PTC Announces Pro/TOOLMAKER CAM Application

By Sara Ferris

PTC today announced the latest version of the former DEPOCAM product it acquired through its purchase of NC Graphics in May.

Pro/TOOLMAKER 8.1 is a stand-alone software application for toolmaking and high-speed precision machining processes. It offers NC programming capabilities such as NC postprocessing and tooling libraries.

Pro/TOOLMAKER creates a broad range of NC toolpaths, including rest million with optimized connections for high speed machining.

Pro/TOOLMAKER 8.1 is expected to ship in August 2007 in six languages: English, German, French, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Italian, Spanish, and Korean versions are planned for later in the year. The product joins PTC’s existing line of CAM applications.

As part of PTC’s Product Development System, Pro/TOOLMAKER integrates with Pro/ENGINEER and PTC’s Granite modeling kernel. No data translation is required, and toolpaths retain associativity with the CAD model from which they were generated. That means toolpaths can be quickly updated to reflect changes made to the CAD model. In addition, toolpath data can be managed in Windchill, PTC’s PLM product.

Pro/TOOLMAKER lets you quickly create NC toolpath programs, animate machining on screen with process times, and view in-process stock models.

“Pro/TOOLMAKER provides a tighter link between product design and manufacturing which will give us the ability to optimize our toolmaking as it supports the complete product development process,” said Brett Mitchell, director, RP Tooling.

Pro/TOOLMAKER also imports data from other CAD applications. Supported formats include IGES, STL, RAW, CLD, SolidWorks (link is associative), and Parasolid. CATIA V4 and V5 support is optional. At the time of the acquisition, PTC said that it plans to continue to support heterogeneous CAD environments.

Pro/TOOLMAKER 8.1 supports 5-axis positioning (3+2 machining), pencil single-pass and multiple-pass milling, amd rest milling for finishing toolpaths and toolshapes. Automatic 3D roughing and rest-roughing help create smooth and efficient toolpaths. The software supports spiral and radial toolpaths to maintain constant tool contact. Specialized core and cavity machining strategies feature area clearance, core, and rest-roughing to maximize material removal.  The software offers slope-based machining for steep and shallow angle control, and flat-surface machining for quick detection of all flat surfaces. Pro/TOOLMAKER 8.1 includes PTC’s GPOST for creating and updating postprocessors for all types of CNC machines.

“Pro/TOOLMAKER is the newest addition to the PTC PDS and delivers an incredible opportunity for manufacturers who want to improve collaboration across the multiple supply chains responsible for toolmaking,” said James Heppelmann, executive vice president software products and chief product officer, PTC. “When time frames for designing and manufacturing molds and die tools are reduced, new products can be introduced to market faster. A tooling development process integrated with the design and the manufacturing teams results in an increase in product quality and a reduction in scrap costs. Through these efficiencies and capabilities, Pro/TOOLMAKER can enable manufacturers to deliver more complex products faster and with less cost.”

Click here to view PTC’s schedule of live, Web-based demonstrations of Pro/TOOLMAKER 8.1 in action.