Multi-Pockets Machining

Overview

What's New ?

Getting Started

Setting the Options Selecting the Geometry Optimizing the Power Machining

User Tasks

Recommendations Automatic Rough Stock Ordering Zones Selecting Geometry Using Geometrical Zones Changing the Tool Axis Power Machining - Center Power Machining - Side

Workbench Description

Reference Information

Power Machining Parameters

Glossary

Index

OverviewWelcome to the Multi-Pockets Machining User's Guide! This guide is intended for users who need to become quickly familiar with the product.

This overview provides the following information:

● Multi-Pockets Machining in a Nutshell

● Before Reading this Guide

● Getting the Most Out of this Guide

● Accessing Sample Documents

● Conventions Used in this Guide

Multi-Pockets Machining in a NutshellMulti-Pockets machining will propose a process-focused solution to machine Cavity Parts dedicated to Mechanical and Aerospace industries:

● Rough to finish pockets of machined part with only one tool and one tool path,

● Roughing with over-thickness, finishing sides and bottom with waterline machining,

● Rough to finish with several tools using rework technology,

● Dedicated operation to finish top of stiffeners.

The present version offers you the following capacities:

● roughing of center area,

● machining of center area floors,

● user-defined pre-engagement motion and post retract motion for center machining

● back and forth strategy with cornerization and management of the tool loading (several contouring passes, no full diameter cuts with back and forth passes),

● helical and concentric strategy,

● slow down feedrate in sharp corners and inside arcs for helical strategy,

● arc interpolation in tool path,

● support of rework technology,

● stay on bottom option.

Before Reading this GuidePrior to reading the Multi-Pockets Machining User's Guide, you are recommended to have a look at the Infrastructure User's Guide for information on the generic capabilities common to all products.

Getting the Most Out of this GuideTo make the most out of this book, we suggest that a beginning user reads the Getting Started chapter first of all and the Workbench Description to find his way around the Multi-Pocket Machining workbench.

Accessing Sample DocumentsTo perform the scenarios, sample documents are provided all along this documentation. For more information about this, refer to Accessing Sample Documents in the Infrastructure User's Guide.

What's New?

New Functionalities

Side machining is now available.Imposed planes

You can now define two sets of imposed planes (with different offset).Back and forth tool path style

It can be optimized on each area.

Getting StartedBefore getting to grips with the Multi-Pockets Machining capacities, here is a short step-by step tutorial that will help guide you through the key functionalities.

The tutorial should take you 30 minutes to complete.

Setting the OptionsSelecting the Geometry

Optimizing the Power Machining

Setting the Multi-Pockets Machining OptionsThis task shows you how to open a part and start a Multi-Pockets Machining operation.

1. Open the MultiPockets1.CATPart from the samples directory.

2. Select Tools > Options... > Machining. In the General tab, make sure that Create a CATPart to store geometry is checked.

3. Multi-Pockets Machining is available as an add-on to Advanced Machining, Surface Machining or Prismatic Machining. In the Start/Machining menu, select the workbench you want to

work with. Then go to the Multi-Pockets Operations toolbar that contains the Power Machining icon:

4. Under ProductList, you find Part1 that is the part to machine and NCGeometry_Part1_xx.yy.zz (the exact name may vary) that is the CATPart created automatically to store

geometry.

Selecting the Geometry We are going to define the geometry:

● the rough stock

● the part to machine and the associated bottom and imposed planes.

Creating the rough stock

1. Go to the Geometry Management tool bar and pick the Creates rough stock icon.

The Create Rough Stock dialog box is displayed. Select NCGeometry_Part1_14.18.57 as the Destination and pick the part to fill in automatically the Definition of the Stock fields.

Click OK, the Rough stock is created in the specification tree.

Defining the geometry for the operation

1. In the Multi-Pockets Operations toolbar, pick the Power Machining icon

and select ManufacturingProgram.1 in the specification tree. A Power machining.1 operation is created in the specification tree.

The Power machining dialog box is open.

The sensitive area Part is red, which indicates that you must select a part to machine. The other definitions are optional. If necessary, hide the rough stock or the reference planes to make

picking easier).

2. Pick the sensitive area Part. The dialog box shrinks to allow you to select the part in the viewer.

In the viewer, pick the part

Double click anywhere in the viewer to confirm your selection and to redisplay the dialog box. The red area Part is now green to indicate that the geometry has been selected.

3. Pick the sensitive area Rough stock and select the rough stock in NCGeometry_Part1_14.18.57. You may then hide it for an easier selection of the geometry.

4. Pick the sensitive area Bottom and select the geometry as shown:

The sensitive area Bottom has turned green.

5. Pick one sensitive area Imposed and select the geometry as shown:

Use the Offset contextual menu item to set an offset on this plane.

6. Now pick the other sensitive area Imposed and repeat the step above with the following plane:

7. Pick Center zone order and define in which order the center zones are to be machined.

You have the following result:

8. In the Machining strategy tab, make sure the Machining mode is set to By plane and Outer part and pocket.

Leave the options at their default values and push the Tool Path Replay button, then OK twice.

A Power machining.1 operation is created in the specification tree.

Optimizing the Power Machining

1. Double-click Part Operation.1 in the specification tree. Add the part and the rough stock you are using:

2. Create a second operation as explained before but with the following parameters:

● Offset on Part:0.5 mm

● Machining strategy: Center(1) and Side(2)

● Machining mode: Pocket only,

● Machining tolerance: 0.1 mm

● Remaining thickness for sides:1 mm

● Bottom finish thickness: 0.5 mm

The specificity of the Power Machining is the tool loading management in Back and Forth (several contouring passes, no full diameter cuts with zig zag passes, possibility to perform the contouring passes prior or after the zig-zag passes, possibility to define a contouring pass ratio).

Above is the tool path with the values we have defined.

3. Place the cursor on the machining direction arrow and select Optimize from its contextual menu.

Push the Tool Path Replay button.

You can see that the tool path direction has been adapted to the geometry to machine, i.e. defined by the shape of each pocket and set along the main direction (X or Y).

4. Now let's have a look at the Contouring pass ratio

This parameter is available when the tool path style is set to Back and Forth.

It adjusts the position of the final pass for removing scallops. This is done by entering a percentage of the tool diameter (0 to 50).

This is what you get when the Contouring pass ratio is set to 0:

This is what you get when the Contouring pass ratio is set to 20:

5. Now go to the HSM tab and make sure the High speed milling option is selected.

This is what you get without the High speed milling option:

This is what you get with High speed milling option:

The tool path is rounded to give a smoother path that can be machined faster.

6. Push the Mixed Photo/Video button to simulate the material removed by the machining operation in Video mode.

User TasksYou will find the following user tasks to help you perform a Multi-Pockets machining:

RecommendationsAutomatic Rough StockOrdering ZonesSelecting GeometryUsing Geometrical ZonesChanging the Tool AxisPower Machining - CenterPower Machining - Side

Please refer to the Getting Started section for information about the operating mode of the Multi-Pockets machining and to the Reference section for more information about the parameters.

RecommendationsIf you intend to create complementary geometry, before you start a Machining workbench go to Tools/Options and, in the Display tab of the Manufacturing options, tick the box that allows you to create a CATPart to store necessary geometry. If you are not going to modify the geometry, then make sure that this box is not ticked.

Before starting Machining workbench, go to Tools/Options and in the Operation tab of the Manufacturing option and tick the Use default values of the current program box. This will ensure that when a new operation is created its parameters will be initialized with default values that are appropriate to that operation and not with the values from the operation just before it.

You should save your CATProcess before generating HTML workshop documentation.

In an operation, if you cannot see the whole dialog box (particularly the OK, Apply and Cancel buttons), exit your CATIA session and use Settings > Control Panel > Display > Settings to:

● give a higher value for your screen resolution,

● or, if you are using large fonts, use small fonts.

Depending on your screen size, you may have to use both of the solutions.

Automatic Rough StockThis task explains how to create an automatic rough stock for a roughing operation.

You must have a part to machine in your workbench.

1. Open file AutoRoughStock.CATPart in the samples directory.

2. Select the Creates rough stock icon . The dialog box is displayed

3. Select the Destination, i.e. select the specification tree body where the rough stock is to be

created.

Pick the part on which the rough stock is to be created. The Part body information is updated

accordingly. A dialog box is updated with the minimum and maximum values that are required in

X, Y and Z to create a box that would surround the part. The default box is displayed in bold dark

lines.

4. You can modify the X,Y,Z values if you choose.

5. You can also change the axis system used to define the rough stock by clicking on Select and

then choosing either:

● an axis in one of the other axis systems,

● a plane

● or a planar surface.

6. Press OK to create the rough stock.

Roughing - Ordering Zones

This task will show you how to set the order in which the zones on a part are machined. Zones can be either pockets or the outer part.

You must have a part that has a point or a plane defined in the each of the zones you want to select.

1. Open ZoneOrder.CATProcess from the samples directory.

2. Click the Roughing icon .

3. Click the red sensitive area and select the whole part to be machined.

4. Click Zone order

and select the zones to machine by clicking on the point in each as shown below:

Press Replay.

The zones will be machined in the order they were selected.

Use the Video from last saved function ( ) to check that the zones were machined in the right order.

5. Now create another Roughing cycle with the same ordered zones and, in Zone order contextual

menu, deactivate the Machine only ordered areas option.

Press Replay.

● If a tool path cannot be computed because of invalid faces, an explicit error message like this one will appear:

● Notice that the whole part is machined (including the outside of the part) and not only the zones you ordered.

Selecting GeometryEither:

● make the Manufacturing Program current in the specification tree if you want to define an operation and the part/area to machine at the same time,

● or select a machining feature from the list if you have already defined the area to machine and now you want to define the operation to apply to it.

● When you use a boundary of faces to define a limiting contour, if the faces are not perfectly connected then only the first face will be selected.

● In the face selection wizard, the Polygon trap option does not always select all of the faces inside the polygon and sometimes selects extra ones, i.e. it goes through the surface and selects faces from the other side of the model.

● Occasionally, when selecting a complex area on a tool path using either a polygon or a contour, the area outside the boundary is selected rather than the area inside.

● When using a polygon to select an area on a tool path, display of the polygon before confirmation may be erratic (it may rise to a point that is not on the tool path itself), particularly around areas where the polygon intersects itself.

1. Select a Machining Operation icon.

2. The dialog box opens at the Geometry tab page .

This page includes a sensitive icon to help you specify the geometry to be machined. The red status light on

the tab indicates that you must select the geometry in order to create the operation

● Each machining operation offers its own sensitive icon. In addition, the icon is slightly different if you are using a rework area or a slope area and will have fewer parameters.

Example: initial sensitive icon for Sweeping the same icon with a rework area

● If you are editing a rework or a slope area, an additional information is displayed, indicating which type of subset you are working on. This field is not editable (you can not go from one subset to another).

● There is also an Info button that, when pressed, gives the details on the parameters that were defined with the rework area.

In the Geometric component tab you can define the part to machine (obligatory, the corresponding portion of the icon turns from red to green once you have defined it).

The other geometric components that you can select in the view (but that are not obligatory) are:

● the check element,

● an area to avoid,

● the safety plane,

● a top plane,

● a bottom plane,

● a start plane,

● an end plane,

● inner points,

● the limiting contour,

● the offset on the part (double-click on ),

● the offset on the check element (double-click on ).

Please refer to the Reference information of each machining operation for more details.

3. Select a part to machine:

● by clicking the part definition area: the dialog box shrinks to let you select one or several bodies. Double-click anywhere in the viewer to revert to the dialog box.

● by using the contextual menu of the part definition area: choose Select faces... to select zones of a body with the face selection toolbar,

4. Select another geometry

● by clicking on a face definition area and using the face selection toolbar,

● by clicking on a contour definition area and using the edge selection toolbar.

● by passing the mouse over an element definition area: choose Body(ies) in the contextual menu if you wish to machine a whole part and not just an area on it, or Select zones if you wish to select zones.

● or by choosing a pre-defined area like this:

You can use Offset Groups and Features when defining geometry.

● The types of selection by default (reached by clicking a sensitive zone) are adapted to the types of the elements to select (bodies for a part to machine, but faces for check elements, for instance).

● The contextual menus vary also with the type of elements to select.

All of the above planes can be defined by selecting a point or a plane in the viewer.

You can also set an offset on all of the planes using the contextual menu over each plane. The offset can be either positive or negative and is previewed in the viewer before it is validated.

Press OK in the dialog box to confirm.

In the case of imposed planes, the offset value will be applied to all of the planes you have imposed. The tool will pass through all of the planes defined by the offset and not through the planes that are imposed. One advantage of this is that if the top surface of the part is flat and you have defined an Offset on part of, for example of 1mm, you can define the same offset on the imposed planes so as to ensure that there will be no residual material remaining on the top surface.

5. Use Part autolimit and the limiting contour individually or together to define the area you want to

machine:

In the pictures, the blue outline is the part edge, the yellow part is the area that will be machined, the

black line is the limiting contour:

● If you use Part autolimit, the whole part is machined. I f you activate Part autolimit, the tool will not go beyond the edge of the part.

● If you use a Limiting contour, only the area inside the limiting contour is machined.

● If you wish to machine the area outside the limiting contour, choose Outside as the Side to machine.

6. Once the limiting contour is defined, you can also define the following parameters:

● Stop position defines where the tool stops: ❍ Outside stops the tool outside the limit line,

❍ Inside stops inside the limit line,

❍ On stops the tool on the limit line.

● Stop mode defines which part of the tool is considered at the Stop position, whether it is the contact point or the tool tip.

● Offset is the distance that the tool that the tool will be either inside or outside the limit line depending on the Stop mode that you chose.

You can now either run the operation on the part, store the operation that you have just defined or define other parameters in the machining strategy, tool data, speeds and rates, or macro data tabs first.

Using Geometrical Zones This task shows you how to define and use geometrical areas.

1. Open file DemoRASA.CATPart in the samples directory.

2. Click the Geometrical Zone icon .

3. Select the Line button, call the contour you are about to select "MyContour" and click the

orange outline in the sensitive icon.

4. Select this contour:

Press OK

5. Create a sweeping operation in the tree and select the whole body for the part.

6. Choose Select zones in the limiting contour contextual menu. In the dialog box that is displayed,

choose MyContour and select it with the arrow. Press OK.

7.

Press Tool Path Replay .

7. You can also define geometrical zones in an operation dialog box.

Open the sweeping operation you have just defined. Select this face as an area to avoid:

Select Export in the Area to avoid contextual menu and call it MyPlane.

Press OK. You can now use this surface in the same way as you used the contour above.

● All geometrical zones that you create can be used in any number of operations.

● The Hide/Show item in the contextual menu does not work for geometrical zones .

Changing the Tool AxisThis task will show you how to change the Tool Axis to define a machining operation, or a machining/slope area or a rework area.

Please note that the Display tool and position options are not available for the definition of a machining/slope area or a rework area.

To change the tool axis click the Tool axis represented in the sensitive icon (depending on the machining operation, the representation may change), or use Select in its contextual menu.

The Tool Axis dialog box is displayed.

Selection has the following options:

You can choose between selection by Coordinates (X, Y, Z) or by Angles. Angles lets you choose the tool axis by rotation around a main axis. Angle 1 and Angle 2 are used to define the location of the tool axis around the main axis that you select.

● Feature-defined: you select a 3D element such as a plane that will serve to automatically define the best tool axis.

● Selection: you select a 2D element such as a line or a straight edge that will serve to define the tool axis.

● Manual

● Points in the view: click two points anywhere in the view to define the tool axis.

There is also a button that lets you reverse the direction of the axis with respect to the coordinate system origin.

When available, you can also choose to display the tool and select the position of the tool (default or user-defined).

Power Machining: CenterThis task shows you how to machine the center of a part.

1. Open the MultiPockets1.CATPart from the samples directory.

2. Create the rough stock:

● select the Creates rough stock icon,

● pick the part,

● select PartBody as the Destination.

3. In the Multi-Pockets Operations toolbar, pick the Power Machining icon

and select Machining Program.1 in the specification tree.

The Power machining dialog box is open.

4. Select the Rough stock and the part to machine.

5. Go to the Machining tab and make sure the Machining strategy is set to Center(1) only.

6. Press the Tool path replay button.

Now we are going to optimize the tool path:

7. In the Geometry tab, place the cursor on the machining direction arrow and select Optimize from its contextual menu.

Push the Tool Path Replay button.

You can see that the tool path direction has been adapted to the geometry to machine, i.e. defined by the shape of each pocket and set along the main direction (X or Y).

In the Machining tab, in the Center parameters, go to the HSM tab and make sure the HSM option is selected.

Push the Tool Path Replay button. You can note that the corners are rounded.

Power Machining: SideThis task shows you how to machine the center and the sides of a part in one shot.

1. Open the MultiPockets1.CATPart from the samples directory.

2. Create the rough stock:

● select the Creates rough stock icon,

● pick the part,

● select PartBody as the Destination.

3. In the Multi-Pockets operations toolbar, pick the Power Machining icon

and select Machining Program.1 in the specification tree.

The Power machining dialog box is open.

4. Select the Rough stock and the part to machine.

5. Define imposed planes:

● Click one area Imposed and select a first plane as shown below:

● repeat with the other area Imposed and select a second plane:

You see that it is possible to impose two sets of planes. Using their contextual menu, you can set an offset on each of them.

6. Go to the Machining tab and make sure the Machining strategy is set to Center(1) and Side(2).

7. Press the Tool path replay button. The center and the walls are machined in one shot.

Workbench DescriptionMulti-Pockets Machining is available as an add-on to Advanced Machining, Surface Machining or Prismatic Machining.

In the Start/Machining menu, select the workbench you want to work with. Then go to the Multi-Pockets Operations toolbar that contains the Power Machining icon:

Reference InformationReference information that is specific to the Multi-Pockets Machining product can be found in this section.

Power Machining Parameters

Power Machining ParametersThe information in this section will help you create and edit Power Machining operations in your Manufacturing Program.

In the Multi-Pockets operations toolbar, pick the Power Machining icon

Then, in the tab select the geometric components to be machined.

In the Machining strategy tab you will find:

● A field dedicated to the choice of the machining strategy,

● a sensitive icon,

● tabs dedicated to:

❍ the General machining strategy,

❍ the Center machining,

❍ the Side machining.

Specify the tool to be used (only end mill tools are available for this operation) and speeds and rates .

You can also define transition paths in your machining operations by means of NC macros as needed. These transition paths are useful to:

● optimize retract distances,

● set the Approach and Retract parameters.

Only the geometry is obligatory, all of the other requirements have a default value.

Power Machining: Strategy parameters

Machining Strategy Type

Two types of machining are available:

● Center(1) only, provides a roughing of the center of the part,

● Center(1) and Side(2), provides a ZLevel finishing of the sides in addition to the roughing of the centers.

The sensitive icon is adapted to the type of machining strategy selected, and the Side tab becomes available if necessary.Sensitive icon

For Center(1) only:

For Center(1) and Side(2):

Those drawings are for information only, 1 represents the center machining tool paths, 2 the side machining tool paths.

Tool axis

Place the cursor on the upper vertical arrow and right-click to display the contextual menu.

The item Select opens a dialog box to select the tool axis:

You can choose between selection by Coordinates (X, Y, Z) or by Angles. Angles lets you choose the tool axis by rotation around a main axis. Angle 1 and Angle 2 are used to define the location of the tool axis around the main axis that you select.

● Feature-defined: you select a 3D element such as a plane that will serve to automatically define the best tool axis.

● Selection: you select a 2D element such as a line or a straight edge that will serve to define the tool axis.

● Manual: you enter the coordinates of the tool axis.

● Points in the view: click two points anywhere in the view to define the tool axis.

The Reverse Direction button lets you reverse the direction of the axis with respect to the coordinate system origin.

When available, you can also choose to display the tool and select the position of the tool (default or user-defined).

The item Analyze opens the Geometry Analyser.

Machining direction

Available for the Back and forth tool path style.

Place the cursor on the lower horizontal arrow and right-click to display the contextual menu.

The item Select opens a dialog box to select the machining direction:

You can choose between selection by Coordinates (X, Y, Z) or by Angles. Angles lets you choose the machining direction by rotation around a main axis. Angle 1 and Angle 2 are used to define the location of the machining direction around the main axis that you select.

● Selection: you select a 2D element such as a line or a straight edge that will serve to define the machining direction.

● Manual: you enter the coordinates of the machining direction.

● Points in the view: click two points anywhere in the view to define the machining direction.

The Reverse Direction button lets you reverse the direction of the axis with respect to the coordinate system origin.

The item Optimize provides an automatic selection of the machining direction: the machining direction is defined by the shape of each pocket and set along the main direction of the pocket (X or Y).

The item Analyze opens the Geometry Analyser.

Power Machining: General Parameters

Center/Side/Bottom definition

Used to define the thickness to leave on the sides and on the horizontal areas. They are represented as follows on the icon.

Machine horizontal areas until minimum thickness

If you check this option, at least the minimum thickness defined above will be left on the horizontal areas.

Machining tolerance

Maximum allowed distance between the theoretical and computed tool path. Consider the value to be the acceptable chord error.

Cutting mode

Specifies the position of the tool regarding the surface to be machined. It can be:

Climb or Conventional.

The cutting mode (Climb/Conventional) is respected on the contouring tool passes generated by the Helical tool path style.

Machining mode

Defines the type of area to be machined:

● By plane: the whole part is machined plane by plane,

● By area: the whole part is machined area by area, (not available for the Center(1) and Side(2) strategy.

then

● Pockets only: only pockets on the part are machined,

● Outer part: only the outside of the part is machined,

● Outer part and pockets: the whole part is machined outer area by outer area and then pocket by pocket.

See also Definition of Pockets and Outer part

Power Machining: Center Parameters

Those parameters are dedicated to the roughing of the centers of the part.

Power Machining: Center Machining Parameters

Depending on the tool path style:

Tool path style

Indicates the cutting style of the operation:

● Concentric: the tool removes the most constant amount of material possible at each concentric pass. The tool is never directly in the heart of material. It also respects the given cutting mode in all cases. The approach mode with this style is always Helix. The associated parameters are Machining tolerance. Cutting mode, Machining mode.

● Helical: the tool moves in successive concentric passes from the boundary of the area to machine towards the interior. The tool moves from one pass to the next by stepping over.The associated parameters are Machining tolerance. Cutting mode, Machining mode, Helical movement, Always stay on bottom and Forced cutting mode on part contour.

● Back and forth: this cutting style is made of two kinds of passes:❍ back and forth passes,

❍ part contouring passes. The contouring passes can be applied before or after the back and forth passes.

The associated parameters are Machining tolerance. Cutting mode, Machining mode, Contouring pass and Contouring pass ratio. You can choose to apply the High speed milling option to this tool path style. You can also define the machining direction.

Contouring pass

Lets you decide whether the contouring passes are applied prior to or after the back and forth passes.

If the contouring passes are applied prior to the back and forth passes, the contouring passes can be computed on intermediate Z levels in order to reduce the tool loading.

In that case:

● an approach motion is done on each motion,

● the back and forth passes are organized to avoid full diameter milling,

● you can define the Number of contours.

Contouring pass ratio

This parameter is available when the tool path style is set to Back and Forth. It adjusts the position of the final pass for removing scallops. This is done by entering a percentage of the tool diameter (0 to 50).

Helical movement

Specifies the way the tool moves in a pocket or an external zone. It can be:

● Inward: the tool starts from a point inside the zone and follows inward paths parallel to the boundary.

● Outward: the tool starts from a point inside the zone and follows outward paths parallel to the boundary.

● Both:

● for pockets, the tool starts from a point inside the pocket and follows outward paths parallel to the boundary.

● for external zones, the tool starts from a point on the rough stock boundary and follows inward paths parallel to the boundary.

In Helical mode, the control of the Non Cutting Diameter (Dnc) has been enhanced, in particular in the computation of the ramping approaches. This improvement may cause a computation failure, resulting in this specific message: The tool core diameter is not compatible with some ramping motions.

Always stay on bottom

This option becomes available when at least one tool path style is set to Helical.

When machining a multi-domain pocket using a helical tool path style, this parameter forces the tool to remain in contact with the pocket bottom when moving from one domain to another. This avoids unnecessary linking transitions.

Always stay on bottom is not active:

Always stay on bottom is active:

Forced cutting mode on part contour

Only used with the helical tool path style.

With part contouring switched on, the tool goes round the outside contour of the part before continuing. Deactivating this option allows you to gain machining time. The tool that you are using and the part you are working on must be such that contouring the rough stock is superfluous.

With part contouring switched on. Note how the tool went round the area to machine first:

With part contouring switched off. Note that the tool goes straight into helical mode:

Power Machining: Center Radial Parameters

Stepover

It can be defined by:

● the Overlap ratio, i.e. the overlap between two passes, given as a percentage of the tool diameter (Tool diameter ratio),

● the Overlap length between two passes,

● the Stepover ratio, i.e. the stepover between two passes, given as a percentage of the tool diameter(Tool diameter ratio),

● the Stepover length between two passes given by the Max. distance between pass,

Power Machining: Center Axial Parameters

Maximum cut depth

Depth of the cut effected by the tool at each pass

Variable cut depths

When the dialog box opens the distance between passes from the top to the bottom of the part is constant and is the same as the Maximum cut depth.

Change the Distance from top value and the Inter-pass value and then press Add to give a different depth value over a given distance.

In the example below the cut depth:

● from the top of the part to 15mm from the top is of 2 mm,

● from 15mm from the top to 25mm from the top is 5mm,

● and from 25 mm from the top to the bottom of the part is 10 mm.

Power Machining: Center High Speed Milling Parameters

High speed milling activates and defines the parameters for High speed milling.

Corner radius

Defines the radius of the rounded ends of passes when cutting with a Concentric tool path style and the radius of the rounded end of retracts with Helical and Concentric tool path styles. The ends are rounded to give a smoother path that is machined much faster.This is what a tool path will look like if you do not use high speed milling parameters:

Here is the same tool path with the High speed milling switched on. Note how the round tool path ends. In both cases a concentric tool path style is used.

Similarly, here is what retracts look like without the high speed milling option:

And here is the same tool path with high speed milling switched on:

● With HSM and helical mode, the corner radius must be less than half the stepover distance. It will be forced to this value.

● The corner radius is not applied to the finish path.

Corner radius on part contouring

Specifies the radius used for rounding the corners along the Part contouring pass of a HSM operation. This radius must be smaller than the value set for the Corner radius parameter

Power Machining: Center Zone Parameters

Pocket filter

Check this option to activate the filter for small passes. The non-cutting diameter of the tool can be entered in the Tool tab, pushing the More button. It is given as an information only in the Zone tab.

Not all pockets will be machined if there is not enough depth for the tool to plunge. A null value means that tool is allowed to plunge in pockets. The size of the smallest pocket is given below the data field.

However, the Smallest area to machine is taken into account only if the area detected has no impact on larger areas beneath.

The Tool core diameter is taken into account:

● in pockets (default operating mode),

● also for outer parts when limiting contours are used.

When areas are filtered (i.e. not machined) with the Tool core diameter, the areas beneath those areas are not machined.

Power Machining: Side Parameters

Those parameters are dedicated to the finishing of the sides of the parts. This is done by inserting Zlevel passes after each center level is machined.

Whenever possible, the tool path must be made of arc of circles. For each side ZLevel pass, an automatic Approach and Retract are computed and have the following features:

● the approach point is situated on the longest linear segment of the area,

● an arc of circle with a particular radius (by default it is the HSM corner radius),

● a segment in order to insure that the tool plunges beside the material and that the compensation can be activated

Only the By plane machining type is available.

Power Machining: Side Machining Parameters

Bottom finish thickness

Defines the thickness of material left on the bottom by the ZLevel side pass so that the tool does not touch the bottom of the previous center machining pass:

This thickness is usually very small.

Compensation output

Defines how compensation instructions are generated in the NC data output:

None: there is no compensation

2D radial tip: compensation is computed in a plane normal to the tool axis, and activated with respect of the cutter side (left or right). The radius compensated is the cutter radius, the output is the tool tip point (XT, YT, ZT).

Power Machining: Side Axial Parameters

Maximum cut depth

Defines the maximum pass depth for the ZLevel passes: the Zlevel passes are synchronized with the center passes.

Center machining by plane Side machining, step 1

Side machining, step 2 Side machining, step 3

Side machining, step 4 Side machining, step 5

Geometry

You can also specify the following geometry:

● Part with possible offset.

● Rough stock. If you do not have a rough stock you can create one automatically. You must define a rough stock if you have not already defined one in the Part Operation. See the Machining Infrastructure user's guide for further information.

● Check element with possible offset. The check element is often a clamp that holds the part and therefore is not an area to be machined.

● Safety plane. The safety plane is the plane that the tool will rise to at the end of the tool path in order to avoid collisions with the part. You can also define a new safety plane with the Offset option in the safety plane contextual menu. The new plane will be offset from the original by the distance that you enter in the dialog box along the normal to the safety plane. If the safety plane normal and the tool axis have opposed directions, the direction of the safety plane normal is inverted to ensure that the safety plane is not inside the part to machine.

● Top plane which defines the highest plane that will be machined on the part,

● Bottom plane which defines the lowest plane that will be machined on the part,

● Imposed plane that the tool must obligatorily pass through. Use this option if the part that you are going to machine has a particular shape (a groove or a step) that you want to be sure will be cut.

If you wish to use all of the planar surfaces in a part as imposed surfaces, use the Search/View ... option in the contextual menu to select them (the Part to machine must be selected first).

When searching for planar surfaces, you can choose to find either:

● all of the planar surfaces in the part,

● or only the planes that can be reached by the tool you are using.

When you are using planar surfaces in a part as imposed surfaces and you are using an offset on the part, select Offset in the contextual menu and then enter an offset value that is the same as the offset on part value plus the machining tolerance value, e.g. if the offset on part is 1 mm and the machining tolerance is 0.1 mm, give a value 1.1mm.

This ensures that the imposed planar surface is respected to within the offset and tolerance values.

Using the two Imposed icons, you can define two sets of imposed planes, with eventually a different offset on each set.

● Start point where the tool will start cutting. There are specific conditions for start points:

● They must be outside the machining limit. Examples of machining limits are the rough stock contour; a limit line, an offset on the rough stock, an offset on the limit line, etc.

● They must not be positioned so as to cause collisions with either the part or the check element. If a start point for a given zone causes a collision, the tool will automatically adopt ramping approach mode.

● The distance between the start point and the machining limit must be greater than the tool radius plus the machining tolerance. If the distance between the start point and the machining limit is greater than the tool radius plus the safety distance, the start point will only serve to define the engagement direction.

● If there are several start points for a given area, the one that is used is the first valid one (in the order in which they were selected) for that area. If there are several possible valid points, the nearest one is taken into account.

● One start point may be valid and for more than one area.

● If a limit line is used, the tool will approach outer areas of the part and pockets in ramping mode. towards the outside of the contour. The tool moves from the outside towards the inside of this type of area. In this case, you must define the start point.

If you use a limit line or if you use an inner offset on the rough stock, the start point may be defined inside the initial rough stock. The rules concerning the domain of the contour line or the offset on the rough stock contour line above must be applied.

● Concentric tool path style: Start points are automatically defined. In this case, the start point is the center of the largest circle that can be described in the area to machine. Lateral approach modes cannot be used.

● Helical Tool path styles: Whenever possible, the end of the engagement associated to the start point corresponds to the beginning of the sweeping path.

If this is no possible, the path will be cut to respect the constraint imposed by the start point.

● Inner points (only active if the Drilling mode has been selected in the Macro data tab). There are specific conditions for inner points:

● they are usable for pockets only,

● They must not be positioned so as to cause collisions with either the part or the check element. If an inner point for a given pocket causes a collision, the tool will adopt a new inner point generated automatically.

● the inner point must lay inside the pocket or inside the portion of the pocket that is machined.

● If there are several inner points for a given pocket, the one that is used is the first valid one (in the order in which they were selected) for that pocket.

● A point can not be valid for several pockets.

● Limiting contour which defines the machining limit on the part, with the Side to machine parameter.

There is also the possibility of setting the order in which the zones on the part are machined. Please refer to the Selecting Geometric Components to learn how to select the geometry.

Minimum thickness to machine

Specifies the minimum material thickness that will be removed when using overshoot or in a rework operation.

In a given level, the thickness of material left can amount up to the value of the Minimum thickness to machine + twice the value of the tolerance. Therefore, on a level below you may have to mill a thickness amounting to the value of the Minimum thickness to machine + twice the value of the tolerance of one or several levels above.

Limit Definition

Defines what area of the part will be machined with respect to the limiting contour(s). It can either be inside or outside. In the pictures below, there are three limiting contours on the rough stock. The yellow areas will be machined.

Side to machine: Inside

Side to machine: Outside

● If you are using a limiting contour, you should define the start point so as to avoid tool-material collision.

● The use of limiting contours is totally safe is the limiting contour is fully contained by the roughing rough stock. Example of use: restricting the machining to a group of pockets.

● But we strongly advise against using a limiting contour that is partly outside the roughing or residual rough stock. Example: roughing rework or a first roughing with a complex rough stock). In that case, we recommend that you define a surface with holes or a mask to define the machining zone to work on.

Stop position

Specifies where the tool stops:

● Outside stops the tool outside the limit line,

● Inside stops the tool inside the limit line,

● On stops the tool on the limit line.

Offset

Specifies the distance that the tool will be either inside or outside the limit line depending on the stop mode that you chose.

Force replay button is only used for reworking operations.

Its purpose is to compute the residual rough stock remaining from operations preceding the current one, providing a rough stock has not been defined for this operation. Use it before pressing Replay.

Power Machining: Macro data

For more information on how to save or load an existing macro, please refer to Build and use a macros catalog.

Optimize retract

This button optimizes tool retract movements. This means that when the tool moves over a surface where there are no obstructions, it will not rise as high as the safety plane because there is no danger of tool-part collisions. The result is a gain in time.

● In some cases (where areas of the part are higher than the zone you are machining and when you are using a safety plane), the tool will cut into the part. When this happens, deactivate the Optimize retract button.

● The axial safety distance should be larger than the axial cut depth of the last Power Machining operation.

● Parameter Optimize Retract is only available for the part to machine, not for the rough stock.

Axial safety distance

Maximum distance that the tool will rise to when moving from the end of one pass to the beginning of the next.

Mode

Specifies the engagement of the tool in the material:

● Plunge; the tool plunges vertically,

● Drilling; the tool plunges into previously drilled holes. You can change the Drilling tool diameter, Drilling tool angle and Drilling tool length,

● Ramping; the tool moves progressively down at the Ramping angle,

● Helix; the tool moves progressively down at the ramping angle with its center along a (vertical) circular helix of Helix diameter.

Those four approach modes apply to pockets.

● If the Tool Path is Concentric, the approach is always Helix, either on outer areas or pockets.

● Ramping approach mode applies to pockets but also outer areas in given conditions:

● If a limit line is used, the tool will approach outer areas of the part and pockets in ramping mode.

● If a lateral approach is not possible (due to the check element), the approach is made in ramping mode.

Approach distance

Engagement distance for plunge mode.

Radial safety distance

Distance that the tool moves horizontally before it begins its approach.

Glossary

Aapproach The part of a tool path that ends where the tool begins to cut the material

approach feedrate The speed of linear advancement of the tool during its approach, before cutting.

Cclimb milling A cutting mode where the front of the tool (advancing in the machining direction) cuts

into the material first.

check element Geometry that represents material that is not to be machined in an operation. It often represents a clamp that holds the part to machine in place.

contour-driven machining

This type of machining uses a contour as guide. There are three types of contour driven machining:

● parallel contours where the tool sweeps out an area by following progressively distant (or closer) parallel offsets of a given guide contour.

● between contours where the tool sweeps between two guide contours along a tool path that is obtained by interpolating between the guide contours. The ends of each pass lie on two stop contours.

● spine contour where the tool sweeps across a contour in perpendicular planes.

conventional milling A cutting mode where the back of the tool (advancing in the machining direction) cuts into the material first. See Climb milling.

cut depth The maximum depth of the cut effected by the tool at each pass.

Ffeedrate The speed of linear advancement of the tool into the material while cutting.

frontal wall An area of the part surface that forms an inclined wall that the advancing tool will climb or descend.

Gguide contour A contour used to guide the tool during an operation.

See Contour-driven machining.

Iimposed plane A plane that the tool must pass through. This option is useful for machining parts that

have grooves or steps and when you want to make sure that these areas are cut.

inner point The point where the tool will start cutting in a roughing operation when the surface to machine has pockets.

Llateral wall An area of the part surface that forms an inclined wall that the tool will advance along

laterally instead of climbing or descending.

limit line A contour that is used to delimit the areas to machine in an operation.

lower plane One of the two planes normal to the tool axis that confines the area to machine. The operation will only machine between this plane and the upper plane.

Mmachining area An area defined on a part either:

● during an operation as part of the machining geometry ,

● or before an operation, the operation being assigned to a machining area afterwards.

A machining area can be:

● the whole part (for example, in roughing),

● a subset of the faces on the part,

● a subset of faces on the part with a limiting contour.

Ppencil operations A pencil operation is one where the tool remains tangent in two places to the surface

to be machined during the cycle. It is often used to remove crests along the intersection of two surfaces that were left behind by a previous operation.

plunge A movement where the tool plunges deeper into the material, advancing along the (negative) tool axis.

pocket An area on a part surface that represents an internal depression (in Z) relative to the surrounding part surfaces. An internal depression is one that does not extend to the outside edge of the part.

P.P.R. Process Product Resources.

Rretract The part of a tool path that begins where the tool stops cutting the material.

rework area An area that cannot be machined with a given tool.

reworking An operation which touches up zones that are left completely unmachined by previous operations.

roughing An operation where a part is rough-machined by horizontal planes.

rough stock The block of raw material to be machined to produce a part.

Ssafety distance A horizontal clearance distance that the tool moves over at the feedrate in order to

disengage the tool from cutting between passes.

scallop height The maximum allowable height of the crests of material left uncut after machining.

spindle speed The speed of the spinning tool around its axis.

start point The point where the tool will start cutting in a roughing operation where the surface to cut is accessed from the outside of the part.

stepover distance The width of the overlap between two successive passes.

stop contours The two contours connecting the ends of two guide contours in contour-driven machining (between contours option). The ends of each pass lie on the stop contours.

sweeping operations Sweeping operations machine the whole part and are used for finishing and semi-finishing work. The tool paths are executed in vertical parallel planes.

sweep roughing An operation where a part is rough-machined by vertical planes.

Uupper plane One of the two planes normal to the tool axis that confines the area to machine. The

operation will only machine between this plane and the lower plane.

ZZLevel machining An operation where the tool progressively follows the part surface at different

constant Z values (heights).

Index

AAlways stay on bottom

Power Machining Analyze machining direction

Power Machining Analyze tool axis

Power Machining Approach distance

Power Machining Approach modes

Power Machining

Automatic rough stock Axial safety distance

Power Machining Axis system

Rough Stock

BBottom finish thickness

Power Machining

CCenter Axial Parameters

Power Machining Center definition

Power Machining Center High Speed Milling Parameters

Power Machining Center Machining Parameters

Power Machining Center Parameters

Power Machining Center Radial Parameters

Power Machining Center Zone Parameters

Power Machining command

Creates rough stock

Geometrical Zone

Roughing Compensation output

Power Machining Contouring pass

Power Machining Contouring pass ratio

Power Machining Corner radius

Power Machining Corner radius on part contouring

Power Machining Creates rough stock

command Cutting mode

Power Machining

FForce replay

Power Machining Forced cutting mode on part contour

Power Machining

G

General Parameters

Power Machining Geometric components tab

Power Machining Geometrical Zone

command Geometry

Part autolimit

HHelical movement

Power Machining High speed milling

Power Machining

IImposed plane

Power Machining

LLimit Definition

Power Machining

MMachine horizontal areas until minimum thickness

Power Machining Machining direction

Power Machining Machining mode

Power Machining Machining tolerance

Power Machining Macro data tab

Power Machining Maximum cut depth

Power Machining Minimum thickness on horizontal areas

Power Machining Minimum thickness to machine

Power Machining

OOffset for limit line

Power Machining Optimize

Power Machining Optimize retract

Power Machining Ordering Zones

Roughing Overlap length

Power Machining

PParameters

Power Machining Part autolimit

Geometry Pocket filter

Power Machining Power Machining

Always stay on bottom

Analyze machining direction

Analyze tool axis

Approach distance

Approach modes

Axial safety distance

Bottom finish thickness

Center Axial Parameters

Center definition

Center High Speed Milling Parameters

Center Machining Parameters

Center Parameters

Center Radial Parameters

Center Zone Parameters

Compensation output

Contouring pass

Contouring pass ratio

Corner radius

Corner radius on part contouring

Cutting mode

Force replay

Forced cutting mode on part contour

General Parameters

Geometric components tab

Helical movement

High speed milling

Imposed plane

Limit Definition

Machine horizontal areas until minimum thickness

Machining direction

Machining mode

Machining tolerance

Macro data tab

Maximum cut depth

Minimum thickness on horizontal areas

Minimum thickness to machine

Offset for limit line

Optimize

Optimize retract

Overlap length

Parameters

Pocket filter

Radial safety distance

Remaining thickness for sides

Select machining direction

Select tool axis

Setting zones order

Side Axial Parameters

Side Machining Parameters

Side Parameters

Stepover

Stop position

Strategy parameters

Tool axis

Tool diameter ratio

Tool path style

Tools

Type

Variable cut depths

RRadial safety distance

Power Machining Remaining thickness for sides

Power Machining Rough Stock

Axis system Roughing

command

Ordering Zones

SSelect machining direction

Power Machining Select tool axis

Power Machining Setting zones order

Power Machining Side Axial Parameters

Power Machining Side Machining Parameters

Power Machining Side Parameters

Power Machining Stepover

Power Machining Stop position

Power Machining Strategy parameters

Power Machining

TTool axis

Power Machining Tool diameter ratio

Power Machining Tool path style

Power Machining Tools

Power Machining Type

Power Machining

VVariable cut depths

Power Machining