Delcam will demonstrate the five-axis machining capabilities of its PowerMILL CAM system by producing a complex cycle helmet on four stands at the BIMU exhibition to be held in Milan from 30th September to 4th October.  The demonstrations will be on the stands of Mazak, D14 in Hall 16, CMS Industries, D13 in Hall 9, and Isper, C01 in Hall 9, as well as on Delcam's own stand, F47 in Hall 11.

BIMU visitors will also be able to see reverse engineering of the CAD model of the helmet from the Rudy Project original on the Delcam stand.

Franco Calloni, General Manager of Delcam Italia, chose the helmet for the demonstrations after seeing it used by a cycling team that is sponsored by his company.  "I was looking for a single object to demonstrate the complete Delcam solution," he explained.  "I needed something that would be recognised instantly by visitors and that would show how easily Delcam's software can model and machine complex shapes."

On the Delcam stand, visitors will see how PowerSHAPE Pro is used to convert a sample helmet into a CAD model.  By offering a combination of solid, surface and direct modelling, together with reverse engineering functionality, PowerSHAPE Pro provides the most comprehensive range of design techniques available in a single CAD program.  Having all the different technologies in the same package reduces the need to transfer data between multiple programs and so streamlines the whole product development process.

The various machining demonstrations then show how the five-axis capabilities of PowerMILL allow even a part as challenging as the helmet to be machined quickly and efficiently in a single set-up.

PowerMILL 2015, which will be demonstrated in Italy for the first time at BIMU, offers new options for positional or continuous five-axis machining, including improvements to the collision checking within the software.  Firstly, collision checking has been changed so that warnings can also be flagged for near misses.  Secondly, the display showing the list of collisions has been updated to be easier to read, making it simpler to extrapolate the coordinates at these points.

Another improvement in the new release will help companies using four- or five-axis machines with trunnions or similar tilting tables.  Previous PowerMILL toolpaths could exhibit unwanted changes of azimuth as the cutting tool approached a position vertical to the part.  This would slow down the machine, often to the extent that a witness mark would be left on the surface.  New options are now available to re-distribute the toolpath points so that the machine's gimbal-lock position is avoided and a smoother motion results.

19 September 2014

distributed by