One of TopSolid'Cam's greatest forces is its capacity to manage all machining processes thereby making it one of the only CAM solutions on the market which is able to machine all parts by offering the most suitable machining process. TopSolid'Cam is capable of piloting turning, 2 axes milling, 3 axis milling, 4 & 5 axis continued milling, 4 & 5 axis continued turning, synchronization and complex simulation.

Today, the optimisation of the digital calculation of objects has led designers to create shapes which can only be made by using machines able to operate in 5 continuous axis. Before looking at what TopSolid'Cam proposes for the machining of such parts, let's take a look at the 2 main cases where continuous 5 axis machining is used:

• Machining of parts which cannot be made without a 5 axis machine tool. In general 5 axis machining is required to manage accessibility constraints to certain areas of the part and means that the part cannot be made on machines with fewer axis.

• Machining of parts which can be carried out on 3 axis machines. In this case the main reason behind using a 5 axis machine (when the part could in fact be machined on a 3 axis machine) is to allow the use of shorter tools which offer better cutting conditions and thereby reduce manufacturing times.

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All you have to do is submit your project (format jpg, tiff, … and a brief description of the project) to win the following prizes:

• An all expenses paid weekend away for 2
• An integrated PDA/GPS
• A smartphone
• An Ipod
• A state-of-the-art laptop computer

For further details and contest rules see www.topsolid.com/news/designcontest

Among the projets we have received here are 2 entries:

1. It is a stairs created by the French company Delzanni. The stairs was completely designed using TopSolid'Design and TopSolid'Fold. The steps are made of glass and fiber optic; the stair stringer is made in steel; the stair railing is made in glass and the handrail is in wood.
   
   
   
2. The second project is a “U” shaped soiled dish table made by the company Trimark/Foodcraft based in North Carolina, USA. The company is a national supplier of restaurant equipment from such things as glassware, blank menus, cookware to custom fabricated stainless steel equipment. According to Philip Collins, the TopSolid operator at Trimark/Foodcraft, TopSolid has been the easiest CAD software he has ever used (he has been working with CAD software since 1991and with TopSolid for just over 1 year) Trimark/Foodcraft has been working with its local TopSolid reseller Indsco and with ClearCut Solutions, TopSolid's master reseller in the USA.

Missler Software and Huron are happy to announce their strategic collaboration for the generation of post processors to drive Huron machines. The aim of this collaboration is to be able to better respond to customer needs and increase productivity gains.

TopSolid'Cam offers a unique CAM solution in that it is capable of piloting turning, 2 axes milling, 3 axis milling, 4 & 5 axis continued milling, 4 & 5 axis continued turning, synchronization and complex simulation.

TopSolid'Cam is perfectly adapted to drive Huron machines boasting strong performances in the following areas:

• Positioned 5 axis machining
• 3D machining
• Continuous 5 axis machining
• Simulation of the machine environment

Missler Software and Huron have worked together for a number of years now. The close relations between the 2 companies permit the generation of complete and efficient post processors which can be correctly put in place at the customer's facility.

« We are very happy about the close links between Missler Software and Huron which enable us to offer the best possible solutions to our customers » says Dominique Laffret , Vice-President of Strategic Relationships at Missler Software «Huron very quickly understood the uniqueness of the TopSolid solution and the benefits such a solution could bring to Huron customers. »

Missler Software has recently signed a new wood reseller in Brisbane, Australia. Company Internetit was set up by Jeff Chapman in 1998. With a solid experience in the woodworking field for over 20 years, Jeff has always been interested in offering an integrated CAD/CAM package to the Australian industry. He wanted a software modelling product that did not have design boundaries and capable of accurately creating CNC programs for manufacturing. The concept of TopSolid being fully associative between the model, the 2D drawings and the manufacturing stage is why Jeff decided to represent TopSolid. With a reputation for providing customers with not only good solutions but also excellent support, Jeff was looking for a product that would continue to build on the strengths of the business.

The use of technology in the wood industry in Australia is very high and growing. TopSolid will assist this growth in technology, particularly in areas that have not had suitable software products available previously. Brisbane is half way between Cairns in the north and Melbourne in the south along the Eastern coast, where the majority of the population reside. It is also close to the Gold Coast where there is a thriving yacht industry which is a big market for TopSolid.

Youngstown Tool & Die in Ohio is TopSolid's oldest US customer. Equipped with 5 TopSolid'Design and TopSolid'Cam licences the company has been using TopSolid since 2000. "We carried out extensive research and benchmarks in 1999 before choosing TopSolid. So maybe we did take a gamble on TopSolid: however, it was the only software capable of doing what we needed even though it wasn't known.”

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You are a TopSolid operator and you would like some tips on what your software is capable of doing. Each newsletter will include a highlight of the month accompanied by an avi of a TopSolid module.

This month let's take a look at TopSolid'Design and and the TopSolid construction tree.

Video commentary

The TopSolid construction tree is a very useful tool to make modifications to your designs. Open the tree (click on tools, open/close tree), right click and the following options appear:

1. Sort
   - by default - the components are sorted according to the order in which they are inserted
   - by alphabetical order - assuming that the operator has named all parts they will be classed according to their names
2. Activate only level - In tools/options/diverse you need to click the option "Show the level of the elements". This function is very useful in an assembly, you can disactivate all levels except those of the choosen part
3. Search - this function enables you to find a function, such as a hole, by selecting an operation on the part
4. Controls - this allows the elements that drive the draft to be made visible in order to modify them
5. Set a folder - allows operations to be grouped so thay they can be transformed together, e.g, destroy, desactivate, ...

Minimum requirements to read videos

2 formats are possible: AVI and WMV

• To read the AVI file the Techsmith codec has to be installed first, click here to download it.
• To read the WMV file the lastest version of Windows Media Player available here is required

All Missler Software and reseller trade fairs will be published here each month and can also be found on http://www.topsolid.com/news/shows/showslist.asp

GOelan, edited by Missler Software, is a CAD/CAM software for the design and machining of mechanical parts in milling, turning and wire electroerosion. It is an easy to use software which enables programming of numerically controlled machines directly from the workshop floor. GOelan offers fast solutions with short turnaround times and an intuitive user interface allowing the solution to be used by manufacturing specialists who are not necessarily computer experts. GOelan offers you the opportunity to:

• Maximise the capabilities of your machine tools
• Easily design and import all client files
• Reduce programming time per part
• Save time
• Avoid unecessary machine wear
• Be quickly operational

For more information on GOelan click here.