iMachining 3D provides amazing 3D machining results, regularly saving 70% in machining time, reaching up to 90% in many cases.

THSR and THSM offer unique machining and linking strategies for generating high-speed tool paths. The 3-Axis calculation engine recalculates the tool path at lightning speeds. Its 64-bit architecture completely utilizes all the cores for tool path calculations.

Tempering is the process of reheating the steel leading to precipitation and spheroidisation of the carbides.   The tempering temperature and time are generally controlled to effect the final properties required of the steel.    The benefits resulting are the increase in the metal toughness and elongation.   The negative effects are the reduction of the martensite (BCT) structure and the progression towards a spheroidal carbide + ferrite matrix structure.

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This process is mostly used for producing shallow case depths in thin sections.   The components are heated quickly in a bath containing a suitable sodium cyanide salts and sodium carbonate. The proportion of NaCN being maintained 20% to 30% by controlled feed strong NaCN. The normal case depths for this process are about 0,25mm with bath strengths of 20% to 30% NaCN. High bath strengths 40% to 50% NaCN are required for case depths of 0,5mm.  The case resulting from this process includes carbon and nitrogen. The nitrogen does provide a hard surface but can also encourage retained undesireable austenite in the surface layer. The bath is sometimes convered with a graphite material to reduce the nitrogen content. This process normall works with bath temperatures of 800oC to 950oC for immersion times from 2 to 7 hours depending on the depth required. For thicker case depths (up to 1,6mm) activated salt baths are used these are based on cyanide and alkaline earth chlorides which act as the activators. Components are normally jigged and pre-heated to about 350oC before being introduced into the bath.

Induction hardening provides a similar surface treatment regime to flame hardening .   The steel component is located inside a water cooled copper coil which has (AC) alternating current through it.   This causes the outer surface of the component to heat up.    Depending on the AC frequency and current, the rate of heating as well as the depth of heating can be controlled. This process is well suited for surface heat treatment.

So by having the SolidCAM for Operators Editor, they have access to the CAM part data, including tool table data and set up, do a simulation and perform a dry run at the CNC. They can also edit basic parameters, like speeds and feeds, using the SolidCAM for Operators Editor.

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SolidCAM is a best-in-class, complete CAM Solution seamlessly integrated in SOLIDWORKS. The major benefits of SolidCAM's SOLIDWORKS integration include:

The complete CAM Solution for your Manufacturing, with revolutionary iMachining, best MillTurn and Swiss CNCs support, seamlessly integrated and fully associative in SOLIDWORKS, Solid Edge and Inventor.

The Solid Probe operations are based on the same geometry as 2.5D milling operations. The user interface provides full control over tolerances, different sorting options and a fast preview of cycle movements.

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Steel often requires heat treatment to obtain improved properties e.g increase hardness or strength, or to neutralise negative effects resulting from previous manufacturing processes e.g.remove internal stresses generated by fabrication processes. The various heat treatment processes include.

Automatic Feature Recognition & Machining (AFRM) from SolidCAM sets the new standards for automating CAM Programming, including:

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iMachining 2D's Feature Recognition technology detects and defines the part machinable features by utilizing the solid model data, with minimal input from the user.

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For CNC operators with no deeper technical understanding and responsibilities, the Shop Floor Simulator makes it easy to understand the setup, what tools are used and to perform a simulation of all the machining operations before doing the actual machining.

"The integrated approach facilitates discussion and resolution of manufacturing issues because everyone is working with the same model and modeler. We communicate issues and features a lot better working with an integrated system.”

Certain steel alloys can absorb nitrogen with a resulting extremely hard surface layer.   The process consists of maintaining the steel component at a carefullly controlled temperature of 490oC to 530oC under the action of nascent of active nitrogen produced on the surface of the component by the decomposition of gaseous ammonia.  The resulting surface is extremely hard and extremely thin but very brittle.  An nitrides based on steel alloys are less brittle and more stable than straight iron nitrides and therefor this process is only used for certain alloy steels.. The process time is relatively long compared to the carburising process at about 90 hours.    The temperature of the furnace has to be maintained within ±5oC and therefore electrical heating is generally used.   The components are generally stacked in gas-tight boxes supported on nickel mesh trays.  The boxes include a inlet and outlet pipes for the ammonia gas circulation flow. Quenching is not normally required following nitriding and therefore is normal to machine the components to size before nitriding.   Nitriding does involve small dimension increases of up to (0,05mm) on diameters and smaller amounts on individual flat surfaces and lengths. Nitrided surfaces retain hardness even if cycled for short periods at temperatures of up to 500oC.   Carburised hardened surfaces lose their hardness under similar circumstances. Steel subject to nitriding is generally hardened and tempered and finished machined.   The components are often stress relieved prior to final machining.   The nitriding process is also often followed by surface grinding to remove the most brittle outer layer.

"SolidCAM is the Swiss pocket knife for machining. With the modules for the 2.5D, 3D, simultaneous 5-axis machining and rotary milling, all daily machining tasks can be done quickly – from the complex drilling pattern to the most demanding 5-axis impeller. Program the part, simulate and off you go on the machine. The software delivers, what it has promised!"

In many machine shops, the tasks of CAM programming and CNC operation are often worlds apart. CNC operators require a deep understanding of setup, tooling, and simulation.

SolidCAM's Turning module produces advanced rough and finish profile turning, together with support for facing, grooving, threading and drilling cycles.

Easily work on parts, assemblies, and sketch geometry to define your CNC machining operations. Quickly place fixtures and components for full visualization.

Many of the heat treatment processes can be completed in vacuum furnaces at very low pressures (high vacuums).   The advantages of using vacuum furnaces are listed below.

The process applies more to the hypereutectoid steels (above 0,8% C). The process involves heating the metal to between 600oC and 650oC and holding it at at the selected temperature for a period of time the cementite changes from a lamella formation to a formation based on an alpha ferrite matrix with particles of spheroidal cementite (Fe3C) are embedded.   This resulting steel has improved ductility and toughness compared to the original steel with reduced hardness and strength.

Provides 70% and more in cycle time savings, increases tool life 5 times and more, and the iMachining Technology Wizard provides optimal feeds and speeds for every point of the toolpath, taking into account the stock material, cutting tool properties and the CNC machine parameters.

SolidCAM provides a comprehensive turning package with powerful toolpaths and techniques for fast and efficient turning with fixture and holder protection.

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Supports all CNC machine types and brands on the market - up to complex multi channel MillTurn CNCs including Swiss-Type.

With the single-window integration, all machining operations can be defined, calculated and verified without leaving the SOLIDWORKS assembly environment.

"The integrated approach has a lot of advantages, including saving time, accessing a single geometry file, and using the intelligence of our design data in a more efficient, systematic way."

Gas caburising allos is accurate control of the process temperature and caburising atmosphere. The components are brought to a uniform temperature in a neutral atmosphere. The caburising atmosphere is introduced only for the required time to ensure the correct depth of case. The carbon potential of the gas can be lowered to permit diffusion avoiding excess carbon in the surface layer. Gas carburising uses a gaseous atmosphere in a sealed furnace usually containing propane (C3H8) or butane (C4H10).   Sometimes the generted carbon dioxide, water vapour, and oxygen are controlled at low levels by purifying using activated carbon filters at high tempertures. An alternative carburising atmosphere is sometime generated by using a drip feed system by feed an organic fluid based on methyl , ethyl or isopropyl achohol + benzene or equivalent is fed into the carburising chamber at a controlled rate. In this process there are generally internal fans working to ensure and even gas in the chamber. After carburizing, the work is either slow cooled for later quench hardening, or quenched directly into various liquid quenches.   Quench selection is made to achieve the optimum properties with acceptable levels of dimensional change.   Hot oil quenching is preferred for minimal distortion, but may be limited in application by the strength requirements for the product.

"This approach shortens the learning curve for programmers, offers greater geometry editing and manipulation power to manufacturing and provides a common tool for supporting interaction between designers and machinists"

Programming times for prismatic parts are drastically reduced with iMachining 3D. In a single operation, roughn and rest rough an entire 3D prismatic part that includes any number of pockets and islands, without chaining or sketching a single contour. With just the solid geometry and cutting tool as input, iMachining 3D calculates the rest - automatically and optimally.

Indexial 4/5-axis machining is where SolidCAM absolutely shines and where you will see incredible improvements in your workflow.

Manual CNC programming of sophisticated parts on complex machines, directly at the machine controller is – if at all humanly possible – unproductive, error-prone and expensive.

Note: Agitation of medium increases its quenching severity Soft distilled water is the preferred medium when using water for quenching carbon steels.  The water should have no impurites such as oil, grease or acids as they could result in uneven hardening if they stick to the surface of the steel being hardened an provide local thermal insulation.    Hard water is unsatisfactory because it may release scale as the temperature is raised.   Soap is sometimes added to adjust quenching rates.  Cold brine or water is used to provide the most severe quench with the consequent maximum hardness.  Extreme care is require in the selection of sections shapes hardened as the process result in severe thermal shock with consequent cracking and distortion. Oil bath quenching is used where extreme hardness is not required and where freedom from quenching shock is needed.  Oils used are mainly mineral oils with the viscosity selected to suit the type of steel to be quenched.   Oil cooling systems are required when significant quenching capacity is required to prevent the oil from breaking down and to maintain the quenching conditions. Air cooling is used for mild hardening process when a tough hard pearlitic structure is required.

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The revolutionary iMachining CAM module, fully integrated in SOLIDWORKS, will make you and your CNC machines more profitable and more competitive than ever before.

iMachining's features and algorithms give you unbelievable cycle time savings and unmatched tool life performance while providing you with perfect machining feeds and speeds, the first time, every time.

SolidCAM’s Turbo 3D HSR (THSR) and Turbo 3D HSM (THSM) are powerful High Speed Roughing (HSR) and High Speed Machining (HSM) modules for much faster calculations than the regular HSR / HSM modules.

SolidCAM for Operators Simulator has no CAM part editing capabilities at all. It enables the CNC Operator to see the Tool table list with full details, to understand the clamping, the work offsets, and to see the simulation of the CAM Part, before running the G-Code on the CNC machine.

The properties of heat treated steel are significantly affected by the thickness of the section.   Hardening consist of heating the steel through and just above its critical range to obtain the condition of solid solution and quenching with sufficient rapidity to retain this condition.   If a steel has a large thickness it is practically impossible to obtain an even temperature throughout and the middle of the section is always at a lower temperature compared to the outside surfaces.    On quenching the heat is absorbed rapidly from the outside and it is impossible even with the most drastic quench processes to remove heat from the core region sufficient to obtain the desire structure.   For thin sections it may be possible to obtain the desire structure throughout the section with a comparative mild quenching process.

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Hardening involves heating a steel to its normalising temperature and cooling (Quenching ) rapidly in a suitable fluid e.g oil, water or air. Steel is basically an alloy iron and carbon some steels alloys have have various other elements in solution.   When steel is heated above the upper critical temperature (about 760oC), the iron crystal structure will change to face centered cubic (FCC), and the carbon atoms will migrate into the central position formerly occupied by an iron atom.   This form of red-hot steel is called austentite (γ iron).   If this steel form cools slowly, the iron atoms move back into the cube forcing the carbon atoms back out, resulting in soft steel called pearlite.   If the sample was formerly hard, this softening process is called annealing. If the steel is cooled quickly (quench) by immersing it in oil or water, the carbon atoms are trapped, and the result is a very hard, brittle steel.   This steel crystal structure is now a body centered tetragonal(BCT) form called martensite.

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This process involves direct an oxy acetylene flame on the surface of the steel being hardened and heating the surface above the upper critical temperature before quenching the steel in a spray of water. This is also known as the shorter process. This is a surface hardening process resulting in a hard surface layer of about 2mm to 6mm deep. The main difference between this process and other surface hardening processes is that the composition of the steel being hardened is not changed. The steel must itself have sufficient hardenability . This limits this process to steels having carbon contents of above 0,35%. Steels with carbon contents of 0,4%-0,7% are most suitable for this process. Steels with higher content and high alloy steels may not be suitable as they a liable to cracking.  This process produces similar result to the conventional hardening process but with less hardness penetration.

When minor G-Code adjustments are needed, like altering cutting conditions or tool offsets, operators should have the flexibility to make these changes swiftly. However, this process often involves back-and-forth with CAM programmers, leading to workflow delays.

Anealing is reheating steel followed by slow cooling.   It is completed a) to remove internal stress or to soften or b) to refine the crystalline structure (This involves heating to above the upper critical temperature ). The steel is heated about 25oC above the upper critical temperature, held for a set time and then cooled slowly in the furnace.   This process is used to remove internal stresses built up as a result of cold working and fabrication processes.   Following annealing the dislocations are rearranged in to a lower energy configuration, new strain free grains are formed and grain growth is encouraged.

CNC Operators normally get the G-Code file together with a list of tools, a setup sheet showing the part clamping and locations of work offsets, but do not have direct access to the CAM-System.

Automatic Feature Recognition and Machining, using pre-defined templates for fast programming. Advanced collision control and machine preview shows the complete machine kinematics during programming.

The primary purpose of case hardening is to produce a surface which is resistant to wear while maintaining the overall toughness and strength of the steel core.  This type of process is normally used on a steel with a low carbon content and introduces carbon by diffusion (carburising) into the local surfaces requiring treatment.. Subsequent heat treatment develops the desired combination of high surface hardness and internal toughness.  Another process called Nitriding consists of the diffusion of nitrogen. Notes on three primary carburising processes (Pack Carburising, Gas Carburising and Liquid Carburising are provided below.

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Unique machining and linking strategies for 3D high-speed toolpaths. It smooths the paths of both cutting moves and retracts, wherever possible, to maintain a continuous machine tool motion – an essential requirement for maintaining higher feed rates and eliminating dwelling.

Swiss CNC turning centers are a cost-effective solution for machining small, complex, and precision parts. These advanced machines feed material through a guide bushing, and cut using linear or revolver tools, all in one setup. Swiss machines handle multiple operations simultaneously, efficiently automating the entire machining process.

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SolidCAM's exclusive and patented iMachining is an intelligent high speed milling technology that creates significantly faster and safe CNC programs to machine mechanical parts with first part success, while maximizing tool life.

It depends on whether they want to provide CNC operators with simulation capabilities only or grant them additional editing capabilities. For more information, refer to the detailed comparison table.

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That is why SolidCAM created Tools for Operators – to simplify shop floor processes and empower experienced CNC operators to grasp CAM data easily and, if necessary, make quick edits to machining parameters.

All 2D and 3D geometries used for machining are fully associative to the SOLIDWORKS design model. If you make any changes to your SOLIDWORKS model, all of your CAM operations will be automatically updated.

The hardenability of a steel is broadly defined as the property which determines the depth and distribution of hardness induced by quenching. Hardenability is a characteristic determined by the following factors

The knowledge and experience of hundreds of CAM and CNC masters in the palm of your hand, as the iMachining Wizard and Toolpath take you to an entirely new level of CNC performance!

Modern Mill-Turn CNC centers are designed to combine as many milling and turning operations as possible, to manufacture workpieces at maximum productivity.

CAM Programmers are technologists that determine the strategy for machining a part on the shop floor. Usually well acquainted with CNC technology and capabilities, a CAM Programmer uses SolidCAM to define the machining process, using a variety of machine operations. At each stage, the Programmer can use the SolidCAM simulation capabilities to check the operations, edit specific operations and machining parameters and then produce a G-Code file.

Benefit from the most tested and proven 5-Axis machining tool paths in the industry, with a user-friendly interface, collision checking and the most advanced control over all aspects of the tool path:

iMachining 3D automatically produces a complete, ready to run CNC program, with optimal cutting conditions, achieved by the expert knowledge-based Technology Wizard, to rough and rest rough an entire 3D part in a single operation.

With probes, the setup of your CNC-parts becomes easier and the can be used to control the quality of machined parts right on the machine. Programming Probe cycles for Home definition and On-Machine Verification has never been easier.

The revolutionary iMachining CAM module will make you and your CNC machines more profitable and more competitive than ever before. iMachining, a real breakthrough in CNC milling tool path technology, enables extremely faster and deeper machining by optimizing tool cutting angles and feed rates on every tool path position.

SolidCAM’s iMachining has the exclusive patented iMachining Technology Wizard, the industry’s first and only Wizard that automatically calculates optimal cutting conditions for every segment of the iMachining tool path.

This process involves heating the metal to a temperature in the range 550oC to 650oC and held at this temperature before being cooled at a controlled rate.  This also reduces stresses resulting from cold working and fabrication by allowing dislocations to rearrange to a lower energy configuration. This process is used to allow further forming operations and to prevent distortion of the steel components as a result of subsequent machining operations

3DEXPERIENCE Works provides a Safe, Social, Connected, Informed and Structured alternative to SolidCAM for team leaders, project managers and other professionals who want to manage data on the cloud and collaborate without constraints.

"If changes are made on the manufacturing side, we capture them on both the design side and the manufacturing side because SOLIDWORKS and SolidCAM are fully associative.”

In a typical CNC machine shop using SolidCAM, you'll find seats for CAM programmers and SolidCAM for Operators Editor/Simulator Seats. The choice of using the SolidCAM for Operators Editor or SolidCAM for Operators Simulator is made by the shop floor manager.

SolidCAM HSS is a high speed surface machining module for smooth and powerful machining of localized surface areas in the part, including undercuts.

A common scene in any machine shop today is that 4- and 5-axis CNC machines are increasing production, providing faster cycle times and the ability to manufacture parts completely in one setup only. SolidCAM provides an effective and easy way to program on multiple sides of a part.

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SolidCAM's 2.5D Milling module provides the most straightforward, easy-to-use interface that is seamlessly integrated in SOLIDWORKS and Inventor. Combined with the latest toolpath technology, SolidCAM 2.5D Milling provides the fastest, most powerful and easiest to create 2.5D CNC Milling toolpaths.

SolidCAM + SOLIDWORKS is scalable for all CNC machine types and applications. The integrated CAD/CAM Solution, is available from SolidCAM, as a bundle-package.

This process is the simplest and earliest carburising process based on placing the components to be treated in metal containers with the caburising mixture, based on powdered charcoal and 10% barium carbonate, packed around the components.   The containers are then heated to a constant temperature (850oC to 850oC )for a time period to ensure an even temperature throughout and sufficient to enable the carbon to diffuse into the surface of the components to sufficient depth. Because this process is difficult to control case depths of less than 0,6mm are not viable and the normal case depths produced are 0,25mm to 6mm.

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Normalising involves heating the steel to about 40oC above its upper critical limit.   The steel is then held at this temperature for a period of time and is then cooled in air..  It is desireable that the temperature of the steel shall be maintained for a time period more than 2 minutes per mm of section thickness and shall not exceed the upper critical temperature by more than 50oC. The structure produced by this process is pearlite (eutectoid) or pearlite in a ferrite matrix (hypoeutectoid) or pearlite in a cementite matrix (hypereutectoid).  Because the steel is cooled in air the process results in a fine pearlite formation with improved mechanical properties compared to the full annealing process below Normalising is used to

SolidCAM for Operators Editor enables the CNC machine Operator to open existing CAM parts, created by the SolidCAM Programmers, edit the operations if needed (e.g. change step down or change the tool speeds and feeds), recalculate, simulate, then post-process the new G-code, right by the CNC machine.

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SolidCAM HSS provides easy selection of the surfaces to be machined with no need to define the boundaries, and supports both standard and shaped tools.

The time of heat treatment post carburisation relates to the condition of the steel. If the steel is prepared as a fine grain steel it is possible to complete a single quench operation following case hardening.  If the steel does not have a fine grain structure a normal process is to quench from about 870oC the quench again from about 790oC . This ensures reasonable mechanical properties in case and core.