Upcoming Shows:
May 15-19, 2012 | METALTECH 2012 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 23-25, 2012 | ANPIC 2012: Primavera-Verano | Leon, Mexico
June 13-14, 2012 | Amerimold 2012 | Novi, Michigan
June 13-14, 2012 | WFB 2012 | Augsburg, Germany
June 20-22, 2012 | DMS 2012 | Tokyo, Japan
September 10-15, 2012 | IMTS 2012 | Chicago, Illinois
September 18-20, 2012 | ALIHANKINTA 2012 | Tampere, Finland
September 18-22, 2012 | AMB 2012 | Stuttgart, Germany
November 27-30, 2012 | EUROMOLD 2012 | Frankfurt / Main, Germany
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Surfware successfully launched its upcoming release of SURFCAM 6 at WESTEC 2012, the largest west coast manufacturing event, this March at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Hundreds of visitors stopped by the SURFCAM booth and had the opportunity to see live demonstrations of the many new features and functionality available in the upcoming release of SURFCAM 6. On display was a Replica 1965 Cobra 427 SC Roadster, courtesy of SURFCAM customer Kirkham Motor Sports with 60-70% of the components “Made in SURFCAM."
Also displaying at WESTEC 2012 was SURFCAM educational customer California State University Chico, also last year’s grand prize winner of the Society of Manufacturing Engineering (SME) Manufacturing Challenge at AERODEF 2011. This year, the university’s Sustainable Manufacturing team once again took home the grand prize with their creation and presentation of a manufacturing system for producing a sustainable composite skateboard deck with trucks and axles.
The skateboards and truck assemblies on display included SURFCAM machined base plates and welded chrome-moly hangers with axles. The presentation included the SURFCAM design, analysis and fabrication methods of the sustainable composite skateboard, as well as the tooling and fixtures for mass production, along with a project management plan for the entire project.
“The attention to detail in defining the project scope and documenting the complete process was impressive to the judges,” said Darren Otten, coordinator of the Sustainable Manufacturing Technology Program at CSU Chico. “The extensive development of the concept into a final product ready to take to market, including a viable business and project management plan, was extremely professional and complete.”
Surfware would like to congratulate the CSU Chico team on their continued success and wishes them the best of success next year!
Surfware, Inc. released the first beta version of its flagship CAM software, SURFCAM 6, to SURFCAM Resellers worldwide for initial beta testing. Surfware will release SURFCAM 6 beta to end-user beta testers soon.
Some of the new features and enhancements available in SURFCAM 6 are:
- A 64-Bit Version
- New Tools and Material Database Engine
- Faster Verification Technology
- Updated Interface
- Completely redesigned Help System
- Four new toolpath strategies
- Updated CAD translators (plus RHINO CAD translator now included)
- Updated Post Processors (MPost and SPost)
- New Productivity Utilities
- Updated Digitizer Interfaces
- New versions of editNC and SDNC
- Enhanced TRUEMill toolpath calculator and toolpath algorithms
- ...Plus much more
Check out some of the recently added SURFCAM 6 videos in our SURFCAM Tutorials:
For more information or to become a beta tester, contact your local SURFCAM reseller today!
Custom Mold & Tool (CM&T) is dedicated to a premier level of quality in aerospace machining, manufacturing, and tool fabrication industries. Founded in the mid 80's, it has grown from producing plastic injection molds to meet the growing Aerospace industry demands for high quality 5-axis billet machined parts. Their expert team utilizes standard and modern precision measurement equipment to ensure that every part is within tolerance and meets industry standards. Supported by SURFCAM Reseller, CAMcad Technologies, CM&T has been using SURFCAM for over 13 years.
“In order to support this high level of motion control required for the very precise parts required by aerospace, we looked at several different CAM software packages before choosing SURFCAM. SURFCAM’s unique precision and control has helped us go from a low tolerance mold shop to a highly valued supplier and to service major companies such as Harris Corp, Boeing, NASA, Northrom Grumman, and AeroJet, for multi axis, high precision, machined parts. Without the integration of a full five axis SURFCAM package, CM&T would still be making low tolerance molds and may not even be in business today in light of the current economy,” says Evan Cramer, President.
Upon receiving an order, the CM&T programming department will create a solid model using SolidWorks or directly in SURFCAM. Then the decision is made to use either 5-axis or a traditional 3-axis machining technique to achieve a completed part. “SURFCAM provides our programming department the ability to import customer supplied models from many different types of CAD software. This versatility can make a difference in quoting potential jobs by eliminating a delay in communication between CM&T and the customer,” says Cramer. “CM&T is able to design custom holders in SolidWorks and then save the holders in SURFCAM’s tool library. With this capability, we can draw from tooling used in past jobs and apply them to jobs in the machining queue. Clamps, trunions, and other material holding fixtures are all saved in the library to speed the process of design concept to finished part.”
“SURFCAM allows us to see the part and stock it will be machined from, as well as model our clamps, trunions and tool holders. This allows us to verify any collision avoidance issue we may incur during the machining process,” says Cramer. This ability has allowed CM&T to avoid costly downtime and keep the spindles turning more than they have ever done before purchasing SURFCAM.
“SURFCAM’s short learning curve has also allowed us to train new employees to use the interface quickly, thus providing machine code to the shop floor prior to the next job setup and increasing our throughput,” says Cramer. “SURFCAM adds to our increased capabilities through their use of continuous tool path generation which offers a variety of efficient cutting paths that are easy to choose from in the menus provided.”
In today’s industry market, one of the main challenges for manufacturing companies is the integration of new technology that can produce tangible results in a timely manner and consequently increasing overall profits. “SURFCAM and CAMcad Technologies have assisted us by contracting custom post processor development to fit our specific machines which lets us get the most out of our capital investments,” says Cramer.
As CM&T moves forward, they are always looking for continuous improvement. Along with adding SolidWorks as their CAD design software, they continually upgrade their CAM software with the latest and most efficient tool path generation available with each new release of SURFCAM. CM&T is dedicated to move forward with the industry to meet the high level of AS9100c inspection standards required by their customers that require sophisticated multi axis machined parts.
-Evan Cramer, Custom Mold & Tool (http://www.custommoldandtool.com/)