The latest version of an automated electrode design system has been made more flexible, so allowing users to obtain exactly the electrode design they require.
The latest version of Delcam's automated electrode design system, PS-Electrode, has been made more flexible, so allowing users to obtain exactly the electrode design they require. The new version will allow much more complex designs to be produced in cases where more work is required than simply extracting data directly from the tooling model. In addition, the software will now produce excellent results from poor quality data.

The combination of the new version of PS-Electrode together with Delcam's PowerSHAPE hybrid modelling software gives the user the option to step out of the automatic process at any stage, make any adjustments to the design that might be required, and then return to the automatic operation.

As well as allowing more complex designs to be completed, stepping out of and back into the Electrode Wizard allows the user to generate an electrode design and then mirror or duplicate it for other areas of the model.

PS-Electrode can then combine the different sections into a single electrode.

It is also possible to add extra geometry to the electrode, such as reinforcing ribs, alignment notches or fillets to ensure a smooth transition away from the tool surface.

In some cases, an electrode will be required in an area where the base is not obviously defined, for example when burning into the corner of a pocket or when the base face 'floods' out across the model.

PS-Electrode now offers the ability to sketch the limit of the burn area or to use pre-defined wireframe to divide the face automatically.

PS-Electrode previously had the ability to select automatically the most suitable blank from a database.

It will now also rotate the blank into the most efficient orientation for machining to minimise material waste and cutting time.

The software also incorporates Agie's recommended offsets for both roughing and finishing electrodes, which can be applied automatically to the geometry obtained from the model.