What's New

GibbsCAM 2010, v9.5
November 2009
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Gibbs and Associates

323 Science Drive
Moorpark, CA 93021

Modified: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 5:42 PM

Introduction to What's New
Welcome to GibbsCAM 2010, v9.5, the first major version of GibbsCAM since GibbsCAM 2009 v9.0. GibbsCAM
2010 introduces numerous enhancements, changes and fixes. This document will introduce you to this new
functionality. This release of the software is available in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, Dutch,
English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, Swedish
and Turkish.
Among the highlights for this release are compatibility with Windows® 7, support for 64-bit operating
systems, the Plunge Rough process, the VoluMill process and an updated Advanced 3D process. The new and
updated functionality in GibbsCAM has been sorted into the following sections.
l General Functionality
l Solids
l Advanced 3D
l Plunge Rough
l VoluMill
l 5-Axis
l MTM
l Wire-EDM
l Macros
l CAD Interoperability
Beyond this document there is a new manual for VoluMill, the Installation Guide has been updated and there
is a new Update List, which is a comprehensive list of changes and fixes to the system. Additionally, the
SolidSurfacer manual has been updated to include the Plunge Rough process reference information and
tutorials for Advanced 3D. Lastly, the Plug-Ins Guide has been refreshed and the lists of Reporter commands
have been updated.

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Introduction to What's New

GENERAL FUNCTIONALITY
Items discussed here are not dependent upon a particular GibbsCAM package or function. This information
may apply to any user.

COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS 7

With this release, GibbsCAM has been tested to meet all of the technical
requirements to be Compatible with Windows® 7. "Compatible with Windows 7"
software:
• Is tested for compatibility and reliability on Windows 7.
• Passed Microsoft designed tests to minimize the possibility of crashes, hangs
and reboots.
• Represents a commitment that the product will continue to work over the life of
Windows 7.
• Meets privacy standards set forth by the Anti-Spyware Coalition.
• Installs cleanly and reliably.
• Eliminates unnecessary reboots.
• Ensures compatibility with Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

PREVIEW IN EXPLORER
A preview of a saved part file is now visible from directly within Windows Explorer under the Windows Vista®
and Windows 7 operating systems.
The part file has a thumbnail preview which can be seen in the Details Pane of an Explorer window, and if the
view is set to a condition that shows thumbnails, the part icon will change to the thumbnail.
In the Preview pane, the part preview includes the part, the part dimensions, the version of GibbsCAM in
which the part was last saved as well as the Part Comment.

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Introduction to What's New

l To see the thumbnail icon, your Views must be set to a view type that allows you to see thumbnails,
such as the Tiles view or the Medium, Large or Extra Large Icons views.
l To see the preview, select Preview Pane from the Organize > Layout menu of Explorer.

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Introduction to What's New

64-BIT SUPPORT
This release introduces GibbsCAM's support for 64-bit Windows operating systems. Users who have
moderate to large part files will find this version of the operating system to be faster as the system's ability to
handle more RAM will be utilized and larger chunks of information can be handled at one time. Gibbs and
Associates recommends using the 64-bit version of the software if you have a 64-bit CPU and OS.

32-bit VMMs are not usable by 64-bit GibbsCAM. 64-bit VMMs are available on request at no charge
for customers on maintenance. Please contact the Post department ([email protected]) to
request a 64-bit VMM. Please allow some time for delivery.

For some users, the 64-bit version may not be the best choice, based upon third-party tools that are used
including plug-ins and Excel.
Plug-Ins: While all of the plug-ins distributed with the software have been updated to be 64-bit compatible,
we cannot guarantee that third-party plug-ins have been updated. 32-bit plug-ins will not run under a 64-bit
system. Please contact your third-party plug-in vendor to find out what solutions are available.
Microsoft Office Excel Interoperability: There is no interoperability between the 64-bit information from
GibbsCAM and the 32-bit information from Excel. If you require 32-bit Excel spreadsheets for Macros or the
Reporter function, you will want to use the 32-bit version of GibbsCAM.

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Introduction to What's New

SELECTABLE OPERATION INSERTION POINTS

In order to facilitate the construction of parts with many operations, the system
now supports creating operations at specific points in the Operations list. The
system will create operations at a selected empty tile in the Operations list or at a
selected insertion point. Existing operations are preserved and are moved down
the list. Unselected spaces between operations in the list are also preserved.
In the example shown here, a multi-process operation consisting of a drilling and
a roughing operation is being inserted before two contour operations. Either
selection method will produce the same results.

Please note that operations using Material Only are not aware of where they are being placed in the
! program; the toolpath generated will be as if it is at the end of the current program. Therefore, you may
need to regenerate Material Only ops after insertion.

When inserting an operation that spans multiple flows, the system will insert one operation tile at the
insertion point, and the remaining operation tiles at positions which do not break the syncs between the
operations.
l If there is an operation that immediately precedes the selected insertion point, the new operation in
the same flow is placed after the tile. The operation in the other flow is placed in its flow based on time,
preserving syncs.

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Introduction to What's New

The flow 1 op will be placed at tile 5. The flow 2 op will be placed somewhere after the operation
currently at tile 5, based on time.

l If there is a blank tile that immediately precedes the selected insertion point but there is an occupied
tile after the insertion point, the next operation determines which operation will be placed there.

The flow 2 operation will be placed at tile 6 while the flow 1 op will be placed somewhere before the
op currently at op 4, based on time.

l If there are blank tiles on both sides of the selected insertion point but there is an earlier operation, the
earlier operation determines which operation gets placed at the insertion point and the operation in
the other flow is placed after an operation in its flow based on time, preserving syncs.

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Introduction to What's New

The flow 1 operation will be placed at tile 6 while the flow 2 operation will be placed somewhere after
tile 7.

l If there is no preceding operation, the flow 1 operation is placed at the insertion point and the
operation in the other flow is placed before the first op in its flow or at the end of the operation list if
there are no ops in its flow.

The op will be created at position 1 if it is in Flow 1 or the new position 3 if in Flow 2.

NEW TOOL HOLDER TYPES

GibbsCAM 2010 introduces new mill tool holder types. Now available in the selection list are the Capto-class
holders as well as HSK 25A and HSK 32A holders.

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Introduction to What's New

TOOL HOLDER DATABASE

The tool holder database has been re-built so that we can continue to improve upon the type and variety of
tool holders available. In the meantime, the rendering of the mill tool holders should be faster as you scroll
through the available front-ends.

SUPPORT FOR HIDDEN LINE TOOLPATH IN TOOL SIM

The system now supports the Hidden Line Toolpath display option when using Tool Sim rendering. Below is
an example of the Hidden Line Toolpath option on and off while in Tool Sim.

ENHANCED RIGHT-MOUSE MENUS

The right-mouse menus have been updated to be more useful and convenient.
The geometry right-mouse menu has been re-organized and now provides access to the Reverse Arc function.

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Introduction to What's New

The solids and sheets right-mouse menus have been re-organized to be more useful. Two functions have
been added, Clear History of Selected and Extract Edges. Clear History of Selected will clear the History of
all bodies and sheets that are currently selected. Extract Edges is a shortcut to the geometry extraction
function.

The properties of a body may now be set from the Body Type sub-menu. The Select/Deselect functions have
been grouped into sub-menus.

POSTED OUTPUT
There is improved posted output quality from 5-axis operations. These operations are generated by the 4-Axis
and 5-Axis modules and the Rotary Rough plug-in. The posting system for these functions has been improved
to have better segmentation, better rounding, better unit conversions and better feedrates. As this improved
output is different than what you may have seen in your posts in earlier releases, please verify the output
before running it on a machine.

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Introduction to What's New

SOLIDS

ROUGHING
Mill Roughing operations on geometry or solids now support the use of facet bodies. When creating an
Offset, ZigZag or Face Milling, a facet body whose Body Type is set to Stock will be used as the stock
condition when calculating toolpath. A facet body may be imported and used as an initial stock condition, or
it may be generated from Flash CPR and used as an intermediate stock condition.

A partially machined part saved as a facet body has four bosses. The bosses are machined as a Material
Only process.

This functionality requires that you have a solids package, i.e. Solids Import, 2.5D Solids or SolidSurfacer.

SURFACE TOOLS PLUG-IN

The Surface Tools plug-in is a collection of functions that create geometry or surfaces from selected faces of
bodies. These functions are particularly useful with the 5-Axis module. Please see the Plug-Ins Guide PDF for
full documentation on this topic.

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Introduction to What's New

ADVANCED 3D
Advanced 3D has seen numerous enhancements since the last release. The SolidSurfacer manual (both the
PDF as well as the printed document available at Lulu.com) has been updated to include this information.

FEEDRATE ENHANCEMENTS
Advanced 3D Lace Cuts now have one continuous feedrate throughout the toolpath except at the entry and
after retracts. This means that the link moves between cuts are done at the feedrate and do not slow down.

USE HIGH FEED

When this option is active, all rapid movements will be replaced with high feedrate movements.

STEPOVER DISTANCE
When using ball endmills with certain cut types, such as Lace Cut, you may define either a Stepover value or a
Scallop Height.

TRIM TO RAMP ADVANCE

This option is used when creating an Advanced 3D Contour operation that has an Angled connect move.
Selecting this option will trim the toolpath between successive steps to create a more spiral-like toolpath. The
amount trimmed is equal to the length of the angular move. The following images are representative of a
normal ramping move between Z level cuts on a cylindrical part and the results when using Trim to Ramp
Advance. The red dashed lines represent the trimmed areas of the toolpath.

Example of how toolpath is different when using Trim To Ramp Advance

HIT FLATS
Advanced 3D now has a Hit Flats option, accessible from the Options tab, as an option for Step Down Control.
When this function is active the system will modify the step down to machine flat areas. Any face that is
deemed to be flat will be "hit". To achieve this, the step distance must be variable. The step distance between
machined flats will be greater than the Minimum Step Down but less than the Z Step plus the Minimum Step
Down.
In the following example we see an operation that makes five steps. The length labeled "A" is the Z Step value
and "B" is the Minimum Step Down. Each of the steps is between the Minimum Step Down (2 to 3) and the Z

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Introduction to What's New

Step plus the Minimum Step Down (4 to 5). The face between 3 and 4 is skipped because it is less than the
Minimum Step Down.

Additionally, there is the option to choose specific flat faces the software will attempt to machine. These
specific flat faces will be "hit" as long as they meet the tolerances described above. For example, if the two
selected faces are 0.1mm apart vertically and the Minimum Step Down is 0.2mm, the second face will be
skipped. Passes between selected faces will use the Constant step value. This provides for more optimal
machining as the default behavior may find more flats than you were expecting.

STOCK TYPES
Workpiece Default has been added to the Advanced 3D Stock Type menu. This item will use the default stock
dimensions defined in the Document Control dialog as the base stock. This allows operations outside of the
XY plane to be properly trimmed to the basic stock dimensions.
The Bounding Box type has been changed to None. This means that no stock is defined and the toolpath is
confined only by the boundary that is used.

TUTORIALS
Three tutorials, which focus on Advanced 3D, have been added to the SolidSurfacer manual. These tutorials
use most of the core types of Advanced 3D cut types to machine three different parts. It is strongly
recommended that you go through these exercises to better acquaint yourself with Advanced 3D.

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Introduction to What's New

PLUNGE ROUGH
Plunge Rough is a function that quickly removes large amounts of material with numerous close plunge-and-
retract moves along the Z axis. This function has received a major overhaul and is now more advanced and
robust. Users of SolidSurfacer will find the Plunge Rough process icon in the CAM palette. Please see the latest
SolidSurfacer manual in PDF format for all reference material on Plunge Rough.

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Introduction to What's New

VOLUMILL
VoluMill™ is a new optional module for GibbsCAM. VoluMill is a high-performance toolpath engine developed
by Celeritive Technologies. It is designed to be used in place of traditional pocketing methods when it is a
priority to reduce cycle times, extend tool life, and reduce the stress on machine tools. Please see the Getting
Started with VoluMill PDF for all reference material on this module.

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Introduction to What's New

5-AXIS
The 5-Axis module has been updated. Following are the highlights among the changes. Please see the 5-Axis
PDF for complete reference on these functions.

TOOL SUPPORT
5-Axis now supports the use of keyway cutters, shell mills, face mills and fly cutters with some restrictions.
l To use tools such as countersinks, the tip diameter of the tool must be greater than 0 and greater than
the "Cut Tolerance". If you try to use a tool that is not supported, such as a tool with a sharp tip, you
will get an error when you click the Do It button.
l To use keyway cutters, the top and bottom corner radii must be equal. If they are not equal this tool
will be treated as a bullnose endmill by the software.

TOOL AXIS CONTROL

For impeller roughing there is a new Tool Axis Control strategy, "Tilted relative to impeller machining layer".
This provides greater control over the tool orientation between impeller blades and splitters and is very useful
in conjunction with Area Roughing.
A tool's initial tilt is normal to the floor and may not work well with splitters. By defining "Tilt lines" that
describe the leading, trailing and splitter edge you gain more control over the tool's axis. Additionally, you
may define an "Additional lead angle" tilt for the tool that can be applied to the leading, splitter and trailing
edges individually.

ADAPTIVE CUTS
A new Advanced option, Adaptive cuts, has been added for the following patterns: “Morph between two
curves”, “Morph between two surfaces”, “Parallel to Multiple curves” or “Parallel to surface” cut types. This
option is particularly useful when machining steep surfaces in molds or U-shaped parts.

SPIRAL CUTTING METHOD

When the Sorting cutting method is set to Spiral, there are new Advanced options. You can have the spiral
perform a complete loop at the top and/or bottom of the part, and you can control how the tool spirals
down.

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Introduction to What's New

MOVING TOOL AWAY GOUGE CHECK OPTIONS

The Gouge Check strategy "Moving Tool Away" has new Advanced options that include multiple methods for
projecting the tool. These options will help project the tool wherever needed. This can be used to project
toolpath from drive to check surfaces.
Project tool on the direction wherever needed will project the tool from its position in the direction
selected in "Moving tool away" with the "Maximum projection distance". If no distance is provided the
maximal distance will be considered infinite. The Remove areas where project tool fails option removes
the positions where the tool is projected to infinite or where the projection failed. The machining depth can
be controlled by using the Maximum projection distance value.

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Introduction to What's New

LEAD-IN/OUT “FLIP”
This option flips Lead-In and Lead-Out arc moves. The arcs are flipped as they were viewed in a mirror. This
option can be found in the Lead-In and Lead-Out dialogs accessible from the Link tab.

1. Lead-In
2. Lead-out

Example of the Lead-Out being flipped.

RETRACT THROUGH TUBE CENTER

This option retracts a tool through the center points of circles that define a tube. This is useful for an
automatic retract on cylinder head ports that are being machined. This item is an option for the Last exit in
the Link tab.

AXIAL SHIFT DAMP

When performing an Axial Shift in swarf cuts you may select the Damp option. This will smooth the toolpath
by preventing the tool from retracting along its axis when at or near corners.

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Introduction to What's New

1. Damp is off
2. Damp is on

Example of damping being applied to toolpath

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Introduction to What's New

MULTI-TASK MACHINING

OPERATION DRAGGING
The Sync Control dialog in Op Mode now allows you to keep syncs when you drag operations. This is
particularly useful when working with parts that have many operations. When an operation is dragged (either
the Master or Slave operation) within a flow, the synced op in the other flow will automatically be placed
based on time. When the operation is placed, the software runs through the runtime calculations on that
flow. The software figures out the program time at which the operation tile was placed. Then, for each synced
flow, the software runs through the runtime calculations until it finds the last inter-operation space before the
same program time and inserts the synced op at that point.

Op 12 is dragged to between ops 4 and 5. The slave op, #26, is moved to position 22.

Please note that there are two different dragging actions here. The default dragging behavior will
not attempt to move a synced operation. For the system to move a synced operation you must
hold down the ALT key while dragging an operation.

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Introduction to What's New

When you drag user-synced ops, the system makes every effort to properly place them without
! crossing syncs. However, we strongly recommend that you review the operations after dragging
operations.

UNDO FOR SYNC/UNSYNC

The Undo (Ctrl-Z) and Redo (Ctrl-Y) functions now apply to setting and unsetting syncs in the Sync Control
dialog.

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Introduction to What's New

WIRE EDM

GLUESTOP REMOVAL
New functionality has been added to help you control the cutting of gluestops. When using a single cut to
remove gluestops you may use the first or last part offset. Additionally, you may choose to cut the gluestop
in the "Same direction as part cut". Selecting this option will allow you to cut the gluestop without having to
go back to the wire thread position.

GLUESTOP RETRACT
An option has been added to clear the material around the wire after the doing the gluestop removal retract.
This clearing move is a small square, the side of the square being equal to the wire diameter. This small
material removal will prevent the wire from snagging when the slug is removed.

CUSTOM NAMES FOR AGIE POSTS

When configuring an Agie Classic/Evolution style machine you may now save out the settings under a
customized name. This allows you to easily re-use the conditions for other parts. You can also customize the
lists of settings on the Agie Settings dialog, by adding, removing or modifying the data for Material Type,
Wire Type and Quality parameters.

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Introduction to What's New

ADDITIONAL POSTING OPTIONS

An expanded posting dialog is now available (selected through the Post Configuration dialog). This provides
options to cut multiple copies of the same part, using a rectangular or circular pattern. It also provides user
input for Program Number, Block Numbering, Post Comments and Submerged Cutting.

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Introduction to What's New

MACROS

GENERAL
Access to the macros is now easier, as they have their own menu entry. Additionally, macros are now
automatically recognized when they are added or modified; you no longer need to restart the software to
access the newly added macros.

USING GIBBSCAM MACROS
The Macros menu contains a list of all of the macros that you have installed. At the end of this list is the
Configure option. Simply click on any of the items on the Macros menu to run the corresponding macro.
Clicking on the Configure option will open the configuration dialog that provides control over the installed
macros.

Configuring the Macros Menu

Once the Macros dialog is open, you can add and organize the macros. To add a macro simply select an
empty field, enter a name you would like the macro to appear as, enter the path to the macro file, and click
Update. You can use the Browse function to point to the file you would like to use, or you may type in the
path manually. You can add menu separators by simply entering a "-" as the macro name.

You can create sub-menus to group your macros together. The sub-menu name does not need a macro
filename, just the name. Each of the macros on this sub-menu must follow the sub-menu name in this list and
must be indented. You indent the macro names by selecting them and pressing the Move In button.
When you have finished your configuration, click OK. The Macro menu will be automatically rebuilt and
updated and your macros will be available to use.

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Introduction to What's New

NEW COMMANDS
Get a List of All Macro Commands
Output a list of commands to a text file using:

GET_COMMANDS <FILENAME> <OPTION> [<VER1> <VER2> <VER3>]

<OPTION> 1 = list of command names, <OPTION> 2 = list of command names plus notes
The optional version parameters will output commands that have been added to the macro language from a
given version of GibbsCAM or later. For example, to get a list of commands added at version 9.3.7 or later:

GET_COMMANDS <FILENAME> 1, 9, 3, 7

3D Contours
New command to build a 3D contour. Similar to the CONTOUR command, the START, LINE and ARC
commands in the contour definition need a <Z> parameter adding after the <X> <Y> values.

START <X> <Y> <Z> LINE <X> <Y> <Z> ARC <XC> <YC> <XE> <YE> <ZE> <CW/CCW>

For example:

CONTOUR_3D [ START 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 LINE 1.0, 0.0, 0.5 ARC 1.0, 0.2, 1.2, 0.7,
0.6, CCW LINE 1.2, 1.5, 0.9 ]

The CONTOUR and CONTOUR_3D command lists include a new RAPID command to add a rapid move inside
the contour definition.

RAPID <X> <Y> [<Z>]

Check If a File Already Exists

FILE_EXISTS <FILENAME> <STATUS>

<STATUS> = 1 if the file exists

Toggle Line Feed Status

You can toggle the feed status of a line

GET_LINE_FEED_STATUS <LINE REF> <STATUS> SET_LINE_FEED_STATUS <LINE REF>

<STATUS>
<STATUS> = 0 for rapid, 1 for feed

Interrogate Operation Toolpath

You can obtain data for each feature in the toolpath associated with a given operation.

GET_OP_NUM_FEAT <OPERATION> <NUM FEATURES>

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Introduction to What's New

Get the number of toolpath features

GET_OP_FEAT_TYPE <OPERATION> <FEATURE NUMBER> <TYPE>

Get the type of a given feature number. 1=line, 2=arc, 3=curve

GET_OP_FEAT_LEN <OPERATION> <FEATURE NUMBER> <LENGTH>

Get the perimeter length of a feature

GET_OP_FEAT_START <OPERATION> <FEATURE NUMBER> <XS> <YS> [<ZS>]

Get the start point of a feature

GET_OP_FEAT_END <OPERATION> <FEATURE NUMBER> <XE> <YE> [<ZE>]

Get the end point of a feature

GET_OP_FEAT_ARC_DATA <OPERATION> <FEATURE NUMBER> <RAD> <DIR> <XC> <YC> [<ZC>]

Get additional data for arc features

Toolpath Markers
You can access and modify the operation toolpath markers using:

GET_OP_NUM_MARKERS <OPERATION> <NUM MARKERS>

Get the number of markers associated with an operation

GET_OP_MARKER_TYPE <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <MARKER TYPE> [<SUB TYPE>]

Get the type of marker. For markers that have a type and a sub-type, the second (optional) variable can
be used to retrieve the sub-type.
Each marker is associated with a <FEATURE NUMBER>, with the <PARAMETER> representing the distance
along that feature where the marker is drawn (0.0 to 1.0). Each marker has a <VALUE>. You get the data for
each type of marker using the following commands.

GET_OP_FEED_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <TYPE>
<TYPE> is the feedrate type, 0=user, 1=entry, 2=contour, 3=percent

GET_OP_SPEED_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <DIR>
<DIR> is 1 for forward, 2 for reversed

GET_OP_OFFSET_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <TYPE>
<TYPE> is set to 1 to use the given offset value, 2 to use the tool offset number

GET_OP_TEXT_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE>

GET_OP_CRC_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE>

GET_OP_DWELL_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <TYPE>
<TYPE> is set to 1 for seconds, 2 for revs

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Introduction to What's New

GET_OP_STOP_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE>
<VALUE> is 0 for stop, 1 for opstop
You add a new marker using the following commands: in each case the number of the marker that was added
is returned in the variable at the end of the command

ADD_OP_FEED_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <TYPE> <VARIABLE NAME>

ADD_OP_SPEED_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <DIR> <VARIABLE NAME>

ADD_OP_OFFSET_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <TYPE> <VARIABLE NAME>

ADD_OP_TEXT_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <VARIABLE NAME>

ADD_OP_CRC_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <VARIABLE NAME>

ADD_OP_DWELL_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <TYPE> <VARIABLE NAME>

ADD_OP_STOP_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> <FEATURE NUMBER> <PARAMETER>

<VALUE> <VARIABLE NAME>

To delete operation markers there are two commands:

DELETE_OP_MARKER <OPERATION> <MARKER NUMBER> DELETE_ALL_OP_MARKERS <OPERATION>

Additional Solid Information

GET_SOLID_TYPE <SOLID REF> <TYPE>

SET_SOLID_TYPE <SOLID REF> <TYPE>

GET_SOLID_NAME <SOLID REF> <NAME>

SET_SOLID_NAME <SOLID REF> <NAME>

GET_SOLID_COMMENT <SOLID REF> <COMMENT>

SET_SOLID_COMMENT <SOLID REF> <COMMENT>

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Introduction to What's New

Interrogate Solid Data

First get the list of solids to interrogate, use this list in a similar fashion to lists of tools, operations etc.

GET_SOLID_LIST <SELECTED>
<SELECTED> = 0 for all solids, 1 for only selected solids
You access the list using the variables

NUMBER_OF_SOLIDS, FIRST_SOLID_REF, NEXT_SOLID_REF

Use a solid refererence number to access face data

GET_SOLID_FACE_LIST <SOLID REF> <SELECTED>

NUMBER_OF_FACES, FIRST_FACE_REF, NEXT_FACE_REF

You can obtain data for a face using the commands

GET_SOLID_FACE_UV <SOLID> <FACE> <U1> <V1> <U2> <V2>

<U1> <V1> = Minimum values for the face in UV space, <U2> <V2> = Maximum values for the face in UV
space
Return the world co-ordinates of a point on the face given the position in UV space

GET_SOLID_FACE_POINT <SOLID> <FACE> <U> <V> <X> <Y> <Z>

Return the vector of a normal to a point on the face given the position in UV space

GET_SOLID_FACE_NORMAL <SOLID> <FACE> <U> <V> <VX> <VY> <VZ>

Use a solid refererence number to access a list of edges

GET_SOLID_EDGE_LIST <SOLID REF> <SELECTED>

NUMBER_OF_EDGES, FIRST_EDGE_REF, NEXT_EDGE_REF

Select faces or edges using

SELECT_FACE <SOLID> <FACE>

SELECT_EDGE <SOLID> <EDGE>

Access Data from the Hole Manager

HOLEFR_GET_DATA <WG> <NUM GROUPS>

HOLEFR_GET_GROUP <GROUP> <NUM FEATURES>

HOLE_FR_GET_FEAT <FEATURE>

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Introduction to What's New

You must first use HOLEFR_GET_DATA to load the data for a given WorkGroup. Next use HOLEFR_GET_GROUP
to load the data for a given hole group and then you can use HOLEFR_GET_FEAT to get data for each feature
in that group, This command will set the following variables for the given feature.

HOLEFRTYPE, HOLEFRCS, HOLEFRREVCS, HOLEFRTHROUGHTYPE

HOLEFRDIA, HOLEFRDIATOP, HOLEFRDEPTH, HOLEFRMIDDEPTH, HOLEFRFULLDEPTH

HOLEFRTOPCLEAR, HOLEFRBOTTOMCLEAR, HOLEFRTOPZ, HOLEFRBOTTOMZ

HOLEFRTOP, HOLEFRBOTTOM, HOLEFRWIDTH, HOLEFRANGLE, HOLEFRTIPANGLE

HOLEFRPOSAXISX, HOLEFRPOSAXISY, HOLEFRPOSAXISZ

HOLEFRPOSX, HOLEFRPOSY, HOLEFRPOSZ

HOLEFRPOSTOPX, HOLEFRPOSTOPY, HOLEFRPOSTOPZ

Each of the HOLEFR commands will set the variable HoleFrError, zero if the command is successful

SUPPORT FOR 5-AXIS AND ADVANCED 3D PROCESSES

With this release we have added support for calls to the 5-Axis and Advanced 3D processes. A full list of
parameters is available in the file created by GET_COMMANDS.

Great care must be taken to set parameters that are relevant to the type of process with values that are
within the expected limits.
! You should also be aware that the meaning of any 5-Axis parameter may change in future releases, as
may the range of valid values. It is not guaranteed that all macros written using these commands will
work as expected in future versions of GibbsCAM.

Advanced 3D Processes

IS_PROC_ADV3D <PROCESS NUMBER> <VARIABLE NAME>

<VARIABLE NAME> is set to 1 if it is an Advanced 3D process, 0 if not

GET_ADV3D_PROC_DATA <PROCESS NUMBER>, <PARAMETER>, <VARIABLE NAME>

SET_ADV3D_PROC_DATA <PROCESS NUMBER>, <PARAMETER>, <VALUE>

5-Axis Processes

IS_PROC_5AXIS <PROCESS NUMBER> <VARIABLE NAME>

<VARIABLE NAME> is set to 1 if it is an 5 Axis process, 0 if not

GET_5AXIS_PROC_DATA <PROCESS NUMBER>, <PARAMETER>, <VARIABLE NAME>

SET_5AXIS_PROC_DATA <PROCESS NUMBER>, <PARAMETER>, <VALUE>

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Introduction to What's New

SUPPORT FOR CALLS TO PLUG-INS

With this release we have added support for calls to plug-ins.

RUN_PLUGIN <PLUG-IN NAME> [<MENU ITEM NUMBER>]

The <plug-in name> must be the name of the plug-in DLL, without the ".DLL". For plug-ins that offer a list of
menu options, the <menu item number> parameter defines which option to select. For example, you could
select a circle in a macro and then split it into two arcs using the Split Circle option in the Geometry Tools,
using the command

RUN_PLUGIN "GEOTOOLS", 3

Note: The plug-in name must be spelled the same as the filename and it is case-sensitive. In this example we
have used option 3, because "Split Circle" is the third menu option for this plug-in.

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Introduction to What's New

CAD INTEROPERABILITY
This release brings many updates to our Data Exchange and CAD interoperability formats.
l Our Autodesk® Inventor® Add-In is now available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The Add-In now
supports the Autodesk Inventor 2010 ribbon interface.
l Our SolidWorks® Add-In is now available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Transfer from SolidWorks
2010 is now supported.
l We now offer a CimatronE 9.0 Add-In.
l Updated file formats which we support now include KeyCreator v8.0 and Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 5.0.
l The STEP translator supports GRANITE v6.

Import version Export version Add-In version

ACIS R20 ACIS-SAT 20 Autodesk Inventor 2010
Autodesk Inventor 2010 DXF CimatronE 9.0
CATIA v5 R19 IGES KeyCreator 7.0
DXF Parasolid 22 KeyCreator 8.0
IGES Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire v5.0 Mechanical Desktop® 2009
KeyCreator® 8.0 STEP Granite v6 Mechanical Desktop 2004
NX 6 Rhinoceros 3.0
Parasolid v22 Rhinoceros 4.0
Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire v5.0 Solid Edge ST 100
RealDWG 2010 SolidWorks 2010
Rhinoceros® 4.0
Solid Edge® ST 100
SolidWorks 2010
STEP Granite v6
VDA-FS

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