Mastercam Announces New Add-On for Additive Manufacturing

Christellee — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:38 +0000

Mastercam announced a new Add-On product, Mastercam APlus by CAMufacturing Solutions, designed for additive manufacturing. APlus can be used with Mastercam Mill, Lathe, or Router licenses.

Mastercam, announced a new Add-On product, Mastercam APlus® by CAMufacturing Solutions, designed for additive manufacturing. APlus can be used with Mastercam Mill, Lathe, or Router licenses.

Using the same interface Mastercam users are familiar with, APlus customers can program, backplot, and simulate their 3D printing scenarios just like they would with traditional toolpaths in Mastercam. APlus uses Direct Energy Deposition (DED) and has toolpaths developed specifically to handle any geometry in Additive Manufacturing (AM), as well as features and utilities designed to remove uncertainty out of the process and to improve efficiency.

Hybrid manufacturing provides users with the versatility to build parts from scratch, add features to an existing part, or to repair a worn or damaged part. APlus integrates seamlessly with Mastercam to allow users to generate Additive Manufacturing toolpaths, as well as visualise the additive and machining outcome.

Kenneth Fortier, Technical Product Manager, Mastercam says “APlus brings Additive Manufacturing to the Mastercam user in a form that is consistent with the workflow used for over 40 years. Direct Energy Deposition is making its way into many machine shops and being able to program hybrid machines or dedicated additive machines using Mastercam makes the transition seamless. With the hybrid process of alternating adding material and milling allows parts with internally machined features to be created that would have been impossible without additive.”

Since Additive Manufacturing is not simply reversing machining toolpaths, all features and toolpaths are designed and developed to ensure users experience efficient and practical results for the additive and hybrid manufacturing process. A great application for using APlus is for blade repairs where the tips of individual blades are showing wear.

To repair the part, the user machines off the worn tips using a suitable toolpath in Mastercam. Using APlus, you can 3D print or deposit material onto the machined surfaces to near net shape.

Finally, you machine the printed sections to the desired specifications. This process can dramatically lower costs when compared to buying or machining a new blade, or even stocking spare parts.

WANT MORE INSIDER NEWS? SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DIGITAL MAGAZINE NOW!

CONNECT WITH US: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter

Letter to the Editor
Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you’d like to share with our readers? APMEN News would love to hear from you!

Email your letter to the Editorial Team at Christellee@epl.com.sg

The post Mastercam Announces New Add-On for Additive Manufacturing appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.

Faster Product Development Through Machining With Y-Axis Turning

Christellee — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 04:00:11 +0000

Profitability need not be compromised over accelerated product development cycles to adapt to rapidly changing business landscape. Staffan Lundström, Product Manager and Application Specialist from Sandvik Coromant explains how innovative Y-axis turning can overcome delays and support efficient production.

The demands on manufacturers can be summed up as: ‘produce innovative and higher quality product s in shorter time.’ Add sustainability initiatives into the mix, and it becomes clear that manufacturers in all sectors must apply comprehensive strategies to overcome these obstacles while staying ahead of the competition.

“We should not prioritise on the basis of project profitability,” wrote the best-selling product development author Donald G. Reinertsen, “but rather on how this profitability is affected by delay.”

Manufacturers are expected to accelerate product development cycles to meet rapidly-changing market demands — yet they are also losing hundreds of production hours to equipment downtime and unnecessary tool changes.

Understanding Comprehensive Strategy

What does a ‘comprehensive strategy’ entail on the machine shop floor? Antidotes to rising energy and commodity prices, suggested in PwC’s “Achieving Excellence In Production And Supply Report”, noted companies should monitor and optimise their processes to make them as efficient as possible.

This also means manufacturers should accelerate their product development cycles to meet rapidly heightening performance and safety
standards. One approach is through on demand manufacturing, where goods are delivered precisely in accordance customers’ specifications in certain quantities.

On-demand manufacturing is made possible by latest additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, like 3D printing, which speeds up
manufacturing and prototyping. Elsewhere, manufacturers use artificial intelligence (AI) and Industry 4.0 concepts to optimise their processes.

Read more here https://shorturl.at/hmnp0