Highlights of Fikus Visualcam 14

New and enhanced functions for the shopfloor programming

Following its vocation for the innovation, Metalcam keeps on working and adding new solutions for the shopfloor programming. As a result of this work, Fikus Visualcam provides the technology for the assisted programming of milling, lathe, millturn, wireEDM, laser and 2D CNC cutting machines.

Fikus Visualcam 14 incorporates new features and other enhanced functions to make the shopfloor CAM programming easier and fast than ever.

Microsoft Windows Vista® support

Changes in the user interface to improve the productivity

  • New wireframe with hidden lines visualization
  • Rapid filters: Wireframe geometry / surfaces
  • Rotation about any axis from the rapid edit bar
  • Polar coordinates on the rapid edit bar
  • Surface automatic contour extraction in milling
  • Automatic entry points in the center of each contour for WireEDM, laser and 2D CNC Cutting
  • New and easier tool table
New functions for creating and editing geometry  
  • Function to generate keyseats
  • Function to generate grooves
  • Merge closed contours
  • Automatic polyline generation
Working with surfaces

In this new version, Fikus has improved its work with surfaces. In previous versions, it was always necessary to extract the contours of the surfaces prior to select the contours for machining. Now it is no more needed. With the implicit contour selection technology, this work has been simplified dramatically.

Let's look at an example: Making the offset of the contour of a surface.

In previous versions, we've had had to first extract the surface contour and then make the offset. In version 13 we don't have to extract the contour, we just select the offset function, approach the surface contour and click it.

New Data Interface: DWG
3D Milling

In version 14, Fikus has been improved to allow the machining of multiple surfaces. This function will allow us to machine the parts designed with a 3D CAD system.
 
2D Milling improvements
  • New options in selection of contours.
  • Control of machining areas through check contours.
  • High Speed Machining options
Open pockets
Improvements in Lathe
  • Multi element entries
  • Improvements in the toolpath through the use of a new tool model
  • New cut-off options (Radius, chamfer)
B Axis control in Millturn
Lathe Wizard
One of the main improvements in the lathe wizard is the possibility to define all the machining parameter for each process inside the wizard. This way, we avoid having to change the parameters later in each automatically created process.

New stock realistic simulation showing the material removed
Improvements in WireEDM
  • Improvements in the Wizards for better performance
  • New algorithm to optimize the wire path generated in the wizards
  • New function allowing to import the machine databases.
  • New Wizards Makino machines
  • Implementation of the Charmilles CT-Expert module
  • Advanced geometry definition
  • New options for entry / exit
 
 
For the first time in a CAM system: 4X No-Core-Cut with any type of 4X contours.

Wizard collar geometries

Fikus 14 incorporates a new wizard to ease the generation of collar geometries (found mainly in cutting dies).

This wizard simplifies the work requesting the process parameters and automatically generating a new part and its corresponding cutting processes for each part of the collar.