If you are planning to go to IMTS , happening Sept. 12-17 in Chicago, and you’re interested in BobCAD-CAM products for design, machining and manufacturing, then you’re in luck. If you haven’t heard, BobCAD-CAM will be launching its new Version 29 CAD/CAM system.
Even if you’re not going to IMTS, the new and enhanced features of BobCAD-CAM V29 may interest you from the perspective of understanding where CNC CAD/CAM programming software engineers are taking the technology.
Basing improvements off of customer feedback and requests is the best move a company such as BobCAD-CAM can make, so the improvements also tell you what obstacles users with different skill sets are having. Users of every aptitude who maximize the previous version relative to their own design, machining and manufacturing needs provide invaluable feedback to software engineers, which is essential for the support that a company such as BobCAD-CAM offers its users.
Get Rid of the Gnomon!
BobCAD-CAM has heeded user feedback and requests suggesting that one should be able to hide the WCS Gnomon from the workspace, which would help deter confusion when creating or printing a workspace sheet. The term “gnomon” generally refers to the triangular shape or object that casts a shadow in a sundial, but in the context of CAD, it refers to the small graphic representation of the x, y and z axis denoted by the colors red (x), green (y) and blue (z).
Goodbye, 32-Bit Versions
Say hello to a 64-bit-only offering, from here on out.
Better Simulation Equals Better Quality
There are a number of practical improvements to go over, but in particular, I like that the software team at BobCAD-CAM decided to add a Smart View option for switching isometric views when using the Rotation Cube.
Another cool improvement is a small visual upgrade that allows users to skip a step and keep graphic quality high when simulating stock removal.
The Measure Distance function got a smooth little upgrade and can now measure the distance between points on the stock, as well as the distance between machine components—which is handy for optimizing production.
Users of previous versions will know that you can save an entire simulation as an EXE file for sharing. Now, users can simply capture a video of the simulation and send when ready.
There is also some good news for stop control functions, as the On Block function has been added to existing Program Based Stop Conditions. This addition allows you stop the simulation at a specific move block, which you or someone on your team defines. Grouped together with Stop on Operation Change, Stop on Tool Change and Stop Before Occurrence, these options give you an improved ability to force a simulation to stop depending on your defined and set Program Based Stop Conditions.
There are also some new and better shortcut keys for maneuvering during simulations. For instance, you can now toggle between material removal mode and backplot mode by pressing one key.
Smooth Operator: Improvements for Lathes
Take note of the fact that in V29, you no longer need to do any additional geometry drawing for facing off parts with the End Face Feature. Score one for the carpal tunnel brigade!
Users can access a distinct Groove Feature in the Lathe module now, which allows you to access multiple grooves and swivel them to see the grooves on a different angle. You can rotate grooving features by entering in an angle directly.
BobCAD-CAM must have received a bunch of feedback about time spent creating geometry for lathe tools. Along with adding a practical ISO standard insert definition, its tool holders can be created sans the need to make any additional geometry.
In fact, a lot of the lathe improvements help reduce the amount of time you and other users will spend doing unnecessary things with virtual geometry.
For example, the constraints allow a user to select an area for automatic toolpath generation, without the need to cut or stretch the existing geometry. You can set the Top of Feature to the highest point on the stock automatically. You can select a feature and the Top of Feature will select the highest point on that particular feature. Or you can connect the highest point the Top of Feature automatically generates from your selected feature with your own custom point by entering its value.
But there are more features which require less geometry wrangling from the user.
For example, creating bridges on a particular CAD model to have the machine avoid certain areas when performing a certain cut is a standard practice taught by BobCAD-CAM to its users. What it added in V29 is the ability to select Undercut options in the Lathe wizard’s checkboxes, which can help save time. Then, you can select a whole chain of features and pick which parts to leave out without having to go back into CAD and draw out each change.
Milling Around Town
BobCAD-CAM users went ape with requests for the ability to machine tapered threads and now users can cut pipe all the live-long day with Tapered Thread support.
Machining threads is a very slow, step-by-step process, so BobCAD-CAM added the ability to perform side roughing to make the transition to the final size of the thread as smooth and circumspect as possible.
Creating circular pockets without the marks of linking motions appearing on your final product can be tedious. Creating the right offset style toolpath gets a whole lot easier when you’re in the 2 Axis Pocket. From there, you can select a Spiral pattern to give yourself the best chance of a smooth offset for circular pocket operations.
CAD-CAM Jams
In the CAD section of improvements, the Spun Profile is probably the biggest new addition to V29. Finding the outline of a part can be a big pain when you’re getting ready to lathe it out. The Spun Profile lets users pick the surfaces and the direction of rotation and boom—you’ve got your outline.
Have you ever gotten a file from a client that was supposed to be a bunch of little parts, but instead was one solid? What a hassle! Poorly executed saving can cause unnecessary CAD work to ensue, testy exchanges between you and your client—and for what?
BobCAD-CAM has added Open File Options, allowing you to choose whether you want to open either Curves, Solids, or both.
On the CAM front, tracking tool movements for a single operation without using simulation has been enabled! Just right-click on an operation and choose Backplot options. The tool movement is visible for a single operation right in the CAD window. This new feature is available for any single Mill Turn, Wire EDM, Lathe, or Mill operation.
Nice, BobCAD-CAM, nice.