NCG CAM v19.0 Released

NCG CAM Solutions Ltd, UK officially released NCG CAM v19.0. This major release sees the addition of new 2-axis turning functionality.

Other new features include: trim surfaces to a boundary, a new option to specify a final profile pass within the adaptive clearance dialog, user editable toolsheets, surfaces can be used to create a swept stock model, default macro folder added and the use of transparency has been added during cutter simulation.

Significant Improvements have been made to rest waterline passes, radial and spiral passes, rest finishing linking, shallow area boundaries and cutter contact boundaries.

The Drilling functionality has also been enhanced further by supporting Slocombe Style Drilling Centre Drills, a new option to define shank profiles on drills, detect holes by color, Min and Max Angle added to Detect Holes, as well as improvements to dialogues and the Operation Tree display.

Geometry improvements such as significant import speed increases, 3D trimming for IGES Files and changing the color of triangulated surfaces are included.

Multiple Significant Improvements have been made to the graphics, enhancements to the 3D tool guide and a few other general changes.

Additional developments will follow in NCG CAM v19 point releases to enhance the Pencil Passes, which will improve the theoretical rest boundaries, cutter contact boundaries and rest corner finishing. rest area clearance linking will also follow in a v19 point release.

A demonstration version of NCG CAM v19.0 is now available to download: https://www.ncgcam.com/demo-download/

Long awaited 2-axis turning has been added to the Basic module of NCG CAM and is included in the price; there is no additional charge for this module. This adds value to existing users with active software maintenance and opens the door new users who have a requirement for turning, as well as milling.

The 2-Axis Turning includes:

• Facing
• Rough Turning
• Finish Profiling
• Grooving
• Centerline Drilling
• Parting Off
• User definable Chucks

2-axis post-processors are included in Macro format with customizable turning tool libraries.

• Facing can be achieved using predefined Stock or using the finished part with pass extensions. There are options available for Rough facing using multiple passes or Finish facing in one pass. 

• Rough Turning includes Undercut protection and can be used for roughing side or front contours.

• Finish Profiling also includes Undercut protection to avoid Tool Holder collision on the trailing edge whilst turning.

• Grooving can be achieved in single or multiple passes with chip-breaking or full depth cut options.

• Centerline Drilling now supports ‘Slocombe’ Style center drills with all available sizes pre-defined. Centerline Drilling includes Peck Drilling and Chip Breaking.

• Parting off options include single pass or multiple pecks to clear the swarf.

Surfaces can now be trimmed to a Boundary; this new feature provides additional modelling capability and can be useful where additional features need to be added or surfaces corrected after import.

A new option to specify a final Profile Pass within the Adaptive Clearance Dialog has been added. This option will hold the cutter off the finished part whilst creating the clearance passes and can be performed either after each depth of cut, or at the end of the clearance passes. Any specified thickness allowances will be respected leaving the cut size as required. This option will provide a better surface finish where required.

The Drilling functionality has been enhanced; ‘Slocombe’ Style Centre Drills are now supported in both Turning and Milling. New Cycles for Centre Drilling will automatically select the correct tool shape with pre-defined options for all standard sizes.

A new option to define Shank Profiles on Drills has been added (with the exception of Slocombe Centre Drills ).

This will help when using Micro-Drills as the defined shank is also gouge protected.

When detecting holes and creating drilling data, it is now possible to use colors for easier identification and as a search criterion. This will avoid duplication of hole selection and works in conjunction with size to precisely identify the required geometry.

The default color of Blind holes has been changed in Hole Detection from Brown to Orange to make them easier to identify.

Additional options for Min and Max hole angle have been added to the Detect Holes dialog. This option is used in conjunction with the Restricted Axis to avoid the selection of unwanted holes when using a combination of filtered A,B and C axes with the Restricted selection. 

New graphics have been added in the Drilling Cycle Dialog, with the drill overlaid over the hole for depth checking. Also, the color denotes Blind or Through holes for easier identification.

The Operations Tree display of depth adjusted Drilling operations will now be displayed correctly. Depth adjustment is used for Through Holes to allow the tip of the drill to pass the bottom face leaving a clean edge; this additional depth will now be displayed for easier identification.

A New option for User Editable Toolsheets is now available from the drop-down Toolsheet Menu. Toolsheet image options now also include Ordinate Dimensions for Multi Views. A new Dialog is presented to the User and automatically populates the required data information. User-defined Templates can then be selected from the Template Folder; 3 samples are included with the Software Installation.

The accuracy of Rest Waterline Passes has been improved; NCG CAM V18 Rest Waterline Passes could sometimes appear ‘Stepped’. NCG CAM V19 shows much smoother and more accurate passes resulting in a better toolpath.

It is now possible to set the Centre points of Radial and Spiral passes using the Left Mouse clicked into the Graphical area. Also, improvements have been made to the quality of Spiral passes generated with tighter Tolerance values, giving a better surface finish.

Rest Area Clearance and Rest Finishing toolpaths have been improved to reduce the Rapid Retracts. The effects of the improvements can be seen more clearly on Vertical walls. Rest Finishing Linking is included in NCG CAM V19; Rest Area Clearance Linking will be included in a V19 Point Release.

The use of Transparency has been added during Cutter Simulation and is activated using the Rendering Style buttons in the View Menu. This option will allow greater visibility of the Stock removal during machining whilst having a visual background of the finished part.

The option to add Comments to a Tool’s Advanced Pages has been included. These comments can also be stored in the Tool Database and can optionally be output into the Post Processed Tape File. This additional feature will provide greater accountability for important tool information as well as continuity between the Tool Library, Tape file and the Machinist.

A new folder has been added during the installation of the software for the User to store regularly used Macros. Any folder can be specified in the Options > Defaults settings allowing for quicker access of personalized macros with less searching.

Loading Geometry files is now much quicker with the use of multi-Threading in the loading phase. This increases the number of available processors used during the operation and speeds up the process significantly.

Improvements have also been made to the speed of loading a saved Database. When loading a stored DCA file, there will be a noticeable reduction in the time it takes to load and display the database information on screen.

When Importing IGES files, it is possible to change the surface trimming to 3D in the Options > Preference > Open File dialog. Convert to NURB is used to provide preferred surface types for 5-axis machining. Adding the 3D trimming will give better results when importing IGES geometry.

When Re-Triangulating Surfaces, it can be advantageous to change the color to help quickly identify the different surface sets. Within the Triangulated Surfaces properties, it is now possible to change the color with an additional colors option.

To create Revolved Stock, it is no longer necessary to include a Point as reference if you require the creation around the Datum.  A Point can still be selected if you require a different center point for the revolution. Surfaces can also be used to create a Swept Stock Model. The Axis of rotation is dependent on whether you are in Turning or Milling.

Shallow Area Boundaries have been significantly improved to create a smoother result, therefore providing improvements to Constant Stepover passes in shallow areas. These improvements will also provide better results for Cutter Contact Boundaries.

Improvements to Pencil Pass creation will provide better Theoretical Rest Boundaries, as well as improved Rest Corner Finishing. These improvements will be available in a Point Release of V19 providing more continuous Pencil paths and smoother Theoretical Rest boundaries with better Corner Rest finishing, both of which are based on the Pencil Pass calculation.

Translucent Planes have been added to help graphically identify the Min and Max limits within dialogs. Additionally, translucent Cylinders have also been added when creating Revolved Stock models. This new option provides greater graphical interaction with the dialogs with visual confirmation of the correct values being entered. It is possible to switch off this option if preferred in the Right Mouse Context Menu.

Multiple updates to the Graphics have been included in V19, significant improvements should be noticeable in:

• Dragging Boxes
• Completed operation displays
• Individual surface selection on large parts
• Box selection of large parts
• Organizing the Operation Tree
• General improved performance in the Operations Tree.

3D Tool Guide rotations can now be enabled using the Drilling Folder angles rather than having to create a separate Boundary Folder.

The Auto-save Macros and Auto-save Database functions now include information from all open Graphics Windows in any given session; in previous versions, only the current active window was saved.

The latest version of the Datakit libraries which contains the translators for Parasolid and NX has been upgraded to their latest version 2022.4. This will keep the translators at the same level as the current software ensuring compatibility.

About NCG CAM

NCG CAM is a stand-alone CAM system offering an easy to use HSM CAM solution that integrates with existing CAD and CAM systems.

NCG CAM boasts many innovative features. It is suitable for all types of forms, creating an optimized, smooth cutter motion ideal for 3D HSM, which will help to extend tool life, minimize wear on the machine tool and producing parts with an excellent surface finish.

NCG CAM has a very ‘user-friendly interface’, with a typical learning curve of just 1 day required to machine a live job. It is perfect for the high-speed machining of molds, dies, prototypes and precision surface machining.