New in ENCY 2.6: refined Design tools and over 100 fixes

The Helix tool in the Design module has been updated to make setup more flexible and easier to read on screen.

• You can now use either a surface or an axis as the Base element. When an axis is selected, an on-screen arrow lets you flip the helix direction, and radial dimensions have been replaced with diameter dimensions that are shown directly in the graphics window.

• When you select a surface as the Base element, diameter parameters are hidden and only Twist By Pitch and Twist by Angle remain, reducing visual noise. You can also specify how far the helix start and end offsets are shifted from the start and end of the selected surface. The base element can be cleared at any time using the dedicated “X” button.

We have also improved the behavior of Extrude and Sweep Along the Trajectory in the Design module to reduce geometry issues and speed up downstream operations.

• In Extrude, large twist angle values can lead to problematic surfaces. ENCY now automatically splits such surfaces into smaller segments, helping to avoid geometry errors and making the model more reliable for toolpath generation.
• In Sweep Along the Trajectory, ENCY analyses the resulting geometry and replaces complex freeform faces with simple analytic surfaces (planes, cylinders, and rotation surfaces) wherever possible. This makes models open and process faster. When a profile is swept along a closed 3D spline, it is now automatically “twisted” to close smoothly without gaps at the seam.

Several quality-of-life changes make common operations a bit more forgiving and easier to understand:

• Added a Check Holder parameter to the Chamfering operation, giving you finer control over holder behavior near part geometry.
• Refreshed hints for turning operations and the Swarf operation to better explain key parameters in context.
• Updated the documentation for ENCY Tuner 2.
• Reorganised the parameter structure on the Setup panel for clearer navigation.
• Refreshed icons in the interactive editing panel for 5D Curve to make actions more distinguishable at a glance.

ENCY 2.6 also includes a wide range of stability improvements across machining, simulation, UI, licensing, and automation.

We have made turning and milling simulation, background machining result calculation, FBM (Feature based machining) operations and scripted workflows more predictable by reducing false collisions, unexpected errors and occasional freezes in complex projects. Performance is more consistent when working with large fixture models, Voxel 5D modeling and projects that use detailed 3D holders, and memory usage has been optimized for demanding jobs.

We also addressed issues in several key operations—including turning, contouring, EDM, welding, 5D surface and mesh strategies and postprocessor-driven workflows—to improve toolpath robustness, parameter handling and consistency between graphics, simulation and NC output.

User interaction and system tooling have also become more robust. We resolved issues affecting project saving and closing, STEP import, 3D mouse support, intellectual object selection from 3D models and visualization in Sketch, as well as several edge cases in the license manager (including offline protection), the installer, the Postprocessors Generator and the AI assistant — so ENCY behaves more consistently from installation through everyday programming.

Note: The 2.6 update is available to all users with an active software maintenance contract (SMC).