Fikus ST 20

Fikus St 20: the CAD/CAM developed for the shop floors, designed for you

Metalcam launches the new version of Fikus ST, the CAD/CAM software specially developed for the workshop, which offers industry all the functionalities, speed and agility to access new business possibilities and reach new levels of productivity.

Streamlined and customizable

Fikus ST 20, is a step forward in productivity compared to the previous version, with significant improvements in calculation algorithms, workflow organization, automation or rationalization of the steps necessary to execute design and manufacturing tasks. Fikus now takes 10% less time to open files.

It is now possible to insert several files into any Fikus function, simply by dragging and dropping them with the "shift" button, so it is possible to work with several geometries simultaneously. The way to exit functions has also been improved; in addition to the cancel button, there are now buttons on the bottom or top bar, especially useful with touch screens.

Another aspect that has been improved is the capability of customisation to easily adapt it to users' preferences, with a more efficient system for managing colour combination preferences or the inclusion of the dark-mode option.

Faster and more complete CAD

In this new version, an important part of the innovations affect CAD, with new functionalities and a host of new features aimed at speeding up the process of designing, importing or repairing geometries, for which new CAD functions and new tools for repairing geometries have been added.

Tools that speed up the CAD process

Key shortcut commands for quick creation of basic surfaces have been enabled, as well as default values, which speed up the creation of the most common surfaces. An "exit" button has also been added to all CAD functions that do not involve a dialogue box or a new way of selecting geometries to copy, move or rotate.

Another important new feature is the new option to facilitate the creation of slides or extractors by applying a tilt angle to the cylinders defined for ejectors in the Y and Z axis, or the function that allows the center of a closed geometry to be displayed, which helps to reduce the time required for CAD processes.

Further CAD improvements

The Fix Geometry functions to repair the typical problems of imported CAD elements have been rebuilt to make them more intuitive and efficient, grouping the functions by families of problems, such as repairing duplicated geometries, repairing discontinuous geometries, repairing overlapping geometries, repairing loops and information. Also noteworthy is the improvement in the curve simplification function that, if in the previous version reached 53%, in Fikus ST 20 curve simplification reaches 96%..

Another notable improvement is the Cutting Plane option, which allows the creation of a new Layer/Level according to the position of the Cutting Plane and the possibility of creating a new automatic layer with Z level.

Streamlined management of CAM functions

The improvements introduced in the CAM section are aimed at a more agile and faster workflow, for which the parameter and path forms have been reorganized, with a new distribution of elements and buttons and the inclusion of confirmation and cancellation buttons.

Even more efficient and complete wire EDM

In wire EDM technology, improvements have been introduced in important elements, such as the inclusion of EDM processes in rotary axes, improvements in the detection and programming of geometries with inclined starting point, filters by diameter and the possibility of grouping holes, both by diameter and height in the Automatic Element Recognition. Process control options and new help files have also been improved.

In the Automatic Feature Recognition, inclined threaded holes, filters by diameter and the possibility of grouping holes by both diameter and height have been included.

In this version all options to be applied in the Corner parameters for Bisector corners have been implemented. It is also available the control of the default position of the upper and lower nozzles of the geometry from the preferences settings.

With the new version, Fikus ST has introduced multiple enhancements to the wizards to improve their functionalities and productivity, such as the new functionality to enable and disable cuts in the cutting sequence within the wizard.

Optimised solutions for lathe and millturning machines

In lathe technology, the new options for control of machining in the grooving areas, both in roughing and finishing processes, or the improved calculation times are noteworthy. A new button and a redesigned form have also been added to configure the chuck change in lathe processes and new parameter transfer function between machine heads, controlling both times and part management speeds.

Combined cycle machining also receives important new features such as the new Automatic Feature Recognition in 2D milling, the improvements in B-axis milling that now allows the drilling of inclined holes or the new function to avoid the error that some machines give when a movement crosses the origin (0.0).

Online management of your needs

With version 20 of Fikus ST comes important improvements in FikusCloud, the management system for Fikus solutions in the "cloud" that keeps the software permanently updated and allows easy management of updates, licenses, postprocessors, databases, backups or configuration data.

From FikusCloud Fikus ST users will have access to information about the latest version and subsequent updates, as well as access to general information of interest such as Fikus technologies and products, but also technical articles and tips to get the most out of Fikus, as well as a FAQ button where you can find answers to frequently asked questions.