Israel-based
Cimatron, a leading CAD/CAM software supplier for the mould and die industry and part of the
Sandvik Group, has announced the release of Cimatron V16, following a period of intensive industrial beta testing.
This latest release introduces many new features in all areas of the product, including a new user interface (UI) and increased automation for faster mould design, electrode creation, and NC programming. In addition, the continued emphasis on solutions for toolmakers includes ‘powerful’ functions for die addendum surfaces, mesh manipulation, and drafting detailing.
Furthermore, CAD enhancements include the ability to create structural ribs from either a 2-D or 3-D contour, with draft angle and flat or rounded tops. Working with mesh models has also been improved with new capabilities for closing open areas, curvature mapping, and the option to define local mesh areas where it is possible to set finer mesh tolerances to describe more intricate model details.
The process workflow has been improved in several areas, including batch printing with support for shaded views, dynamic triad dragging, expanded BOM support for assembly structures, and extended preferences control with the ability to search and reset.
For mould makers, several new mould layout types are now available, including smart mirror and array with the set-up wizard controlling the parameters for layout sub-type, rotations, and cavity distances. In addition, a new feature for automated ejector locking has been added; this detects which ejectors need to be locked (and the type of lock required to prevent their rotation in the ejector plate) then modifies the head to create the appropriate pocket in the ejector plate.
Automated methodsFurthermore, surface extension capabilities have been enhanced for both mould and die makers with a new ‘tangent skin extension function’ that provides the ability to automatically extend surface edges to aid the construction of core and cavity parting faces. The ‘die design extend faces’ has also been improved to better manage internal corner conditions that would create overlapping face extensions; it is now possible to replace the affected area with a smooth continuous patch surface.
Conformal cooling
Cimatron 16 now offers more automated methods for ‘generating superior cooling paths’ (conformal cooling), while a new ‘virtual volume function’ lets the user limit a cooling circuit to a portion of the shape volume and avoid sections that do not require a cooling channel. Furthermore, a new ‘optimised curvature function’ highlights areas where a cooling channel cannot be created.
Meanwhile, developments in electrode design include the ability to apply ‘surface-based templates for multi-lump electrodes’, EDM set-up enhancements for material support with connected manufacturing attributes, and support for System 3R holders.
Three-axis rough and volume pocketing now supports the automatic selection of multiple cutters of different lengths for the optimum cutting sequence by splitting the toolpath into multiple operations based on cutting length. This efficiency feature for rough parallel, rough spiral and volume pocket results in better tool selection, reduced tool vibration, extended tool life, and faster cutting speeds.
With Cimatron V16, VoluMill pocketing can now be applied to multiple open and closed pockets of differing heights and depths as a one-step routine and single NC operation. Other 2.5-axis operations include a new slotting capability that uses pre-drilled holes for safe material entry and to speed up machining with optimum toolpath movement at each level; and five-axis deburring has been extended to support extra cutter types, including end mill, sphere mill, lollipop mill, taper mill and chamfer mill.
Other CAM developments include automatic arc for lead-in/lead-out, additional surface path options for milling, better handling of undercuts for five-axis roughing, and the ability to import cutters and holders directly from external data formats such as STEP, IGES and STL — plus Cimatron solid files (ELT).
Cimatron says the system “automatically identifies the shapes and creates their respective representation in the tooling database table. In addition, the ability to copy and paste geometric data between procedures allows users to efficiently input data between machining procedures, or to multiple procedures, for easy and error-free programming.”