath editing, a new function of FeatureCAM Version 2007, makes programming more efficient by allowing changes to part toolpaths after the toolpaths have been generated, without needing to retrace programming steps back to the feature setup. Once the toolpaths have been generated, users simply click on the section of the toolpath they want to edit and indicate the desired change.
Tom McCollough, Vice President of FeatureCAM Software Development, explains, "We work very hard to make a product that is easy to use by novices and infrequent users, yet with the all the power needed for advanced part programming. For us, powerful means the ability to use the software to do exactly what the customer needs it to do while utilising advanced technology to free the user of the burden to specify obvious manufacturing information and techniques. FeatureCAM has long been a leader in CADCAM automation. With the addition of toolpath editing, we have extended the range of options that provide precise control for our customers."
