Gibbs and Associates, developer of GibbsCAM® software for programming CNC machine tools and a Cimatron (Nasdaq: CIMT) company, announced today that its latest release of GibbsCAM, in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, has been certified for Autodesk Inventor 2012 3D mechanical design software under the Autodesk Inventor Certified Applications Program. Digital Prototyping with Autodesk Inventor software gives manufacturers the ability to digitally design, visualize and simulate how a product will work under real world conditions before it is built, which helps reduce cost and increase efficiency. Certification demonstrates that the product is of high quality and up to date, and that it provides the highest level of interoperability with Autodesk Inventor software.

“We are pleased to announce continued support for directly reading Autodesk Inventor models and assemblies into GibbsCAM, extending into the eleventh year the high interoperability to which our joint customers have become accustomed,” said Bill Gibbs, founder and president of Gibbs and Associates. “Our customers can continue to take advantage of the numerous usability and productivity enhancements of each new GibbsCAM release, including additions for programming the latest, most sophisticated machine tools, without sacrificing the ease of use for which GibbsCAM is known.”

GibbsCAM, in both 32-bit and 64-bit editions, is compatible with Windows 7, so users can take advantage of the latest offerings from Autodesk, GibbsCAM and Microsoft on a single platform. An easy-to-use and simple-to-navigate interface, with language and icons familiar to programmers and machinists, allows GibbsCAM users to quickly take advantage of its powerful capabilities – from minimizing the time it takes to learn use of the software, to making manufacturing engineering tasks and production machining extremely intuitive and efficient. GibbsCAM provides the capability to program the most complex machining processes, and the flexibility to allow user-preferred approaches to jobs, with options that are logical to programmers.

“We are very pleased to have Gibbs and Associates renew Inventor certification for GibbsCAM,” said Carl White, Director of Digital Design product management at Autodesk., “GibbsCAM has supported Autodesk Inventor with direct reading of Inventor models and assemblies since the beginning of our certification program, with constant dedication to interoperability and ease of use. We are proud to have companies like Gibbs and Associates as partners in delivering extensible, flexible and easy-to-use applications to our manufacturing customers.”

GibbsCAM’s full associativity of geometry, processes and toolpaths, easily accommodates updates to Autodesk Inventor part geometry and process parameters. With GibbsCAM, NC programmers can quickly optimize parts for machining and program machine tools to make the parts, whether they have simple geometry needing only 2-axis turning or 2.5-axis milling, or complex geometry requiring use of 5-axis milling, MTM or Swiss-style turning centers. GibbsCAM verifies toolpaths with gouge detection and interference checking, and enables additional testing and prove-out with a dynamic display of all moving components of a selected machine tool as it makes the part. These, and many other features of GibbsCAM help manufacturers eliminate scrap, reduce cycle times, and maximize efficiency, safety and profits.