What’s New inside DigitalCNC (July & August 2026)
Build: 0.6.5.1
Release date: 17th August 2026
Compatibility: Siemens NX, CATIA V5 and Mastercam versions supported by this build.
A cycle time prediction is only as good as the part program it was run against. On most shop floors the thing that actually runs on the machine is not one file. It is a sequence of operations posted separately, calling subprograms and macros that sit somewhere else on the network entirely. Analyse the main file on its own and you have analysed part of the job.
Both headline changes in this release close that gap. DigitalCNC now follows the job the way the controller does: across the whole sequence, and down through every call.
Work Grouping
Individual NC programs can now be grouped into structured work plans. Groups are inferred automatically from the host CAM system, including Siemens NX and Mastercam, so the structure you already built in CAM carries through rather than being rebuilt by hand. Feedrate and cycle time analysis then runs across the entire group as one sequence.
What this means as a user
You have always been able to analyse an operation. What you could not do was get a single, trustworthy number for the part. Adding up per-operation predictions by hand works until a programmer reorders two operations or splits a roughing pass, at which point the total is quietly wrong and nobody knows. Grouping means the sequence is the unit of analysis, and it comes from the CAM setup rather than from someone’s spreadsheet.
Business impact
Quoting, capacity planning and job scheduling all happen at part level, not at operation level. A per-operation prediction that is accurate to within a few percent still has to be assembled into something a planner can use. A work plan produces a fixture-to-fixture figure directly, which is the number that goes into a quote and the number that loads a machine. For shops running families of similar parts, it also makes two candidate process routes directly comparable before either one reaches a machine.
Recursive Subprogram and Macro Call Analysis
Complex CNC jobs often span several files. DigitalCNC now follows those relationships recursively, shows the full call hierarchy, and reports how much machining each program contributes.
- See the full program hierarchy. Nested subprogram and macro calls are followed, rather than analysing the main file alone.
- Understand where machining comes from. Each row shows the program node, its source location and its own executable motion count.
- Spot incomplete program structures. Unresolved, cyclic or depth-limited calls stay visible instead of disappearing silently.
- Keep analysis practical. Per-node counts are recorded during normal recursive execution, so there is no additional analysis pass and no penalty in run time.
What this means as a user
Three situations where this changes the working day. A cycle time that looks wrong can now be traced to the exact program and call site that introduced it, instead of being bisected by hand through a directory of files. An inherited or unfamiliar programme can be understood by looking at its execution path rather than by chasing references through half a dozen part programs. And a post-processor that is generating parent and child structures can be checked against how they are actually being interpreted.
Business impact
The failure mode this removes is the quiet one. If a call cannot be resolved and the tool simply ignores it, the analysis returns a confident number for a job it only partly read, and nobody finds out until the machine is cutting. Keeping missing, cyclic and excessive-depth calls visible means an engineer can confirm the analysis covered the whole programme before relying on it. On high-value work, that confirmation is the difference between a prediction you can quote against and one you cannot.
What this release does not cover
Work grouping analyses the sequence as your CAM system defines it. It does not reorder operations or propose alternative routes. Recursive call analysis reports the executable structure of a programme and where the machining sits within it; it does not modify the part program. DigitalCNC remains a prediction and verification tool that runs before the first cut, and does not replace final collision verification prior to sign-off.
New starter
Adam Lawrence joined DigitalCNC in July as Product Manager.
Adam is supporting technical marketing, managing our government-funded multi-partner grant work, and leading technical delivery of our sustainable manufacturing strand. It is a broad brief, and it suits someone who has come at manufacturing from more than one direction.
He holds a BEng in chemical engineering from Aston University and completed an MSc in Environment and Energy Engineering from the University of Sheffield, with placements at EDF Energy and at the AMRC. His time at the AMRC was spent building data-driven decision tools for manufacturers, which means the problems our customers bring us are ones he has already worked on from the inside.
Getting this release
If you are already a customer, the latest build is in the licensing portal alongside your current entitlements. No support ticket needed.
If you are not, everything described above is available on a 14 day trial. You can start one from the virtual environment, which runs in a browser with no download, no installation and no IT clearance, or you can get in touch through the website or by emailing info@digitalcnc.ai.
