Edgecam 2011 R2 benefits milling, turning and tooling capabilities

For milling, one of the most important new functions is linear axis limit checking. Edgecam now reports when a cycle exceeds the limits of the machine tool and indicates axis and direction. This allows the user to take immediate corrective action, improving machine checking and reducing prove-out time. A new 3 to 5-axis cycle command allows 5-axis users to convert a profiling cycle to 5-axis cycle,. This easy way of creating a 5-axis cycle, means shorter tools can be used to improve stability, and the shank and holder are protected from collisions. Improvements have been made to storing solid models in the Edgecam part file, giving up to 30% faster loading times, and up to 10 times faster switching between render models (wireframe, hidden line and solid). Edgecam 2011 R2 introduces a new licence for Solid Machinist for NX. This allows a wider range of NX files to be loaded, gives support for NX assemblies, and supports the latest NX release. Following improvements to collision checking in the last version, Simulator has been further enhanced, allowing all machine graphics to be checked against the stock, fixtures and other parts of the machine. This enables machine set-up to be proven safely off-line. Simulator has been upgraded to support 64-bit architecture to handle much larger memory requirements, giving improved performance, smoother running on large simulation parts and the ability to save large STL models. View management in Edgecam has been enhanced to include dynamic view rotation and creation of views relative to world co-ordinates, machine co-ordinates or a construction plane. There are now four isometric views to choose from and the view menu is dockable in the browser to optimise the display layout. Viewing a turning part in Simulator also benefits from the improved Profile Turn View and the ability to specify which quadrant to base the three-quarter-turn view on. Through coolant is as relevant to modern turning tools as it is for milling tools; therefore, the Through Coolant option has been added to the Spindle tab of all turning toolchange dialogues – and it is also available on the turning Tool Geometry tab in ToolStore. Previously the F Distance option was only available for turn and bore tools. In Edgecam 2011 R2 this has been extended with the F Distance now able to be set for grooving, parting off and threading tools in toolchange dialogues and ToolStore.