The company has added enhancements to its Mastercam Version 9 products for design, machining, turning, wire EDM and routing operations. Users gain immediate production benefits from the Version 9 upgrades, and new users quickly acquire CAD/CAM capabilities, according to the company.

Mastercam Mill Version 9 delivers high speed pocketing and increased machining options, including full trochoidal machining: moving the tool in small circles that can "nibble" out the entire pocket so the tool is never buried.

To save runtime, the trochoidal machining feature also allows users to set the percentage of tool contact, speeding successive passes because "nibbles" are only taken when the tool would be buried in left material. When combined with Mastercam Solids, the software can automatically detect and program drill holes on solid models.

Precision production of shops' complex designs is simplified by enhancements to 3D and Multi-axis functions at the most advanced level of the software. The Finish Project Toolpath function is said to deliver a consistent finish that follows the natural curves of unlimited surfaces or solids. Toolpathing with Custom Plunge Roughing lets users machine in any pattern, and new Hybrid Remachining changes cutting strategies with model slope changes in a single toolpath.

One new five-axis resource, broad-based Tool Containment, cuts difficult internal areas. Other new features allow cutting unlimited surfaces in five-axis and adding cuts to steeply angled areas of five-axis parts.

Mastercam Lathe Version 9 is said to deliver new toolpaths based on proven industry needs and add new verification tools for quick reference. More than 16 new programming and automated operational features cut programming and turning time as production quality increases.

Mastercam Wire Version 9 combines new wirepaths with easy new interfaces for faster programming. It features new tools, such as fast land programming, easier rough/skim/tab cut control, and either automatic or click and drag tab positions.

With Mastercam Solids Version 9, users can now sew an unlimited number of surfaces into a single solid model; create sheet solids that can be thickened, shelled and more; trim solids to multiple surfaces using sheet solids; create "disjoint" bodies; and much more. Its Solid Feature Recognition component identifies entities such as fillets and holes on imported solids and adds them to the history tree as fully editable features.

Enhancements common to all Mastercam Version 9 products ensure that you can open and edit virtually any CAD file. Support for AutoCAD, DWG, DXF and Inventor files plus updated SAT and Parasolids translators are included. Catia and Pro-E translators are also available.

Other enhancements include the new Work Coordinate System, which smoothes the progress of the user's work on a model by reorienting the view, construction and tool planes, then it transfers the new planes to the user's G-code. The new Entity Attributes Manager controls how specific entities will be created and sorts incoming entities as files are imported.