Software/CNC

Customers using the costing table can change the model to suit their needs, so each of the SmartBench products can be costed precisely. The table also allows customers to include items such as how many hours they wish to use their CNC machine, and for how many days per week.

The HxGN Production Machining suite will integrate common workflows to help teams reduce error and eliminate redundant tasks at every stage, from job quotation and design review through production, quality assurance, and product delivery. By offering a suite of connected products from the Hexagon ecosystem, manufacturers benefit from simplified procurement, implementation, and support. The suite’s flexibility makes it suitable for shops of any size, all types of CNC machinery, and any discrete part and material from one-off prototype to high-volume production runs.

For wireframe 5-axis machining with sphere mills, users can now define which part of the tool is in contact with the drive curve. For example, cutting with the cylindrical part of the flute enables the tool to withstand greater forces and may be more suitable for cutting through certain materials. It can also help to prolong tool life. Cutting with the cylinder can also allow faster cutting speeds for applications that do not require high precision. When high levels of accuracy are needed, users can choose to cut with the tip of the tool.

The addition of quick-turn plating builds on the digital manufacturer’s current options for CNC machining, which include advanced anodizing and chromate plating capabilities with flexible lead times. Customers with AS9100 and ITAR needs can access Protolabs’ precision machining capabilities and those with more complex, high-requirement parts can tap into the company’s digital network of manufacturers at Hubs.

Utilizing ANCA’s machine platforms with a robot cell, blanket grinding offers flexibility across a range of tool sizes and applications. Blanket grinding allows for full automation of tools of similar geometries, by consolidating all tool grinding processes into one single machine. A batch of complete finished tools can be produced without interruption directly from lengths of ground bar stock with no operator intervention.

Mastercam developers worked closely with Sandvik Coromant product management to let users import 3D tool assemblies directly into Mastercam’s toolpath operations. Users of Mastercam benefit from having the correct tooling for the material and for the type of machining operation, plus an accurate, 3D model that can be used for visualization and collision checking in addition to the time savings.

VERICUT 9.4 introduces a new module, CNC Machine Monitoring, which connects VERICUT directly to CNC machines and streams data to allow users to monitor what their machines are doing on the shop floor, live in real time. Users can see which NC program or subroutine is running, monitor machine motions and spindle activity, see if overrides have been applied to spindle or feedrates, identify when machining has been interrupted by Emergency stops or taken out of productive cycle mode, and much more, all within VERICUT.

The evolution and ehnancement of SprutCAM X user interface will continue. "Less interface is better" sounds simple in theory, but it becomes an extremely challenging task when dealing with CAM software with thousands of features. For many years we have been striving to keep the UI as simple and lightweight as possible. In the last couple of years, we started to think about how to make the interface feel natural and comfortable to the human eye.With its lightweight interface, intuitive design and machine-aware programming technology, SprutCAM X 17 becomes extremely easy to learn and use as a CAD/CAM software.