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We appreciate all your work at BobCad. v23 has been a major improvement over earlier versions and the software is offering very good value for the $.
Love the integration with Predator Pro.
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Dear Valued BobCAD-CAM Customers,
An update to the Version 23 software system has been released and is available at www.bobcad.com/updates/. Following are the release notes:
Fixes
- Printing:
- Issues identified with GeForce 8 and 9 Series graphics cards in use on Windows Vista have been resolved and verified.
- Geometry for Surfaces and Solids:
- Surfaces and Solids associated with an operation now highlight in the workspace when the user clicks on the geometry item for a 3D Toolpath operation.
- Options for Absolute/Incremental:
- The options located in the Current Settings dialog for Absolute and Incremental coordinate mode have been corrected and linked to a posting variable for use in the Posting engine.
- Profile:
- Cases where geometry shapes were violated by the Offset Profile have been addressed.
- Dimensions:
- Dimension Point function now adjusts coordinates for Lathe Mode.
- New Window Option:
- Display Loss/Corruption due to selection of the New Window option has been addressed.
- Surface/Solid creation tools:
- Issues with irregular shapes coming from the Extrude function have been addressed.
- Some issues with the use of the Solid Fillet function have been addressed.
- Custom Colors:
- The Custom Colors options have been corrected so that they save user defined colors to the registry. The customer is now capable of creating custom colors for Entities, Background, Selection, Highlighting and UCS display that are all independent of one another.
- UCS Creation:
- The New UCS Creation uses the active UCS as the reference plane, instead of the Top UCS as the reference plane.
- Translate/Rotate Copy option:
- These functions have been corrected, so that if the user selects the Copy option and inputs 0 for the number of Copies, the field will default to 1.
- Posting Order:
- Issues with operations not posting in the order that they appear in the CAM Tree have been handled.
Enhancements:
Thank You,
- Printing:
- A New Print dialog has been added to allow the user more control over the output for high resolution printers.
- Color support has been added to the printing of Solids. Solids and Wire frame will now print in the colors displayed in the workspace.
- Toolbars:
- A new Selection Mask toolbar has been added to the system to allow the user to modify the Selection Mask on the fly.
- In addition, a new Dimension Point Mask option has been added to the selection mask options.
- New toolbar options have been added for:
- OK - This option is used in place of the OK option from the Right click menu.
- Cancel - This option is used in place of the Cancel option from the Right click menu.
- Modify to Current Linestyle - This option is used in place of the Modify to Current -> Linestyle option from the Right click menu.
- Modify to Current Color - This option is used in place of the Modify to Current -> Color option from the Right click menu.
- Modify to Current Layer - This option is used in place of the Modify to Current -> Layer option from the Right click menu.
- Measure Entity – A new toolbar icon has been created for this function.
- Measure Two Entities – A new toolbar has been created for this function.
- Dashed-Linestyle to Solid-Linestyle – This option will change selected wireframe geometry to a Solid Linestyle
- Solid-Linestyle to Dashede-Linestyle – This option will change selected wireframe geometry to a Dashed Linestyle.
- Shortcuts: Two new shortcuts have been created in the system:
- Spacebar – OK – This is used in place of the OK option found in the right click menu.
- Esc – Cancel - This is used in place of the Cancel option found in the right click menu.
- Verify Dialog:
- The size and the last view orientation are now stored in the Registry for the internal Verify dialog.
- Posting Status:
- A Status bar has been added to display the posting progress in large programs.
- CAM - MILL
- High Speed Pocketing:
- A new Smoothing Radius field has been added to the HSP to allow the user more control over how the tool enters into corners. The value for this field can be no larger than 45% and no smaller than 5%. The specified percentage is related to the tool diameter.
- Slice Planar:
- Material Entry – New Material Entry options have been added:
- Plunge
- Ramp
- Spiral
- Leads – the leads have been updated and simplified to include:
- Plunge
- Tangent with an Arc
- Horizontal
- Linking – the linking options have been expanded for Pro and Standard systems to include:
- Horizontal – Vertical (Standard & Pro)
- Follow (Standard & Pro)
- Arc (Pro)
- Loop (Pro)
- Roughing – the Step Down option has been modified so that, when possible, the same area in a part will not be cut more than once unnecessarily.
- Boundaries – New Boundaries have been added for the Slice Planar Operation
- Top of Job – This field will allow the user to specify the maximum location for toolpath. Linking to other areas will occur as a Rapid move.
- Bottom of Job – This field will allow the user to specify a floor, or a minimum location for the toolpath. No Toolpath will occur below this point.
- Direction control has been added for Climb and Conventional Milling.
- Slice Spiral:
- Material Entry – New Material Entry options have been added:
- Plunge
- Ramp
- Spiral
- Leads – the leads have been updated and simplified to include:
- Plunge
- Tangent with an Arc
- Horizontal
- Linking – the linking options have been expanded for Pro and Standard systems to include two new options for boundary containment:
- Follow – this option causes the toolpath to follow the 2D boundary definition along the surface of the part.
- Retract – this option causes the toolpath to retract when the boundary is met and rapid to the next position in the toolpath.
- Boundaries – New Boundaries have been added for the Slice Planar Operation
- Top of Job – This field will allow the user to specify the maximum location for toolpath. Linking to other areas will occur as a Rapid move.
- Bottom of Job – This field will allow the user to specify a floor, or a minimum location for the toolpath. No Toolpath will occur below this point.
- Direction Control – Climb and Conventional options have been added to the operation that allows the user to change the orientation of the Spiral.
- Slice Radial:
- Material Entry – New Material Entry options have been added:
- Plunge
- Ramp
- Spiral
- Leads – the leads have been updated and simplified to include:
- Plunge
- Tangent with an Arc
- Horizontal
- Linking – the linking options have been expanded for Pro and Standard systems to include:
- Horizontal – Vertical (Standard & Pro)
- Follow (Standard & Pro)
- Arc (Pro)
- Loop (Pro)
- Boundaries – New Boundaries have been added for the Slice Planar Operation
- Top of Job – This field will allow the user to specify the maximum location for toolpath. Linking to other areas will occur as a Rapid move.
- Bottom of Job – This field will allow the user to specify a floor, or a minimum location for the toolpath. No Toolpath will occur below this point.
- Direction Control – Climb (CW) and Conventional (CCW) options have been added to the operation that allows the user to change the orientation of the Spiral.
- Z-Level Rough:
- Boundary – A Boundary option has been added to the Z-Level Rough operation to allow containment of the toolpath.
- Material Entry – New Material Entry options have been added:
- Plunge
- Ramp
- Spiral
- Boundaries – New Boundaries have been added for the Slice Planar Operation
- Top of Job – This field will allow the user to specify the maximum location for toolpath. Linking to other areas will occur as a Rapid move.
- Bottom of Job – This field will allow the user to specify a floor, or a minimum location for the toolpath. No Toolpath will occur below this point.
- Pocket Direction – Pocket In and Pocket Out options have been added to the operation that allows the user to change method of material removal.
- Direction Control – Climb and Conventional options have been added to the operation that allows the user to change the orientation of the Spiral.
- Z-Level Finish:
- Boundary – A Boundary option has been added to the Z-Level Rough operation to allow containment of the toolpath.
- Material Entry – New Material Entry options have been added:
- Plunge
- Ramp
- Spiral
- Leads – The circular Leads have been updated to allow the user to input an angle for the arc into the path. This field indicates the total sweep of the Lead In/Out.
- Linking – the linking options have been expanded for Pro and Standard systems to include:
- Horizontal – Vertical (Standard & Pro)
- Follow (Standard & Pro)
- Spiral (Standard & Pro)
- Retract (Standard & Pro)
- S-Link (Pro)
- Linking on Boundary – Options have been added to handle toolpath and boundary intersections:
- Follow – this option causes the toolpath to follow the shape of the 2D boundary while conforming to surface(s).
- Retract – this option causes the toolpath to retract when the boundary is intersected and rapid to the next intersection in the path.
- Boundaries – New Boundaries have been added for the Slice Planar Operation
- Top of Job – This field will allow the user to specify the maximum location for toolpath. Linking to other areas will occur as a Rapid move.
- Bottom of Job – This field will allow the user to specify a floor, or a minimum location for the toolpath. No Toolpath will occur below this point.
- Pocket Direction – Pocket In and Pocket Out options have been added to the operation that allows the user to change method of material removal.
- Direction Control – Climb and Conventional options have been added to the operation that allows the user to change the orientation of the Spiral.
- Equidistant Offset:
- Material Entry – New Material Entry options have been added:\
- Plunge
- Ramp
- Spiral
- Leads – The circular Leads have been updated to allow the user to input an angle for the arc into the path. This field indicates the total sweep of the Lead In/Out.
- Linking – the linking options have been expanded to include:
- Horizontal – Vertical (Standard & Pro)
- Follow (Standard & Pro)
- S-Link (Pro)
- Boundaries – New Boundaries have been added for the Slice Planar Operation
- Top of Job – This field will allow the user to specify the maximum location for toolpath. Linking to other areas will occur as a Rapid move.
- Bottom of Job – This field will allow the user to specify a floor, or a minimum location for the toolpath. No Toolpath will occur below this point.
- Direction Control – Climb and Conventional options have been added to the operation that allows the user to control the direction of the toolpath.
- CAM-Wire EDM
- Tab Stop:
- The Tab Stop has been enhanced to include an option for the wire to stop on the contour.
- CAM-LATHE – The Lathe module has undergone a complete re-write including the toolpaths, feature dialogs and posting.
- General:
- Clockwise and Counter Clockwise options have been added to the operations for Spindle control.
- The dialogs have been condensed to enhance usability of the operation.
- The Posting Parameters field has been moved to the first page in the operations.
- System Compensation - The System Compensation option has been enhanced to improve functionality and increase reliability.
- Machine Compensation has been added to the operations allowing the user to select an Offset command for posting:
- Off
- Comp Left /G41
- Comp Right /G42
- The Tool Library has been updated:
- When editing a tool the label no longer reverts to a default label when the tool orientation is changed.
- When deleting all of the tools in the database, the system will no longer crash.
- Tool Specification:
- Dynamic Tooling – The tool image is now dynamic, so it is adjusted in the preview based on the user inputs.
- Inscribed Circle Diameter – This field has been added so that the user can more accurately define the insert.
- User Defined Tools are now drawn inside of the preview field within the feature for verification.
- It is now possible to change the Cutting Angle and the Orientation of User Defined Tools.
- Preview and Toolpath:
- The previous requirement for Turning Profiles to intersect the Stock has been removed.
- Use of Contours to determine the direction of the cutter is no longer necessary. The Tool Orientation determines the direction of the toolpath.
- Canned Cycles:
- The display of the toolpath, when the user has selected Canned Cycles, more accurately depicts what the CNC Machine will do with the code when it is processed.
- Lead Ins and Lead Outs are applied directly to the chain that is posted in the canned cycle.
- The tool will rapid around the part as necessary using the Stock and Clearance values set in the Turning Stock Edit dialog.
- Stock allowances have been modified so that they output correctly for Internal and External operations.
- Separate Moves:
- Lead Ins and Lead Outs are applied to each pass within the toolpath to give users more control.
- Roughing:
- Face Stock – This field has been added to the available parameters for use with Facing operations. This allows the user to specify the amount of stock that needs removed and is also used to modify the start point when using Canned Cycles.
- Z Allowance and X Allowance fields have been updated so that they can be different when using separate moves.
- Finishing:
- X Stock – This field has been added to allow the user to specify how much stock needs to be removed. This value is also output in the posted program when using Canned Cycle programming.
- Z Stock – This field has been added to allow the user to specify how much stock needs to be removed. This value is also output in the posted program when using Canned Cycle programming.
- Face Stock – This field has been added to the available parameters for use with Facing operations. This allows the user to specify the amount of stock that needs removed and is also used to modify the start point when using Canned Cycles.
- Pattern Repeat for separate moves was modified to eliminate chances of gouging occurring, which are common with canned cycles.
- Groove:
- Face Stock – This field has been added to the available parameters for use with Facing operations. This allows the user to specify the amount of stock that needs removed and is also used to modify the start point when using Canned Cycles.
- Z Allowance and X Allowance fields have been updated so that they can be different when using separate moves.
- Pecking options have been updated for Separate Moves so that the toolpath performs the pecking operation.
- Leadin Z2 – This field has been added to handle the entrance into the groove from the backside of the part.
- Leadin X2 – This field has been added to handle the entrance into the groove from the backside of the part.
- Override Z2/X2 – This option is in place to allow the user to specify different values for Z2 and X2. When this is not checked the Z2 and X2 will mirror the Leadin Z and Leadin X values respectively.
- Thread:
- Thread Height – This field has been unlocked so that the user can modify the system generated value.
- Num of Finish Passes – This field was added and is used to generate additional passes at the final depth.
- Canned Cycle Chamfer Out – This field was added to allow the user to specify the Chamfer Out amount for Canned Cycle operations.
- Number of Leads – This field was added to allow the user to specify the number of leads to use for the Chamfer Out. This is used primarily in posting.
- Thread Type – The terms Simple and Complex have been renamed to Canned Cycle and Separate Moves for consistency purposes.
- Drill:
- Pecking – When using the Separate Moves option, the pecking has been modified to do a full retract, if the retract value is set to 0.
- Dwell – A new posting block has been created for use with the drilling to achieve a dwell in the program.
- When using Canned Cycles if the Peck Retract value is set to 0, the system will use the Z Rapid Pnt. value in the posted program instead.
- Cut Off:
- Cut Off X – This field has been added to eliminate unnecessary moves in the posted program.
- POSTING-MILL
- New Blocks (Lines) have been added to the Post Processors to enhance/improve posting for the various machines:
- 640. Check Each Output Line with Scripting(y/n)? - Determines whether or not to pass each post processed line through the scripting engine.
- New scripting options have been added to the system. Please see the Mill Scripting variables document for a list of these functions and their related output.
- Laser/Plasma and Waterjet options have been moved to a new location in the post processor to correct an overlap in the blocks.
- Blocks 700-704 are now being used for the Predator Header addresses.
- Blocks 750-786 are now being used to handle the Laser Plasma and Waterjet variables in posting.
- POSTING-LATHE
- New Blocks (Lines) have been added to the Post Processors to enhance/improve posting for the various machines:
- 7. Same operation, same tool turning. - Block used to handle when Rough and Finish Tool are the same in one turning feature.
- 9. Same operation, same tool facing. - Block used to handle when Rough and Finish Tool are the same in one facing feature.
- 22. Dwell
- 58. Output before any cutting cycle. - Block used to output additional information in the program before a canned cycle.
- 59. Output after any cutting cycle. - Block used to output additional information in the program after a canned cycle.
- 110. Tool List format. - Used for Predator Header.
- 111. Stock definition. - Used for Predator Header.
- 517 - 526 - There are now 10 lines that can be used to define the maximum spindle speed for a particular gear range.
- 615. Reverse the sign of the Taper Height(y/n)? - Used for thread canned cycle definition.
- 635. Are Feed Rates Modal (y/n)? - Determines whether Feed rates will be output on every line or only when federates or tools change.
- 640. Check Each Output Line with Scripting(y/n)? - Determines whether or not to pass each post processed line through the scripting engine.
- 759. Add these characters to the end of each line? - Allows the user to specify an end of block character.
- 817. Prefix for Thread Taper height?
- 830 - 840 - Specifies the addresses used for Spindle gear ranges in blocks 517-526.
- 841. Prefix for drill first peck amount?
- 842. Prefix for drill peck increment amount?
- New scripting options have been added to the system. Please see the Lathe Scripting variables document for a list of these functions and their related output.
Chris Rinderle
BobCAD-CAM, Inc.
We appreciate all your work at BobCad. v23 has been a major improvement over earlier versions and the software is offering very good value for the $.
Love the integration with Predator Pro.
What does this mean:
"This update may require that additional Windows components be installed before installation of the update. These Windows components can be downloaded here: LINK. After you have downloaded the file, double click on the file to start the installation wizard."
What does a BobCAD upgrade have to do at all with a SolidWorks installation? Is there a risk to my SolidWorks installation if I upgrade BobCAD? I would prefer MUCH more detail here, rather than a link to a .exe file that could be "anything"... Please provide some better explanations on this.
No, there is no risk to the Solidworks installation.
In order for the dlls for Solidworks import to register properly you have to have a Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable installed on the computer. If you are running SW2009 on the same computer that you have BobCAD installed on, then you really shouldn't have any concern and you shouldn't need to download that file and install it. But if you are getting files from customers that use SW2009 and you don't have it installed on your computer, then these files will likely be needed so that you can open the SW2009 files.
I hope this answers your question.
Regards
That does address my question. Thank you. A similar statement on your website would be helpful!
Just loaded the update - Looks GREAT!!! Many of the CAM graphics were tweaked, and are easier to understand. LOVE the additional options added on the cutting options (ramp and circular entry on the more complex toolpaths).
Great Job!
I honestly expected some of the new enhancements to be part of the next gen software (V24). I applaud the BobCAD management decision to include this for existing users. You guys deserve a big attaboy. BCC skeptics take note, this is the new BobCAD.
FYI:
There was a little devil found in the first initial release that has been corrected. If you were like me and hot on the update download, revisit that download site and redownload it again. The new build number is 1465.
Check your build number before you update again.
Hmmmm.... I didn't download until I got home, but it pulled down 1463. Downloading again now. What was the "little devil"?
Originally Posted by mcphill
In a pocketing feature, if you selected geometry, then try to "remove" the selection by right clicking geometry and choosing remove, the program would fail. They identified it and uploaded a new build.
Loaded new build. All seemed good . I created some quick 2d geo and created a toolpath.
But when I post the toolpath I get no code. I tried posting some existing toolpaths that posted with no problem before. Same result ,no code. Any ideas?
thanks
caddisfly
Frst steps,
Make sure there is a proper NC filepath in the current setting dialogue.
CAM Part-Milling tools. For 64 bit the path has (x86) in it.
Make sure your post processor is selected as the one to post the code.
It's an update patch, not a full install. Dont un-install and re-install. Just run patch against current install.
Posting Permissions
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