New Product From: 2/11/2009 Modern Machine Shop Version 9.2 of PartMaker CAD/CAM software is suited for CNC mills, lathes, wire EDM, turn-mill centers and Swiss-type lathes. Major highlights include a revamped and more productive user-interface, improved capabilities for programming directly on solid models and the ability to automatically generate descriptive and visual HTML-based setup sheets, the company says.

The user interface is said to feature easy-to-use, user-configurable toolbars. Existing icons have been recast to make them easier to understand. According to the company, existing PartMaker users will be able to use the updated version without any additional learning curve from previous versions.  

Users can program directly on a solid model, which can be integrated into the programming window. Also, tool paths can be assigned directly to the solid model. Critical manufacturing data can be automatically retrieved from a solid model using the “extract parameters from solids” feature, which the company says saves time and reduces the chance for error by eliminating redundant data entry. The most commonly used solids manipulation functions are displayed via a solids toolbar.  

The user can also automatically generate professional setup sheets to improve shop floor documentation. This feature, available to those users who have licensed the PartMaker Documentation Wizard (PDW), can speed machine setup time. The system eliminates the process of creating setup sheets manually while providing operators and setup personnel clear instructions about how to set up a new job. Setup sheets are created in HTML format and are fully customizable by the user.