The new features and enhancements added since PowerMill 2024.0.3.
For information about fixed issues, see the release notes.
Finishing strategy improvements
- You can now use a Profile style to machine inclined flats.
- When using the Top First ordering option in Steep and Shallow, the toolpath calculation has been improved to help start cutting at the highest Z region first.
- The quality of the Rest Finishing toolpath has been improved.
Setup and NC program improvements
- When creating a setup, you can now choose whether PowerMill automatically draws the stock model in the graphics window. In the Stock page of the Setup dialog, select or deselect the Draw checkbox.
- You can now create and assign custom parameter values to setups. In the Setup dialog, use the newly added User Defined Settings page.
- The Toolpaths page of the Setup dialog now indicates which toolpaths use setup connections.
- You can now create an NC program from a folder in a setup. In the Explorer, under the Setups branch, right-click a folder and choose Copy as NC Program.
- You can now add NC programs and setups to groups. In the Explorer, click and drag an NC program or a setup to a group under the Groups branch.
Speed improvements
- Toolpath and NC Program Verification is now faster when checking the tool against the model by making use of multiple processing threads.
- Area Clearance and Flat Finishing toolpaths now calculate faster in certain cases.
- The merging of intersecting stitches in Rest Finishing is now faster.
Various other enhancements
- An option has been added to the context menu for patterns so you can calculate the medial axis. In the Explorer, under the Pattern branch, right-click a pattern and choose Edit > Create Centre Lines.
- To help diagnose issues, the names of any active plugins are now saved in the project folder.
- Entities can now be copied and pasted from the clipboard into a separate instance of PowerMill.
- A large number of memory leaks have been fixed.
- The parameter function number_selected() has been extended to work with toolpaths.