Major enhancements to the 2018 R1 release of Edgecam from Gloucester-based Vero Software (www.verosoftware.com) include time-saving updates to roughing cycles for milling, turning and mill-turn machining — plus the prevention of unnecessary CAM regeneration.

This capability is said to be of particular importance for manufacturers; when a user makes an edit to an existing command, Edgecam 2018 R1 will not automatically regenerate the remaining instructions if the alteration does not affect the corresponding cycles with regard to factors such as coolant or speed.

New items of functionality in Edgecam’s roughing cycle include ‘detect undercut stock’, which enhances the stock detection command by analysing previously undetected areas of stock.

This option helps to avoid ‘fresh-air’ cutting, reducing machining time by up to half in some cases, says the company.

Meanwhile, Edgecam’s Waveform roughing strategy has been updated to give machinists the ability to determine the radius size when using the helical approach option, simply by entering maximum and minimum values that “aid the tool’s entry into the component”.

Automatic collision detection is one of the additions to the rough-turning cycle (in previous versions of the software, it was necessary to manually apply profile extensions to avoid collisions).

This new function can also be used to produce safer tool-paths in the software’s ‘Strategy Manager’.

Furthermore, the profiling cycle used in both milling and turning now has two new items of functionality.

A ‘spring cuts’ field has been added to the multi-passes tab, so tool deflection can be removed — where necessary — by adding extra neutral passes (known as spring passes).

This feature will typically be used when machining hard materials, as repeating the profile pass can result in improved accuracy and surface finish.

Meanwhile, the new ‘adjust feed rate on arc’ command is said to improve cycle-time calculation. In previous editions of Edgecam, the post processor adjusted circular-interpolation feed rates, which gave correct NC output but not the best cycle-time calculation.

Further enhancements in Edgecam 2018 R1 include: support for JT Open files (used for product visualisation, collaboration and data sharing); the ability to edit manually created milling features; full user control when editing inspection functions; more updating of cycle dialogues with pictures and context-sensitive help; and new functionality for the B-axis contouring cycle.