Delcam hailed the MACH exhibition held last month as the “best MACH ever”. UK Sales Manager, Mark Corrigan reported that this year’s event had generated more enquiries, from a higher-quality audience, than any previous show in the series of biannual events. If anything, the exhibition was too busy at peak times. “We had people queuing up for demonstrations on Wednesday morning,” said Mr. Corrigan. “I can’t remember the last time that happened at a UK exhibition.”

Part of the reason for Delcam’s success was the much broader range of machining software now offered by the company following its series of acquisitions over the past three years. The full range of CAM systems is now made up of PowerMILL for high-speed and five-axis machining, FeatureCAM for feature-based production machining, PartMaker for turn-mill equipment and Swiss-type lathes, and ArtCAM for routing and engraving. Together, the complete set of programs comprises the world’s most comprehensive collection of machining software, giving Delcam an unrivalled ability to provide solutions to all of a company’s programming needs.

The broad range played a major part in Delcam’s success at the exhibition. “We could offer software to boost the machining productivity of all the visitors to our stand,” claimed Mr. Corrigan. “In previous years, we often had to refer people to other exhibitors because we couldn’t cover some applications.”

The highest interest at MACH was in FeatureCAM, the industry-leading feature-based machining software added to the Delcam range in 2005. The latest version includes increased support for five-axis machining, more efficient turning through better and easier control of stock remaining, and an improved tool database with more options to link pre-defined feeds and speeds to individual tools. FeatureCAM 2008 also features numerous smaller enhancements and speed-ups, plus new and updated post-processors, in particular for turn-mill equipment, including the Mazak Integrex, Daewoo Puma and Nakamura-Tome machines.

Of course, Delcam’s latest release of its flagship PowerMILL CAM system was also a big attraction, especially its recent additional options for five-axis machining. Other enhancements and speed-ups throughout the program were also demonstrated, in particular, the improved memory management within the software that gives significantly faster calculation times, especially for large, complex components, like press tools for automotive bodywork, and for smaller, highly-detailed models, such as moulds for fine-tolerance and high-accuracy parts.

Also of interest to many visitors was the PartMaker range of software, which was shown at MACH for the first time. PartMaker pioneered the use of CAM for complex, multi-axis, multi-spindle machines with its patented Visual Programming Approach. The software provides substantial gains in efficiency with its unique “divide and conquer” approach to the programming of these advanced machines and also boosts machine productivity with its ability to optimise the synchronisation of multiple, simultaneous operations. The latest release features a wide range of improved functionality, including the introduction of the PartMaker Full Machine Simulation module, which allows the user to view the complete machining sequence on a photo-realistic 3D model of the machine.

For those visitors with more artistic machining needs, Delcam’s ArtCAM family of software proved popular. The complete range is aimed at skilled artisans rather than engineers and requires little knowledge of engineering or computing. All of the programs are able to import and machine 3D models, although the range of machining functionality does, of course, increase in the higher-level options.