Delcam PowerMILL 2012 with Additional Machining Options

Delcam has launched the 2012 version of its PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining. The new release includes a number of new strategies, together with more general enhancements to make programming faster and machining more efficient with the best-possible surface finish.

The most important new option is flowline machining. With flowline machining, the toolpath is divided between a pair of drive curves in a constant number of passes, rather than having a varying number of passes with a constant stepover. The toolpath will have its start and end passes on the drive curves, with the intermediate passes blending between them.

In PowerMILL 2012, flowline machining can be applied across part of a surface, across a complete single surface or across multiple surfaces. In addition, intermediate curves can be added between the boundaries of the area to give even greater control over the toolpaths. Another important new option in PowerMILL 2012 is the ability to control the angular point distribution during five-axis machining. This option can be used to keep the machine tool moving smoothly when there is rapid angular change in one of the rotary axes of the machine tool.

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PowerMILL has offered an optional module for automated machining of blades, blisks and impellors for some time. This module has now been enhanced with the addition of a spiral machining strategy. This keeps the cutter on the surface of the part for the complete operation.

A more general enhancement is the ability to use Bezier curves rather than polylines when sketching geometry in PowerMILL. Bezier curves give smoother boundaries, patterns and drive curves, and so enable better quality toolpaths to be produced.

Other enhancements in PowerMILL 2012 include more control over the clearance distances applied to the cutter and its holder. In addition, thread milling options have been added, and workplane editing, and Z-height selection and limiting, have been made easier. It has also been made easier to obtain measurements, including distances, angles and directions, from the part model and enter these values into forms automatically. Finally, the use of the PowerMILL macro language to program repeat operations has been extended to give users more options to customise the system for their particular needs.