OPEN MIND Launches New Version of hyperMILL at Autosport 2014

5 November 2013

At the Autosport International show at the Birmingham NEC from 9th to 13th January 2014, leading CAM developer OPEN MIND Technologies will be giving motorsport manufacturers an opportunity to see its new hyperMILL 2013 CAM package. The new package offers a number of new, powerful features, extensive functional upgrades and greater ease of use that will be of particular interest to visitors and exhibitors alike.

On Stand E1049, the CAM software that is responsible for the production of the majority of F1 components will be showcasing its most significant advances that come in the shape of the new 'hyperCAD-S®' CAD core, which is optimally matched to the hyperMILL CAM solution. The 2013 version of hyperMILL has a multitude of new features throughout many of its established strategies that will be beneficial to show visitors.

The millTURN feature that is of increasing importance in the rise of the multi-functional mill/turn centres now incorporates full machine simulation and collision checking of rotational chucks and clamps. It also includes strategies for machining materials such as inconel, titanium and additionally difficult to process materials that require variable in-feeds and automatic ramping. Support of the steady rest and tailstock with automatic and manual positioning and individual cutting parameters for contours has also been included to the millTURN package.

For full 5-axis machining, hyperMILL 2013 really does open up a realm of new possibilities. As the CAM package of choice for the F1 market, 5-axis drilling with softer machine movements and high speed connections for time saving have been incorporated. Furthermore, OPEN MIND has developed 5-axis linking checks to monitor the collision situation of ‘connection movements’ against the actual stock. To support the increasing use of barrel cutters, the 5-axis Shape-Offset-Finishing cycle has been created. This works efficiently with barrel cutters, conventional milling and spiral step-down processes. Another addition to the 5-axis platform is the 5-axis impeller feature that provides a smooth connection and path extension for rough and finish machining of impellers. This drastically cuts programming and cycle times whilst improving surface finishes on these complex forms.

The current version contains new system components and significant upgrades, which provide users with new opportunities to more effectively and reliably create NC programs and increase manufacturing productivity in the process. With regard to hyperCAD-S, it is a brand new modern CAD system, with the architecture, core, graphics, database, user interface and API all being new software designs. The CAD solution is highly adapted for CAM-specific tasks and has been tailored to meet the special needs of NC programmers. The newly-developed hyperCAD-S core is perfect for imported data. Users have the advantage of being able to easily modify any of the geometry elements at any time.

Curves and free-form surfaces are depicted using Bezier and NURBS geometries. In addition to the familiar basic elements for construction, the core now also provides a number of elements that specifically aid CAM programmers, including tool paths, polygon networks, point clouds and a rectangular element were all added to the core.