Schott Systeme Retain 12 Year CAD/CAM Price Freeze
Munich, Germany – Helping mold tool companies to remain competitive, German software developer Schott Systeme have frozen their pricing for the 12th year running, while at the same time launching a raft of new design and machining functions within their latest Pictures by PC 3.4 CAD/CAM software.
Outlining the company’s pricing policy, company founder and owner Hans-Joachim Schott states, “Our aim is to enable our customers to invest in the very latest CAD/CAM technology, for every single CNC machine tool, while keeping both purchase and operating costs to a bare minimum.” This policy means that their integrated moldtool package for design and machining continues to remain under €10,000. With ongoing maintenance costs also being a major consideration, Herr Schott continues “Our customers have to earn money with us, so we have retained our 25 year old policy of not charging for yearly maintenance, instead offering free life time support, while giving our customers the choice of when they wish to purchase major upgrades.”
Focussing on their new software release, Schott Systeme have developed this latest version with the streamlining of the moldtool design and machining process very much in mind. This process starts with the quick and ‘clean’ import of customer models, and here Schott Systeme have enhanced their data import facilities to include the very latest versions of STEP and 3D IGES Solid formats. However for customers having to deal with poor quality data, considerable thought has been put into actual model repair, with an entirely new range of advanced surfacing functionality and a more advanced ‘Healing’ suite. Their existing ‘Tribrid’ mixed modelling techniques have also been improved to help customers working with STL mesh models, enabling them to construct core and cavity molds from mixed mesh, solid and surface models. This is also being accompanied by a new suite of mesh analysis, repair and handling tools.
Pictures by PC 3.4 also sees a number of enhancements to speed up the machining of mold tools. Firstly the software now utilises multi core processing, with users receiving an instant improvement in toolpath calculation times from between 30-50% on dual core PC’s, and from 40-60% on quad core versions, with additional gains achievable by using their latest 64bit version. The company has in addition further enhanced their ‘Freeform Feature Recognition’ module, aiding in the automatic extraction of complex freeform mold features to machine, such as tapered walls and freeform chamfers.
The company will be using this years Euromold exhibition to both celebrate their 26th anniversary, in addition to showcasing these latest CAD/CAM enhancements. Visitors are welcome in Hall 11 on Stand C63.
About Schott Systeme GmbH
Celebrating over 25 years of CAD/CAM excellence, Schott Systeme continue to develop the same software solution originally launched back in 1983. Starting out as one of the very first vector based graphics packages for the PC, their product 'Pictures by PC' as the name suggests, has evolved into one of the most mature CAD/CAM and technical documentation products available today. Being a fully integrated 2D/3D CAD, CAM and graphics package, Pictures caters for all aspects of workshop machining, through to product design and documentation.
