Delcam has issued a free guide to the use of computers with parallel processing technology in CNC programming. The white paper is based on Delcam’s research into the use of the latest computer technology in the CAM environment. It aims to help users separate the facts from the marketing hype and give a clear understanding of the potential benefits. Copies can be downloaded from www.powermill.com.

The paper begins with an explanation of the two potential benefits of multi-core computers. Firstly, background processing allows the user to prepare, simulate or edit one toolpath in the foreground, while simultaneously calculating other toolpaths in the background. This technology can work on any hardware but the benefits are much greater on multi-core equipment.

Secondly, parallel processing can perform different parts of a single complex calculation at the same time. Essentially, this divides the processing of this operation over all of the cores in the CPU chip to reduce the overall calculation time.

The ultimate benefit comes from applying both these technologies at the same time, with parallel processing being used for both the foreground and background operations.

Having explained the technology, the Delcam paper then describes how it is applied in the latest release of Delcam’s PowerMILL CAM system and gives examples of the improvements obtained. Tests on a range of toolpaths show that using the latest PowerMILL release on a quad-core machine results in a saving of up to 60% in toolpath calculation times.

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