Delcam will show both of its Certified CAM Products - FeatureCAM and PartMaker - at the SolidWorks World event to be held in San Diego, California, from 20th to 23rd January. Both CAM systems were awarded Certified CAM Product status earlier this year after meeting the demanding criteria outlined by SolidWorks Corp., including a high level interoperability with the most recent version of SolidWorks. Delegates at SolidWorks World will be able to see the latest versions of both products.

The latest release of Delcam's FeatureCAM feature-based CAM system includes increased support for continuous five-axis machining, more efficient turning through better and easier control of stock remaining, and an improved tool database with more options to link pre-defined feeds and speeds to individual tools. FeatureCAM 2008 also features numerous smaller enhancements and speed-ups, plus new and updated post-processors, in particular for turn-mill equipment, including the Mazak Integrex, Daewoo Puma and Nakamura-Tome machines.

The new five-axis machining options in FeatureCAM 2008 offer a variety of methods for controlling the tool axis. This can be done either to access areas unable to be reached with three-axis machining or to give better cutting conditions.

Many three-axis toolpaths generated in FeatureCAM are able to be converted to a five-axis equivalent by using automatic collision avoidance to change the tool axis when collisions might occur. The software automatically tilts the cutter away from the obstacle by the specified tolerance and then returns the cutting angle to the value set for the overall toolpath once the obstacle has been cleared. Other new options include five-axis trimming and swarf machining.

Five-axis drilling is also supported. This new functionality, coupled with the advanced feature recognition in FeatureCAM, makes it possible to create drilling programs in seconds for multiple hole types and sizes, oriented in a variety of directions.

Recent improvements to the PartMaker and SwissCAM programs have been equally extensive. Most important have been the enhancements to the Process Table function, the unique method within the software to control and optimise the synchronisation of operations on advanced machine tools. This has been made both more flexible and easier to use.

A new option is Full Machine Simulation. This provides a more realistic simulation of the machining process by allowing the user to simulate true solid models of a machine's actual components. Also new is the PartMaker Documentation Wizard, an optional module which allows the user to create, preview and print documents incorporating multiple views.