CGTech releases Vericut composite application version 7.1

"When software is separate from the machine and applied in a variety of applications, the software and underlying technology expand," maintains CG Tech product marketing manager Bill Hasenjaeger. "With feedback from both users and industry partners, both VCP and VCS have seen significant enhancements since the last release. For example, VCP now has enhanced processing capabilities, significantly reducing the time required to make changes to one or more plies. VCS has been enhanced with several new measurement tools and the ability to simulate ultrasonic knife cutting." VCP reads CAD surfaces and ply boundary information and creates fibre-placement paths to fill the plies according to user-specified manufacturing standards and requirements. Lay-up paths are linked together to form specific lay-up sequences and are output as NC programs for the AFP machine. VCS reads CAD models of the lay-up tool and fixtures and simulates the lay-up sequence directly from NC program files, either from VCP or from other composite lay-up path-generation programming applications. Tow material is applied to the lay-up form via NC program instructions in Vericut's virtual CNC simulation environment. The simulated material applied to the form can be measured and inspected to ensure the NC program follows manufacturing standards and requirements. A report showing simulation results and statistical information can be automatically created.