ISSUE 1 2014

For more news, go to www.delcam.com and www.delcam.tv

P545,000th customerPT Astra HondaMotor addsPowerMILL andPowerSHAPE

P10Footwear designand costingNew releases ofShoeMaker andShoeCost launched

P3SAIC choosesPowerMILLEuropean DesignCentre uses softwareto drive Koln machine

Delcam joins AutodeskIn recognition of the company’s deepCAM knowledge and expertise, Autodesk has established Delcam as a wholly-owned,independently-operated subsidiary, so thecompany can continue to deliver its industry-leading software to its global customer base.

Delcam will maintain its focus on acceleratingthe growth of its market share in themanufacturing sector, with the added strengththat will come from being part of a largerorganisation. Customers will continue to besupported by the skilled and experiencedengineers for which the company is renownedthrough its global network of Subsidiaries, Joint Ventures and Sales Partners.

The combination of Autodesk and Delcam bringstogether a global leader in design software andthe world’s leading specialist supplier of CAMsoftware and services. Over the past 30 years,Autodesk has grown far beyond its roots ingeneric 2D design to become a global leader in design software and cloud services. Throughinternal development and investments, Autodeskhas built and acquired a broad range oftechnology that has enabled it to developspecialised software for its customers across the architecture, engineering, construction,

infrastructure, manufacturing, automotive, mediaand entertainment industries. The acquisition of Delcam is an important strategic step inAutodesk’s expansion into manufacturing andfabrication beyond its roots in design.

Delcam has more than forty years’ experience in CAM, having arranged the world’s first publicdisplay of CAM technology at the Machine ToolExhibition held in Olympia, London, during June1972. The company’s current status in theindustry was confirmed in the latest NC SoftwareMarket Analysis Report from leading US analystsCIMdata. The Report showed that, in 2012,Delcam again had the highest vendor revenuesand received the highest end-user payments ofall the CAM-centric companies. This meant thatthe company had completed thirteen years asthe world’s leading specialist supplier of CAMsoftware and services.

The CIMdata report also confirmed that Delcamcontinues to employ the largest developmentteam in the CAM industry, with over 200 peopleworking on the company’s manufacturingsoftware.

“Autodesk brings to Delcam increased financialstrength, unparalleled expertise in design, and a

long history of making technology accessible to broad audiences. By sharing our technologyand expertise, this transaction will transformindustries and improve how the world isdesigned and made,” said Clive Martell,Delcam’s Chief Executive. “Delcam will continueto operate as it did prior to the acquisition byAutodesk, without any significant changes. This structure reflects Autodesk’s trust in andrespect for Delcam’s solutions, leadership andorganisation. We are excited to come togetherto progress the vision, development andimplementation of technology for digitalmanufacturing.”

“The acquisition of Delcam is an important step in Autodesk’s continued expansion intomanufacturing and fabrication and beyond our roots in design. Together with Delcam, welook forward to accelerating the development of a more comprehensive Digital Prototypingsolution and delivering a better manufacturingexperience,” said Buzz Kross, Senior VicePresident for Design, Lifecycle and SimulationProducts at Autodesk. “We welcome the Delcamemployees, customers, partners and communityto Autodesk.”

Carl Bass, President and Chief Executive Officer ofAutodesk (centre) with (left to right) Glenn McMinn,President, Delcam North America; Clive Martell, ChiefExecutive, Delcam; Steve Hobbs, Development Director,Delcam; and Bart Simpson, Commercial Director, Delcam

On February 7th, Delcam was acquired byAutodesk, Inc, a world leader in 3D design softwarefor entertainment, natural resources, manufacturing,engineering, construction, and civil infrastructure with annual revenues of more than US$ 2 billion. This transaction will create new opportunities forsharing and transfer of technology and expertisebetween the companies, which will provide futurebenefits to Autodesk and Delcam customers.

Bloodhound SSCsponsorship

Delcam has become an SME Sponsor for the Bloodhound SSC (SuperSonic Car)

adventure. Bloodhound SSC aims to set a new world land speed record

of 1,000mph in South Africa in 2016.

Delcam will support the project with itsmanufacturing software and expertise, and willalso produce some components for the record-breaking vehicle in its Advanced ManufacturingFacility. Several Delcam customers and technicalpartners are already involved in using thecompany’s CADCAM software to manufactureparts for the ultimate jet- and rocket-poweredracing car.

Bloodhound SSC represents an extremesporting challenge that is already creating a huge stir in the world’s media. The project willpush engineering and science beyond the

boundaries of known technology and so willhave technical innovation at its heart.

Innovation is a key component of Delcam’sbusiness philosophy. The company investsaround one quarter of its turnover in researchand development. As well as contributing toDelcam’s rapidly growing sales, the results ofthese developments have been recognised with three Queen’s Awards for Innovation.

Education is another objective of BloodhoundSSC with which Delcam can relate. The project is a major showcase for engineering and science, with over 5,500 schools and

colleges now using Bloodhound materials inclass to excite and inspire the next generation of engineers.

“Delcam is pleased to be joining the BloodhoundSSC team,” commented Commercial Director,Bart Simpson. “Our software is used already at all levels of the automotive and autosportindustries, from the leading teams to specialistsubcontractors, where it helps manufacturers of metal and composite parts to maximiseproductivity, improve quality and reduce leadtimes. We believe that our association withBloodhound SSC will support further growth in the sector.”

Delcam has become an SMESponsor for Bloodhound SSC

Sedbergh School winsBJA AwardSedbergh School was the winner of the Newcomer of the Year Award at the British Jewellers’ Association Awards held in Birmingham in December. Delcam hasrecently developed a close partnership withthe School and the School of Jewellery in Birmingham to encourage more youngpeople into jewellery as a career.Sedbergh, an independent co-educationalschool based in Cumbria, took the decision toinvest in teachers and high-quality facilities toenable its students to study jewellery productionthree years ago. Since then, a total of over 250students have had the chance to try their handat jewellery and silver-smithing, including theopportunity to design their own pieces withArtCAM JewelSmith software.

The school now has both GCSE and A-leveloptions that allow students to specialise injewellery design and manufacture. Last summer,its first GCSE candidates passed theirexaminations with flying colours. Sedbergh also

became the first school in the country to be granted membership of the BJA.

The recent arrival of Jeweller in Residence,Christine Davies, a BJA Baxendale AwardWinner in 2009, and the installation of a state-of-the-art Roland MDX540 sponsored by Delcamhas reinforced the strength of both the teachingand equipment at the school. Pupils, aged 13 to 18, are now equipped to produce industry-quality designs, from simple gemstone rings and pendants to complex investment castings.

David Stokes from Delcam (second left)with staff from Sedbergh School at theBJA Awards ceremony

One of the designs produced by Sedbergh students with Delcam’s software

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PowerMILL at SAICEuropean Design CentreSAIC Motor UK has chosen PowerMILL to program a Kolb StudioLine M five-axis millingmachine that was installed during 2013 as part of a major expansion of the company’sEuropean Design Centre in Longbridge, Birmingham.SAIC is one of China’s largest automotivecompanies, producing around 4.5 millionvehicles in 2012. The company operates jointventures in China with General Motors andVolkswagen, and also produces the Roewerange, one of the few domestic Chinese luxurycar brands. SAIC acquired the MG brand in2007, with both styling and engineeringcontinuing to be developed on the company’shistoric Longbridge site.

The European Design Centre, which was a £5 million investment when it was originallyestablished in 2010, is focused primarily on MGvehicles but also provides design input to SAIC’sRoewe models. The Centre added its firstmachining facilities early in 2013 as part of a£1.5 million expansion that doubled its size tomake it one of the largest automotive designstudios in the UK. The Kolb machine is beingused to produce scale and full-size models ofnew designs, as well as concept vehicles andshow cars for international exhibitions. Prior tothis investment, all machining of this type wassubcontracted to a number of UK suppliers.

The first projects for the Delcam software werepart of the final development stages of the MG3,the stylish small car that is the second modelrange in the new generation of MG vehiclesbeing introduced at the Birmingham factory.Its unique and contemporary styling,which gives the car a touch of flairfrom every viewing angle, wasentirely the work of the SAICEuropean Design Centre.

As well as ensuring that the exterior appearancewould reinforce the fun and sportiness that liesat the heart of the MG brand, the designers and engineers were tasked with producing anexceptional amount of space and versatility in a very compact five-door package. Extensivework from the team resulted in an interior designthat will easily accommodate four 6ft individuals,a level of accommodation typically associatedwith larger cars.

“The main reason for bringing the work in-housewas to give us a faster turn-around of newdesigns,” explained SAIC Design OperationsProgramme Manager, Darren Redhead. “Whilecomputer visualisations have become morerealistic, we still need to physically make stylingmodels in clay as part of our design process.We can now produce models in days instead of the weeks that it was taking when we wereoutsourcing our designs.” With a typical designproject requiring four scale models and two full-size models for both the exterior and interior,these savings make a significant contribution to cutting the overall development times.

“We were offered an alternative programmingsystem with the machine by Kolb,” rememberedMr. Redhead. “However, when we spoke tomodelling teams in Germany that were using the StudioLine M, they said that they preferred to use the Delcam software. They told us thatPowerMILL was more intuitive to use formodellers, as well as being able to take fulladvantage of the five-axis capabilities of themachine. We wanted to have an experienceduser to program themachine but also to

The PowerMILL interface was more intuitive, making it easierfor part-time users

The first projects for the Delcam software

at SAIC were part of the final development stages of the MG3

SAIC chose PowerMILL to program its KolbStudioLine M five-axis milling machine

train two of our modellers to be able to use the software if he was busy. Ease of use wasessential for these part-time users.”

“Strong support was another important factor,”he added. “The Delcam support desk hasprovided excellent service, especially when the machine was first installed and we neededsome modifications to the post-processor for the Fidia control.”

“Overall, we’ve been very happy with the wholeinvestment,” concluded Mr. Redhead. “We’vebeen running the machine five days a weeksince it was installed and have machinedhundreds of products with consistently excellentresults. With the savings in external costs thatwe are achieving, I expect to have a paybacktime of less than eighteen months for the Kolbmachine and the Delcam software.”

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Okuma Partners in THINCDelcam has been selected for membership in OkumaAmerica’s Partners in THINC. Delcam’s CAM solutionsare used by a variety of leading Okuma customersacross a broad spectrum of industries and applications.Partners in THINC is a collaborativenetwork of over 40 companies that service themetal-cutting and manufacturing industries withspecialised software, equipment and expertise,plus a commitment to solve problems andincrease productivity for end users. WithOkuma's open architecture, PC-based THINC®-OSP control as its nucleus, Partners in THINCstrive to provide the best possible integratedsolutions to their end users.

“We are excited to announce our newpartnership with Delcam,” said Jeff Estes,Director of Partners in THINC. “The company’sexpertise and dedication to helpingmanufacturers obtain the highest level ofprofitability possible through its CAM technology,makes it a great addition to Partners in THINC.”

“The opportunity to partnerwith Okuma in this manner isa unique opportunity for bothof our organisations,” addedDelcam’s Chief Executive,Clive Martell. “By joiningforces with Okuma, we will have the opportunity tofurther improve our products’integration with Okumaequipment and controls, so allowing Okuma users to become even moreproductive when using oursoftware to program their machine tools.”

For more information on Partners in THINC, visit www.okuma.com/partners-in-thinc.

Software forhybrid repair

Delcam software is at the heart of a new hybrid repair machinelaunched by Hamuel Maschinenbau at last year’s EMO exhibition in Hannover. The significance of the new machine was recognisedwith an EMO Award from industry magazine MM Maschinenmarkt.

The Hamuel hybrid machine is capable ofremanufacturing high-value metal components,such as turbine blades, in order to give them a second life instead of manufacturing newparts. This gives a decisive cost advantage, in particular when high-value and complex-shaped components are concerned.

The machine combines five technologies in oneunit – five-axis CNC milling, laser cladding, robotpolishing, inspection and laser marking. Any ofthese processes can be combined, as requiredby the particular project. The equipment costsonly a fraction of the price of a multi-machinerepair cell, as well as saving on floor space.

Automatic methods developed by HybridManufacturing Technologies allow the Hamuelequipment to change between manufacturingprocesses as easily as a conventional machinecan change between milling cutters.Changeover takes less than ten secondstypically and can be called up during any part program using only a few M-codes.

Another partner in the development, theManufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry,

has been responsible for the 3D laser claddingelement. Laser cladding is essentially a welding-based method of additive manufacturing thatallows high-integrity material to be depositedonto the part being repaired. It can be carriedout with virtually all conventional welding metals,with the focused heat input allowing cladding of even difficult-to-weld materials.

A typical application for the machine is the repairof a worn blade on an impeller. Using a hybridmachine, it is possible to remove the damagedarea by milling off the worn material and thenbuild the material back up using the claddingtechnology. A second machining operation,using high-speed five-axis milling, then producesthe final shape, with a smooth transitionbetween the original part and the new material.Polishing and laser marking can be undertakento complete the component, if required. In-cyclepart inspection, using Delcam’s adaptivemachining software, provides feedback toorientate the parts, assess defects and ensureaccuracy throughout the various stages.

The adaptive machining software alsocustomises the NC program to repair each

component on an individual basis. It ensures that the machine delivers exceptional accuracyand reliability, even when repairing parts withvaried service histories. In addition, the ability to undertake multiple processes without havingto remove the part from the machine supportshigher precision, repeatability and reproducibility.

While the initial aim is to produce a component“as good as new”, at a fraction of the cost of manufacturing a new part, the claddingoperation can even produce parts with improvedtechnical characteristics. Laser cladding allowssuper alloys to be used for specific sections ofthe blade profile to enhance the performanceand improve the properties of the component.This targeted cladding with an enhancedmaterial can result in superior durability over the original material.

A simulation of a complex part programmed in PartMakerfor manufacture on an Okuma Multus machine

The Hamuel hybrid machine iscontrolled by Delcam software

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Delcam has added the 45,000th customer for its range of CADCAM software –PT Astra Honda Motor inIndonesia, which recentlyordered seats of PowerMILLand PowerSHAPE, plus the Delcam Electrode and FeatureCAM Wire EDM programs.A plaque marking this landmark sale was presented by H.E. Mr. Mark Kent, BritishAmbassador to Thailand, to Bambang Nugroho,General Manager of Delcam Indonesia, duringthe Delcam Asian Technical Summit held in Bangkok on 21st and 22nd August.

PT Astra Honda Motor is the leading pioneer of the motorcycle industry in Indonesia. It wasfounded on June 11, 1971, with the initial nameof PT Federal Motor. At that time, the companyonly assembled motorcycles, using componentsimported from Japan.

Total production in the first year was only 1,500 units, but this jumped to around 30,000 in the second year. Soon after, the companybegan the production of motorcyclecomponents in Indonesia.

Currently, PT Astra Honda Motor has three main plants in Indonesia employing about18,000 people, with a combined productioncapacity of 4.2 million motorcycles per year. The total volume of motorcycles produced by the company reached 35 million in 2012.

Bambang Nugroho, General Manager of Delcam Indonesia, commented, “We areextremely pleased to have made the sale thattakes Delcam to 45,000 customers. We lookforward to working with the staff at Astra HondaMotor to help them produce motorcycles thatare fun to ride, safe and economical, and someet the expectations and needs of the peopleof Indonesia.”

Over 50 staff addedDelcam added more than 50 extra staff to its international workforceduring 2013 to give a total of more than 700 employees within theorganisation by the end of the year.In addition, well over 150 more people areemployed in Delcam’s Joint Venture companiesin Europe and Asia. The largest of thesecompanies, Delcam’s extremely successfulKorean Joint Venture, Hankook Delcam, hasover 50 staff.

Just under half of the new positions werecreated at Delcam’s headquarters in

Birmingham, with the others added at thecompany’s fifteen international subsidiaries inEurope, America and Asia. The new staff wereadded across the company’s activities, withextra jobs introduced in software development,customer support, consultancy services andsales.

PT Astra Honda Motor is a leader inthe Indonesian motorcycle industry

H.E. Mr. Mark Kent, BritishAmbassador to Thailand (right),presented a plaque to BambangNugroho, General Manager of Delcam Indonesia, to markDelcam’s 45,000th customer

45,000th customer

A record number of delegates attended Delcam’s 2013 Sales Partner Meeting, a reflection of the company’s growing staff numbers

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Extra five-axis machiningDelcam Professional Services has increased the range of five-axis machining equipment within its Advanced Manufacturing Facility with the addition of a Mori Seiki NMV 5000 machine. This latest expansion of the equipment in Birmingham follows increased demand for the company’s process development and prototype manufacturing services.

The Mori Seiki machine extends the abilityof Delcam Professional Services to undertakehigh-speed, high-precision five-axis machining ofcomplex parts. The design is ideal for prototypeand short-run production work because it allowsexcellent access to the workpiece and easy,efficient operability. It will be used in Birminghaminitially for process development projects formid-sized aerospace parts.

The primary focus of Delcam ProfessionalServices is to work with clients, mainly in theaerospace and power generation industries, to improve their manufacturing processes byincreasing productivity, improving accuracy and shortening lead times. For the majority of projects, these improvements are achievedthrough the use of adaptive machining, Delcam’sunique combination of machining and inspectiontechnology.

Delcam Professional Services also supportsmanufacturing companies whose ownengineering resource is needed to maintain its existing operations. The services providedcan vary from supplying extra design andprogramming resources when existing staff areoverloaded, through to developing dedicatedsoftware to automate existing manufacturingmethods or to establishing completely new turnkey processes for the manufacture of novel designs.

The Professional Services team cooperatesclosely with its clients to enhance their existingdesign and manufacturing operations, usually by using a combination of Delcam’s software to develop specific solutions to the company’sproductivity and quality problems. The teamoften works with a network of suppliers ofrelated technology, including machine tools,cutting tools and inspection equipment, toensure that a comprehensive turnkey solutioncan be provided when required.

The new Mori Seiki machineextends the five-axis machiningcapacity within DelcamProfessional Services

Additive manufacturing for jewelleryThe UK’s jewellery sector is set to benefit from a major £471,000research and development projectcalled Precious that began inNovember with a kick-off meeting atDelcam’s Birmingham headquarters.The project, to be managed byDelcam, will make a definitive stepchange to the current use of additivemanufacture for precious metaljewellery through an empirical set oftrials, benchmarks and demonstrators,making it easier for the whole UKsupply chain of design, manufactureand retail to adopt the technology.

The Precious project is being undertakenby a consortium of five organisations that, inaddition to Delcam, includes Cookson PreciousMetals, Lionel T Dean/Future Factories, theJewellery Industry Innovation Centre andFinishing Techniques.

The project is receiving £212,000 of supportfrom the UK’s innovation agency, the TechnologyStrategy Board. It is aimed at rapidly bringing tofull commercial maturity the process of additive

manufacturing of precious metal jewellery itemsthat is currently at varying stages of partialreadiness at a small number of UK companies.

Project Manager, Jan Willem Gunnink fromDelcam, stated, “The UK is an internationallyrecognised and important supplier of qualityjewellery to the world’s markets but is constantlythreatened by cheap imports from low labourcost economies. The Precious project is

intended to offer a viable alternativemanufacturing option to those who supplyjewellery at the middle to higher end of thebespoke and personalised jewellery market.New online business models that exploit additivemanufacturing are expected to be created andshould add innovative design-driven impetus tothe more traditional high street retailing sectors.”

The Precious kick-off meeting was held at Delcam last November

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Delivery time cut by 60%A combination of FeatureCAM and two new five-axismachine tools has reduced the delivery time on atypical challenging part for the aerospace industry by about 60%, according to Bob Lewis Machine CoPresident, Jeff Lewis.

Bob Lewis founded his eponymouscompany in 1975 in his garage in Torrance,California, with a Bridgeport mill and three drill presses. Over the years, the company hasadded more equipment and moved to largerfacilities up to its current 10,000 square footfacility in Gardena, California. A comprehensiveCNC programming department was added to support the growing number of CNCmachining centres before Bob Lewis retired in 2001 and Jeff Lewis took over themanagement of the company.

Jeff Lewis explained that the companyphilosophy was “to take on work that others will not do”. To support this approach, thecompany substantially improved its machiningcapabilities a few years ago by purchasing two five-axis CNC machines. However, the CNC programming software used at the timewas not able to fully access the capabilities of the machines.

“I spoke to a friend in the area that ownedseveral five-axis machines and he recommendedFeatureCAM strongly,” Jeff Lewis remembered.“He told me that, by automating many aspectsof the programming process, it simplifies thetask and makes it go faster. He also said thatDelcam provided excellent technical support.”

With such a strong recommendation, thecompany had no hesitation in purchasingFeatureCAM. It soon found that the newsoftware made programming easy, even for the most complicated parts for machining on both the new five-axis machines and theexisting three-axis equipment.

By taking full advantage of the five-axismachines, the company is now able to reducethe number of set-ups required to machinecomplex aerospace parts from ten or twelve to two. This is because both the part and toolcan be moved so that the tool can access thepart from nearly any angle.

The company now has six networked computersrunning FeatureCAM that are used to generateprograms for all sixteen of its CNC machinecentres. With the software, programmers at Bob Lewis Machine can access every capabilityof the five-axis machines, including drilling holes at multiple angles in a single set-up and machining surfaces at compound angles.

The company now saves substantial amounts of time and money that were previously spentbuilding fixtures and changing the part from one fixture to another. Relationships betweendifferent features can now be held much more

closely than in the past by machining them in the same set-up.

“Our use of FeatureCAM and five-axis machininghas substantially increased the capabilities of our company,” Jeff Lewis said. “By reducing the number of set-ups on the typical complexaerospace part, we dramatically reduce theamount of time required to make the part.FeatureCAM provides a major contribution by making the machines perform to their fullcapacity while also reducing programming time.”

“We could not be happier with the service and support we are receiving from Delcam,” he added. “When Marcelo Hermosillo, ourOperations Manager, had issues in dealing witha particularly complex part, he contacted theFeatureCAM support team. They respondedquickly and showed him a new way to tackle the problem that he had never seen before.”

With FeatureCAM, Bob Lewis can take on more complex parts

Operators at Bob Lewis found thatFeatureCAM made programming easier

By reducing the number of set-ups onparts like this housing, Bob Lewis canreduce machining times dramatically

The most challengingprojects at Burintekhinclude the manufactureof roller-cone drill bits

Burintekh, which was founded in 1999, hasa modern production base equipped with thelatest equipment, including a range of multi-axismachining centres, and effective quality controlat all stages of production. This allows thecompany to produce a wide range ofcompetitive products, meeting all therequirements and wishes of the most demandingcustomers. For its achievements, Burintekh was awarded the honorary title of “BestIndustrial Company of the Republic ofBashkortostan” in 2009.

As part of its development programme, thecompany acquired several new turning, millingand five-axis machines during 2011 and 2012.The next stage was to add a powerful andversatile CAM system that could unleash the full potential of the new production equipment.FeatureCAM was chosen because it couldprovide fast, automated programming for the full range of machine tools at Burintekh.

Among the most challenging projects is themanufacture of roller-cone drill bits for tools usedin drilling oil and gas wells. The manufacture ofthis type of product on CNC machines requiresthe development of highly complex machiningprograms. These programs would be almostimpossible to create without the use of amodern CAM system but are handled easily inFeatureCAM according to Arthur Islamgulov, the engineer at Burintekh responsible for the full complement of machine tools.

The first stage is to turn blanks of the basicshape on a lathe. CNC milling of the detaileddesign is then carried out on a five-axis machinetool. FeatureCAM is first used to generate

As well as appreciating the benefits of hisFeatureCAM software, Mr. Islamgulov praisedthe support from the technical experts at DelcamUral. “One of the key factors in our successfuldeployment of the software has been the regulartechnical support from Delcam Ural,” he said.“Senior Support Engineer, Alexander Dementiev,provided us with an excellent level of training,and followed that up with timely and high-qualitysupport for even our most complex tasks.”

One particularly important area for assistancewas modifying the standard FeatureCAM post-processors to match exactly the equipment atBurintekh. This was initially carried out soon after FeatureCAM was first purchased. However,improvement of these post-processors is stillbeing carried out because, with the passage oftime, the users within the company learn aboutnew functions in their machines and, of course,they have a desire to use these features.

Burintekh, a leading developer andmanufacturer of tools for drilling andmaintenance of oil, gas and mining wells, has added FeatureCAM to cope with the ever-increasing complexity of its customers’ designs and the constant pressure for faster delivery.

Burintekh specialises inthe manufacture of drillheads for oil, gas and

mining wells

Part compare in FeatureCAM allows the shapeproduced to be compared to the original 3D model

FeatureCAM for drill manufacture

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The 2013 R2 version ofPowerINSPECT offers a new method for automatedinspection of edges of parts,improved display of deviations,support for a wider range of geometric features, more flexible simulation and additional dimensioning options for radial features.

Full details are on thePowerINSPECT website –www.powerinspect.com.The new adaptive method for edgeinspection on CNC CMMs provides improved measurement of thin-walled, flexible components such as sheet metalpressings, including automotive body panels,thermoformed plastic parts and compositeparts. It uses a two-touch measurementsequence. The first touch is made on the surfaceof the part close to the edge being measured.This gives the true position of the surface andthe related edge so that a second touch can bemade on the edge with the centre of the probe.

Automa

Italian mouldmaker, FomarStamp, has switched toPowerMILL for all itsprogramming to help thecompany to achieve the highprecision and high qualitydemanded by its customers.Founded almost forty years ago, FomarStamp designs and produces high-precisionmulti-cavity moulds for the plastic industry.Founders Clemente Fontana and Egidio

Fomar Stamp now uses PowerMILL to program all its machines

High pr

toolpaths for each size of tooth within the drilldesign. It then duplicates the various programsas required to produce toolpaths for all the otherteeth. Once the complete program has beencreated, the shape produced by FeatureCAMcan be compared with the original 3D model ofthe part to ensure that the whole design will beproduced within tolerance.

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The two-touch approach allows accurate,automated inspection of edges, even oncomponents that have been distorted relative to the nominal CAD geometry. As with otherPowerINSPECT options, the new method canbe programmed, simulated and edited offline.During measurement, PowerINSPECT will adapt the probe paths for the edge pointsautomatically, according to the actual position of the measured edge of the part.

Reports from PowerINSPECT have been madeeven easier to understand with new options todisplay the deviation of probed points from theirnominal positions. If PowerINSPECT’s coloured“confetti” is being used, the deviation of eachprobed point can be shown alongside its disc.Alternatively, if the results are shown as deviationlines, the value can be displayed next to thedeviation arrow. In both cases, the display of thevalues makes it easier to identify the seriousness

of the deviation for each point and so to highlightthe location of any major problems.

The range of geometric features that can bemeasured with PowerINSPECT has beenextended with the addition of new constructionoptions. These include an ellipse feature and two new torus-based circular intersections that can help in the measurement of tubing and pipework, engine ports and casings forturbomachinery. In addition, a line can now becreated at a fixed distance parallel to a referenceline and then be used to check clearances.

New options have also been added for themeasurement of full or partial radial features.PowerINSPECT can now display the major and minor circles when dimensioning a torus,display the radius or diameter when measuring a cylinder, and display the half-angle of a cone.

Finally, the simulation of all inspection options in PowerINSPECT has been made more flexiblewith the ability to speed up or slow down theprogress of the simulation while it is running.This allows any moves that come close to acollision to be checked in more detail by runningthe simulation at a slower speed. Similarly, if a change is made to an existing routine, the user can run the unchanged sections of theinspection at high speed and only check thenew moves in detail.

ated edge inspection

Martinolini began the business in a renovatedshed. From the start, the company mademoulds for all types of customers. Most of the tooling now produced is for engineering,cosmetics and medical applications.

The company grew steadily through the 1970sand 1980s. This expansion prompted a move to much larger premises in Mesenzana in theprovince of Varese, where Fomar Stamp couldfocus on larger and more complex moulds.

Mesenzana is not far from the Swiss border,which lead to increasing business in thatcountry. Now, 90% of the company’s productionis for foreign customers, especially for clients in Switzerland.

“Fomar Stamp is known for the high quality and precision of our products, for our speed inmeeting our customers’ demands and for ouron-time deliveries,” Mr. Fontana said proudly.“To maintain these standards, it is necessary to have not only a long personal experience in the industry but also modern machine toolsand CADCAM solutions of high accuracy andhigh reliability.”

As part of its expansion strategy, Fomar Stampstarted to investigate five-axis milling, believingthat the technology could improve itsproductivity and allow it to produce tooling

powerful and flexible three-axis options than the other CAM solutions.

“In addition, PowerMILL looked to be very easyto learn and to use, even though it includedmany advanced technologies,” commentedMarco De Vittori, Project Manager at FomarStamp. “We noticed immediately that the software appeared to have been developed by a software house that understands very well the mouldmakers’ needs and the problems they face.”

As a result, Fomar Stamp purchased twoPowerMILL five-axis licences,

with advanced simulationand verification, to provideprograms for its three-axisand five-axis Mikron millingcentres, plus two licencesof the PowerMILL Surfacerdata editing and repairmodule. The company alsoadded the FeatureWIREsoftware for its wire EDMequipment.

PowerINSPECT 2013 R2 includes an adaptive method for edge-point measurement

recision and quality

Five-axis machining wasneeded at Fomar Stamp totackle more complex parts

that was difficult or expensive to make with only three-axis equipment. However, the newequipment meant that the existing CAM systemwould need to be replaced.

Fomar Stamp reviewed systems from four CAM companies before selecting the two that appeared to be the most suitable for a final machining benchmark. The resultsconvinced the company to choose PowerMILLas its five-axis software. The decision was based not only on the quality and precision of its five-axis strategies, but also because the Delcam software appeared to offer more

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New footweardesign and

costingsoftware

Delcam CRISPIN has released the 2014 versions of itsShoeMaker CAD software for the design of all types of footwearand of its ShoeCost software for the prediction andmanagement of the cost of their manufacture. For further detailson both releases, please go to www.footwear-cadcam.com. With the KeyShot rendering software nowbuilt in to ShoeMaker, laptops, tablets or smart-phones can be used to show more realisticimages of new designs to prospective buyers for styling and marketing reviews. This reducesthe need for physical samples, cutting overallcosts and shortening product time to market.Similarly, using more realistic images improvescommunications between design andmanufacturing teams, minimising the chance of errors and again helping to introduce newdesigns to market more quickly.

The images have also been made more realisticwith more options for shoe relaxation. Therelaxation can now be spread either smoothly or linearly, and with different effects for designsthat either do or do not feature a tongue.

ShoeMaker 2014 also has the ability to design a boot-leg extension for any last. The full rangeof dimensions to control the shape of theextension can be entered and edited in the 2Dwindow, and the design is then created in 3D.

Once the design has beenfinalised, it is possible tograde the extension areasimultaneously with theother areas of the last.

A new series of options for heel creation has beenadded, including optionsspecifically for the designof stiletto, flat-breast and

straight heels. A range ofsliders and buttons can be used to adjust the heelparameters, such as theamount of curvature on the front, back and sidesof the heel, and the

tangency at the top of the curves.

A key part of ShoeMaker’s ability to speedup the creation of novel designs is thelarge library of data supplied with thesoftware, including ranges of materials of different types and colours, plusaccessories including eyelets, bucklesand zips. This library has been extendedwith the addition of more styles of loops,most of which can also be used as lugs.Two new stitch types have also beenadded to the stitch library.

ShoeCost 2014 provides a clearbreakdown of all the costs involved infootwear manufacture, making it easy tocompare the actual cost of the shoe to thetarget cost. Costs can be included for cutpattern pieces and components, as well as forlabour and overheads. The overall cost for theshoe changes dynamically when the simple dragand drop functionality is used to add or removeelements of the design, such as pattern piecesand components. This makes it easy for footwear professionals to stay within theirtarget cost and to produce accurate costingreports quickly.

A key feature of ShoeCost 2014 is its flexibleapproach to reporting. The interface has beenmade fully customisable, enabling users to choose which tools to display and where to locate them on the screen, so making thesoftware as easy to use as possible.

In addition, users can choose from 38 variables,such as material colour, total nested area andefficiency of material usage, to include in theirreports. Each option can be selected from a menu, and the user can determine how each variable is presented on the screen, making it easier than ever for footwear professionals to produce a costing report that is specific to their business.

The latest updates make nesting for both leatherhides and synthetic materials quick and easy.Leather templates included with the softwarecan be used immediately, while, for optimumaccuracy, quality zones can be defined withindigitised leather hides within just a few minutes.ShoeCost allocates pattern pieces to anappropriate quality zone automatically, and caneven utilise spare space in better-quality zones if necessary to ensure that the maximum yield is achieved.

Boot-leg extensions can be modelled and graded within ShoeMaker

KeyShot rendering in ShoeMaker allows extremelyrealistic images to be created

A series of newoptions for heelcreation have beenadded to ShoeMaker

Nesting in ShoeCost has been made both quicker and easier

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Vortex and more in PartMaker 2014Vortex is Delcam’s newest proprietary high-speed roughing technology. Vortex controls the maximum engagement angle of the cutter in the material, such that the angle calculated for the programmed stepover is never exceeded, even in internal corners. This allows optimal cutting conditions to be maintained throughout the toolpath.

By controlling the maximum engagement angle and the load on the tool, Vortex can take deeper cuts than traditionally used inroughing operations. Depths of cut up to the full flute length enable the maximum materialremoval rate from solid carbide tooling andreduce machining times by up to 70%. Vortex is available as a free upgrade to licensees ofPartMaker’s Advanced Surface Machining (ASM) module that are on maintenance.

PartMaker 2014 includes improved functionalityto support the automated programming of back-turning tools. These tools are used acrossa wide variety of small-part turning applications,particularly in Swiss machining. With their unique geometry and cutting characteristics,back-turning tools can eliminate the need formultiple tools and so can reduce cycle time and improve surface finish.

However, given the multiple included angles and programmable radii found on these tools,they can present toolpath calculation challenges.PartMaker 2014 overcomes these challengeswith a unique, proprietary method for automatingprogramming with back-turning tools on boththe inside and outside diameter of turned parts.

Another area that has been improved is 2Dpocketing. This more powerful functionalityallows for more efficient and more intelligentmaterial removal from 2D pockets. The rasterfinishing strategy in PartMaker ASM has alsobeen enhanced, resulting in less fragmentedtoolpaths without overlaps when machininghighly complex shapes, thus improving partsurface finish. Removing overlaps also has the added benefit of reducing cycle time bypreventing over-machining of parts and byminimising lifting of the tool.

PartMaker 2014 lets users enter lead-in andlead-out moves faster than ever before for bothturning and milling operations. The lead-in andlead-out dialogues have been combined into oneform where values can automatically be copiedfrom lead-in moves to lead-out moves, or viceversa. This productivity enhancement speeds up programming, reduces mouse clicks anddecreases the chance of making an error.

A new option to make programming ofmore complex machines much easier isthe NC Program Viewer function. Thisallows improved analysis of the NC codegenerated by PartMaker to help achieveoptimum productivity from the machine. It also includes unique functionality forautomatically aligning “wait” or “sync”codes for multi-channel machines.

By simply clicking the “Align Wait/QueueCommands” button, the user can quickly see which processes are being executedsimultaneously across a multi-channelCNC program and so identifyopportunities for a more efficientsequence of operations. This functionalitycan be applied automatically to a broadspectrum of combinations of machinecontrols with multi-axis turn-mill machines and Swiss-type lathes.

PartMaker’s extensive tool database nowincludes explicit selections for tapered end-millsas well as neutral turning tools and back-turningtools. Additionally, the software nowautomatically gives users the choice to choosebetween a flat-bottom, bull-nose or ball-noseend-mill when creating a new end-mill. The useof back-turning tools and tapered end-mills isavailable as a free upgrade to maintainedlicensees of PartMaker’s Advanced Tools option.

For full details on PartMaker 2014, please go to the Learning Zone atwww.delcam.tv/pmk2014/lz

Improved 2D pocketing gives more efficient and more intelligentmaterial removal

PartMaker 2014 includes the Vortex high-efficiency area clearance strategy

”“Vortex is available as a

free upgrade to licensees ofPartMaker’s Advanced SurfaceMachining (ASM) module that are on maintenance.

”

“Vortex controls the maximumengagement angle of the cutter in the material, such that the angle calculated for the programmed stepover is never exceeded, even in internal corners. This allows optimal cutting conditions to be maintained throughout the toolpath.

The release of PartMaker 2014 sees theintroduction of Delcam’s Vortex high-efficiency strategy for area clearanceinto the PartMaker CAM suite. Other

enhancements in the 2014 versioninclude improved back-turning and 2D pocketing functionality, support for additional tool types and faster

programming of lead-in and lead-outmoves, plus a new NC program

viewer and many other improvements.

12 | ISSUE 1 2014

Latest dental softwareDelcam has launched major upgrades to its DentCAD and DentMILL software for the designand manufacture of all types of dental restoration, including crowns, bridges, customisedabutments and dental bars.

An improved user interface for dental bar designhas been added to give easier manipulation ofthe shape, dimensions and position of the bar.In addition, it is now possible to use multiplecross-sections in the same bar.

Other new options include the ability to edit the top shape of the abutment and to add ashoulder to the abutment. Improvements to the existing tools for abutment editing includeoptions to add secondary draft to the side wall of the abutment and to flatten its top.

DentCAD has also benefited from developmentsin Delcam’s DentSCAN scanner that allowaccurate scanning of complex superstructurewax-ups in a single operation. The scan datacan be imported into DentCAD as one file andconverted into a precise duplicate model formachining.

DentMILL 2014 includes a clearer interface tomake the system even easier to learn and touse, automatic prep-line creation, improvednesting for more efficient use of materials andfaster calculation times.

The new interface features a reduced number of toolbars to allow the maximum screen spacefor toolpath generation and simulation, togetherwith bolder and clearer icons.

Material use has been made more efficient with improved and more flexible nesting tools to position the various restorations within theblock. As well as being positioned in the mostefficient 2D arrangement, the restorations areorientated in the optimum 3D alignment so that the most cost-effective thickness of material block can be used. This ability to tilt the restorations also allows items higher than the block thickness to be oriented so that they can be machined.

DentMILL incorporates an intelligent stock-management system that allows the user to select only sizes of material block that arecurrently in stock and that are suitable for thespecified machine fixture. The software applies

automatically the appropriate shrinkageallowance and milling templates for the materialselected. Partly-used blocks can be added back into the stock-management system so that the material remaining can be used on future projects.

Finally, the milling templates supplied with thesoftware now cover a wider range of materials,including titanium, cobalt-chrome and glassceramics. Of course, users can still develop their own templates for any additional materialsthat they machine.

Improved modelling in DentCAD 2014 gives greater controlover the shape of the restoration

A new interface for design ofdental bars gives more control

over the shape of the bar

The new release of DentCAD includesimprovements to the shaping of restorationssuch as crowns and bridges, enhancements to the design of dental bars and more flexibletools for the editing of abutments. DentCAD2014 also incorporates four new libraries ofimplants, from Bionumeric, Denracle, MIS and NT Trading.

The improvements to the shaping tools build on the high-definition method for modellingintroduced last year to give much betterrepresentation of fine details such as cusps and fissures on the tooth. The new methodsallow much more dynamic editing, with greater control over the final shape. In addition, full undo and redo is now available on all commands, and a new option has been added giving the ability to restore the original shape in any area of the design.

DentMILL 2014 includes more flexible nesting tools

ISSUE 1 2014 | 13

Like the previous meetings in the series,the 2014 meetings will cover new technologiesand processes designed to assist practitionersand laboratories in prescribing, designing and manufacturing custom orthotic insoles. For more information, please visit www.orthotics-technology-forum.com.

Loyola University was founded in 1909 andestablished a medical department affiliated withIllinois Medical College soon after. The Podiatrysection within its Department of OrthopaedicSurgery & Rehabilitation is active in patient careand education, as well as undertaking clinicaland basic science research, with a record ofnumerous nationally-recognised scientificpublications and presentations.

Eindhoven is one of the largest cities in theNetherlands, and a leading centre for technologyand research. It is best known as the original siteof Philips, one of the largest electronics firms inthe world, and several universities, including theFontys University, School for Podiatry. The

Forum will be based in the futuristic-lookingEvoluon Centre, which started life as The PhilipsMuseum and is now an impressive internationalconference centre.

Next year’s European event is being runalongside The Dutch Society of Podiatry (NVvP)Annual Congress, an event for high-level clinicaldiscussion to be held on 19th September.Bringing the two events together in the samevenue on consecutive days gives delegates a unique opportunity to attend two days ofpresentations, discussions and hands-onworkshops, covering both clinical andtechnological topics.

Delcam is currently developing the programs for both the North American and Europeanmeetings. International speakers are beingcontacted for presentations leading the way in developing and using different types oftechnology. Topics to be covered includehardware devices to help measurebiomechanical features, pressure and

anatomical form, and CADCAM tools forplasterless manufacture, as well as new ideas for increasing productivity and reducingmanufacturing costs. Researchers, laboratoriesand practitioners interested in speaking at eitherthe US or the European Forum should contactChris Lawrie at cl@delcam.com.

A number of sponsorship options are available for suppliers of materials andequipment to the custom orthotics industry. Full details are available from Mary Shaw atmes@delcam.com for the North AmericanForum or from Hannah Harlock athlh@delcam.com for the European Forum.

Evoluon Centre in Eindhoven, Netherlands

Loyola University, Chicago

The latest developments in OrthoModel will be described during the Orthotics Technology Forum

Orthotics TechnologyForum 2014Following successful events in the UK and USA over the last threeyears, Delcam will host the Orthotics Technology Forum on bothsides of the Atlantic in 2014. The first meeting will be held in Chicagoat Loyola University on 5th and 6th June and the second at theEvoluon Centre in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, on 18th September.

14 | ISSUE 1 2014

Delcam held its 2013 Asian Technical Summit in Thailandin August, where the company presented its latesttechnical and financial news to the technical media,customers and academics from the region.Headline sponsor for the meeting, thethirteenth in the series, was HP, with the eventalso being supported by ABB Robots, Castrol,Mazak, Renishaw and Sandvik.

Delcam’s presentations at the Summit focusedon the latest versions of the company’s range of CAM systems. Updates were also included on the other software in the Delcam portfolio,including the company’s design and inspectionprograms, plus its dedicated software for thefootwear, orthotics and dental industries.

Recent progress in the use of robots formachining was covered in presentations fromDelcam and from ABB Robots.

Presentations were also given bythree Delcam customers: Li Xinbo of First Auto Works and Yin Lu ofHarbin Aircraft Industry, whodescribed the use of PowerMILL withintheir organisations, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. SurasithPiyasin from the Department of MechanicalEngineering at Khon Kaen University, who talked about his use of Delcam software inmedical applications.

The programme also included a visit to threefactories within the Thai Summit Group,Delcam’s largest customer in Thailand, wheredelegates were shown how the software is usedin the manufacture of a wide range of tooling,principally for the automotive industry.

Another highlight was a visit to the Mazak(Thailand) Technology Center. This includeddemonstrations of milling, turning and multi-tasking equipment, all programmed with Delcam software, plus an example of On-Machine Verification using Renishaw probes and programming with PowerINSPECT. A video made during the visit can be seen atwww.delcam.tv/delcam-mazak-thailand.

Best CAM Systems ProviderDelcam was presented with the Best CAM SystemsProvider Award at the AsianManufacturing Awardsorganised by Contineo Media,publisher of Control EngineeringAsia and a number of otherregional B2B titles, and held at the Pan Pacific Hotel inSingapore last September.The citation for Delcam recognised that the company has long been known for its CAMproducts and expertise, and that its software has a vital role in converting data from CADdesign models into precise instructions formachine tools.

“It is companies such as the ones recognisedhere tonight, including Delcam, that regionalmanufacturers are relying on in order to ramp up productivity, boost quality, increase servicelevels, meet stringent regulatory requirementsand help become environmentally responsiblemembers of their communities,” claimedContineo Media CEO Raymond Wong in hiskeynote address at the Awards ceremony.

Asian update

Vineet Seth, Managing Director of Delcam India and Middle East, accepts the Best CAM SystemsProvider Award from Kumar Pisharath, Vice President of CAN Group, one of the Award judges

Technical Summitin Thailand

Delegates to the 2013 Delcam Asian Technical Summitvisited the Mazak (Thailand) Technology Center

ISSUE 1 2014 | 15

2,500 customers in ChinaDelcam recently added its2,500th customer in China; Star Prototype ManufacturingCo., Ltd, based in ZhongshanTorch Development Zone inGuangdong Province. Thecompany ordered multiplecopies of PowerSHAPE and PowerMILL.

To mark this landmark achievement, David You, Operating General Manager ofDelcam China, presented a plaque to delegatesfrom Star Prototype during the Delcam China2013 New Product Launches and TechnologySeminar held in DongGuan during October.

Star Prototype is one of the leading rapidprototyping and tooling companies in the world.Established by Gordon Styles, an experiencedBritish engineer, Star Prototype is the onlyprototype engineering company run by a foreignentrepreneur in China. Combining the best of

Western technology and equipment with theprototype engineering expertise of its Chineseengineers, Star Prototype offers customers high-quality products and services. With itscommitment to customer satisfaction, StarPrototype has established long-termrelationships with some of the most renownedcompanies in the world, including Mercedes,Siemens, HP, Philips and Nestlé.

Star Prototype has purchased PowerSHAPECAD and PowerMILL to further enhance thecompany’s rapid prototyping and rapid toolingcapabilities. The programs are already beingused for quick die and electrode design, and for rapid tooling manufacture. The first-classtechnical support provided by staff from DelcamChina has allowed Star Prototype to use thesoftware efficiently in the shortest possible time and to gain the maximum productivity from its capabilities.

Representatives of Star Prototype with Delcamstaff at the 2,500th customer presentation

Biggest ever UserGroup ConferenceDelcam’s South Korean jointventure, Hankook Delcam, held its 24th User GroupConference in Daegu on 18th and 19th October with the theme “Go Together”. Over 1,100 attendees set a new record for the event,reinforcing its position as theworld’s largest meeting for CAM users.

The meeting was sponsored by hardwaresupplier, HP, and two of Hankook Delcam’smachine tool partners, Yamazen and Exeron.Guest speakers included Park Sun-Hwang,President of the Korea Die and Mold IndustryCooperative, and Jeong Bong-Hyup, President of Korea Polytechnics College, as well asDelcam Chief Executive, Clive Martell.

The other presentations during the meetingcovered the latest developments across therange of Delcam software for design, modellingfor manufacture, machining and inspection.

New technology was also described fromHankook Delcam, in particular developments in

the Hankook Delcam Automation Solution(HDAS) that enables innovation across the entiremanufacturing process. This novel technology isattracting great interest from companies wishingto improve their productivity by automating theirprocesses.

The meeting also featured the awards ceremonyfor the winners of the Korean section of the 2nd

Global CAM Skills Competition, who havequalified for the World Championships to be heldearly this year. This Competition, which wasopen to local high-school students and collegestudents, is held each year as part of HankookDelcam’s support for the development of CAMsoftware skills to meet the needs of the country’smanufacturing industry.

Over 1,100 delegates at the 2013 event confirmedthe status of the Hankook Delcam User Conference

as the world’s largest meeting for CAM users

www.delcam.comNews.Delcam is written and produced by Delcam, Small Heath Business Park, Birmingham B10 0HJ, UK.

Tel: +44 (0)121 766 5544 Fax: +44 (0)121 766 5511 Email: marketing@delcam.com

Delcam, the Spider logo, PowerSHAPE, PowerMILL, PowerINSPECT, CopyCAD, ArtCAM,FeatureCAM, PartMaker, PS-Team, ShoeMaker, CRISPIN, SwissCAM, DentCAD, DentMILL, OrthoModel, OrthoMill and Delcam Exchange are all registered Trade Marks of Delcam.

16 | ISSUE 1 2014

For more news, go towww.delcam.com

www.delcam.tv

Vortex added acrossCAM rangeFollowing the introduction of the Vortex strategy inPowerMILL 2014 lastSeptember, Delcam’s new high-efficiency area-clearancestrategy has now been added to FeatureCAM, PartMaker and Delcam for SolidWorks.Vortex gives the fastest safe metal removalfrom solid carbide tooling, in particular designsthat give deeper cuts by using the full flute lengthas the cutting surface. It can be used for two-and three-axis roughing, three-plus-two-axisarea clearance and rest machining. It givesbenefits when machining all types of materials,including titanium, tool steel and alloys such as Inconel.

Vortex produces toolpaths with a controlledengagement angle and so maintains theoptimum cutting conditions for the toolpath that would normally be possible only for thestraight-line moves. As a result, higher feed rates are possible so the cutting time will beshorter, while cutting will be undertaken at amore consistent volume-removal rate and at a constant feedrate, so protecting the machine.

The constant feedrate achieved with Vortex is a fundamental difference from other high-speedroughing techniques. Trials at Delcam haveshown that this approach is more reliable as it can often be difficult to predict exactly howmachine tools will react to changing feedrates.

Vortex also uses a minimum radius parameter,calculated to make sure that the machine toolcan keep up the cutting feedrate in corners and, more generally, for any non-straight part of the toolpath. This makes things morepredictable since the machine should run at the programmed feedrate throughout and not

slow down in the way that it could on otherkinds of toolpath.

The control of the engagement angle also makes the performance of the tool morepredictable since it is operating closer to theoptimum cutting conditions associated with astraight-line cut. This means that it is easier toadjust the feeds and speeds when machining a particular part such that a tool can be relied on to cut, for example, ten components before it needs to be changed. A tool change can thenbe added into the program where appropriate so that lights-out machining can be undertakensafely and consistently on a long series of partseither overnight or across a weekend.

The extent to which time can be saved withVortex will vary depending on a number offactors, including the material and shape beingcut, and the machine tool and cutting toolsbeing used. A series of trials run by Delcam on different machine tools within its AdvancedManufacturing Facility has shown that a timesaving of at least 40% is quite achievable, withthe biggest percentage savings being foundwhen cutting a sample part in tool steel. Thecycle time for the part was reduced from 121minutes to 34 minutes, a reduction of 71%.

Other examples included a reduction of 67%when cutting a number of pockets in a stainlesssteel part, a 63% time saving on a titanium partand a 58% saving when cutting an aluminiumcomponent.

The exact effect on tool life also varies fromproject to project. In one example, where 2,000 stainless steel components were beingproduced monthly, the number of tools usedwas reduced from 300 to 100 each month. Thereplacement tools were more expensive but theoverall costs were still reduced by around 50%.

In another case, the user was able to produce a similar number of parts with a smaller, cheapertool costing around half as much, about £80instead of £180. With almost 900 parts beingproduced each month and both tools able to cut 9 parts before needing replacement; thesaving was almost £10,000 per month.

A time saving of 63% was achieved on this titanium part

Vortex has now been added into FeatureCAM