CAM Users: The Future Has Arrived

Verisurf 2020 works on your watch and phone.

 (Picture courtesy of Verisurf.)

(Picture courtesy of Verisurf.)

If you are in the machine ship running CAM or operating metrology software, you are probably not one of those hipsters wearing an Apple or Android smart watch. Not much need for one, right? But the recent release of Verisurf may finally give you a reason to justify having one: you can now see position and measurement readouts on it! 

Verisurf 2020’s new companion app allows you to view certain features that used to be relegated to desktops. Viewing dynamic build or measure Dynamic Risk Outcomes (DROs) on iOS- or Android-compatible watches leaves your hands free to do other tasks.

Measurement readouts on your watch with Verisurf. (Video from YouTube.)

Measurement readouts on your watch with Verisurf. (Video from Verisurf/YouTube.)

And There’s More …

Good manufacturing requires good design. That means CAD that is intelligent enough to provide a continuity of data and the ability to provide an excessive amount of data from drawing to production.

Verisurf is a metrology software that allows you to see the difference between the nominal CAD design and the finished machined part in real time. According to the company, Verisurf provides in-process first article or automated inspection, scanning for reverse engineering, tool building, and assembly guidance processes.

Now, Verisurf has released the latest version of its software, Verisurf 2020, which includes new reverse engineering tools, expanded device support, and new support for measurement workflows. 

As the world of production becomes more demanding, requiring manufacturers to test and measure nearly every component that they produce, 3D scanning systems have provided a way to ease the challenge of digital measurement.

Using Verisurf 2020, designers and manufacturers can interact with parts physically and digitally in real time, creating a valuable digital twin from inspection. Using model-based definition (MBD), the CAD model is the nominal definition that parts are measured and inspected against. 

This means that all the manufacturing tolerance information is included in the CAD model, and the software maintains digital consistency from design to manufacturing.

According to the company, “Verisurf is the only measurement, inspection, and reverse engineering software dedicated to MBD and built on a CAD/CAM platform. 

“We are proud to say, with Verisurf software you can finish the job, from managing CMMs, to 3D scanning and data collection, to 3D CAD modeling, class-A surface modeling, and verification of finished parts,” said Ernie Husted, president and CEO of Verisurf.

Verisurf 2020 ads an array of features to the software’s offerings, but some of the most notable are: 

  • A Quick Surface option (among other mesh features)
  • Improved sketching on meshes
  • Updated metrology hardware support
  • Mobile companion apps for iOS and Android

Mesh Features

The new Quick Surface option enables users to quickly create high-quality surfaces from scanned meshes or STL files. According to the company, “Quick Surface maintains curvature continuity between adjacent surfaces and is ideal for creating smooth, free-form CAD surfaces, ideal for high-speed tool-paths, either from organic or prismatic meshes.”

We all know the value of hotkey when working in any software, so Verisurf has added mesh editing hotkeys for editing processes.

There are a number of other mesh editing features that allow you to do everything from quickly merge, clean up, refine, smooth, extend, fill holes, and create meshes in one step to produce highly uniform smooth meshes prior to surfacing that are aligned with the surface’s flow of curvature.