SURFCAM is a leading CAD/CAM software developed by Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, designed for generating efficient toolpaths in 2D through 5-axis milling, turning, and mill-turn operations. It balances advanced features with user-friendliness, making it suitable for small businesses, enterprises, and freelancers in manufacturing. The software integrates seamlessly with SOLIDWORKS for associative toolpath updates and includes modules like 2-Axis, 3-Axis, 4/5-Axis, Lathe, Wire EDM, and Part Modeler.

As of October 2025, SURFCAM 2025.1 represents the latest point release in the 2025 series, building on prior versions (e.g., 2022.1 and 2021) with enhancements focused on multi-axis machining efficiency, simulation accuracy, and workflow productivity. This version was highlighted in mid-2025 announcements for introducing support for advanced 5-axis strategies, particularly with barrel cutters for faster finishing operations.

Key New Features in SURFCAM 2025.1

• 5-Axis Tilt Control Strategy with Barrel Cutter Support: Enables precise control over tool tilt angles during simultaneous 5-axis machining, reducing cycle times on complex surfaces. Barrel cutters allow for larger stepovers and smoother finishes, ideal for aerospace and mold-making applications.
• Gun Drilling Cycle: A new dedicated cycle for deep-hole drilling, with improved peck depths, coolant control, and collision avoidance to enhance accuracy in energy and automotive parts production.
• Performance Improvements: Optimized toolpath calculations using multi-threading (expanded from 2-axis in earlier versions), resulting in up to 30% faster processing for large assemblies.
• Enhanced Grooving Controls: In lathe operations, users can now customize the 'Break Edge' angle in Finish Grooving (previously fixed at 45°), allowing better chip control and surface quality.
• Additive Machining Updates: Extended parallel lace toolpaths with improved undercut handling (user-defined maximum overhang angles), bridging hybrid additive-subtractive workflows.
• Tombstone and Fixture Enhancements: Better support for multi-fixture verification in simulation, including associative updates to NCSIMUL for real-time collision detection.
• Tool Library and Simulation Integration: Continued migration to SQL Server for shared libraries (from 2022.1), with deeper ties to NCSIMUL for virtual-real manufacturing validation, reducing errors by providing detailed operation previews.

These updates emphasize safety, cost-effectiveness, and scalability, with around 50 enhancements to the optional SURFCAM Designer module for machinist-specific CAD tasks.