Design-to-Manufacturing Software Facilitates Cross-Technology Manufacturing
October 1, 2015
3D Systems (3DS) announced that it has begun shipping the latest version of GibbsCAM, its software for production machining. This comprehensive update to 3DS' software incorporates an all-new Universal Kinematic Machine (UKM) engine that further simplifies CNC programming. The release also includes multiple enhancements that extend capabilities and accommodate new machines of all configurations.
As an integral component of 3DS' design-to-manufacturing digital thread, facilitating cross-technology manufacturing between additive and subtractive methods, GibbsCAM enables improved production efficiency. Developed for ease-of-use, GibbsCAM empowers numerical control programmers and machinists, with solid modeling, 2- through 5-axis milling, high speed machining, mill/turn, Swiss, multitask machining and wire-EDM capabilities.
"We are committed to providing 3D digital design and fabrication solutions that enable our customers to be more productive and competitive," said Ilan Erez, Vice President, Co-Chief Operating Officer and CFO, Software Products, 3DS. "With the recent addition of GibbsCAM to the 3DS digital manufacturing thread portfolio, our customers can now enjoy the ability to use both subtractive and additive manufacturing to achieve the highest productivity possible. Manufacturers can use the two technologies in tandem, printing a metal part and then using a milling machine to achieve the required surface finish, for example."
"With the new release of GibbsCAM 2015 we enable our customers to program any machine with a single program and a single interface," said Erez. "The new features and enhancements in GibbsCAM 2015 are designed to save time in programming, provide more flexibility in selecting and using tools, and make toolpath verification and machine simulation more accurate and efficient."
New Features in GibbsCAM 2015
- New Tooling Functions and capabilities that extend the ability to define, use and simulate tools, with new icons and dynamic 3D viewing of tools and toolholders. Support for straight, tapered and stepped shanks was extended to all mill tools, while new mill and lathe tool types are also introduced, including 3D form tools and 75° diamond (ISO E-style) lathe tools.
- Numerous Enhancements for hole-making that include additional support for hole features from CAD systems and full associativity for hole features from Autodesk Inventor, CATIA v5, Solid Edge and SolidWorks. Hole Editor is new for editing hole features, including compound holes, which are supported with multiple straight, tapered and threaded segments. In addition, feature recognition has been enhanced, and the 5-axis drilling interface has been streamlined. These features simplify hole-making operations and make the programming process faster.
- Intermediate Tooling Support for multitask machining (MTM), which makes tooling more manageable, simulation more accurate and programming easier, with more accurate placement and orientation of tools. Additions include a tool block library and support for tool blocks, such as adapter blocks, holders for toolholders, right-angle and adjustable heads and flash tooling. A fixture library and support for fixtures (chucks, tailstocks, steady rests and other workholding devices) are included.
- Machine Simulation which is greatly improved as a result of UKM, intermediate tooling support, and an improved rendering palette. Rendering is more accurate and efficient, displaying intermediate tooling for a more complete simulation of all moving components. Customized monitoring of key conditions is enabled with a new Stops and Watches feature. "Combined, these additions make the programming-through-simulation process faster and more accurate," said a company spokesperson.
- Integration with Sandvik Coromant's Adveon Tool Library, which enables importing tools from Sandvik and ISO 13399 compliant systems to make a standard library available at any time, simplifying tool definition and tooling-data management. This also allows a shop to build, save and reuse a library, and link tools and tool assemblies to parts and processes, enabling faster reuse of a program for a subsequent part run, and faster updating when parts change.
For more information contact:
3D Systems Corporation
333 Three D Systems Circle
Rock Hill, SC 29730
803-326-3900
moreinfo@3dsystems.com
www.3dsystems.com
Southwest
Jason Heyse
Texas Offline Inc.
281-376-2003
sales@texasoffline.com
www.texasoffline.com
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