Supporting the drive for the generation of digital prototypes and total digital manufacturing, Planit has recently announced that the latest version of its market-leading CAM software for NC part programming, Edgecam 2009 R2, has gained full certification from Autodesk for use with its Inventor 2010 CAD software.

Edgecam 2009 R2 has been fully certified for Autodesk Inventor 2010 under the Autodesk Inventor Certified Applications Program. Full certification is only granted after a product has been thoroughly tested by internal staff at Autodesk. Certified applications have to meet predetermined implementation guidelines and must demonstrate the highest levels of robustness, quality and interoperability when working with Autodesk Inventor software.

Commenting on news of the certification, Planit’s chief technology officer, Russell Franks, says: “Edgecam’s ability to seamlessly load and machine Inventor models, provide Global Network Licensing, and support a corporation’s ‘design anywhere/build anywhere’ initiative, makes it an essential business system for many Inventor users. So, this Certification is significant to our mutual customers.”

The fact that the latest release of Edgecam is fully certified under the Autodesk Inventor Certified Applications Program will allow designers and other users of Inventor CAD software to confidently take full advantage of the latest and most recent enhancements made to Edgecam.

Avoiding the need to translate files, Edgecam is able to directly read native Autodesk Inventor digital prototype models and assemblies for process planning and NC toolpath generation. Modifications to part geometry and process parameters are easily accommodated by Edgecam's full associativity across geometry, processes and toolpaths.

“Being easy to use, Edgecam’s Operations are based on the most useful and commonly used cycles to enable new and existing users to generate high quality toolpaths very quickly. With even more operations added to this latest release Inventor users can efficiently program just about any machine tool type, from simple cylindrical parts on 2-axis lathes to complex components on multi axis mill-turning centres, as well as prismatic parts which range from straightforward milled components right through to blended curves and surfaces using simultaneous 5-axis machining,” explains Russell Franks.

Edgecam and its sister software from Planit, Radan, provide complementary support for the generation of digital prototypes by allowing any design to be manipulated in a manufacturing/production environment.