Delcam today announced its 2011 version of Delcam for SolidWorks, its integrated CAM system for SolidWorks®, has been awarded Certified Gold Product status by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. This award confirms both the integration of the system with SolidWorks software and the overall high performance when creating toolpaths from SolidWorks models.
“Delcam has done a great job integrating its CAM functionality into the SolidWorks environment,” commented Craig Therrien, SolidWorks Product Manager.
“The level of automation, particularly the automatic tool selection, is amazing. I’m also impressed by the software’s overall ease of use, as well as the number of post-processors that are available for all major machine tool manufacturers, particularly because they are provided with the software at no extra cost.”
Delcam for SolidWorks 2011 includes comprehensive options for the programming of turning and mill-turn equipment, alongside the company’s industry-leading technology for drilling and two- through five-axis milling. This expanded range of strategies will allow users to program everything from basic lathes and three-axis mills, up to complex mill-turn equipment and five-axis machining centres.
Delcam for SolidWorks combines the benefits associated with Delcam’s PowerMILL and FeatureCAM CAM systems. It is based on Delcam’s proven machining algorithms that are already used by more than 30,000 customers around the world. The software has the same focus on ease-of-use as FeatureCAM, including automatic feature recognition and knowledge-based automation that makes the system so consistent and reliable. At the same time, Delcam for SolidWorks offers PowerMILL’s latest multi-threading technologies for exceptional toolpath calculation speed, plus the advanced strategies for high-speed and five-axis machining that ensure increased productivity, maximum tool life and immaculate surface finish, even when cutting the hardest, most challenging materials.
The complete range of options is fully integrated into the SolidWorks software environment so that the program looks and behaves like SolidWorks. Full associativity is maintained so that any changes in the CAD model are reflected automatically in the toolpaths. Furthermore, all toolpaths can be checked by the integrated simulation module on the computer before being passed to the machine tool.
The new release of Delcam for SolidWorks benefits from all of Delcam’s recent developments to take advantage of the latest hardware, including support for 64-bit computers. 64-bit technology removes the memory limitations of 32-bit computers so allowing more efficient toolpath generation, especially for companies machining large or complex parts. In addition, improved memory management within the software gives faster calculation times, with the greatest benefits again coming when programming larger or more complex components.
