Cimatron NC Programming: CAM Software Specifically Designed for Molds, Dies and Precision Parts

There’s a class of machining job where a generic CAM system will technically generate a toolpath – but where that toolpath isn’t something you’d want to send to an expensive machine running a complex mold cavity or precision die component. The risks of a gouge are too unpredictable. Surface finish strategies are not optimized for the required material removal rate. The 5 axis tilt control is not good enough for the real part geometry.

Shops that do this kind of work — mold and die components, precision plates, electrodes and complex discrete parts — get to the point where general-purpose CAM costs them more in machine setup, prove-out time and occasional crashes than a dedicated system.

Cimatron NC Programming is that system built for the purpose.

CAM Built for the Components That Don’t Forgive Mistakes

Cimatron NC Programming is a dedicated CAM solution for 2.5 to 5-axis machining with strategies specifically developed and tuned for the types of parts precision toolrooms actually make. This is not a horizontal CAM platform with a mould-and-die configuration option bolted on. This sort of work is what it was built to do from the get go.

The tangible difference is in the toolpath strategies themselves – how roughing handles deep cavities with steep walls, how finishing strategies maintain uniform surface quality throughout complex curved geometry, how the 5-axis tilt and lead angle control offers the programr real power over how the tool approaches the part, rather than accepting whatever the system defaults to.

Geometry Prep Without Leaving The CAM

One of the ongoing frustrations in CAM programming is getting geometry that isn’t quite ready for programming — surfaces that need to be extended, edges that need to be blended, draft angles that need to be applied — and having to send the file back to a CAD system for repair before programming can start.

Cimatron NC Programming features hybrid modeling tools built into the CAM workspace. Programmers can fix surfaces, add rounds and drafts, generate extension surfaces to contain toolpaths and change geometry without leaving the programming environment. This is a huge amount of time saved over the course of a busy shop’s week.

Optimized roughing strategies for actual material removal

Constant Tool Load and Adaptive Clearing

Cimatron NC uses trochoidal milling and constant tool load strategies for roughing that provide a constant chip load throughout the cut, protecting both the tool and the machine. For shops that are running aggressive roughing parameters on hardened tool steel or large aluminum mold bases, this type of control has a direct impact on tool life, cycle time and surface condition before finishing begins.

High Speed Machining Techniques

In Cimatron NC, high-speed machining strategies are developed to ensure smooth cutter motion and to avoid direction changes and full-width engagements which cause tool deflection, vibration and surface finish problems. This is no minor detail for molds and dies where the surface quality coming off the machine directly impacts on the final part quality.

Real 5 axis control programming

Five-axis machining in a precision toolroom environment is not the same as five-axis machining on a generic aerospace component. The geometry is different – steep undercuts, deep core pockets, complex electrode profiles – and the tilt control, collision avoidance, and tool axis continuity requirements are specific.

Cimatron NC Programming provides complete control to programmers for:

• Angles of lead and tilt to the part surface
• Interpolation of the tool axis between the positions, for smooth machine motion
• Specific strategies for blades, impellers, blisks, turbine geometry – parts that generic 5-axis toolpaths can’t reliably handle.
• Collision avoidance including full machine kinematic model (not only tool and holder)
• Drilling and machining of plates: Work that takes too long elsewhere

Anyone who has programd a mold plate or die plate with dozens or hundreds of holes knows how much of the total programming time is consumed by drilling operations which should be routine. Automated hole and stock recognition in Cimatron NC Programming identifies hole features from the part geometry, and automatically generates drilling programs – with the right cycle type, depth and tool selection for each feature.

For plates that account for a large proportion of a typical job’s CNC programming workload, this automation translates into meaningful schedule savings across a program.

Simulation and Verification – Before anything is put on the machine

The simulation environment in Cimatron NC Programming executes the entire toolpath with full machine kinematics. Not just a tool-and-holder collision check, but a true machine simulation that takes into account the fixture, the stock and the actual movement envelope of the machine.

Gouge detection, collision warnings and stock removal verification all operate before posting the program. For shops that run expensive material or long unattended cycles, the ability to catch problems in simulation is the difference between a successful cut and an expensive crash.

For Shops That Only Need the CAM

Not every shop needs the complete Cimatron Mold or Die design suite. Some shops get the finished design geometry from their customers and need CAM that is fast, accurate and designed for precision work. Cimatron NC Programming is also available as a stand-alone CAM solution for this very purpose without the full design package.

Pelf Engineering provides and supports Cimatron NC Programming to manufacturers across India who need strong CAM capability, whether they are using Cimatron for design or not. We help teams to evaluate the software against their existing workflow, running trial programs on their own parts and configuring the post-processors for the machines already on their shop floor.

If your current CAM setup is creating programming overhead that shouldn’t be, or you’re creating quality issues that can be traced back to toolpath limitations, Cimatron NC Programming is worth a serious evaluation. Get in touch with Pelf Engineering to set up a trial run on your own geometry.