Delcam is to release a major upgrade to its PowerMILL machining system, the world's leading specialist NC software for the toolmaking and automotive industries according to US consulting and market research firm CIMdata. PowerMILL 3 will give total machining flexibility, together with a streamlined interface, new shading options, and greater productivity. The new release also offers much faster calculation times.
Typically, PowerMILL 3 will generate toolpaths in less than half the time required previously, with even larger gains with deep or complex models.
Total machining flexibility has been made possible by introducing the PowerMILL Sketcher, which incorporates functionality from Delcam's PowerSHAPE CAD software.
This allows the operator to define any 2D or 3D curve and then use this as the basis for his machining.
For example, the curve could be used as the starting pattern for a series of offset machining paths, or to define the boundary for any multi-surface machining operation.
The Sketcher can also edit all the wire-frame data produced by PowerMILL, including boundaries and toolpaths, to generate the optimum NC performance.
For the shop-floor machinist with no CAD system, the Sketcher can also be used to create or repair 2-D geometry, such as bosses, holes or pockets.
PowerMILL's interface has been streamlined following the introduction of the 'current working directory' concept.
This addition makes it possible for the software to store data specific to a PowerMILL session to files automatically, and to retrieve that data at a later date.
This new approach will use entities in the PowerMILL Explorer more extensively to give easier management of machining data, for example, when communicating between different shifts.
A further benefit will come from the ability to free up memory by saving toolpaths to disk when the program is not using them.
PowerMILL 3 will feature two new shading options to allow users to check imported models before commencing toolpath calculations.
The first option is undercut shading, which allows the user to check the model for undercuts.
Undercuts may result from inaccurate or incomplete models that will need to be reviewed with the customer.
If they are intentional, they will require the use of disk cutters or five-axis machining and the extra costs involved will need to be included in the quote.
The same shading option can also be used to check that there is sufficient draft on the tool being machined, and to ensure that the correct alignment has been set for 3-plus-2 machining.
The second new shading option is minimum radius shading.
This can be a great help when selecting the most efficient cutter size, particularly for finishing operations such as corner picking.
Increased productivity will be possible by using an experienced operator's knowledge to enable much more frequent 'right first time' NC generation.
PowerMILL has always been supplied with very safe default settings.
This is appropriate for new or infrequent users, to avoid problems resulting from their inexperience.
However, it can often mean that experienced users must remember to edit the default settings in order to obtain the most efficient results.
With PowerMILL 3, it will be simpler for these experienced operators to optimise these default settings for the machine tools and cutters they prefer to use.
Once they have done this, the optimum toolpath can then be generated at the first attempt much more frequently.
This flexibility will be particularly useful for companies with a range of different machines.
It will become relatively easy to save different defaults for each machine, rather than having to start by generating NC data for the least capable machine and then editing it.
A wide range of other enhancements is being incorporated within PowerMILL 3.
A faster method for constant Z machining is to be added, with arcs fitted automatically to avoid extreme changes of direction at sharp corners.
A new routine for 3D offset machining will speed up calculation times considerably and give better results on steep walls.