CAM Software Suite Redesigns User Interface

The 2014 release of SmartCAMcnc’s SmartCAM software suite features a redesigned user interface said to promote usability, ease of learning and user efficiency. According to the company, the interface features a more modern look and feel, and is designed to be easier to learn and use. New panel task menus and customizable toolbars make it more convenient to access frequently used commands, while new configuration options enable customization of the screen workspace.

The software release also features improvements for milling processes and geometry modeling. The milling process updates are designed to increase toolpath reliability and efficiency, and reduce the number of steps required to re-machine remaining material and generate wireframe profiling tool paths. New arc connections in the “facing” and “region rough” processes provide a high-speed machining technique that prevents abrupt direction changes that can be harmful to machinery. SmartCAM’s modeling capabilities now make it easier to define complex profiles with limited dimensional data or by performing Boolean modeling operations on multiple closed boundaries.

Toolpath modeling capabilities also enable CAM tool paths to be created in the same way as CAD geometries. The ShowCut and ShowPath toolpath verification modules have been enhanced to better use standard tooling by providing improved visualization of turning toolholders and enabling milling toolholders to be used with parametrically defined tools. New collision reporting and holder checking capabilities assist the users in finding potential problems. The SmartCAM Undo mechanism has been re-written to enable multiple “undo” or “redo” of all modeling tasks, enabling users to try various machining strategies with the option to revert back to a prior model state. The software also features an updated ACIS modeling kernel, and native and generic data translators.