Mastercam is Now on Twitter

We recently decided to join the Twitter revolution. You can find us (and follow us) on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mastercam. We are hoping to "tweet" often and include all sorts of news on the Mastercam front.

Mastercam X4 - The Core of Milling

Watch as Mastercams powerful set of milling techniques delivers a flawless mold core with no benchwork needed.

Mastercam is Named #1 CAD/CAM for the 15th Straight Year

The most recent analysis of CAM software seats produced by CIMdata, Inc. (an independent research firm) shows that CNC Software’s Mastercam is once again the world’s most widely-used CAM software for the 15th straight year.

With over 147,000 installed seats worldwide, Mastercam has more than twice the installed base of the closest competitor.

We would like to thank all of our loyal Mastercam customers – this wouldn’t have been possible without you!

Nesting Enhancements and More in X4 Router

Mastercam X4 Router continues the trend of faster, more efficient programming with a suite of new features that will be welcome in any shop.

Automatic Toolpathing (ATP):
Generic Mastercam ATP will now let you process multiple materials. Use the Add Material button on the toolbar to specify a new material.

Nesting Drag-and-Drop Support:
Mastercam X4 allows you to perform automatic nesting with just enough manual intervention to achieve the best possible result in the least amount of time.

The Drag button lets you move parts around on the sheet. This action supports the drag, rotate, and snapping functionality. As you move the mouse over individual parts, the part highlights as a visual cue. Clicking on the highlighted part either moves the existing part or creates a copy of the part, depending on which mode you are in. You can then place the active part in any open area on the sheet.

Vertical/Horizontal Cut-Off Options in Nesting:
Mastercam X4 adds a new feature to automatically generate a toolpath for vertical and horizontal cut-offs. This will preserve rectangular remnants for future use.

The horizontal/vertical trim check boxes are used to specify which cuts to make.

The Nesting Results dialog box.

For more information on X4 Router, please visit http://www.mastercamrouter.com/.

New Support for Agie EDM with Agievision Controls

Mastercam X4 Wire has all new support for Agie EDM with Agievision controls. This new Agievision support includes a new interface and a complete set of machine definition/control definition/post processor files.

The Toolpaths menu now shows the following wirepaths:

• Contour
• Collar
• No core
• 4-Axis

Simply choose an Agievision AWF Wire Machine Definition, and you’ll see the parameter pages that anyone familiar with Agievision will instantly recognize.

For more information on Mastercam Wire, please visit http://www.mastercamwire.com/.

Toolpath Refinement

Now you can achieve dramatically superior finishes on complex parts with Mastercam’s 3D surface toolpath refinement. This new utility gives you greater control over the toolpath finish motion, delivering smoother finishes and more optimized cycle times than conventional methods allow.

For more information on this new feature, please watch this video.

D&J Cabinet Expands Business with Mastercam

Dave Erznoznik, owner of D&J Cabinet Company (Salt Lake City, UT), wanted to improve productivity at his custom woodworking shop. So he purchased a router along with Mastercam. Dave insists he is computer illiterate, but that did not stop him from learning the basic capabilities of his new equipment and Mastercam very quickly.

Challenge: To become more competitive by adding value to custom products and to generate new business opportunities by creating set art pieces that can be incorporated into furniture designs and specialty products.

Solution: Mastercam Router and Art

Benefits:

• Mastercam improved cabinet-making productivity.
• Free educational module on Streamingteacher.com (a Mastercam business partner product) helped learning Mastercam.
• The Mastercam license included support when needed from a responsive dealer.
• Mastercam allowed control of Art projects in fine detail.

In His Own Words:
Dave Erznoznik, owner of D&J Cabinet Company, tells how Mastercam is helping him find new opportunities to expand his custom woodworking business.

Go to http://tinyurl.com/dgjyl5 to listen to Dave’s audio clip.

Mastercam’s Multiaxis Machining Increases Speed and Finish

Multiaxis machining can dramatically increase a shop’s competitiveness, and Mastercam’s multiaxis machining offers a wide range of multiaxis machining strategies – both basic and advanced. Some enhancements to Mastercam’s multiaxis machining include features in the Port5ax and Flow5ax toolpaths, TrueSolids 5-axis verify improvements, and much more.

Port5ax and Flow5ax Toolpaths – These toolpaths now include a new feature that allows an overlap or blend to be added at the beginning and end of a toolpath. This feature is very useful in creating better finishes where toolpaths may need to meet from opposite directions. Several options are available for controlling the start and end of a port or flowline multiaxis toolpath, including skipping the first pass, last pass, or both, and blending the entry, exit, or both.

TrueSolid 5-axis Verify – TrueSolids 5-axis Verify is now included in Mastercam’s multiaxis machining. TrueSolid 5-axis Verify uses solid modeling technology for toolpath simulation. After verifying a part in TrueSolid mode, you can rotate and magnify the part to more closely check features, surface finish, or scallops.

Smart Interface – Mastercam’s advanced multiaxis machining lets you choose what type of project you are doing, and adjusts the interface to show exactly what you need to complete your job.

Other multiaxis features include:

• General speed improvements


• Advanced gouge checking and 5-axis safe zone around parts help ensure safe cuts in even the most complex operations


• Machine 5-axis curves with independent definitions of tool side angle and lead/lag angle


• Special options for machining cylinder heads and converting probe data to machinable geometries


• Much more.