PowerMILL 2016

What's New

Issue 1

PowerMILL
Copyright

1996 - 2015 Delcam Ltd. All rights reserved.

Delcam Ltd has no control over the use made of the software
described in this manual and cannot accept responsibility for any
loss or damage howsoever caused as a result of using the software.
Users are advised that all the results from the software should be
checked by a competent person, in accordance with good quality
control procedures.
The functionality and user interface in this manual is subject to
change without notice in future revisions of the software.
The software described in this manual is furnished under licence
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Acknowledgements
This documentation references a number of registered trademarks
and these are the property of their respective owners. For example,
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States.

Patents
The Raceline smoothing functionality is subject to patent
applications.
Patent granted: GB 2374562 Improvements Relating to Machine
Tools
Patent granted: US 6,832,876 Machine Tools
Some of the functionality of the ViewMill and Simulation modules of
PowerMILL is subject to patent applications.
Patent granted: GB 2 423 592 Surface Finish Prediction
The Vortex machining functionality is subject to patent applications.
Patent application: 1121277.6 Adaptive Clearance
The MachineDNA functionality is subject to patent applications.
Patent application: 1204908.6 Machine Testing
Licenses
Intelligent cursor licensed under U.S. patent numbers 5,123,087
and 5,371,845 (Ashlar Inc.)
PowerMILL 2016. Published on 15 July 2015

Contents
Summary of new features

Preparing toolpaths

Planar Section creation ....................................................................................... 3

Planar Section dialog ................................................................................. 4
Creating a planar section example ............................................................. 5

Generating toolpaths

10

Project mirroring overview ................................................................................ 10

Mirror project dialog .................................................................................. 11
Define Mirror Plane mode-toolbar ............................................................ 12
Mirroring a project example ...................................................................... 14
Single Blade Finishing Overview ...................................................................... 17
Single blade finishing ........................................................................................ 18
Single Blade Finishing Approach page ..................................................... 23
Single Blade Curve Definition mode-toolbar ............................................. 24
Rib machining enhancements........................................................................... 28
Toolpath visualisation ....................................................................................... 29
Verifying toolpaths ............................................................................................ 30
NC program verification enhancements ................................................... 30
Automatic collision checking enhancements ............................................ 33

Outputting toolpaths

34

Simulating carousel tool changes ..................................................................... 34

Tool Position dialog .......................................................................................... 35
General enhancements..................................................................................... 36

Automating PowerMILL

38

Index

39

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Contents i

Summary of new features

PowerMILL is the leading NC CAM software specialising in the

manufacture of complex shapes typically found in the toolmaking,
automotive, and aerospace industries. PowerMILL 2016 offers all of
the original features of PowerMILL 2015R2, but with numerous
improvements. This document describes the most significant
improvements.
PowerMILL 2016 contains the following new features and
enhancements:
Preparing toolpaths

Planar section (see page 3) Creates planar sections that slice

the model along a plane.

Generating toolpaths

Project mirroring (see page 10) Machines symmetric parts and

maintains machining characteristics.

Single blade finishing (see page 17) Creates toolpaths to

machine single-blade aerofoils.

Rib machining enhancements (see page 28) The Offset list

contains the following new options:

Floor only Creates toolpaths along the base of the channel.

Constant Z Creates toolpaths with a constant Z height.

Toolpath visualisation (see page 28) Displays safe areas

translucently.

Verifying toolpaths

NC program verification enhancements (see page 30) Enables

you to turn off machine tool checks for connections or toolpaths.

Automatic collision checking enhancements (see page 32)

Enables you to select what is being collision checked in Model
Area Clearance and Model Rest Area Clearance strategies.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Summary of new features 1

Outputting toolpaths

Carousel tool changes (see page 34) Simulates tool changes

on a carousel or a tool-changer.

Tool Position (see page 35) Displays the coordinates of the

tool when it is attached to the machine tool.

General enhancements (see page 36):

Automatic transparency of machine tools PowerMILL

automatically makes machine tools transparent if they
obstruct the view of a model during a simulation.

Overhang adjustment on collision Modifies only the tool

overhang after a collision.

Tool drawing during simulation Toggles the drawing of a

tool during simulation.

Automating PowerMILL

Model metadata (see page 38) Delcam Exchange can now

extract the metadata from 3rd party CAD files and communicate
them to PowerMILL during the translation process.

2 Summary of new features

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Preparing toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 contains the following changes and improvements

to the preparation of toolpaths:

Planar section (see page 3) Create planar sections that slice

the model along a plane.

Planar Section creation

Use the Planar Section dialog to create curves that slice the model
along a plane. For an example of planar section creation, see
Creating a planar section example (page 5).

Before you create a planar section, you must create a Pattern

or Boundary.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Preparing toolpaths 3

Planar Section dialog

Use the Planar Section dialog to create curves that slice the model
along a plane.

To display the Planar Section dialog:

1 In the Explorer, right-click an individual pattern or boundary.
2 Select Curve Editor. The Curve Editor mode-toolbar is displayed.

3 Click

on the Curve Creation

pull-out toolbar.

The dialog contains the following options:

Origin Use to specify the point of origin of the planar section.
Click to switch to position mode, which enables you to
specify the origin point of the planar section.
Enter the X, Y and Z coordinates of the
origin point of the planar section.
Position Click to display the Position dialog. Use this to
enter coordinates of the plane origin.
Surface Use to select a surface on the model which the curves are
created on. If nothing is selected, the entire model is used.

4 Preparing toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

 Click to switch to surface selection mode.

Hover over this button to display information about the
selected surface.
Tolerance Enter a value to determine how accurately the toolpath
follows the contours of the model.
Surface joining tolerance Enter a tolerance value to determine if
toolpaths can cross gaps between surfaces. For example, to create
a continuous toolpath across a gap, enter a large Surface joining
tolerance. To split toolpath segments between surfaces, enter a
small Surface joining tolerance.
For an example of creating a planar section, see Creating a
planar section example (page 5).

Creating a planar section example

To create a planar section:
1 Ensure the Intelligent Cursor is enabled.
2 Display the Planar Section dialog:
a In the Explorer, right-click an individual pattern or boundary.
b Select Curve Editor. The Curve Editor mode-toolbar is
displayed.

c Click

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

on the Curve Creation

pull-out toolbar.

Preparing toolpaths 5

The Planar Section dialog is displayed. The position of the

origin point is displayed on the model.

The cursor changes to

3 Click on the model to define a point which the slicing plane

passes through. The orientation is determined using the principal
editing plane of the active workplane. The coordinates of the
curve are displayed in the Origin area of the Planar Section
dialog.

6 Preparing toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

The Intelligent Cursor must be enabled for the origin

selection to work through the cursor.

4 To select a surface:
a Click
to switch to surface selection mode. The cursor
changes to
.
b Select a surface on the model. The selected surface turns
purple.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Preparing toolpaths 7

5 Enter:
a A Tolerance of 0.01.
b A Surface Joining Tolerance of 10.0.
6 Click Preview. A preview of the curve is displayed as a thick, red
line on the model.

7 Click Create. The segments are added to the pattern.

When the plane is previewed or created, an information
balloon appears in the dialog. This lists the number of open
and closed curves generated.

8 Preparing toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

8 Click Close to close the dialog. The curve is displayed on the

model.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Preparing toolpaths 9

Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 contains the following changes and improvements

to the generation of toolpaths:

Project mirroring (see page 10) Machines symmetric parts and

maintains machining characteristics.

Single blade finishing (see page 17) Creates toolpaths to

machine single-blade aerofoils.

Rib machining enhancements (see page 28) The Offset list

contains the following new options:

Floor only Creates toolpaths along the base of the channel.

Constant Z Creates toolpaths with a constant Z height.

Toolpath visualisation (see page 28) Displays safe areas

translucently.

Project mirroring overview

You can mirror a project in PowerMILL. This enables you to machine
symmetric parts and maintain the machining characteristics.
PowerMILL mirrors all of the geometric entities, except for
workplanes that are used for NCProgram or ModelLocation output.
In many cases, PowerMILL geometrically mirrors the toolpaths and
boundaries if the Optimise setting is used. This option preserves
post-calculation edits. Otherwise, PowerMILL may need to
recalculate entities that could not be transformed. PowerMILL warns
you if any edits are not preserved, and places all toolpaths that
need recalculating into a group.
You need to manually recalculate any pre-drill holes created
for Area clearance approach moves, these toolpaths are placed
in a group.

10 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

After you have calculated a toolpath, you may want to edit the
model entities. PowerMILL can mark edited toolpaths as changed,
depending on your selection from the Machining mode list. If your
surfaces are in a Thickness Set where the Machining mode is set to
Machine or Collision, the parameter NonIgnoredModelState marks
the toolpath as changed. If you select Ignore from the Machining
mode list, the parameter is not marked as changed. To remove a
changed state from a toolpath, you can invalidate or recalculate it.
The state is checked during project mirroring. Toolpaths marked as
changed are placed in a group for you to manually recalculate:
recalculation of toolpaths and their dependants does not occur
automatically.
As PowerMILL may have to recalculate the Area clearance toolpaths,
use Thickness sets to specify surfaces to machine or ignore when
you create or remove capping surfaces for individual toolpaths.
Use Tools > Options > Import > Model > Calculated toolpaths and
boundaries ignore new models to recalculate existing toolpaths
without having to manually change the thickness sets.
Options controlling project mirroring are found in the Mirror project
(see page 11) dialog.

Mirror project dialog

To display the Mirror Project dialog, click
select Tools > Mirror Project.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

on the Main toolbar or

Generating toolpaths 11

The dialog contains the following options:

Define mirror plane
Click to define the mirror plane
interactively. This displays the Define Mirror Plane mode-toolbar (see
page 12).
Workplane Select the workplane along which the project is
mirrored. This activates the selected workplane.
Position Enter the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the mirror plane.
Click to display the Position dialog. Use the dialog to manually
enter coordinates and locate items in the graphics window.
Direction Enter the component of the mirror plane along the X, Y
and Z axes.
Click to display the Direction dialog. This provides additional
options to edit orientation vectors.
Optimise Select to mirror the toolpath geometry, including the
strategy type and editing history, instead of recalculating it.
Calculate Select to automatically recalculate the toolpaths and
boundaries.
Transform Click to perform the transformation. The Status area of
the dialog displays the progress of the transformation.
For an example of how to mirror a project, see Mirroring a
project example (page 14).

Define Mirror Plane mode-toolbar

Use the Define Mirror Plane mode-toolbar to define the workplane of
the project you want to mirror.
When you mirror a workplane, the Y axis is flipped to ensure the
creation of a mathematically correct axis.
Mirroring in YZ

12 Generating toolpaths

converts this:

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

to this:

The Define Mirror Plane mode-toolbar contains the following options:

Align plane to XY plane Align mirror plane to XY in
preparation for mirroring in Z.
Align plane to YZ plane Align mirror plane to YZ in
preparation for mirroring in X.
Align plane to ZX plane Align mirror plane to ZX in
preparation for mirroring in Y
Define plane using line Define the line by pressing the left
mouse button to give a start point and release it to give an end
point.
Workplane origin When selected, uses the active workplane as
the origin. If no workplane is active then uses the global coordinate
system as the origin.
Bounding box origin When selected, the origin is the centre of
the bounding box containing all the entities.
Move origin When selected, you can move the origin
graphically by dragging or by entering coordinates using
and

, or

in the Status bar.

Undo Select to revert to what it was before the last change.

Redo Select to reinstate the edit you have just undone.
Accept changes Click to accept and keep all the created
curves.
Cancel changes Click to delete all the created curves.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 13

Mirroring a project example

To mirror a project:
1 Click
on the Main toolbar or select Tools > Mirror Project to
display the Mirror Project dialog.

2 Select a workplane from the list. This represents the coordinate

system that you want to mirror the project along. In this
example, select 2 from the Workplane list.

14 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

This displays the workplane on the model.

3 Select Calculate to automatically recalculate toolpaths and

boundaries.
4 Click Transform. The Status area of the dialog displays the
progress of the transformation.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 15

5 The mirrored project is displayed in the graphics window.

16 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Single Blade Finishing Overview

Use the Single Blade Finishing strategy to create toolpaths to
machine single blade aerofoils.

The pages associated with Single Blade Finishing are:

Single Blade Finishing (see page 17) The main page used to
create toolpaths to machine single blade aerofoils.

Approach (see page 23) Settings to control the height and

stepdown of the ramp.

The remaining pages are common toolpath creation controls.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 17

Single blade finishing

Use the Single Blade Finishing strategy to create toolpaths to
machine single-blade aerofoils.
To display the Single Blade Finishing strategy page, select Single
Blade Finishing from the Blisk page of the Strategy Selector dialog.
The page contains the following options:

Curve definition specifies the curves bounding the area you want to
machine and adds the machining properties to those curves. The
pattern must contain two or more curve segments.
Create pattern Click to create a new empty pattern. You can
then collect wireframe curves and add them to the empty pattern
using the Collect curves

button.

Selected pattern Select a pattern from the list. If no

pattern is displayed, or
is selected, then no pattern is
selected. The list contains a list of all available patterns.
Curve Editor Click to display the Curve Editor for the selected
pattern. If no pattern is selected, PowerMILL creates a new pattern.
Use the Curve Editor to create planar sections that are used to
define single blade finishing toolpaths.
Select picked pattern Click to select a pattern by picking in the
graphics window, rather than by name in the Select pattern list.

18 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Clicking

displays the Pick Tool Pattern mode-toolbar.

Select a pattern in the graphics window to close the Pick Tool

Pattern mode-toolbar and display the pattern in the Selected
Pattern field.
Collect curves Click to copy the selected curves into the
pattern.Use this option if you want to collect wireframe curves.
This provides a fast, powerful means of extracting curve
geometry from a surface model and copying it into the active
pattern/boundary. You can insert:
1 Individual surface boundary curves.
2 Boundary curves around a selection of surfaces.
3 Model wireframe geometry.
4 Existing pattern or boundary segments.
5 Click
to display the Pattern Collect
mode-toolbar. For more information, see the collecting curves
example.
Select curves Displays the Single Blade Curve Definition modetoolbar (see page 24). This enables you to make changes or setup
the curve definition.
Status Displays information about the pattern you have selected.

No pattern No pattern is selected.

Not defined The pattern contains more than 3 segments.

Valid The pattern contains 2 closed curves (and optionally 1

open curve).

Invalid The pattern does not contain any segments or does not
contain 2 closed segments.

Minimise Axis Movement Select to follow the surface normal less

accurately on curved parts of the model. This creates a smoother
and faster machine motion. The cutting tool rolls around the curved
parts of the blade, for example, the leading and trailing edges.
Select this option for roughing or semi-finishing toolpaths where
cycle time is more important than surface finish.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 19

Spiral Select to enable the toolpath to spiral around the aerofoil.

Spiral toolpaths are typically more efficient than non-spiral
toolpaths as they do not contain lead-in or lead-out moves. Spiral
toolpaths also avoid shock-loading the cutting tool as it leads into
and out of stock. This creates a consistent surface finish and
improves the cutting life of the tool.
Toolpath with Spiral selected:

Toolpath with Spiral deselected:

20 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Cut direction Select a milling style.

Climb Select to create toolpaths using only climb milling,
where possible. The tool is on the left of the machined edge
when viewed in the direction of tool travel.
Conventional Select to create toolpaths using only
conventional or upcut milling, where possible. The tool is on the
right of the machined edge when viewed in the direction of tool
travel.
Tolerance Options to specify how accurately the toolpath follows
the contours of the model.
Surface joining tolerance Enter a tolerance value to determine if
toolpaths can cross gaps between surfaces. For example, to
create a continuous toolpath across a gap, enter a large Surface
joining tolerance. To split toolpath segments between surfaces,
enter a small Surface joining tolerance.
Model Defect Removal Tolerance Use this option to smooth
toolpaths and ignore small defects in your CAD model. Enter the
maximum defect thickness that is ignored by the toolpath. Model
Defect Removal Tolerance improves the machining quality, as the
tool does not dwell on defects below a specified size.
This aerofoil contains a defect that is 0.25 mm deep:

If Model defect tolerance is set to 0.01 mm (default) PowerMILL

generates a toolpaths where the tool tip rolls into the defect. The
tool axis wobbles, which results in an unacceptable machine
motion:

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 21

If you enter a Model defect tolerance that is greater than the

defect size (for example, 0.5 mm), PowerMILL ignores the defect
and produces a smooth toolpath:

Tolerance Enter a value to determine how accurately the

toolpath follows the contours of the model.
Thickness Enter the amount of material to be left on the part.
Component thickness Click to display the Component thickness
dialog, which enables you to specify the thicknesses of the different
surfaces.
Stepover Enter the distance between successive machining
passes.
You can edit the ramp options on the Approach page of the
Single Blade Finishing strategy (see page 23).

22 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Single Blade Finishing Approach page

Use the Ramp option on the Approach page to engage the cutting
tool into the stock in a controlled manner. The Ramp option is a 5axis extension of the main toolpath and preserves lead and lean tool
axis. As the Ramp move is created as part of the main toolpath
calculation, it cannot be edited without re-calculating the toolpath.
This is in contrast to the functionality of other Ramp options within
PowerMILL, for example, in the Leads and Links dialog.
Ramp options are displayed on the Approach page of the Single
Blade Finishing strategy.

Ramp Select to enable you to edit the ramp options.

Height Enter the height above the toolpath segment at which the
ramp starts. This is measured with respect to the tool axis.
Ramp step type Select Use stepdown or Use angle.
If you select Use stepdown, enter a value in the Stepdown field.
If you select Use angle, enter a value in the Angle field or click
Angle to display the Measure mode-toolbar.
Stepdown Enter the distance between different machining levels.
This option is only available if you select a Ramp step type of Use
stepdown.
For example, if you enter a Height of 20 and a Stepdown of 5:

If you enter a Height of 20 and a Stepdown of 20:

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 23

Angle Enter the angle at which the ramp enters the material or
click Angle to display the Measure mode-toolbar. This option is only
available if you select a Ramp step type of Angle.
For example, if you enter a Height of 20 and an Angle of 5:

If you enter a Height of 20 and an Angle of 1:

Single Blade Curve Definition mode-toolbar

Use the new Single Blade Curve Definition mode-toolbar to:

specify the curves bounding the area you want to machine.

add machining properties to the curves you specify.

Use the Single Blade Curve Definition mode-toolbar to select a start

curve, an end curve, intermediate curves and to specify the
machining properties. To display the Single Blade Curve Definition
on the Single blade finishing
mode-toolbar, click Select curves
strategy page (see page 17).

24 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

The mode-toolbar contains the following options:

Select start curve Select a closed curve where you want the
machining to start.

Select end curve Select a closed curve where you want the
machining to end.

Select seam curve Select an open curve that joins the start and
end curves. This curve defines the start point of each toolpath
segment and must connect to the start and end curves.

To minimise the likelihood of leaving a dwell mark on the

machined component, the seam curve should be located by
the leading or trailing edge of the blade.
Select starting point If there is no seam curve to select, click
Select starting point to define the starting point of the curve.

In order to select a starting point, you must have a valid tool

for the strategy, with a diameter greater than zero.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 25

Reverse drive curves Swaps the start and end drive curve.
The drive curve is reversed:

Change cut direction Changes the cut direction from

conventional to climb milling or from climb to conventional milling.

26 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Reverse side to machine Toggles the side of the curve that is

machined. For example, click to toggle the creation of toolpaths
from the area between the two curves, to the area outside the two
curves. A tool is displayed to indicate which side of the curves is
machined.
Click Reverse side to machine

to toggle the machining side.

Area in which toolpaths are generated.

Area in which toolpaths are not generated.
The tool is displayed in the machining area.
Curve definition status
information.

Hover to display curve definition

Accept Changes Click to accept and keep the changes.

Cancel Changes Click to delete the changes.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 27

Rib machining enhancements

There are enhancements to the Rib machining strategy page. The
Offset list contains the following new options:

Floor only Select to create a toolpath along the base of the

channel.

Constant Z Select to create toolpaths with a constant Z height.

PowerMILL reorders Constant Z toolpaths so that segments within

the same pocket are cut together. This decreases the length of
connecting moves and makes the toolpath more efficient.

28 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Toolpath visualisation
Toolpath visualisation has the following enhancements:

Rapid move heights dialog and strategy page There is a new

Drawing options area with options to Draw rapid surface, Draw
plunge surface and adjust the opacity of both surfaces.

Toolpath toolbar There are two new buttons on the Toolpath

toolbar, which enable you to Draw Rapid Surface
Plunge Surface
.

and Draw

Drawing options
The new options on the Rapid move heights dialog and the strategy
pages are:

Draw rapid surface Select to draw the surface of the safe area.
Use the slider to set the level of opacity of the rapid surface.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 29

Draw plunge surface Select to draw the surface beyond which the
plunge moves are made. This is the region of space beyond which
approach moves are made at the plunge rate. Use the slider to set
the level of opacity of this surface.

Rapid surface drawn, with an opacity of 25.

Plunge surface drawn, with an opacity of 25.
For a box-shaped surface area, the plunge surface is the
same as the rapid surface. Therefore, Draw plunge surface is
unavailable for box-shaped surface areas.

Verifying toolpaths
PowerMILL 2016 contains the following changes and improvements
to the outputting of toolpaths:

NC program verification enhancements (see page 30) Enables

you to turn off machine tool checks for connections or toolpaths.

Automatic collision checking enhancements (see page 32)

Enables you to select what is being collision checked in Model
Area Clearance and Model Rest Area Clearance strategies.

NC program verification enhancements

Enhancements to the verification of NC programs enable you to turn
off machine tool checks for connections or toolpaths. This is in
addition to previous options that enable you to control shank and
holder collisions for connections or toolpaths.

30 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Enhancements are found on the NC program verification dialog and

the Verification tab of the NC Preferences dialog. To display the NC
program verification dialog, select Verify all from the NC Programs
context menu. Alternatively, to verify a single NC program, from the
individual NC program context menu, select Verify.
The enhancements to the NC program verification dialog are as
follows:

Verify the machine tool

This area contains options which enable you to collision check the
machine tool against itself and other components:
Verify toolpaths Select to check the toolpaths for collisions
involving the machine tool.
Verify connection moves Select to check the connections for
collisions involving the machine tool.
Machine tool clearance Enter the machine tool clearance you want
to use for verification. Entering a value clears the verification for the
NC program.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 31

Verify the tool against the model

This area contains options which enable you to collision check the
shank and holder against the model. This does not affect checks
with the machine tool.
Verify toolpaths Select to check for collisions between the tool,
the holder and the model.
Increase toolpath clearances Select to check for collisions in all
toolpaths.
Keep existing toolpath clearances Select to check for collisions
in all toolpaths that are not verified.
Verify connection moves Select to include connection moves in the
verification.
Holder Clearance Enter the minimum allowable distance between
the model and the tool holder profile.
Shank Clearance Enter the minimum allowable distance between
the model and the tool shank profile.
Click Holder clearance or Shank clearance to display the
Measure mode toolbar.

32 Generating toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Automatic collision checking enhancements

You can now select what to collision check against, in Model Area
Clearance or Model Rest Area Clearance strategies. From the Collision
checking against list on the Automatic verification page, you can
select to collision check:

the Model and Stock.

the Model Only.

The Model Only option is usually faster to calculate than the Model
and Stock option. However, this option does not check for collisions
between the tool holder and the stock so take care when running
these toolpaths.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Generating toolpaths 33

Outputting toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 contains the following changes and improvements

to the outputting of toolpaths:

Carousel tool changes (see page 34) Simulate tool changes on

a carousel or a tool changer.

Tool Position (see page 35) Display the coordinates of the tool
when it is attached to the machine tool.

General enhancements (see page 36):

Automatic transparency of machine tools PowerMILL

automatically displays machine tools as transparent if they
obstruct the view of a model during a simulation.

Overhang adjustment on collision Modify only the tool

overhang after a collision.

Tool drawing during simulation Toggle the drawing of a tool

during simulation.

Simulating carousel tool changes

You can now simulate tool changes on a carousel or a tool-changer,
where the tool moves independently from the machine tool head.
This enables you to identify issues with carousel tool changes, such
as collisions. To display carousel tool changes, use the Simulation
toolbar to simulate a toolpath or NC program in the same way as in
previous versions of PowerMILL.
If you load an .mtd file, the machine tool is automatically displayed.
Use the options on the Simulation toolbar to control the simulation.

34 Outputting toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Tool Position dialog

Use the Tool Position dialog to display the coordinates of the tool
that is currently being simulated. The coordinates update as you
simulate a toolpath, or edit the position of the machine tool.

To display the Tool Position dialog click

on the Machine Tool
toolbar, or on the Machine Tool Position dialog. The dialog contains
the following options:
to the machine tool.

Displays the name of the tool attached

Coordinate system Select a coordinate system from the list:

Current model location Select to use the current workplane.

Active NC Program output workplane Select to use the output

workplane specified in the active NC program.

Global transform Select to use the global coordinate system.

Active Toolpath model location Select to use the workplane of

the active toolpath.

Active Workplane Select to use the active workplane.

Named Workplane Select to enable you to choose a workplane

from the workplane list.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Outputting toolpaths 35

Tool tip position Displays the X, Y and Z coordinates of the tool

tip.
Tool centre position Displays the X, Y and Z coordinates of the tool
centre.
Gauge face position Displays the X, Y and Z coordinates of the
gauge face.
Tool axis direction Displays the Azimuth and Elevation angles of
the tool, and the Components of the tool (the X, Y and Z Cartesian
coordinates).

General enhancements
PowerMILL 2016 contains the following general enhancements:
Automatic transparency of machine tools
When you rotate a machine tool, it can be difficult to see the area of
interest. This is true in Dynamic Machine Control mode, where the
machine tool rotates quickly. Machine tool parts are now translucent
if they are between the user and the table attach point. The tool,
however, is always opaque. To disable automatic transparency,
right-click Machine Tools in the Explorer and deselect Autotransparency.

36 Outputting toolpaths

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Adjusting the overhang on collision

There is a new Adjust overhang only option on the Toolpath
Verification dialog. When selected, this modifies the tool overhang
value to avoid collisions. This option does not modify the length of
the cutter, so shank collisions still occur. To display the Toolpath
verification dialog, click

on the Main toolbar.

Drawing the tool during simulation

There is a new button on the Simulation toolbar that controls
whether a tool is drawn during simulation. always draws the tool
and does not draw the tool.

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Outputting toolpaths 37

Automating PowerMILL

Delcam Exchange can now extract the metadata from 3rd party CAD
files and transfer them to PowerMILL during the translation process.
This metadata is accessible through parameters which are
associated with groups, workplanes and geometries. These are used
to store information relevant to the machining of an item. This is
useful if you want to write macros or create bespoke automation
software.
For more information, see the MTD User Guide.

38 Automating PowerMILL

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

Index

Adjust overhang only 36

Auto-transparency 36

Blade finishing 18

Minimise axis movement 18

Mirroring 10
Mirroring a project 14
Transparency, automatic 36
Model defect removal tolerance 18
Model metadata 38

Carousel tool changes 34

Constant Z 28
Create planar section 4
Curve creation 3
Curve editor 3

Overhang Adjust overhang only 36

D
DDX 38
Define mirror plane mode-toolbar 12
Drawing the tool 36

P
Planar section 3
Planar section dialog 4
Planar section example 5
Project mirroring 10

R
Rib machining enhancements 28

F
Floor only 28

K
Key value pairs 38

PowerMILL 2016 What's New

S
Safe areas 29
Simulation 34
Single blade finishing 18
Single blade finishing approach page
23
Surface joining tolerance 4

Index 39

T
Tool carousel changes 34
Tool coordinates 35
Tool position dialog 35
Transform 10
Translucent safe areas 29

40 Index

PowerMILL 2016 What's New