Geometric Exhibits CAMworks At Metav 2010

Geometric Technologies will showcase the latest releases of CAMworks and DFMpro at Metav 2010, in Dusseldorf Trade Fair Centre, Germany, from 23-27 February, 2010. 'CAMworks is seamlessly integrated within the Solidworks platform and enables intelligence and automation in design, as well as manufacturing processes,' said Robert Hutter, director, product sales. 'DFMpro facilitates upstream manufacturability validation and identification of areas in design that are difficult, expensive or impossible to manufacture.

He added: 'CAMworks and DFMpro together provide an integrated solution for manufacturing companies looking for ways to reduce cost and time to market, while also improving the quality of manufactured parts. CAMworks 2010 has over 50 new features and advancements for machining faster and more accurately. This release also includes advances in three-axis functionality, as well as new features and cutting strategies for two- to five-axis milling, turning and wire EDM.

CAMworks continuously enhances its features in line with customer feedback and requirements, and to better integrate with the Solidworks platform. DFMpro version 2.1 adds an injection-moulding module that includes industry-wide practices for manufacturability of injection-moulded components related to wall thickness, draft analysis, undercuts, mould wall thickness, ribs and bosses, etc.

Solidworks users will be able to quickly verify their designs within Solidworks, reducing cost and time to market while improving the quality of manufactured parts. DFMpro facilitates collaborative design-review processes by generating comprehensive 3D reports in an e-drawings format. This capability enables suppliers to quickly generate e-drawings reports and share them with the OEM for their review, comments and acceptance.

Magnus Reduces Programming Times With CAMWorks

CAMWorks, a solids-based computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) solution from Geometric, has reduced engineering and CNC programming times for Magnus Hi-Tech Industries, a precision fabricator. Magnus Hi-Tech provides fabrication solutions for customers in the defence, aerospace and medical fields. Using advanced sheet-metal fabrication and machining technology, Magnus offers a range of products, including holding brackets, complex components for military simulators, housings, struts, mounting blocks, impellers and military chassis.

The company recently started using the Mazak five-axis CNC milling machine to reduce changeover times and machine downtime and realised that the CAM software being used was not letting it take full advantage of the milling machine. Magnus decided that it needed an application that was compatible with the Solidworks platform that it uses. The company selected Geometric's CAMWorks, which features tools to simplify and automate complex programming tasks, speeding design and programming changes.

Mike Blake, methods engineer and program manager for Magnus, said: 'CAMWorks' tight integration with Magnus Hi-Tech's Solidworks environment facilitates true associative machining, so that any revision to a part design updates the Solidworks solid model as well as the CAMWorks file, permitting CAMWorks to automatically generate the new toolpaths, the tool list and, if required, the fixture modifications as well.

'This has resulted in time savings on revisions ranging from 20 per cent to 60 per cent,' he added. CAMWorks, a Solidworks-certified Gold CAM product that offers knowledge-based feature recognition and associative machining capabilities, is designed to help eliminate the drudgery of CNC programming.