Alphamachinist’s support of Solid Machining provides a major step forward, by delivering close compatibility between the original model and the machined part. This is achieved by machining directly on to the component model. Alphamachinist incorporates advanced routines that extract precise geometry data, then assign information to those geometries in the form of attributes. These can be applied in any planar direction to support multi-axis setup machining. Accuracy is assured by the use of machining data generated at source.
Once the required information has been extracted, auto-Z machining operations are used to apply the toolpath. These can be created automatically from the system’s user-configurable machining style library – providing substantial time savings as well as improved accuracy. In addition, a comprehensive suite of 3D machining strategies can be applied to the solid model from any planar orientation.
Parasolid, Solidworks, Inventor, Pro/Engineer and both CATIA V4 and V5 part files can all be imported directly into Alphacam, removing the need for neutral formats such as STEP and IGES, as well as minimising the risk of translation errors. Alphacam will also warn users if the original CAD file changes in any way.
Specific commands to aid part alignment, using the model faces and edges, as well as automatic creation of exact bounding work volume to the solid body.
Automatic feature recognition of drillable holes in any orientation. An ideal tool for multi-axis drilling of components, with the user defining the maximum hole size to be detected.
Automatic feature recognition in 2D flatland or normal to current work plane. This provides users with the ability to support multi-axis machining of components such as complex valve bodies.
Semi Automatic Contour Finding. The user simply selects a start point and traces around the model, with the system’s intelligent dynamic edge extraction following the mouse direction. An excellent tool for isolating machinable areas from the solid.
Extract Solid Body Outlines. This command will extract just the outer perimeter of the entire solid. It is particularly useful for determining the material size required for 3D roughing or simply an initial 2D roughing profile.
Extract Contours with extra Z levels. Ideal for converting 21/2–3D solid body shapes into a set of 2D profiles with Z level attributes. Particularly useful for 2D roughing of 3D solids.
Extract Profiles from Extended Edges. Suitable for determining the information required for 4 axis wire profiles, where the precise geometry at the required level does not exist on the model.
28/11/2007
