Mill Express

We have taken Hole Feature Recognition to a whole new level in this release. Now, with a single click we recognize all four hole types, and their variations!

The machining features are automatically created based on a customizable set of rules in our new knowledge base, and all can be computed at once! In this release, feature recognition has been broken into several parts to give you the most control possible, while keeping things simple:

• Step 1 – Launch Hole Recognition
• Step 2 – Review found hole features
• Step 3 – Done! All holes machined

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

The New Add Property function allows you to assign geometry thread information to be read by the Hole Recognition feature. While the Advanced Hole feature can automatically attach this information when creating complex 3D holes, existing part files may not have this information on the attached to the entities being machined. Whether your existing part file is a 3D model, or even just points and arcs indicating areas to be tapped, the new Add Property feature will allow you to tag each entity so the job can be done as quickly as possible with the Hole Recognition feature.

Once properties have been assigned to geometry with the Add Property function, the new Edit Property function will allow you to adjust the previously assigned values with ease! The filter drop down shows all thread sizes available for editing. With a particular thread size selected, all geometry with that thread size will be listed. Simply select the desired geometry and update it with the new thread information.

This new version has updated the user interface to allow the spindle direction to be updated with radio buttons in the tool page. While changing the spindle direction has always been possible be setting a negative Spindle RPM value, we have updated this version to make it intuitive and obvious for new users. With the new Spindle Direction radio buttons, a simple click is all you need to switch between clockwise and counterclockwise spindle directions.

Keeping your work offsets straight has never been easier with the new pop-up dialogs! Whether you're updating the work offset of your machine setup, or pasting features between setups, you always want to make sure you'll be posting out the proper work offsets for all your features. When you’re updating the machine setup, this meant having to go through each feature to update it as needed. When pasting a feature into another setup, it meant being sure to remember to update that feature as needed. With the dialogs, this is done for you automatically! When updating the machine setup, the Update Work Offset Number dialog appears allowing you to clear any features you do not want to update. Simply click OK and you're done. When pasting a feature into a machine setup with a different work offset, a dialog appears offering to update the feature automatically!

Updating the Machine Setup Work Offset

Pasting a Feature

Mill 3 Axis Premium

The new Deburring operation allows you to automatically create toolpath to trim complex edges or apply chamfers/fillets to the edges of your parts. For all machined parts, sharp edges must be dealt with. The burrs on sharp edges are a safety issue for the machinists working on them and can even affect the functionality of the part. While taking care of these edges on basic 2-3 axis parts is fairly simple, selecting each individual edge can be time consuming! The new Deburring operation makes this vital step of the machining process a breeze with automatic feature detection, automatic linking, automatic lead in and even automatic collision detection! Simply select your tool, select your geometry, and let us do the rest!

A part with this many edges would normally be a nightmare to deburr, but by just selecting the entire model, BobCAD-CAM V34 gives you all the toolpath you need! The Deburr operation will even do undercuts automatically when a capable tool is selected for the operation!

Mill 4 Axis Pro

The new Turn Milling operation combines turning with milling tools to power through materials in record time! In many cases turning operations are applied to the stock to remove material as quickly as possible. The only issue with turning material down quickly is when the chips don't break properly and form large piles against the part called bird nests. These can be dangerous to the part finish, tool, and the machinist. The Turn Milling toolpath can be a super-efficient way to remove a lot of material on your 4 or 5 axis milling machines or your Mill Turn machines! By combining the efficiency of turning with the chip slinging power of an endmill, you can have the best of both worlds and power through material quicker than ever without having to worry.

The new Deburring operation allows you to automatically create toolpath to trim complex edges or apply chamfers/fillets to the edges of your parts. For all machined parts, sharp edges must be dealt with. The burrs on sharp edges are a safety issue for the machinists working on them and can even affect the functionality of the part. While taking care of these edges on basic 2-3 axis parts is simple, creating a trimming path on complex multiaxis geometries can often take just as long as programming the entire part! The new Deburring operation makes this vital step of the machining process a breeze with automatic feature detection, automatic linking, automatic lead in and even automatic collision detection! Simply select your tool, select your geometry, and let us do the rest!

A part with this many edges would normally be a nightmare to deburr, but by just selecting the entire model, BobCAD-CAM V34 gives you all the toolpath you need! The Deburr operation will even do undercuts automatically when a capable tool is selected for the operation!

Mill 5 Axis Standard

BobCAD-CAM now allows you to convert your 3 axis toolpaths to 5 axis motion in order to use short, rigid tools in areas that could not be reached with a 3 axis move without gouging. In machining, tool deflection can spell disaster for part precision. One sure-fire way to avoid that is with tools that are as short as possible, but this can be impossible in some areas unless you can tilt into those hard-to-reach spots with multiaxis movements. With 3 to 5 Axis Conversion, you can quickly and easily turn your standard Mill 3 Axis Pro operations into robust 5 axis solutions to keep the precision you need while keeping programming at record low times!

In the image, you can see the arbor is colliding with the model and would not be able to cut that area if a 3 Axis gouge check were used.

By switching to 5 Axis, we can use a gouge check and have it tilt the tool to avoid collisions!

Mill 5 Axis Pro

The new multiaxis machining patterns bring the power and speed of the Multiaxis Roughing to finishing! The multiaxis roughing was a revolution in roughing multiaxis parts quickly and easily, but until now a similar solution for finishing did not exist. Generalized toolpath operations have all the settings you could possibly need, so they can be utilized in a wide range of situations. These generalized toolpaths could be applied to the floors and walls of multiaxis parts, but with all those settings they were not designed for ease and simplicity. This meant it could take a bit of toying with all the various options to get the desired result. Now BobCAD-CAM makes it quick and easy to get your floors and walls done with minimal input with these specialized toolpaths:

This path was designed to finish the floors of multiaxis parts. Pick your geometry and let us do the heavy lifting.

This path was designed to finish the walls of multiaxis parts. Pick your geometry and let us do the heavy lifting.

The new Deburring operation allows you to automatically create toolpath to trim complex edges or apply chamfers/fillets to the edges of your parts. For all machined parts, sharp edges must be dealt with. The burrs on sharp edges are a safety issue for the machinists working on them and can even affect the functionality of the part. While taking care of these edges on basic 2-3 axis parts is simple, creating a trimming path on complex multiaxis geometries can often take just as long as programming the entire part! The new Deburring operation makes this vital step of the machining process a breeze with automatic feature detection, automatic linking, automatic lead in and even automatic collision detection! Simply select your tool, select your geometry, and let us do the rest!

Mill 5 Axis Premium

The new Port Machining operation from BobCAD-CAM allows you to machine complex interior geometries with ease and precision. This is a must have for those in the industry! Applying toolpath to curved interior surfaces has always been possible, but it's also been a sure-fire way to test your patience and lose a lose a lot of hair in the process. Spending hours jumping back and forth between tweaking parameters and double checking the simulation to find the necessary combination of settings and values is a thing of the past! This toolpath is specifically designed to handle these geometries with the bare minimum input from the user. Port machining allows you to select the tool, the machining surfaces, and a few check surfaces to get the results you had to struggle so hard for in the past.

The new Multiblade operation allows you to create toolpath on multibladed parts faster than ever before. There's a reason impellers and blisks are used to showcase the multiaxis ability of CAM systems: Multiblade parts can be found everywhere from vacuums to aircraft and have always been the most challenging 5 axis parts to cut. Having to control everything aspect of tool movement on such complex parts requires intimate knowledge of the possible settings and hours of programming. The Multiblade operation has four patterns which are specifically designed to handle a particular aspect of the part. Roughing, Blade finishing, Hub finishing, and Fillet finishing are each designed to create optimum toolpath with very little input from the user. Use the Multiblade operation to flatten the learning curve and turn your hours of programming into minutes!

BobCAD-CAM now gives the Advanced Rough operation the power to automatically create index systems to tackle your roughing from multiple planes in the same operation. This allows you to use short, rigid tools in areas that could not be reached with a 3 axis move without gouging. In machining, tool deflection can spell disaster for part precision. One sure-fire way to avoid that is with tools that are as short as possible, but this can be impossible in some areas unless you can tilt into those hard-to-reach spots with multiaxis movements. With Auto 3+2 Roughing, you can quickly and easily turn your standard Mill 3 Axis Advanced Rough operation into robust 5 axis solutions to keep the precision you need while keeping programming at record low times! Choose your level of control with:

• Automatic - allows you to set a search angle increment, a maximum amount of stock to leave, and a maximum tilt range. We'll do the rest.
• Semi-automatic - allows you to do the same thing, but also allows you to specify a preferred direction of approach.
• Manual - allows you to take complete control and specify each allowable direction of machining.

Whether you want to pick each of the axis manually as seen below, pick a preferred direction, or just let BobCAD do the work for you, 3+2 Roughing can revolutionize your part programming.

The new multiaxis machining patterns bring the power and speed of the Multiaxis Roughing to finishing! The multiaxis roughing was a revolution in roughing multiaxis parts quickly and easily, but until now a similar solution for finishing did not exist. Generalized toolpath operations have all the settings you could possibly need so they can be utilized in a wide range of situations. These generalized toolpaths could be applied to the floors and walls of multiaxis parts, but with all those settings they were not designed for ease and simplicity. This meant it could take a bit of toying with all the various options to get the desired result. Now BobCAD-CAM makes it quick and easy to get your floors and walls done with minimal input with these specialized toolpaths:

This path was designed to finish the floors of multiaxis parts. Pick your geometry and let us do the heavy lifting.

The new multiaxis machining patterns bring the power and speed of the Multiaxis Roughing to finishing! The multiaxis roughing was a revolution in roughing multiaxis parts quickly and easily, but until now a similar solution for finishing did not exist. Generalized toolpath operations have all the settings you could possibly need so they can be utilized in a wide range of situations. These generalized toolpaths could be applied to the floors and walls of multiaxis parts, but with all those settings they were not designed for ease and simplicity. This meant it could take a bit of toying with all the various options to get the desired result. Now BobCAD-CAM makes it quick and easy to get your floors and walls done with minimal input with these specialized toolpaths:

This path was designed to finish the floors of multiaxis parts. Pick your geometry and let us do the heavy lifting.

This path was designed to finish the walls of multiaxis parts. Pick your geometry and let us do the heavy lifting.