CAD/CAM

Wisdom guide for fabricators to adopt the right CAD tool

Fabrication/manufacturing is a very discrete industry and is on a run to shift towards additive manufacturing instead of the conventional machining process. And as a result, 3D CAD sketching and modeling tools are accepted as the most lucid geometrical medium for design articulation. In the wake of this constant attraction of fabricators towards CAD, software companies have a line of CAD software modules floating in the markets.

Productive Times: Slicing through the challenge

10/23/2017

Author:

Alan Richter

End User: DoubleStar Corp., (888) 736-7725, www.star15.com; Solution Provider: DP Technology Corp., (800) 627-8479, www.espritcam.com; Challenge: Write CNC programs to efficiently machine knives. Solution: 3D milling strategies in a CAM program.

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Get With the Program: Right from wrong

10/16/2017

Author:

Alan Levine

Advanced CAM software provides the additional modeling that is needed to achieve total part quality, according to the Get With the Program column in the October 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

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CAD/CAM software for ultraprecision machining

08/08/2017

Author:

Kip Hanson

The primary application for ultraprecision machining is optical-grade surfaces for injection molds, which are used to make contact lenses, LEDs for TVs and head-up displays in military aircraft and luxury cars.

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GROB, Open Mind to host seminar on 5-axis machining strategies

The GROB Group and Open Mind are joining forces to offer a complimentary two-day technology seminar on August 1-2, 2017. Grob, a manufacturer of universal machining centers is partnering with Open Mind, a developer of CAM/CAD systems, to present innovative production solutions for aerospace and other industries at GROB’s U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility in Bluffton, Ohio.

Get With The Program: Making the most of macros

07/17/2017

Author:

Edward Strinden

Using macros, which are pieces of instruction that provide shortcuts, greatly improves programming productivity, according to the Get With The Program column in the July 2017 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

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Cleaning corrupt CAD models

06/05/2017

Author:

Holly B. Martin

Job shops commonly receive corrupted or “dirty” CAD files from their customers. These files must be cleaned or repaired before toolpaths for machining the workpiece can be created. Software solutions like SpaceClaim, developed by ANSYS Inc., can fix dirty models, with the end goal of creating “watertight” solids ready for machining.

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Cutting tool and CAM collaboration

05/11/2017

Author:

Stas Mylek and Jesse Trinque

New, ultraresilient workpiece materials with high strength-to-weight ratios have cutting tool vendors and CAM developers scrambling to design new tools and toolpaths to efficiently cut them. To succeed, the vendors and developers must collaborate with unprecedented frequency.

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Rapid prototyping on a CNC machine tool

03/31/2017

Author:

Kip Hanson

Machine tool builders, tool suppliers and software developers now deliver technology that makes it possible for CNC operators to set up jobs in minutes rather than hours, and deliver parts in days instead of weeks.

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Optimization software saves time

01/13/2017

Author:

Bryan Jacobs

Good optimization software must take into account all the known challenges to optimal machining, which include heat, vibration, deflection, chip buildup, material hardness and a machine tool’s horsepower, torque, rigidity, spindle speed, maximum feed rate and accuracy. What's more, end users must also select the appropriate cutting tools and machining parameters.

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