2017-09-23 02:49:17
The newest release of CAMWorks offers reduced CNC programming times and the automation of CNC programming tasks. Geometric Americas, Inc. released CAMWorks 2017 with additions focusing on customer needs and world wide manufacturing initiatives, such as Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0. The new capabilities in CAMWorks 2017 are a result of more than 60 customer-driven enhancements.
“The additions to CAMWorks 2017 reinforce our vision of providing customers with a level of CNC programming automation well beyond the industry norm,” said Jim Foster, CAMWorks VP Channel Sales and Marketing. “As the design and manufacturing world continues to adopt SOLIDWORKS Model Based Definition (MBD), Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) and worldwide initiatives like Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, CAMWorks will lead in providing faster design-to-manufacturing solutions.”
Enhancements to CAMWorks 2017 include:
• Tolerance Based Machining (TBM) – Uses tolerances and non-geometric data in a 3-D CAD model to select optimal machining strategies and create toolpaths automatically. CAMWorks’ TBM capability leverages SOLIDWORKS MBD and DimXpert information to read annotations from a SOLIDWORKS 3-D model and use the annotations to automatically select the tools, feed and speed required to develop optimal toolpaths. “TBM can increase productivity by as much as 70% or more over traditional CNC programming methods while providing the ability to capture and reuse best practices,” said a company spokesperson. It also improves quality by automatically selecting the best machining strategy to meet the required quality requirements.
• CAMWorks High Speed Machining, VoluMill Milling Advisor – Provides recommended feed and speed parameters to maximize the performance of VoluMill high-speed machining.
• Chuck and Fixture Definition – Provides the ability to use chucks and fixtures designed using SOLIDWORKS parts and assemblies or STL files for toolpath simulation and collision detection in mill-turn and turning. The chucks and fixtures can be moved or rotated in X, Y and Z directions with respect to the Fixture Coordinate System (FCS) of the current part, ensuring that the chuck or fixture is properly aligned with the current part. SOLIDWORKS configurations of the chucks and fixtures are also supported.
• 3D Interconnect in SOLIDWORKS and CAMWorks Solids – Provides a continuous path of associativity from 3-D model changes in all leading 3-D CAD formats through automatic updating of toolpaths that speeds up reprogramming as parts change.
• SOLIDWORKS Integration– Tighter integration with SOLIDWORKS helps ensure that the design and manufacturing models are one and the same. SOLIDWORKS and CAMWorks are fully associative in all aspects, including API Automation with SOLIDWORKS partner products such as DriveWorks, Configurations, MBD and DimXpert annotations, meaning that any change made to a 3-D model in SOLIDWORKS on the design side will automatically be reflected in CAMWorks on the manufacturing side. With this strong connection, machining strategies in CAMWorks are based on annotations from the MBD data provided by DimXpert in SOLIDWORKS. 3D Interconnect in SOLIDWORKS provides associativity to all major CAD formats, from geometry level changes through toolpath generation, reducing CNC re-programming efforts.
For more information contact: Geometric Americas, Inc. 15974 N 77th Street, Ste. #103 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 480-367-0132 www.geometricglobal.com
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