CAD/CAM developer Open Mind Technologies UK Ltd (www.openmindtech. com) has released version 2018.1 of its HyperMill software suite.

The latest functions to be added include ‘soft-overlap’ blending enhancements, 3-D optimised roughing for high-feed cutters, and ‘global fitting’ — a CAM-oriented CAD function.

Machining marks are often visible at transitions between steep and flat areas, or at the extent of rest-machining regions. The ‘soft-overlap’ function is designed to reduce marks by briefly lifting the milling tool to blend the milling paths into one another.

When 3-D roughing with high-feed cutters, the step-over distance can be calculated from the scallop height measured against the tool’s geometry.

Here, a special tool-path movement removes ‘rest material’ from corners when there is a very high lateral in-feed. Bicester-based Open Mind says that intelligent cut division and optimised tool-paths provide greater process safety for any remaining thin ridges.

Meanwhile, the CAD module in version 2018.1 of HyperMill features a time-saving solution known as ‘global fitting’, which creates a single cohesive face from a set of multiple faces.

Many CAM strategies can then follow the ISO U-V orientation of the surface patch, increasing their application accordingly.