Among the CAM developments in Visi 18 are improved drilling cycles with a new wizard application for the construction of complex multi-operation cycles.
Tooling CAD/CAM/CAE provider Vero Software will be releasing Visi 18 later this year, a development it calls “substantial … with many new features in all areas of the product with a continued focus on tool design and manufacture.”
Vero Software designs, develops, and supplies CAD/CAM/CAE software for design and manufacturing processes, with particular emphasis on design and manufacture of plastic injection molds, sheet metal stamping dies, progressive dies, 2D > 5-axis milling, electrode production, multi-axis laser cutting, wire EDM, and others.
Visi Modeling is the base platform for all Visi products. Version 18 delivers an updated GUI with graphic sliders that allow the user to interact dynamically with the working area, to push or pull features and apply other system commands. A notable CAD development — which Vero calls “a technical leap forward” — is the introduction of geometry deformation tools that provide new features like complex spring back deformation, draft application, and organic shape editing. These features will benefit users who have to adapt customer data and also support more aesthetic markets, such as product design or cosmetics.
Visi Machining has been updated with a number of tools that enhance the automated Compass Technology, including a new method to manage the smallest distance between two or more sides of a geometric feature. This distance can be used to identify the smallest tool diameter for a pocket or define other machining variables. Other CAM developments include improved 3D constant step over, an improved 3D combi-finishing routine, updated rapid management and improved drilling cycles with a new wizard application for the construction of complex multi-operation cycles.
Sheet metal development has been significantly improved with dynamic animation of the forming process and a batch procedure for developing multiple components simultaneously with a report for each piece. When working with imported geometry, fillet radii is often missing but required for blank development or step-by-step unfolding. Visi 18 introduces a new tool to apply blend radii to inner and outer sharp edges automatically. Other developments include new options for body interference checking and also a new tool to automatically create the hard inserts for die plates and apply relief holes to the corners.
Visi 18 will include the first release of Visi PEPS-Wire — more than two years in development and combining PEPS Wire technology with Vero's Parasolid based geometry-engine. The first release will introduce automated two- and four-axis feature recognition, dramatically improved geometry tools, and combined milling and wire EDM cutting strategies.
Also, Vero reports it has extended its partnership with CADENAS and integrated PartSolutions V9 into the tooling suite, Visi Mold and Visi Progress.
Visi 18 completes the full integration of Visi Flow, so now the plastic injection analysis and simulation can be launched and calculated from directly within Visi, eliminating the need of model preparation for analysis. Importantly, the calculation results are also visible within the same CAD environment providing the perfect toolset for comparing the original model against the warped prediction data after the molding process.
Visi Flow also includes the ability to work with shell models and introduces a virtual resin laboratory that allows users to create and test different kinds of resin grades. The 'Virtual Laboratory' is based on intelligence included within the Visi Flow material database and works by following an interactive iterated approximation. The application is able to put together data coming from different databases and different grades by following a wizard based on user instructions such as polymer family, density and MFI.
Also included is the first release of Visi PEPS-Wire. After Vero's acquisition of Camtek Limited, Visi PEPS-Wire represents over two years of development and combines the class-leading technology of PEPS Wire with Vero's Parasolid based geometry-engine. The first release of Visi PEPS-Wire will introduce automated two- and four-axis feature recognition, dramatically improved geometry tools, and combined milling and wire EDM cutting strategies.
According to Vero R&D director Gerard O'Driscoll, "Using Visi as a development platform will allow PEPS customers to introduce further productivity tools such as modeling, progression tool design, mold tool design, and multi-axis machining. While there will be a new user-interface to learn, the machining technology and core PEPS product will still be very familiar to existing users."
