Gibbs and Associates, developer of GibbsCAM software for programming CNC machine tools and a Cimatron company, has started shipping the GibbsCAM 2009 to customers.
This is one of our most significant releases, with new features and many enhancements for the entire GibbsCAM product line, explains Bill Gibbs, founder and president of Gibbs and Associates. We continually recognize that ease-of-use is of paramount importance to programmers and machinists, he adds. This release further decreases programming effort for all machine-tool configurations, and provides additional tools for our customers to easily achieve incremental gains in productivity.
Features most applauded by early users of GibbsCAM 2009 generally fall into the categories of Milling, Turning, User Interface and Productivity, and Interoperability.
Milling additions and enhances include Advanced 3D HSM (High Speed Machining) developed for multi-surface hard milling and high speed machining in SolidSurfacer. Included are several new routines useful for multiple applications. The various machining styles offer smooth entries, exits and cutting motions, with steep or shallow angle limits, rest passes, tool-holder collision checking, and options to change cutting style. Contour was developed for finishing and semi-finishing passes, and computes equal increments in Z , and generates toolpaths at the various levels, automatically providing clean transitions from one level to the next with smooth entries and exits. Another feature is Constant Step Over Cut . Through user-specified step distance, this routine generates 3D passes with constant separation along a parts surface, working from the outside in. At user discretion, this machining style permits extremely smooth finishes through user-controlled steps. Other routines and enhancements include Flats Cut , Lace Cut and Intersections , Automatic Core Detection, Improved Pocketing , and Ramp and Helix entries for contour milling and Tool Edge Path.
Turning additions and enhancements include Extensive New Lathe Features developed to take advantage of the newer high-tech cutting tools, to turn harder materials and to machine smoother surfaces. MTM Enhancements to Sync Manager add flexibility from new additions to Sync Mgr and Op List and new Op Mgr associativity make multi-task machining easier and more efficient.
Among the user interface and productivity enhancements is Multi-CPU Support and Batch Processing, which allows users to continue working while they generate high-speed, or multi-surface machining and other large toolpaths in the background, without tying up the workstation. Faster Simulation performance enhancements make toolpath simulation much faster while Multiple View Ports, Panes and Pop-up Windows enable viewing tool and cutter motion from various perspectives.
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