Delcam's PartMaker Division is now shipping Version 9 of its PartMaker and SwissCAM software for the programming of turn-mill centres, Swiss-type lathes, CNC mills, conventional lathes and Wire EDM equipment. Major highlights of this release include a revamped and more productive user-interface, improved capabilities for programming directly on solid models and the ability to generate HTML-based set-up sheets automatically.
"Simply stated, Version 9 is the most productive new release yet in the lifecycle of the PartMaker CAM suite,'' said PartMaker Division President Hanan Fishman. "The enhanced user interface and other new features will make our users even more productive in programming their CNC equipment, while offering new users an even easier to learn, more capable CAM system. We expect users will be able to reduce their programming times from previous versions of PartMaker by as much as 50% by using Version 9.''
"We pioneered the field of CAM software for turn-mill equipment and Swiss-type lathes with our patented Visual Programming Approach for programming multi-axis lathes with live tooling,'' added Mr. Fishman. "This new release continues our long history of supporting these advanced machine tools.''
Revamped User Interface
The major highlight of PartMaker Version 9 is a new-look user interface featuring, among other improvements, easy-to-use, user-configurable toolbars. Existing icons have been redesigned to make them even easier to understand. As well as giving the software a more modern appearance, the new tool bars, populated by attractive and easy-to-understand icons, make the software faster and more productive for both new and existing users. With the improvements in the user interface, most functions in the software can be accessed with the click of the mouse.
The revamped user interface has been carefully planned out so that existing users will be able to use the new version without any additional training. It builds on the extensive use of pictures in earlier versions to help the user describe tools, part features and machining data quickly and easily. The fundamental PartMaker "divide and conquer'' approach to the programming of complex parts has been maintained so making the complete process as simple as possible. Similarly, the synchronisation of tools working on multiple spindles can still be achieved with a few mouse clicks to achieve the most efficient cycle time.
Seamless Solids Programming
Another highlight of the new release is the ability to carry out programming directly on a solid model. With Version 9, a solid model can be integrated into the programming window and tool paths can be assigned directly to the solid model. Critical manufacturing data is automatically retrieved from a solid model using a new "Extract Parameters from Solids'' function. This saves time and reduces the chance for error by eliminating redundant data entry. In addition, the most commonly-used solids manipulation functions are displayed via an easy-to-follow Solids Toolbar.
Automatic Set-up Sheet Creation
PartMaker Version 9 allows the user to generate automatically very professional setup sheets to improve shop floor documentation. This new feature, available as part of the PartMaker Documentation Wizard, can greatly speed up machine set-up time by eliminating the sometimes tedious and time-consuming process of creating setup sheets manually. The possibility of errors can be minimised by providing machine operators and set-up personnel with very clear instructions about how to prepare each new job.
The set-up sheets are created in HTML format and so can be viewed on any computer with an internet browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. The format of the set-up sheets can be fully customised by the user.
Many PartMaker users have been able to reduce machine set-up time by up to 50% versus their previous means of programming by generating more efficient and better quality CNC programs and by visualizing the machining process on the computer. Now, users will be able to make further strides in reducing set-up times by providing machining personnel with very clear instructions on how to prepare the machine to produce a particular part.
Delcam's PartMaker Division is now shipping Version 9 of its PartMaker and Swiss