2.5D SolidsGibbsCAM 2009

April 2009, rev. 1.2

Proprietary NoticeThis document contains propriety information of Gibbs and Associates and is to be used only pursuant to andin conjunction with the license granted to the licensee with respect to the accompanying Gibbs and Associateslicensed software. Except as expressly permitted in the license, no part of this document may be reproduced,transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, inany form or by any means, electronic, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without the priorexpressed written permission from Gibbs and Associates or a duly authorized representative thereof.

It is strongly advised that users carefully review the license in order to understand the rights and obligationsrelated to this licensed software and the accompanying documentation.

Use of the computer software and the user documentation has been provided pursuant to a Gibbs andAssociates licensing agreement.

© 2003-2009 Gibbs and Associates, a Cimatron company. All rights reserved. The Gibbs logo,GibbsCAM, GibbsCAM logo, CAM von Gibbs, Virtual Gibbs, Gibbs SFP, SolidSurfacer, MTM and"Powerfully Simple. Simply Powerful." are either trademark(s) or registered trademark(s) of Gibbsand Associates in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft, Windows, and the Windowslogo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/orother countries. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of theirrespective owners. Contains Autodesk® RealDWG by Autodesk, Inc., Copyright © 1998-2006 Autodesk,Inc. All rights reserved.

Gibbs and Associates323 Science Drive

Moorpark, CA 93021

Modif ied: April 14, 2009 5:49 pm

Table of Contents

i

Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION 1About 2.5D Solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

What is a 2.5D Solid Model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Making Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

What will the 2.5D Solids Option Model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4What will the 2.5D Solids Option Cut?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4What is the Difference Between 2.5D Solids and the Other GibbsCAM Solids Modules? . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4More About Solid Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Text Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

INTERFACE 7WorkSpace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Taskbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Main (Top Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Multiple Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Body Bag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Solid Menu Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Modify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Context Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Body Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Profiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Faceting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Machining. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

MODELING 21Introduction to Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

What is Modeling? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Primitives/Atomic Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Workgroups and Coordinate Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Boolean Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Table of Contents

ii

Recreate Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Rebuilding Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Modeling Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Surface Modeling Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Revolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Loft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Coon’s Patch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Sweep Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Sheet from Face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Trim/Untrim Surfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Stitch Sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31Unstitch Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Solid Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Create Solid Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Sphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Cuboid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Extrude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Revolve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Loft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Sweep Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Solidify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Advanced Solid Modeling Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Offset/Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Blending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Unstitch Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Slice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Swap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Subtract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Intersect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Separate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Geometry Creation from Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Geometry from Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Know Your History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Body Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Body Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Modifying Recreating & Rebuilding Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Method 1: Create a New Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Method 2: “Locally” Edit an Existing Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Method 3: Replace/Swap and Rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Method 4: History, Recreate and Rebuild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Tips and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

MACHINING 59Introduction to 2.5D Solids machining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

2.5D Machining Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Gen 3 Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Compatibility With Earlier Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Surface Tolerance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Table of Contents

iii

Machining Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Stock Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Contouring Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Using the Profiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Roughing Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Material Only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Machining Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Material Only Pockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Optimizing Material Only for Solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Solids Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Limitations of Create 2D Toolpath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Open Sides Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

SOLID MODELING 79About the Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81#1: 2.5D Cap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81#2: Building a Spherical Ellipse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

The Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86The Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86The Solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Step #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Step #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Step #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

#3: Replace History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Part Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Saved Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Unstitching and Subtracting “Pocket” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Machining the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Loading Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Modifying the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Importing the Changed Pocket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Replacing the Model History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Redoing the Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

MACHINING SOLIDS 93AboUt these Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Pockets and Contours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Part Set-Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Machining the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

#1, Face Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96#2-3, Pocketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96#4-5, Contouring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97#6, Contour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

#2: The Hot Punch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Part Set-Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Document Control Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Tool List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Creating Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100#1: Engraving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

#3: The Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Table of Contents

iv

About the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102Part Set-Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Machining The Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103Op 3, Roughing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103Ops 4-6, Rough & Contour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Op 7, Contouring with the Profiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

APPENDIX 109Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

PART PRINTS 115

INDEX 119

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

3

CHAPTER 1 : IntroductionABOUT 2.5D SOLIDS2.5D Solids is focused on the needs of machining 2.5D solids only. It allows users to def ine parts using solidand surface modeling techniques that can be directly machined using 2D, 2.5D and occasionally even 3Dmachining techniques. Users should familiarize themselves with the basics of the system outlined in theGeometry Creation manual, Mill manual and Advanced CS manual before reviewing this manual. This manualassumes prof iciency with geometry creation, coordinate systems and basic machining. This manual iscomposed of two types of sections: reference and tutorial.

WHAT IS A 2.5D SOLID MODEL?A 2.5D solid can be cut with a series of 2D toolpaths at different Zs, producinganalytic (lines & circles) toolpath feature output from underlying analytic modelfaces. A 2D solid is an XY shape extruded in Z — a circle produces a cylinder. In a2D solid model all Z slices produce the same shape.

A “2.5D solid model” allows different Z slices to be different 2D shapes, but allslices must be 2D shapes. A taper on the walls of a 2D solid, makes it a 2.5D solid —þcylinders are now conesbut a Z slice still produces a circle. Every Z slice is different but slicing the corners still produces a circle.Adding top and bottom f illets or chamfers to a 2D model creates a 2.5D model.

MAKING MODELSThere are three primary methods of using 2.5D Solids to create part models that can be machined. The f irstmethod is creating solid models from part blueprints using the solid modeling functions contained in thesystem. There are many powerful modeling functions including adding, subtracting and intersecting solids,automatic chamfering and f illeting, and several methods for generating solid bodies from geometry.

Secondly, the system can directly read solid model formats generated by other CAD packages. For example,more f iles can be directly opened by the system (some formats require the purchase of an additional option).The system does not use an importation f ilter or any means of translation for these solid f iles but ratherdirectly reads them.

The f inal method is through the importation of 3D surface f iles. The system recognizes and imports severalsurface entities. Once a surface f ile is brought into the system, it can either be made into a solid (using theSolidify functions) or can be kept as a surface model and machined.

Regardless of the method used to def ine the part, the f inal model can be machined using the 2.5D Solidsmachining capabilities. The standard Roughing and Contouring functions can be applied to solid bodies andsheets.

Introduction

4

What will the 2.5D Solids Option Model?The 2.5D Solids option includes all the solid modeling functions useful to create 2.5D solid models, or to workfrom imported models, to model tooling like vise jaws, chucks, and f ixtures, to correct and modify importedsolids, and also to provide CAM focused modeling functions.

What will the 2.5D Solids Option Cut?The 2.5D Solids option will contour and pocket any solid — 2D, 2.5D, or 3D. It is optimized for, and willproduce the best output for, 2D and 2.5D analytic faces. For 3D faces, it will start with the little line segmentsand attempt to f it arcs, replacing lots of lines. Using the Advanced CS option allows for rotary positioning thatwill make any side of the part the 2.5D side.

What is the Difference Between 2.5D Solids and the Other GibbsCAM Solids Modules?The 2.5D Solids option is far more powerful than the Solids Import option which allows you to open a solidmodel, extract geometry from the model and machine the geometry. 2.5D allows you to make the model ormodify an existing model and machine it directly, with or without the use of geometry. The SolidSurfacermodule provides more modeling techniques than 2.5D Solids, particularly for making 3D shapes, and providesgreater solid model machining functions that produce 3D or 2D & 2.5D optimized toolpath.

DEFINITIONSThe terms and def initions provided below are used to describe objects and elements used by the system, andthroughout this manual. More information can be found in the Glossary starting on page 111

Body: The term “body” is a generic term that refers to both solids and sheets. A solid body can be thought of asa bowling ball, while a sheet body is more like a balloon with an inf initely thin wall.

Face: A face is one surface of a solid or sheet. A Sheet face includes the positive and negative sides while a solidonly includes the positive side. Faces are surfaces that have knowledge of the surfaces that surround them. Forexample, one side of a cube would be considered a face. Each face is bound by loops. A simple face is boundedby one loop.

Surface: A surface is either a face, group of faces (depending on how the surface was created) of a solid or sideof a sheet. Sheets have two surface sides and a solids have only one.

Solid: A solid is a body composed of faces and the area enclosed by the faces. Solids have volume. Solidsbodies are used as the building blocks in creating part models in GibbsCAM. Unlike sheets, solids onlyhave a positive side.

Sheet: A sheet is an surface with two sides, positive and negative. A sheet has no volume or thicknessassociated with it.

Modeling Functions in 2.5D Solids

Union Difference Intersect Separate

Create Spheres Create Cuboids Extruded shapes Revolved shapes

Create Planes Extract Sheets Coon’s Patches (2.5D) Shell & Offset

Simple Rounding Chamfering Unstitching bodies Solidify sheets

Lofted shapes from 2 curves

Swept shapes (Drive Curve Plane 2D)

Swept shapes with one drive curve

Swept shapes with sharp corners

Introduction

5

Edge: An edge is a curve/line between two faces. An edge of a solid must have exactly two faces connected to it.Note that more than two faces at an edge produces an invalid solid. The edge of a sheet can have a single faceconnected to that.

Loop: A loop is a series of connected edges that outline a face.

Vertex: A vertex is an endpoint of an edge.

MORE ABOUT SOLID MODELSIn CAD terms, 2D simply means a shape lies in a plane. In CAM terms, a 2D toolpath doesn’t change in Z. A2.5D toolpath is a series of 2D toolpaths at different Z levels. Any 3D model can be cut as a series of 2Dtoolpaths at different Z levels — this is referred to as a 2.5D process. What makes the common CAM usage ofthe terms 2D solid and 2.5D solid different is the expectation of clean line, clean circle output — what isreferred to as analytic toolpath features. As a CAM package, GibbsCAM uses the 2.5D CAM def inition for the2.5D Solids option. A 2.5D solid is, therefore, a solid that can be cut with a series of 2D toolpaths at differentZs, producing analytic toolpath feature output from underlying analytic model faces.

Let’s start with the CAM term “2D solid model”. We expect perfect analytic toolpath elements (lines & circles)from analytic solid faces (plane & Z axis cylinder). A 2D solid model (aka a prismatic body) is an XY shapeextruded in Z. A circle produces a cylinder face. In a 2D solid model all Z slices produce the same shape, andthe slice of a cylinder face produces a circle segment.

A “2.5D solid model” extends this concept by allowing different Z slices to bedifferent 2D shapes. But all slices must be 2D shapes, with analytic segments fromanalytic faces. Put a 10 degree taper on the walls of a 2D body, and it becomes a 2.5Dbody. The cylinders are now cones, but a Z slice still produces a circle. Every Z slice isdifferent, but slicing the corners still produces a circle. A 2.5D solid model is stillmade up of analytic faces. This includes planes, spheres, orthogonal f illets/cylinders, Z axis cones, Z axis revolved shapes and XY base curve Z plane drive curve swept shapes. Adding topand bottom f illets or chamfers to a 2D model creates a 2.5D model. Since the 2D model def inition is a subsetof the 2.5D model def inition, all 2.5D functions work equally well on 2D models, in the creation of analytictoolpath features.

What about “3D solid models”? Picture a cube and put a different angletaper on each wall, say 5, 10, 15, and 20 degrees. Then round the edges. Thecorners are no longer cylinders or cones. A slice will not produce a circlesegment at the corner. This is not a 2.5D solid model, but a 3D solid model.(This example is illustrated to the right. The cylinder in the third imagerepresents the f illeted corner. If the cylinder is sliced along the XY planethe resulting prof ile is an ellipse.) We use the term 3D solid model foranything that exceeds the 2.5D def inition. A 3D solid model can still bemachined with the 2.5D Solids product.

Another common variation occurs with imported bodies. Some CADsystems output solids as all NURB faces (especially if the export options are not set properly). They look likeplanes and cylinders and look like 2.5D models, but they aren’t. They are 3D models with no analytic faces. TheSimplify function attempts to detect and restore the analytic def inition of suitable faces. The Solid Inquiryplug-in (see the Plug-Ins Guide) will display the nature of all selected faces for your review.

Introduction

6

A 2.5D model has all 2D or 2.5D analytic faces. In reality many parts are not so pure, but contain a mix of 2.5Danalytic faces and 3D faces. Not to worry. You’ll get the best output from 2.5D analytic faces, but the 3D faceswill be cut just f ine. See the part f ile “2.5D vs. 3D Solids.vnc” for samples.

TEXT CONVENTIONSIn this and all other GibbsCAM manuals you will f ind a number of standards used in the text, known asconventions.

Screen text: Any text you see like this is referring to text you will see in GibbsCAM or on your monitor.Typically this is a button or text for a dialog.

Keystrokes: Words that appear like this refer to a keystroke or mouse action, such as right-click orCtrl+C.

Term: Words that you see like this followed by a colon refer to a word or phrase used in GibbsCAM.

Differences Between 2.5D Processes and 2D, 2.5D & 3D Solid Models

2.5D Process Machine 2 simultaneous axes. Control position of 1 axis point to point (G17=Z, G18=Y, G19=X)

2D Model All faces are parallel or normal (perpendicular) to tool

2.5D Model Setting tool normal to a face, the angle of the tool will not vary all the way around the part. This is anything that can be created with the “Wall Control” options in the process dialogs.

3D Model All other parts. This includes parts with variable radii & f illets at an angle.

INTERFACE

Interface

9

CHAPTER 2 : InterfaceThis chapter describes interface items that are specif ic to the system when the 2.5D Solids option is installed.The Getting Started, Common Reference, Geometry Creation and Mill manuals contain descriptions ofstandard system interface items.

WORKSPACETASKBARThe Taskbar contains six items that are part of the SolidSurfacer interface. For more detailed information onthese Taskbar items see the Interface section in the Getting Started manual.

Show Solids: This button will show and hide all bodies, including sheets.

Render/Wireframe: Render fully shaded objects, or simple wireframe.

Indicate Sheet Side: Indicate the positive and negative sides of a sheet.

Face Selection: Enable/disable face selection mode.

Edge Selection: Enable/disable edge selection mode.

Profiler: Enable/disable the Prof iler grid.

PALETTESModeling is accomplished with palettes. Some of the palette buttons will open a dialog and some will take aspecif ic action. There are two ways of modeling in GibbsCAM, with the Surfacing Modeling palette or theSolid Modeling palette. The palettes are accessed from the main (or top level) palette. For more detailedinformation about these items see the Getting Started manual and the “Modeling” section beginging onpage 21.

MAIN (TOP LEVEL)Three buttons in the Top level palette are part of the main functionality of SolidSurfacer. The Surface and SolidModeling palettes help to create and modify bodies and the Body Bag is an organizational container for bodies

MODELINGSheet, or surface, modeling is done through theSurface Modeling palette. Surfaces may be extractedfrom faces or created from geometry. Booleans fromSolid Modeling palette are also used in sheetmodeling. For more information see page 28.

Surface Modeling Solid Modeling Body Bag

Interface

10

Solid modeling has three palettes, the main Solid Modeling palette and two sub-palettes. One for creatingsimple atomic bodies and another palette for more advanced modeling. For more information see page 33.

BODIESEach body (solid or sheet) contains a written history of how it was created and details about its physical anddisplay properties. Bodies can be hidden and placed in a container called a Body Bag. They may even berendered in wireframe and hidden.

HISTORYThe History list is accessed from the body context menu (see page 15).It displays the creation tree for any selected body. All of the bodiesand functions that were used to create the selected solid or sheet willappear in the History list, even if they are no longer active bodies.The system maintains the history of all bodies that are created.Imported models will not have an existing history (they areessentially atomic bodies).

The History list allows the user to access any body that went into theconstruction of the selected solid. By giving the user access to thehistory of a model, changes can be made to an earlier step in the modeling process, allowing for changes toeasily be incorporated to the f inal model without having to start over from scratch.

All non-atomic bodies have histories which contain information on the “parents.” “Parents” is the term used todescribe the solids or sheets that were used to create the selected body. Solids may have one parent as in casesof rounding or slicing, or two parents as in the case of Boolean operations. Bodies removed from theWorkspace as the result of a Boolean operation are maintained in the History list. Bodies contained in theHistory list are considered dormant bodies, while bodies in the workspace and Body Bag are active. Operationssuch as rounding or any of the Boolean functions can be performed on active bodies only.

The History list is structured in a hierarchical format where the selected body is at the top and all other bodiesused to create it are found below in steps or branches. Double-clicking on the icon next to the name of a bodywill make that body active and bring it back into the workspace. In order to make modif ications to a bodycontained in the History list and have those changes incorporated into the existing history, Recreate must beused. Recreate and Rebuild are described in the next section. See page 51 for more information on the Historylist.

Interface

11

PROPERTIESThe Properties dialog is accessed from thebody context menu (see page 15). Itcontains items that apply to the selectedbody. The user can change the name of thesolid or sheet and enter a comment. Thecoordinate system that the selected solid orsheet was last modif ied in will be displayedat the top of the dialog.

Solids and sheets can be designated as Part,Fixture or Stock. Additionally there are theFixture - Display Only and Stock - DisplayOnly options. When solids and sheets arecreated, they will be designated as a Part bydefault unless the setting is changed in thisdialog. Solids or sheets designated as aFixture will be rendered in red and will beused as constraints when creatingmachining operations. Solids and sheetsdesignated as Stock will be rendered in darkblue and will be used as the initial stockcondition when creating machiningoperations.

Using either of the “display only” items willdisplay a body as a f ixture or stock, and be used in rendering, but will not be used in the toolpath generationcalculation. When any stock or f ixture bodies are present the system may attempt to use 3D toolpath ratherthan 2D in some cases and having potentially hundreds of f ixture bodies to take into account when generatingtoolpath can seriously affect system performance. Using “Display Only” stock and f ixtures settings can greatlyimprove system performance, making this feature very important for TMS.

This dialog also contains a Chord Height (See “Display” on page 18. for more information) for the faceting ofthe selected solid or sheet. Click the Apply button to change the chord height based on the value entered. Thisvalue will only be applied to the selected solid or sheet.

The Properties dialog can also be used to view bodies. When this dialog is open, different bodies can beselected and the contents of the Properties dialog will change to reflect the new body selected. Bodiescontained in the History list can be viewed in the Properties dialog by selecting the cube icon in the Historylist.

There is also a Physical Properties section which provides surface area calculations for solids and sheets,volume calculations for bodies, and surface periphery calculations for sheets. Within the Physical Propertiessection is an Accuracy slide bar and a Calculate button. The Accuracy slide bar designates the amount ofprocessing time and effort the system will allocate for the calculations. With the slide bar closer to thenegative end of the spectrum, the calculations will be less accurate and vice versa. It should be noted that allcalculations fall within a certain set range of accuracy regardless of the setting of the accuracy slide bar.

The percentage values do not directly correlate to the calculation, in that a 0% accuracy is still going to providea reasonably accurate calculation. The Accuracy setting affects the calculation processing time; as bodiesbecome more complex, the calculation time increases. In those cases, it may be desirable to designate a lower

Interface

12

accuracy in order to speed up the process. The system will always provide the +/- accuracy tolerance so that theuser can determine whether the calculation is accurate enough for its purposes.

The following are conversion values for taking the volume in cubic inches (as is shown in the Propertiesdialog) to such measurements as ounces and liters.

1 cubic inch = 0.55409 oz.1 oz. = 29.57353 ml

Multiple PropertiesThe Multiple properties dialog appears when more than one body is selected when the Properties command ischosen. This dialog helps to assign properties to many bodies at one time.

Add or change bodies in the dialog by changing the selection. Quickly set all bodies in the dialog as a Part,Fixture, or Stock type as well as their Chord Height and a Comment. Apply To All must be pressed in order toapply the new settings to all the bodies in the dialog.

Figure 1: Solid Properties measurements

Interface

13

BODY BAGThe Body Bag is used to store bodies during part creation in order to organize the Workspace. Double-click a body to move it from the workspace to the Body Bag. Bodies can also be moved with the Body

and Body Bag context menu. Items that are placed in the Body Bag are still considered active as long as theBody Bag is open they can be selected, modif ied, machined, etc. Bodies in the Body Bag are represented asicons which can be moved, resized and selected.

SOLID MENU ITEMSEDITSelect: The Select menu contains Solids, Sheets, and Edges items so that users can select only the solids,sheets, and edges in a part f ile. The Walls From Selected Edges item selects all faces that are tangent to theselected edges and perpendicular to the current CS. By Body Name and By Body Comment allow users toselect bodies by entering their name or comment in the respective dialogs. All Profiles selects all the availableprof iles found by the Prof iler and Faces From Selected Profiles selects all faces that touch a selected prof ile.

Deselect: The Deselect menu contains the same items as the Select menu but act by deselecting (instead ofselecting) entities.

MODIFYShrinkage: Shrinkage compensates for the rate at which an injection substance will shrink in a mold cavity. Itperforms a uniform or axial reduction or enlargements on selected solids. The range of shrinkage is -10% to10%. Shrinkage can also be applied differently in each axis.

Final Size = (100 - Shrinkage%) * Start Size /100

Toggle Sheet Side: This item is useful when solidifying sheets into solids using the Offset solidify option. Whensheets are converted into solids by offsetting, the offset must be calculated from one side of the sheet or the

Figure 2: Resized Icons in the Body Bag

Interface

14

other. The Max and Min offset values are referenced from one side of the sheet. To offset the sheet from theother side, select the sheet and then select the Toggle Sheet Side item.

SOLIDSThe system’s arsenal of tools for diagnosing problematic solids can be accessed by selecting the Solids > Toolsmenu. Some items however, are strictly developer tools.

Check Body Validity: When this item is selected, the system checks to ensure that all selected entities are valid.If a sheet is not valid, it will be deselected once the check is complete, allowing the user to identify theproblem. An error message identifying the specif ic problem will also be displayed for each invalid entity.

Check Face Validity: This item runs a face validity check on the selected sheets. This function can also beperformed by clicking on the Face Check button in the Stitch Utils dialog, and is useful for when stitching hasfailed to identify problem areas before attempting to stitch again.

Machining Face Check: This item checks the validity of selected faces to see if they can successfully bemachined. Machining Face Check is only necessary when using the Gen 2 Engine in surfacing operations. Aftervalidating the face(s), the system will display a message with information on the face(s) if the check passed oran error message on each of the bad faces.

Remove Unneeded Topology: This function attempts to merge any sheets that are def ined by the sameunderlying surface def inition into a single sheet, thus reducing the number of individual sheets andsimplifying the entire part f ile.

Simplify: This function attempts to convert NURBS surfaces into analytic surfaces within a given toleranceamount. Often times when surface f iles are imported, analytic surfaces are converted to NURBS; this functionwill convert those NURBS back into analytics.

Multipass Stitch: This option will attempt to stitch all selected sheets together by performing a series of singlepasses. The Multipass Stitch option is the same as stitching using the Multiple Passes option in the Stitch Utilsdialog.

Check Trimmed Surf. Polyline: This item verif ies the validity of trimmed surface polylines to ensure propermachining. Check Trimmed Surf. Polyline is only necessary when using the Gen 2 Engine in surfacingoperations.

Check Trimmed Surf. Edges: This item verif ies the validity of trimmed surface edges to ensure propermachining. Check Trimmed Surf. Edges is only necessary when using the Gen 2 Engine in surfacing operations.

PLUG-INSThere are many plug-ins available for solids. See the Plug-Ins Guide manual for more details on body specif icplug-ins.

CONTEXT MENUSMenus accessed by right-clicking on certain items in the system are referred to as context menus. Thefollowing dialogs have context menus that are accessed by right-clicking on the title bars of the dialogs.

Interface

15

BodyThe body context menu is accessed by right-clicking on a body or history entry.

Recreate : The Recreate mode takes the selected body back to its creation action to be modif ied. The selectedbody is drawn in red and any changes made will permanently replace the selected body. To cancel Recreatemode, right-click a body and choose Exit Recreate or click the red body.

Rebuild : This will reprocesses the History tree and incorporates any changes made using Recreate, Swap orReplace into a new f inal part model. The Rebuild function is limited in that models cannot be rebuilt if thechanges require a signif icant alteration to the topology. For example, if the change created any new edges, thef inal model cannot be rebuilt.

History : The History list displays the creation process of the selected body. All bodies that were used to createthe selected body will be displayed in the History list. Dormant bodies contained in the History list can bebrought back to the Workspace by double-clicking on the icon in the History list.

Clear History : This clears the history of the selected body, essentially turning the solid into an atomic body.This action is not undoable.

Properties : The Properties dialog contains information on the selected solid or sheet. See “Properties” onpage 11 for more information.

Bag It/Un-Bag It : Bag It will place a selected body into the Body Bag. If the body is in the Body Bag, Un-Bag Ititem will place it in the workspace. This function does not work on multiple selections, see “Body Bag” onpage 13 for multiple selection functions.

Align Face To Coordinate System : When Face Selection isactive you may choose a face and align it to the current CS.This command is accessed by right-clicking on a face.Choosing this command orients the part to the CS as if thefollowing steps were taken.

1. Create a new CS from the target CS, i.e. the CS youwant to align to.

2. Select a planar, cylindrical or complex face.

3. Select Align Plane Through & Move (right mousemenu choice) or Alt-click the Align CS button. For acylinder use Align CS Normal & Move.

4. Apply the Modify CS (XYZ) command to the solid to assign it to the new CS.

5. Select the target CS.

6. Apply the Modify CS (HVD) command to the solid to assign it to the target CS and move it.

7. Delete new CS.

The following items for selecting and deselecting faces are only available when the system is in Face Selectionmode. These options are useful when multiple faces must be selected for modeling or machining functions,and frees the user from having to select one face at a time.

Interface

16

Tangent Faces : This will select/deselect the target face and all of the faces reachable by a tangency.

Faces Above : Neighboring faces will be selected/deselected if they have an upper boundary that lies above theupper boundary of the target face. Next it will branch out to the adjoining faces of the neighboring faces andrepeat the selection/deselection using the neighbors upper boundary as the condition (rather than the targetface). A special condition exists for flat faces that neighbor the target face. They will be selected/deselectedbased on the lower boundary of the target face.

Faces Below : Neighboring faces will be selected/deselected if they have an lower boundary that lies below thelower boundary of the target face. Next it will then use the adjoining faces boundary and repeat the selection/deselection. However, adjoining flat faces will be selected/deselected based on the upper boundary of thetarget face.

Floor Faces : Selects/Deselects all floor faces connected to the target face. A floor face is approximately normalto the depth axis of the current CS; the approximation is set by the Floor/Wall Angle Tolerance value set in File> Preferences > Selection.

Wall Faces : The target face will be selected/deselected and any connected face that is parallel to the depth ofthe current CS. Angled walls that fall within the Floor/Wall Angle Tolerance value set in File > Preferences >Selection will also be selected.

3D Faces : This will select/deselect faces connected to the target face that are not def ined as a floor or wall.Next it will branch out to the adjoining faces and select/deselect them using the same logic.

Transition Faces : This will select/deselect all transition faces connected to the target face. A transition face is asmooth blend that is connected to a wall and floor face.

Fillets : This will select/deselect all constant radius f illet faces that are connected to the target face. The targetface will also become selected. The system will only select f illets that have the same constant radius as thetarget face if the target face is a f illet).

EdgeRight-click a selected edge to access options that affect edge selection. When an edge isdouble-clicked, the system tries to build a closed loop of edges starting with the selectededge. The 2D Chain and 3D Chain options affect how the system chooses the next edge tobe connected at each vertex.

2D Chain : When this option is selected, double-clicking an edge will attempt to select a loop of edges that areplanar to the current CS (or those closest to it), therefore resulting in a 2D loop. If there is more than onepossible choice for an edge at a vertex, the system chooses the one that is closest to the same direction.

3D Chain : When this option is selected, double-clicking an edge will attempt to select a loop of edges that arenormal to the current CS (or those closest to it), therefore resulting in a 3D loop.

Interface

17

HistoryThe context menu, accessed from the title bar of the History list, contains theitems Expand All and Collapse All. The Expand All item will expand the tree,displaying all branches which contain the bodies used to create the selectedmodel. Collapse All will not show any branches and only the selected modelicon will appear at the top of the History list.

Body Bag

The context menu contains the items Clean Up Body Bag, Resize All Icons,Bag Selected, Un-Bag Selected, Snap to Grid, Select Body Bag, SelectWorkspace, Deselect Body Bag and Deselect Workspace. The Clean Up BodyBag item will reorganize the Body Bag icons so that all icons can be viewed andnone overlap. The Resize All Icons item allows the user to modify the size of theBody Bag icons. This item is active when an icon is selected in the Body Bag.When this item is selected, a box that can be dragged and resized will be drawnaround the selected icon. All the icons in the Body Bag will be resizedaccordingly. The Bag Selected item places any solids or sheets that are selected inthe drawing window into the Body Bag. The Un-Bag Selected item will take anyselected Body Bag icons and place the solids/sheets back into the drawingwindow from the Body Bag. The Snap to Grid item can either be checked on oroff. When on, Body Bag icons that are moved will snap to a grid for alignment. The Select/Deselect Body Bagitems selects/deselects all the bodies in the Body Bag, and the Select/Deselect Workspace items selects/deselects all entities (including bodies and geometry) in the Workspace. These last few items are very usefulwhen analyzing surface f iles by providing a method for isolating problem areas.

ProfilerAccess the Prof iler’s context menu by right-clicking on any visible partof the Prof iler grid.

Profiler Depth : Select this option to access the Profiler Depth dialog.The Depth f ield shows the grid’s absolute depth; drag the grid whilethis dialog is open and the f ield will update itself to reflect the currentdepth. The user may specify a new depth by entering the value in thef ield and clicking Apply.

Select All Profiles : This option selects all prof iles generated by the Prof iler grid. Note that selected prof ilesturn blue.

Select Faces From Selected Profiles : This option selects all faces that are tangent to the prof iles generated bythe Prof iler grid. When a prof ile has been selected for machining, this option will only select the faces that aretangent to the toolpath, or the portion of the prof ile between the start and end machining markers.

Select Faces Inside Selected Profiles: This option selects all faces that are contained fully within the boundary ofthe selected prof ile and that are not tangent to the prof ile. The depth of the face is not a factor, i.e. any facewithin the boundary will be selected regardless of its depth.

Interface

18

PREFERENCESSoftware preferences are accessed from the File > Preferences menu.

DISPLAYThis Preference contains settings that affect the graphicdisplay of solids and sheets. The overall part chord height iscontrolled here. The chord height determines the facetingresolution when solids and sheets are rendered. Solids andsheets can be displayed as rendered solid objects or aswireframe drawings. The Render/Wireframe button in theTask Bar determines whether solids and sheets will berendered objects or wireframe drawings. The wireframedrawings will either display edges or facets of solids or sheetsdepending on the selection made in the Wire Drawingsection.

FacetingRendering is the process of displaying a picture of a model on the screen. When bodies are rendered, they arefaceted. Facets are small planar surfaces that compose the rendered model. The more facets drawn, the closerthe model resembles the actual mathematical model and the more time it takes for the system to render themodel. Faceting affects the quality of the rendered bodies. It also affects overall system performance and speed.The faceting chord height should be set at a value that balances the quality of the model with systemperformance. The faceting tolerance has NO effect on machining tolerances, only on the rendered image onthe screen.The tolerance used for surface machining is set locally in the Process dialogs Solids tab > AdvancedSettings dialog and is labeled as the Cutting Tolerance and globally in the Document Control dialog as UseGlobal settings for Solids > Part Rough Tolerance. It is this specif ication which designates how closely thetoolpath will follow the surface.

The number of facets used to render a model is determined by the chord height. A chord is a straight line thatjoins any two points on an arc or circle. The chord height is the distance from the chord to the arc or circle(Figure 3). The smaller the chord height, the closer the facet will be to the arc or circle, resulting in a betterrendered image of the solid or sheet (this is a 2D description of chord height; the system uses a 3D chordheight for the faceting of solids and sheets, but the general idea is the same).

The system uses a global faceting chord height which is applied to the entire part model. The global chordheight will be applied to all solids and sheets that are created or imported. The global chord height is enteredin the Graphics dialog which is accessed from the File > Preferences menu. A number can be entered in thetext box or the slider can change the value by moving it left and right.

Click the Apply button to f inalize the change to the faceting tolerance for selected bodies, as well as setting thevalue for new bodies to be created in the future.

1. Chord Height

Figure 3: Chord Height

Interface

19

A different faceting chord height can be applied to individual solids and sheets. The Properties dialog,accessed by right-clicking on a solid or sheet, contains a chord height value which will only be used to facet theselected solid or sheet. See “Properties” on page 11 for more information.

MACHININGThe process dialogs are enhanced by the Solids tab in machining processes for Contouring and Roughing. TheSolids tab contains options for overriding global settings for each operation type. For more informatio\n seepage 70.

Interface

20

MODELING

Modeling

23

CHAPTER 3 : ModelingINTRODUCTION TO MODELINGWHAT IS MODELING?Modeling is the process of def ining a part’s shape and dimensions on a computer. Common types of modelinginclude geometric modeling (both 2D and 3D), solid modeling, and surface modeling.

Geometric modeling is the process of def ining a model with simple geometric constructions such as points,lines, circles and splines. Geometry can be def ined in either two- or three-dimensional space.

Solid modeling is the process of def ining a part as a solid object rather than as geometry or a collection ofsheets. The process begins with the creation of a simple solid known as an atomic or primitive body. Booleanoperations can then be performed on an atomic body to create a new, distinct body. Advanced techniques suchas shelling, offsetting, blending and stitching or unstitching may then be used to create the f inal part model.

Surface modeling is the process of creating sheets as the foundation for a model. Boolean operations can alsobe performed on sheets. The surface creation tools are primarily intended to be used with surface f iles that areimported rather than for creating complete part models using surface modeling techniques. The use of solidmodeling tools is the recommended method for modeling a part.

SOLIDSA solid is an object that has volume. Solids can either be single bodies (lumps) or a collection of bodies (multi-lump body). Solids can either be viewed as wireframe drawings or rendered objects; however, only the lattercan be selected to perform modeling functions.

Solids are rendered in grey; however, selecting a solid changes it to a yellow body. Solids may also be def ined asstock (blue) or a f ixture (red). Selecting a body will show if it is composed of lumps or if it is a multi-lumpbody. Models containing lumps or multi-lump solids can be separated to create multiple bodies.

SHEETSSheets do not have any thickness or volume. A sheet has knowledge of the neighboring sheets that surround it.Sheets may have either one face or several faces. Similar to solids, sheets may also be def ined as a part, stock,or f ixture.

When surface f iles are imported, each surface entity is brought in as a single sheet (unless the Solidify optionis chosen). These sheets can either be machined directly or modif ied as necessary to complete the part model.

Modeling

24

PRIMITIVES/ATOMIC SOLIDSA primitive or atomic solid is a simple, non-divisible solid—a solid that is not built from other solids. Atomicsolids do not have a history (or branches). All solid models originate from at least one atomic solid. Examplesof an atomic solid include a sphere, a cube and a revolved/lofted/swept/extruded 2D shape.

Atomic solids are created using the options in the Create Solid palette which is accessed by clicking on theCreate Solid button in the Solid Modeling palette. The solidifying functions, which convert sheets to solids, arealso contained in the Create Solid palette. Solidif ied sheets are considered atomic solids as they have nohistory associated with them.

Sphere: A ball shaped solid.

Cuboid: Any type of rectangular solid.

Extrude: A two dimensional closed shape extruded along the depth axis.

Revolve: A 2D shape, either open or closed, revolved around either the horizontal or vertical axis by a specif iednumber of degrees.

Loft: Lofted solids are created by selecting a series of closed shapes that will be blended together using selectedalignment points. Lofting is also referred to as skinning or blending.

Sweep: Swept solids are created by selecting base curve geometry and drive curve geometry. The base curveacts as the spine which determines the overall contour of the sweep and the drive curve(s) designate thelocation and shape of the solid.

Solidify: There are several options for solidifying sheets into solids. They include: Cap, Extrude, Offset andSolidify Closed Sheets.

WORKSPACEActive solids and sheets exist in the Workspace. The Workspace consists of the drawing window and the BodyBag (when visible). Bodies must be active in order to perform any modeling functions such as Booleanoperations. Bodies that only exist in the History list are considered dormant bodies. Because the solid modelercreates single bodies from any operation by default, the component bodies are removed and made dormant tosimplify the modeling process and control the f ile size. Dormant bodies can be retrieved using the History list.

1. Sphere2. Cuboid3. Extrude4. Revolve5. Loft6. Sweep7. Solidify

Modeling

25

WORKGROUPS AND COORDINATE SYSTEMSBodies are not contained in workgroups. They are drawn in either the Body Bag or the Workspace, regardless ofthe current workgroup.

Bodies are assigned a coordinate system which is based on the current CS when the body was created. Some ofthe modeling functions (such as extrusions and revolved bodies) are CS-specif ic, meaning that the currentcoordinate system is used to create the body. Other modeling functions (such as lofting) are not dependent onthe current CS.

Coordinate Systems can be modif ied into the proper orientation by selecting components of a solid or sheet.There are two categories of CS alignment, plane through geometry groups and plane normal geometry groups.Planes can either be aligned through selected geometry or normal (perpendicular) to selected geometry. Withsolids and sheets, the plane through geometry groups includes planar edges and planar faces, while the planenormal geometry groups includes an edge and a point, and a face (planar or non-planar) and a point. Forfurther information on these subjects, please refer to the Advanced CS manual.

BOOLEAN OPERATIONSBoolean operations use two bodies (either solids or sheets or some combination of the two) to create a newsingle solid or sheet. The Boolean operations contained in the system are replace, swap, addition, subtraction,intersection and separation. Boolean operations are destructive, in that the initial two bodies selected for theBoolean operation are deleted, and only the resulting body remains active in the Workspace. The deletedbodies used in the Boolean operation become dormant bodies and can be retrieved from the History list. Non-destructive Booleans can be performed by holding down the Alt key. Non-destructive Booleans will generatethe new body and place the original two bodies used in the Boolean operation in the Body Bag.

Replace: This function replaces one body with another. The f irst body selected will completely replacethe other body.

Swap: This function switches the two selected bodies.

Addition (Union): Combines the volume of two bodies. Select two bodies and add them together. Theresulting body will be a new single body composed of the two selected bodies. If the two selected bodieswere disjunct (not touching), the resulting body will be a multi-lump body.

Subtraction (Difference): Removes the volume of one body from another body. Select two bodies andsubtract them. The resulting body will be the f irst body minus the second body. The f irst body selectedis kept and the second body selected is subtracted out.

Intersection: Keeps the common volume between two bodies. Select two bodies and intersect them. Theresulting body will be the volume that is common to the two bodies selected.

Separate: Separates a multi-lump body into individual bodies.

Modeling

26

RECREATE MODERebuilding a solid incorporates any changes made to bodies that were used tocreate that solid. These bodies are referred to as parent bodies. Recreateallows the user to change a parent body, and must be used for changes thatthe user wishes to incorporate into the rebuilding of a solid.

Bodies can be modif ied using the Recreate function of the software, which iscontained in the context menu (accessed by a right-clicking the body).When Recreate is selected, the system goes into Recreate mode.

When in Recreate mode, the body selected to be recreated is drawn in red and placed in the Body Bag. ExitRecreate mode by selecting the body drawn in red or selecting the Exit Recreate item from the body contextmenu. If applicable, the parent body or bodies that were used to create the body to be recreated become activeand appear in the drawing window. The function button (or buttons) originally used to create the body will beoutlined in red. All original data will be restored.

The following are some examples of what can be done using the Recreate function:

• Change the data for an atomic body (for example, the radius of a sphere).

• Recreate an atomic body from different or modif ied geometry. The geometry should be changed prior toentering Recreate mode.

• Change the type of atomic body that was created (for example, a sphere can be made into a cuboid).

• Change the selected parents used in a Boolean operation.

• Change the type of Boolean operation that was performed.

Recreate only affects the creation of the selected body. To recreate its parents, they must be brought back fromthe History list.

Modeling

27

REBUILDING SOLIDSBecause the system maintains the history of solids and sheets, it is possible tomodify earlier steps during model creation and rebuild the f inal model. Anychanges made can be incorporated into the f inal model using the Rebuildfunction. This level of associativity is very useful when working with complexmodels that would take considerable time to rebuild from scratch if changeswere necessary.

To rebuild a model, follow the steps outlined below.

1. Bring a previous body back from the History list.

2. Make modif ications to that body using the Recreate function.

3. Rebuild the body by selecting Solids > Rebuild.

The Rebuild function reprocesses the History tree. Anychanges made to a solid or sheet in the tree will be re-incorporated into the model. The only way to make amodif ication to an existing body without changing thename and reference of that body is to use the Recreatefunction. The Rebuild function cannot be undone,which means that once a model has been rebuilt, itcannot be changed back to its previous state. You mayreopen the model to retrieve the previous history ifneeded.

Rebuild is useful when working with imported solidmodels. As an example, let's say you start with animported Parasolids f ile. You build a mold base bodyfrom this model. Changes are made to the originalmodel provided. The new model is imported into the system. To incorporate the new changes, you wouldrecreate the mold base by selecting the new body instead of the old one and performing the Booleanoperation. Then select the f inal body and rebuild it.

Modeling

28

MODELING REFERENCEThis section provides functional descriptions of the modeling capabilities contained in the system. Thesemodeling functions are put to practical application in the modeling exercises which provide tutorial-styleinstruction. It may be best to start with the modeling exercises and refer to the reference section whensomething is unclear.

SURFACE MODELING PALETTE

Clicking the Surface Modeling button in the Top Level palette opens the Surface Modeling palette, whichis shown below. Surface modeling and sheets are primarily used when working with imported surface f iles, andare not generally required for building bodies.

The Surface Modeling palette includes various methods for creating sheets, including planes, revolved sheets,lofted sheets, Coon’s patch sheets, swept sheets, and sheets from faces as well as the ability to trim/untrim,stitch/unstitch, and extend sheets.

PlaneThis button is used to create planes. When no geometry is selected, using thisfunction will create a flat planar sheet based on the current coordinate system at adepth of zero. Triggering this function with a closed shape selected will create a sheetbounded by the selected geometry at a depth of zero in the coordinate system. If theclosed shape is not planar, a plane will still be created by projecting the geometry to adepth of zero in the current coordinate system.

RevolveThis button will open the Sheet Revolve dialog which allows users to revolve a shape around the horizontal orvertical axis by a specif ied number of degrees to create a sheet.

1. Plane2. Revolve3. Loft4. Coon’s Patch5. Sweep6. Sheet From Face7. Trim / Un-Trim8. Stitch9. Unstitch

Modeling

29

Sheet Revolve dialog: Select an open, terminated shape or a closed shape to be revolved. The axis buttonsspecify which axis the selected shape will be revolved about. If the horizontal axis is selected for the axis ofrevolution, a vertical value must be entered to specify the position of the revolution axis. Likewise, if thevertical axis is the axis of revolution, a horizontal value must be entered to specify the position of therevolution axis. The value entered in the A text box is the angle (specif ied in degrees) the selected shape will berevolved around the selected axis. A positive angle value will revolve the shape in a counter-clockwise directionand a negative angle in a clockwise direction based on the positive axis of revolution.

LoftThis button will open the Sheet Loft dialog which allows users to create a sheet through a series of open orclosed shapes. The system will blend all the selected shapes into a smooth sheet. Sheet lofting produces ruledsurfaces when only two shapes are selected and sculptured surfaces when three or more shapes are selected.

Sheet Loft dialog: Select a series of shapes to be blended into a smooth sheet. These can be closed shapes oropen, terminated shapes. The shapes act as the cross-sections through which the f inal sheet will be created.The system will blend the selected shapes into a sheet using C0 points (corners) as alignment points. If theClose checkbox is selected, the system will attempt to blend the f irst and last shapes together to form a closedsheet.

Coon’s PatchThis button creates a sheet called a Coon’s patch througheither three or four selected open, terminated shapes. ACoon’s patch is a surface type that uses boundary shapes(typically splines) and blends a smooth surface betweenthem. Either three or four shapes must be designated asboundary shapes. Each shape can be any size ororientation as long as the endpoints are coincident (in theexact same location in X, Y and Z) and each shape iscontinuous and does not contain any sharp corners. Theselected shapes represent the boundary of the sheet.

In some cases, connected splines or features can be selected to create a Coon’s patch. Also, if trimmed splinesthat do not have coincident points at the edges are imported, a Coon’s patch can be created provided that theends of each trimmed spline are coincident. Often times, a Coon’s patch surface can be created if there aremore than three or four line segments but the connected splines have three or four distinct corners.

Modeling

30

Sweep SheetThe Sweep Sheet function is nearly identical to the Sweep Solid function described in the Solid Modelingsection beginning on page 33. The only difference involves the alignment rules for the drive curves. Sweptsheets do not use alignment or sync points selected on the drive curves to determine how the drive curves willbe blended together. Only one alignment point per drive curve needs to be selected for the Sweep Sheetfunction. Refer to the Sweep Solid section on page 37 for additional information.

Sheet from FaceThis option creates a sheet from the face of a solid or sheet. A face is onesurface of a solid or sheet that is bound by an edge loop. Using the FaceSelection mode accessed from the Taskbar, users can select individualfaces of a body. Selecting a face or faces and clicking on this button willcreate a sheet based on the face and bound by the edge loop of theselected face. Neighboring faces will produce stitched faces in theresulting sheet.

Trim/Untrim SurfacesThis button performs both the trim and untrim functions depending on the entitiesselected when the button is clicked. If a sheet and geometry are selected, the system willattempt to perform the trim operation. The trim function breaks a single sheet into twoseparate sheets at the selected trim geometry. The geometry selected for the trimoperation must completely cut the selected sheet into two pieces. If the geometry does notlie on the selected sheet, the geometry will be projected onto the selected sheet and thetrim operation will be performed. Holding down the Alt key while clicking the Trim/Untrim button will perform both the trim and untrim operations at once. The system willuntrim the selected one-faced sheet and then trim that sheet to the selected geometry inone step, never attempting to create a valid face from the untrimmed surface.

If only a sheet is selected, the system will attempt to untrim. The Untrim function only works with single-facedsheets. The edge loop is what bounds the underlying surface def inition into a f inite bounded surface. TheUntrim function removes the bounding edge loop so that the underlying surface def inition replaces theselected surface. The untrimmed surface will be bound by the workspace stock size.

This is useful when working with imported IGES f iles that are not stitching or solidifying due to edge loops of neighboring surfaces not joining within the specif ied tolerance. If this is the case, the user can select the problem sheet, untrim it to create the underlying surface def inition and then trim that surface with the extracted edges from neighboring sheets.

Modeling

31

Stitch SheetsThis button will open the Stitch Sheets dialog. This dialog provides different methods forstitching sheets together as well as tools to analyze stitched sheets. In order to stitchsheets, the user must select all the sheets to be stitched, choose a stitching method fromthe Stitch Sheets dialog and click the Stitch button.

Surfaces are stitched at their edges. When surface f iles are imported into the system,each surface is represented as a single-faced sheet. A face is a trimmed surface with anedge and knowledge of its neighboring surfaces. An edge is the trim curve that bounds aface. For sheets to successfully stitch to their neighbors, the edges of these sheets mustalign with each other within a specif ied tolerance; otherwise, there are holes (gaps) andadjoining sheets that are separated by a gap cannot be stitched.

The system must be in Edge Selection mode in order to view edges. The Show Internal Edges checkboxprovides a method for only viewing the external edges of a part. The internal edges are edges that can beviewed from the inside of the model looking out, while the external edges are ones that can be viewed from theoutside. The external edges are the edges that need to be stitched together. After performing a stitchingoperation, the only external edges that will be visible are the edges that could not be stitched together becauseof the tolerance gap. All stitched edges become internal edges.

Once the problem edges have been identif ied, if the gap is large, the user can build a sheet using Coons Patchor another Surface Modeling tool to f ill the hole. Often times the gaps are small and can be f ixed by applying alooser tolerance to select edges. This is accomplished by selecting the problem edges, entering the loosertolerance in the Edge Tolerance text box, and clicking on the Set Edge button. Applying a different edgetolerance to certain edges often aids the system in stitching together all the sheets together.

There are three stitching methods offered in this dialog 1 Pass,Multiple Passes and Multiple Tries. Each of these methods usesthe Tolerance value entered in the dialog. The tolerance can bethought of as the maximum gap that can exist between theedges of two sheets that the system will still stitch together. Forexample, the edges of two adjoining sheets are 0.002mm apart.If the tolerance set is 0.002mm or greater, the two sheets will bestitched together and the result will be a single sheet. If thetolerance is less than 0.002mm, the two sheets will not bestitched together and remain two separate entities. Theminimum tolerance is set by the system and is 0.00002mm or0.00000079". The tolerance specif ied by the user cannot be less than this value.

1 Pass: When the 1 Pass option is selected, the system will attempt to stitch all selected sheets at the giventolerance. The system will take one pass at the specif ied tolerance in this attempt. The system will analyze eachsheet, its neighbors and its edges and if they fall within the tolerance, stitch the sheets together. If all edgesstitch together at this tolerance into a single closed sheet, the system will solidify the sheets, thereby creating asolid. Otherwise, the result will be a multi-faced sheet composed of all of the sheets that could be stitchedtogether.

Modeling

32

Multiple Passes: When this option is selected, the system will attempt to stitch together all selected sheets byperforming a series of single passes. The system will begin at the minimum tolerance (0.00002 mm or0.00000079") and attempt to stitch the sheets at that tolerance. The tolerance entered by the user provides themaximum tolerance that the system will go to in its attempt to stitch the sheets. Multiple passes will be takenat incremental tolerance steps ranging from the minimum tolerance (set by the system) to the maximumtolerance (set by the user). On each pass, the system will stitch together all the sheets that it can at thattolerance and then proceed to another pass at the next tolerance, attempting to stitch any remaining sheets.The progress bar, located on the right side of the Taskbar, displays the number of sheets remaining to bestitched and the tolerance being used on the current pass. When all of the passes have been completed, if thesheets stitched together into a single closed sheet, the system will automatically solidify the sheets, resulting ina solid. Otherwise, the result will be a multi-faced sheet or sheets.

Multiple Tries: This option is similar to Multiple Passes in that it takes incremental passes ranging from theminimum tolerance (0.00002 mm or 0.00000079") to the maximum tolerance, which is the Tolerance valueentered in the dialog. The system will attempt to stitch all the sheets together at each tolerance increment,starting over after each pass that does not stitch all the selected sheets together. The system is looking for thesmallest single tolerance that will stitch the entire part. This is similar to taking a series of one-pass steps andundoing after each one. The stitching process will stop when all the selected sheets have been stitched togetherinto a single sheet even if this occurs before the maximum tolerance is reached.

Face Check: Clicking the Face Check button will perform a face validity check on the selected sheets. This isidentical to the face validity check that is run when the Solids > Tools > Check Body Validity item is selected.The face check produces an error message for each invalid face and also deselects the problem faces. It isuseful to run a face check if stitching has failed to identify problem areas before attempting to stitch again.When a face fails the check, it must be deleted and re-created in order for future stitching attempts to besuccessful.

Unstitch SheetsThis button will unstitch or detach faces of a sheet. This will also convert solids into sheets. The faces will beunstitched at the edge loop which bounds the selected face or faces. Figure 4 illustrate an example ofunstitching. The f irst row of pictures shows geometry revolved to create a single multi-faced sheet with theedges displayed to differentiate between the faces of the sheet. In the second row, multiple adjoining faces areselected to be unstitched.

1. Original Sheet2. Edges of sheet which

separate the faces3. Selected face to be

unstitched4. Resulting Sheet5. Resulting Sheet

Figure 4: Example of unstitching a sheet

Modeling

33

SOLID MODELING

The Solid Modeling palette is accessed by clicking on the Solid Modeling button in the Top Level palette.All of the modeling functions that are used with solids are accessed from this palette. The f irst button accessesthe Create Solid palette which provides options for creating atomic or primitive bodies. The second buttonaccesses the Advanced Solid Modeling palette which provides for such functions as offsetting and rounding.The remaining buttons in the Solid Modeling palette include Slicing, Replacing, Swapping, Adding,Subtracting, Intersecting and Separating and all provide for various interactions between solids and sheets.

Create Solid PaletteClicking the Create Solid button opens the Create Solid palette which provides various methods for creatingatomic bodies and solidifying sheets into solids. Atomic or primitive solids are non-divisible bodies in thatthey were not created from any other bodies. The controls accessed by each button are described in thefollowing sections.

SphereThis button will open the Sphere dialog which allows users to create spherical bodies. Enter the H, V, D(horizontal, vertical, and depth) coordinates of the centerpoint of the sphere and a radius value. Click the Do Itbutton to create the sphere.

1. Create Solid Palette2. Advanced Solid Modeling Palette3. Slice4. Replace5. Swap6. Add7. Subtract8. Intersect9. Separate

1. Sphere2. Cuboid3. Extrude4. Revolve5. Loft6. Sweep Solid7. Solidify

Modeling

34

CuboidThis button will open the Cuboid dialog which allows users to create cubes and rectangular bodies. Enter aminimum and maximum horizontal, vertical and depth value to def ine the volume of the cuboid. These valueswill be measured from the origin of the current coordinate system. The labels used in the dialog may varywhen the current coordinate system aligns with one of the primary planes. The labels X, Y and Z will be usedinstead of H, V and D. Click the Do It button to create the cuboid. The Stock Dim. button will load theworkspace stock def initions based on the XY coordinates.

ExtrudeThis button will open the Extrude dialog which allows users to create a solid by selecting a closed shape andextruding it along the depth axis. A closed 2D shape can be extruded along the depth axis of the active CS inthe positive and/or negative direction based on the values entered. The extrusion starts at the depth locationof the selected geometry. Click the Do It button to create the extruded solid.

Tapered Extrusions: A taper can be put on an extruded solid. The value entered in the Taper box specif ies theangle of the taper. An extrusion with a taper can only be done in one direction along the depth axis in order toproperly calculate the taper on the solid. When the Taper box is activated, the negative depth specif ication willbecome grayed out. A negative value can be entered for the Z+ value so that the shape can be extruded alongthe negative direction of the depth axis. Negative angle values can also be entered for the taper amount. Whenextruding a solid, the shape selected to be extruded is duplicated along the depth axis by the amount specif ied.When doing an extrusion with no taper, the offset shape is an exact duplicate of the original shape. When

Straight and Tapered extrusions work with multiple geometry loops. The order of selection is important because the system will use the loop that is selected f irst as the outer prof ile.

Modeling

35

creating an extrusion with a taper, the offset shape is going to be larger or smaller (depending on if the taper ispositive or negative) than the original shape.

RevolveThis button will open the Solid Revolve dialog which allows users to revolve a shape a specif ied number ofdegrees around either the horizontal or vertical axis to create a solid. Select any terminated or closed shape tobe revolved. The selected shape must be an open terminated shape, rather than a closed shape, in order torevolve 360° about an axis position of zero. In other words, there cannot be a line on the axis of revolution orelse revolving will fail because it will produce self-intersecting edges. The axis buttons designate whether theshape will be revolved around the horizontal or vertical axis of the current coordinate system. If the horizontalaxis is selected for the axis of revolution, a vertical value must be entered to specify the position of therevolution axis. Likewise, if the vertical axis is the axis of revolution, a horizontal value must be entered tospecify the position of the vertical axis that will be the revolution axis. The value entered in the A text box isthe angle (specif ied in degrees) the selected shape will be revolved around the selected axis. A positive anglevalue will revolve the shape in a counter-clockwise direction and a negative angle in a clockwise directionbased on the positive axis of revolution.

LoftThis button will open the Loft dialog. Lofting is also referred to as blending or skinning. Select a series ofclosed shapes to be blended into a solid. These selected shapes def ine the cross-sections of the resulting loftedsolid. The shapes should be selected by choosing points on each shape that will act as alignment orsynchronization points. The system will break up the section of the shape between alignment points into anequal number of segments and create a face (surface) by matching each segment. The alignment points oneach shape will match up in the f inished lofted solid. To achieve the best results when lofting, select allrelevant points to act as alignment points. If the shapes selected have the same number of corners, onealignment point per shape can be selected and the system will blend the lofted solid using the corners asalignment points. A corner is def ined as the non-tangent intersection between two features. When selectingalignment points on the shapes, either select all alignment points per shape in the same order or select thef irst alignment point on all shapes then the second, etc. The system looks at the selection order for each shape.

Modeling

36

If the Close box is checked, the system will attempt to blend the f irst and last shapes together into a closedsolid. Click the Do It button to create the lofted solid.

In Figure 5, three closed shapes are to be lofted. The top picture shows the shapes selected to be lofted. Thesecond set of pictures show the alignment points selected—one has one alignment point per shape, the othersix alignment points per shape. The third set of pictures show the lofted bodies created from the shapes. Thesolid created from the shapes with one alignment point selected blends the shapes using the four corners ofeach shape because the shapes have the same number of corners. The solid created from the shapes with sixalignment points selected blends the solid based on all of the alignment points, allowing the user more controlover the solid that is generated.

1. Curves to be lofted.2. 1 alignment point is

selected.3. 6 alignment points are

selected.4. The resulting lofted solid

Figure 5: Example of the use of alignment points in lofting

Modeling

37

Sweep SolidThis function provides options for creating swept solids.A swept solid is created by selecting a drive curve(s) thatdef ine the basic shape of the sweep, and a base curve,which def ines the spine or edge of the sweep. Thetolerance value specif ies how closely the generated sweptsolid will be to the “true” swept surface. There are someterms you should familiarize yourself with to fullyunderstand how to use the Sweep function, see “SweptShape Terminology” on page 37.

Drive Curve Plane (DCP) Alignment: The DCP Alignmentoptions determine the alignment of the drive curve planein reference to the base curve — in other words, how thedrive curve will be swept around the base curve. There are three options: None, 2D Normal BC and 3D NormalBC.

2D Normal BC: The selected drive curves will be rotated around the sweeping plane normal vector so that itis perpendicular to the base curve in the sweeping plane. However, the drive curve will not remain normalto the base curve as the base curve moves in Z (or the depth of the current CS). Another way to think ofthis is that the vertical axis of the drive curve plane always stays parallel to the depth axis of the sweepingplane. The alignment is locked.

Sharp Corners: This checkbox determines whether corners should be smooth (rounded) or sharp (square). IfSharp Corners is checked, the system will extend a solid so the corners meet to have mitred corners, keepingthe drive curve’s prof ile.

Swept Shape TerminologyBase Curve: The base curve can be a 2D or 3D curve and must either be a closed shape or an open terminatedshape. It should also be def ined in the exact 3D location of the desired swept solid. The B-pointer marker,located in the Sweep Solid dialog, is used to designate the base curve. The B-pointer can be dragged from itsbox in the dialog and dropped on the geometry to be used for the base curve. It can be removed in the samemanner, dragging it from geometry back to its box in the dialog. The location of the B-pointer marker on thebase curve has no affect on the resulting swept solid.

Drive Curve: The drive curve is a 2D curve that def ines the cross-sections of the swept solid. The drive curvemust be def ined in the correct 3D location for the desired swept shape. The following is a list of rulesregarding drive curve creation.

• Drive curves must be planar.

Modeling

38

• All drive curves must be closed shapes. Open terminated shapes can be used for the drive curves only whenthese open shapes can be capped by a single plane.

• Select the drive curves by choosing alignment points on each of the shapes.

• Alignment points must be connectors or terminators on the drive curves.

• If more than one alignment point is selected, all corner connectors (non-tangent intersections) mustbe selected.

• If only one alignment point is selected for each shape, corner connectors will automatically be aligned.In this case, each shape must have the same number of corner connectors or else the sweepingoperation will fail.

• The same number of alignment points must be selected on each shape.

• Full circles have a default alignment at 12:00 in their respective planes. This allows the user to selectcircles for the drive curves without needing to create and select alignment points. If full circles areselected for the drive curve without alignment points selected and the resulting swept solid is not thedesired result, create terminators or connectors on the circles in order to control alignment.

Sweeping Plane: The sweeping plane is the current coordinate system when the Sweeping function isperformed. The sweeping plane affects the DCP Alignment options when the 2D Normal BC item is used. Thesweeping plane also determines the CS to which the resulting swept solid will be assigned.

SolidifyThis button accesses the Solidify dialog which provides options for creating solidsfrom sheets. It is often useful to solidify sheets into solids to reduce partcomplexity and so that solid modeling functions can be performed. However, it isnot necessary to solidify sheets in order to machine them. Surfaces can bemachined directly without being solidif ied or stitched together. This dialogincludes four options for converting sheets into solid bodies. To solidify a sheet,select the desired option in this dialog, select the sheet and click the Do It button.The f irst three options can only be used to change a single sheet into a solid. TheSolidify Closed Sheets option can be used on multiple sheets. Each method isdescribed below.

Cap: The Cap option creates a solid from an open sheet by creating planar surfaces at any open ends of theselected sheet. The enclosed area is f illed in to create the solid. In order to use the cap option to solidify asheet, the sheet selected to be capped must only require planar surfaces to provide closure of open ends of thesheet. Figure 6 illustrates the capping function to solidify a sheet.

Figure 6: Solidifying a sheet using Cap

Modeling

39

Extrude: The Extrude option creates a solid by extruding a selected sheet along the depth axis of the currentcoordinate system. The sheet can be extruded in either the positive or negative direction along the depth axis.The user enters a value which specif ies how far along the depth axis to extrude the sheet. Entering a negativevalue will extrude the sheet along the negative direction of the depth axis. When performing an extrusion, thesheet selected to be extruded is duplicated along the depth axis by the amount specif ied and the area betweenthese sheets is f illed in to create a solid. In order to use the extrude option to solidify a sheet, the sheet selectedto be extruded cannot overlap itself or fold over. Also, the extrude axis (depth axis of the current coordinatesystem) can not hit the sheet in more than one place and cannot be parallel to the edge of the sheet. Figure 7illustrates extruding a sheet in order to solidify it.

Offset: The Offset option creates a solid by creating an offset sheet of the sheet selected to be solidif ied at aspecif ied distance and f illing in the area between the original sheet and the offset sheet to create a solid. Thedef inition of an offset is that every point on the offset sheet will be normal (perpendicular) to a point on theoriginal sheet. Offsetting can be thought of as rolling a ball with a diameter the size of the offset amount alongthe sheet.

When using the Offset option, the user specif ies a Max and/or Min value that acts as the offset amount. Thesheet selected to be solidif ied acts as the zero reference point for the Max and Min values. These values can bepositive or negative. The sheet selected to be solidif ied will be offset in one direction by the Max value and inthe other direction by the Min value. Figure 8 illustrates the offsetting function to solidify a sheet.

Solidify Closed Sheets: This option creates a solid by f illing in the volume enclosed by separate adjoining sheets.The sheets selected do not need to be stitched together in order to use this option. There can be no holes orgaps between the sheets to be solidif ied. This option provides the same functionality as the stitching optionsaccessed from the Surface Modeling palette.

Figure 7: Solidifying a sheet with Extrude

Figure 8: Solidifying a sheet with Offset

Modeling

40

Advanced Solid Modeling PaletteAdvanced Solid Modeling: This button opens the Advanced Solid Modeling palette. The functionsincluded in this palette include Shell/Offset, Blending and Unstitch Solid. Each function is describedbelow.

Offset/ShellThis button is located in the Advanced Solid Modeling palette and accesses the Offset/Shell dialog. There is anOffset button and a Shell button within the dialog. Each is described below.

Offset: The Offset function can be performed on solids, sheets and individual faces. This function will enlargeor shrink a solid or face by the specif ied Offset amount. Positive offset values will make the selected entitieslarger; negative values, smaller. Both bodies and faces can be offset and multiple bodies and faces can be offsetat one time. To offset a solid or face, select the solid or face(s), enter an offset amount and click the Do Itbutton. It should be noted that the original solid selected to be offset is replaced by the offset solid. Theoriginal solid can be brought back from the History list if necessary.

In Figure 9, the original solid is a canister and the offset is enlarged by a given amount. Note the change in thesize of the f illet at the top of the bottle — it is a much smaller f illet than on the original solid. This is due tothe fact the system must extend the other faces to intersect each other. This example would fail to offset if theoffset amount was greater than the size of the f illet.

1. Offset/Shell2. Blending3. Unstitch

1. Offset2. Shell

1. Original Solid2. Offset Solid

Figure 9: Example of an Offset solid

Modeling

41

In Figure 10, only selected faces are offset and the unselected faces “grow” in order to provide for the offset.

In certain instances, the offset function will not succeed because the specif ied offset amount creates excessivetopology changes. Topology is the term in solid modeling for the manner in which specif ic faces of a solid arepositioned relative to each other. Modeling functions that change the shape of a face do not affect the topologyunless the function requires a change to the way faces connect to one another along their edges. An example ofoffsetting that will require excessive topology changes, and therefore will fail, is if the offset amount is greaterthan an inside (concave) f illet of the face or solid to be offset. The offset function attempts to extend theunoffset neighboring faces to intersect with the faces that are being offset. When one or more of the unoffsetneighboring faces is tangent to the offset face, no amount of extension will intersect with the offset face.Therefore the offset function will fail in this instance.

Offsetting Sheets: The Offset function can also be performed on sheets. A sheet has two sides, an insideand an outside. The outside of a sheet is def ined as the side from which the positive direction of thesurface normals are projecting outward. The negative direction of the surface normals projects to theinside of the sheet. When offsetting sheets, the location of the selected sheet will be moved in the directionof its positive surface normals by the specif ied offset amount. Surfaces are offset to the outside. Theoutside and inside of a sheet can be determined by turning on the Indicate Sheet Side button in theTaskbar. This button will display the outside of sheets as blue and the inside of sheets as red.

Shell: The Offset amount specif ies the amount the solid will be shelled, which is equivalent to the wallthickness of the resulting hollow solid. Entering a negative value for the offset will shell the solid to the inside,meaning that the outside face will not be enlarged to account for the shell amount, and will remain in itsoriginal position. A positive value will offset the solid to the outside and the solid itself will become larger as aresult. In this case, the inside of the face of the shelled solid is the same as the outside face of the original solid.Deselecting faces on the solid to be shelled will create entry holes at those faces. Select a solid, deselect thefaces to be removed for entry holes while in Face Selection mode and click the Do It button to create theshelled solid. It is not necessary to create entry holes; however, if there are no entry holes on the shelled solid,

1. Original body2. Faces selected to be offset3. Resulting body with offset faces

Figure 10: Offsetting selected faces of a body

Modeling

42

it will need to be sliced or modif ied to see the results of the shell. Figure 11 illustrates an example of a shellingoperation which creates an entry hole by deselecting a face.

BlendingThe blending or rounding function contains options for blending edges of bodies. There are options forconstant radius rounding, variable radius rounding and constant width chamfering. Figure 12 shows whichbutton is used for the different blending options. The dialog will change slightly depending on the blendingtype. In order to use the blending functions, edges of solids or sheets must be selected. Multiple edges can berounded at one time.

Constant Radius: When the Constant Radius button is clicked, selected edges will be rounded according to theRadius value entered. When the Spherical Corners option is checked, rounding will be applied down eachsharp vertex at each corner.

Constant Chamfer: When the Constant Chamfer button in this dialog is clicked, selected edges will bechamfered based on the Length value entered. The chamfer is calculated by offsetting both faces joined at theselected edge by the length value specif ied and then f inding the intersection of these offset faces. From theintersection, normals are projected back onto the original faces. The points where the normals intersect theoriginal faces are the start and end points of the chamfer.

Unstitch SolidThe Unstitch function allows solid models to be broken into component pieces or “healed” to remove holes.There are several uses for Unstitch Solid.

1. Cap holes which are intended to be drilled and do not need to be machined along with the contour of themodel.

1. Original Solid2. Solid selected with top face unselected3. Result

Figure 11: Example of a shelling operation

1. Constant Radius2. Constant Chamfer

Figure 12: Blending dialog

Modeling

43

2. Remove f illets or chamfers that are unnecessary for machining, or would be more eff iciently created usinga tool.

3. Removing blends on edges simplif ies a model and may provide for faster and more eff icient toolpathcreation.

4. Create core and cavity molds from hollow models.

5. Calculate the volume that a bottle or any type of hollow container can hold by using the volumecalculations in the Properties dialog.

6. Use bodies created from the unstitching function to build EDM electrodes.

A solid can be thought of as a series of faces stitched together at their edges into a complete closed shapewhich is a solid (f illed rather than hollow). Unstitching a solid provides a means of removing the stitchingalong selected edges to separate a solid into component bodies. The system will extend faces along the selectededges to “heal” the components into valid solid bodies. The primary purpose of the unstitch solid function is inworking with f inished part bodies to create core and cavity bodies for mold work, or for removing holes andother details not needed for certain machining operations. This is particularly useful when working withmodels that were imported into the system. When using unstitch, either all of one group’s faces or edges mustbe selected which will separate all of the original solid’s faces into two unconnected groups. In order to selectedges, the Edge Selection button in the Taskbar must be clicked so that the edges of a selected solid are visibleand able to be selected.

For greater control over the unstitching of solids, Right-click the Unstitch Solid button and select Options.This opens the Solid Unstitch Options dialog. This dialog offers multiple methods for removing holes or bossesin solids. These options are not mutually exclusive and can be used in conjunction with one another. You mayselect multiple options to use as a backup; one option may succeed where another has failed.

Create Plug: An additional solid or “plug” will always be created instead of simply sealing up or removing afeature. For example, a hole in a solid will become a plug and a boss will become a separate solid.

Heal Only: A plug will not be created when unstitching. Note that Create Plug always takes precedence overHeal Only; only when Create Plug fails and Heal Only is checked will Heal Only be performed.

1. Create Plug2. Heal Only3. Multple Loops

Figure 13: Examples of the Solid Unstitch Options.

Modeling

44

Multiple Loops: The multiple loops option is an additional method to heal bodies. The unstitch option may ormay not work on some bodies, the Multiple Loops option is simply another method to use and is particularlyuseful in a situation like the image to the right.

Invert Selection: If unstitching cannot be done based on the selection, the selection will invert and reattemptthe unstitch.

Use Cap: During an unstitch, faces are typically extended to seal off a hole, which can result in an odd 3Dshape. This option creates a 2D plate that patches the hole.

Unstitching ComponentsIn Figure 14 the original solid is a sphere with a cylindrical base. Selecting the intersecting edge to unstitchwith Create Plug enabled will create two solids. One will be the sphere, which will not have a hole where thecylinder was previously attached. The other solid will be a cylinder: flat on one end and concave (spherical) onthe end that was initially attached to the sphere.

Healing ComponentsUnstitching can also remove or “plug” holes. The following series of pictures (Figure 15) illustrate this aspect ofUnstitch Solid. The original body is a cube with a through hole at its center. The hole has two edges, one ateach exit. To unstitch this type of hole, select both the edges of the hole and click the Unstitch button. Thetwo resulting bodies are a cylinder (the hole) and a solid cube with no holes. In this example, one of the bodiesis completely empty. Unstitch will invert holes into a solid.

Figure 14: Example of unstitching

Figure 15: Another example of unstitching to “heal” a body

Modeling

45

SliceThis function slices selected solids or sheets into separate entities. The slicing entity can either be thecurrent CS or a selected sheet. When using a sheet as the slicing tool, the sheet must extend all the waythrough the target. If a solid and sheet are selected when this button is clicked, the body will be sliced

into two separate bodies where the selected sheet intersects the body. Likewise, if two sheets are selected, thef irst sheet selected will be sliced where the second intersects the f irst. Slicing a solid with a sheet is a type ofBoolean operation; therefore, the sheet will be destroyed or deleted once the slicing operation is complete. Theslicing function also works only if a solid or sheet is selected. In that case, the solid or sheet will be sliced withthe current coordinate system. It is recommended that slicing operations be performed as early in themodeling process as possible due to the fact that coordinate systems and planes act as very big (potentiallyinf inite) knives when slicing and may unintentionally slice other entities.

ReplaceThis function replaces a body with another body in any stage of the History list. This will work witheither atomic bodies or bodies that have been modif ied. The f irst body selected replaces the secondbody selected: f irst select the body that you wish to replace the existing body with (if dormant, bring it

back into the Workspace from its History list), then select the body to be replaced. Click the Replace button;you may then use the Rebuild function to update any affected body as needed. This function is useful whenmodif ications need to be made to objects whose History list contain imported or atomic bodies. Replace doesnot work with solids from the same tree.

SwapThis function swaps two bodies in any stage of the tree. Select the two solids to be swapped; the orderin which they are selected is irrelevant. Click the Swap button and then use the Rebuild function toupdate any affected solids as needed. Swap does not work with bodies from the same tree.

Modeling

46

AddThe addition boolean operation provides for sheet to sheet and solid to solid combines. Adding twosheets will produce a new single sheet composed of the two added sheets. The order of selection is notimportant when performing additions. Sheets must either be coincident or completely non-

intersecting. Two surfaces are coincident when they overlap and all points on one surface also lie on the othersurface within the area of overlap. Non-intersecting sheets and solids will produce multi-lump sheets or solids.In Figure 17 the top image indicates the edges of the overlapped sheets.

SubtractThe subtraction boolean operation will subtract one bodies common area from another. The order ofselection is important as the second body selected will be subtracted from the f irst. The second bodywill be deleted after the operation is complete. All bodies must be coincident or intersect in a way that

would completely split the f irst selected sheet, or be non-intersecting. Figure 18 through Figure 21 illustratesthe different types of interactions between sheets and solids when the subtraction operation is performed.

Figure 16: Solid + Solid addition

Figure 17: Sheet + Sheet addition.

Figure 18: Solid – Solid = a solid with the common volume of the second solid minus the first.

Modeling

47

Figure 19: Sheet – Solid = a sheet trimmed by the solids boundary intersection of the sheet.

Figure 20: Solid – Sheet = a multi-lump body if separated becomes two individual bodies

Figure 21: Sheet - Sheet = removing the common area of a sheet

Modeling

48

IntersectAn intersection operation will trim two bodies to the shared area between them in the workspace.Intersections can be made of any two bodies whether solid or sheet as illustrated in the followingf igures.

SeparateThe separate operation provides for the separation of multi-lump solids and sheets. Performing theseparate function will break a multi-lump body into the unique and disjunct bodies it was composed of.Now when selected, only the body clicked on will be selected instead of the entire multi-lump body.

Figure 22: Solid intersect Solid = the common volume between the two bodies

Figure 23: Sheet intersect Sheet = the common area between the two sheets

Figure 24: Sheet intersect Solid, resulting in a sheet trimmed by the solid

Modeling

49

GEOMETRY CREATION FROM SOLIDSGeometry from SolidsThis button is located in the Geometry Creation palette. The palette that it accesses provides options forcreating 2D geometry from solids and sheets. The options contained in the palette include: GeometryExtraction, Hole Extraction and Parting Line. Each of these functions is described below.

Geometry Extraction: The geometry extraction function creates geometry from selected edges of solids andsheets. In order to view edges of a solid or sheet, the system must be in Edge Selection mode. Connectedshapes will be created if the selected edges create a closed loop. Typically, this function will extract the selectededges as splines or curves. However, if the resulting spline edge can be converted to lines or circles within thespecif ied tolerance, the extracted geometry will consist of lines and circles. A tolerance of zero isrecommended when extracting geometry that is def initely a circle or a line.

Hole Extraction: This function is used to create circles from holes in solids or sheets. This function allows theuser to extract circles from the existing holes on a model in order to have geometry to select for drillingoperations. When using this function, either a solid or sheet can be selected. When hole extraction isperformed, the resulting geometry will all be circles. The depth of the extracted geometry will be based on thebottom of the hole(s), making it easy for the user to determine the depth for the drilling operation.

Parting Line: This function automates the creation of a parting line curve which can be used to create a partingline surface. To use this function, select all the faces that the parting line will be on or select the entire solid.The parting line function uses the depth axis of the current coordinate system as the draw axis. The draw axisis def ined as the axis on which the mold will be pulled apart. The parting line curve is the curve on which thesurface normal vector is normal to the draw axis at every point. The parting line function creates geometrywhich can then be used to create a parting line surface. A good way to create a parting line surface fromparting line geometry is to sweep a straight line along the parting line geometry, creating a sheet which willintersect the solid. The straight line is the drive curve and should intersect and slightly overlap the parting linegeometry which is the base curve. Once the parting line surface is created, the part model can be subtractedfrom a cube to create the mold and then sliced with the parting line surface to create the two halves of themold.

1. Geometry Extraction2. Hole Extraction3. Parting Line

Modeling

50

Figure 25 shows the process of creating a parting line surface by selecting a part model, creating parting linegeometry, and then generating the mold.

1. Model2. Parting line and Sweeping

geometry3. Parting line surface: swept

shape4. Mold block (with part model

subtracted out)5. Top half of mold cavity6. Bottom half of mold cavity

Figure 25: Example of creating a parting line surface to create a mold

Modeling

51

KNOW YOUR HISTORYUnderstanding the History list can be crucial to extremely complicated modeling. The following information isintended to clarify the meaning of each icon and symbol within the History list. It is highly recommended thatyou name bodies when working with complex models.

BODY TYPESAtomic body: An atomic or simple body is any body created in one operation such as those in the CreateSolid palette.

Lump body: A lumped or complex body is made up of two atomic bodies.

Multi-lump body: A multi-lump body consists of at least two lumped bodies.

Rendered facet bodies, lump and multi-lump bodies contain a symbol on the icon to clarify what operationwas performed in order to reach its state in the History list. The following is a list of characters that appear onlumped and multi-lump bodies.

BODY NAMESThe history names can give a clue to how they were created. There are threeoperations that combine two solids: Addition, Subtraction and Intersection.When these operations are performed, the name of the history item willindicate the operation by combining the two names and placing a characterto separate them. So a name such as “Cube1-Extrude2” in the image shown,means an extruded body was subtracted from a cube. A name with“Cube1+Extrude2” indicates addition while “Cube1^Extrude2” represents anintersection.

Symbol Function Symbol Function Symbol Function

+ addition h Stitch t Translate

– Subtraction i Intersect T Duplicate And… Translate

– Trim k Shrinkage u Untrim

| Unstitch Sheet m Mirror v Variable Radius Round

/ Unstitch solid M Duplicate And… Mirror w Swept

! Draft o Solidify x Explode

b Blending Round r 2d Rotate X Extract

c Chamfer R Duplicate And... 2D Rotate none Absolute 2d Rotate

f Offset or Shell s Slice none Absolute translate

$ Facet Body

Modeling

52

MODIFYING RECREATING & REBUILDING BODIESIn general, there are four different methods for making modif ications to bodies.

• Create a completely new solid (component) and manually recreate the f inal part to include the newcomponent.

• Make a modif ication to an existing solid using one of the modeling functions, such as slice or offset, andmanually recreate the f inal part including the modif ied component.

• Modify and/or recreate the component and then use the Replace Solid and Swap Solids functions toreplace or swap the old component with the new one, and then use the Rebuild function to get the f inalsolid.

• Bring back the solid that needs to be modif ied from the History list. Modify that solid using the Recreatefunction, and then use the Rebuild function on the f inal part to incorporate the recreated solid into thef inal part. The History, Recreate and Rebuild functions are all accessed from the body context menu.

The following examples provide a practical application of each of these methods. The f inal part model is acube with a cylinder subtracted from the middle of it, creating a hole. The modif ication that needs to be madeis that the hole needs to be larger. Each of the methods described above for modifying a solid will be applied tofacilitate the necessary change (Figure 26 through Figure 29).

METHOD 1: CREATE A NEW SOLIDFor this method, a new cylinder would be extruded from a new circle with a larger radius. That new extrusioncould then be subtracted (Boolean operation) from a cube to create the f inal part, a cube with a larger hole.

1. Original model needs larger hole

2. New extrusion3. Original cube4. Larger cylinder5. New model with larger hole

Figure 26: Creating a new solid to modify an existing solid

Modeling

53

METHOD 2: “LOCALLY” EDIT AN EXISTING SOLIDThe system provides functions that allow the user to edit certain faces of a solid without the use of Booleanoperations. Examples of functions which locally edit a solid are the offset function applied to selected faces ofa solid or the Solid Unstitch function used to remove particular faces to “heal” a solid.

In this example, the user could locally edit the cylinder that was initially used to create the part by offsettingthe outside face. The original cylinder may be in the Body Bag or can be retrieved from the History list. Tomake the cylinder larger, the user can offset the outside face of the cylinder by a given amount, effectivelymaking the cylinder larger in diameter.

In this case, we did not create a new solid, but instead modif ied an existing solid using the Offset function.When a solid is modif ied using modeling functions, the name and reference of the solid are changed to signifythe change that was made. According to the system, the modif ied solid is a completely new entity that has anew reference identity. For instance, in this example the original cylinder was named “Extrude#”. When theoffset operation is performed, the new solid will be named “Offset#”. The original solid labeled “Extrude#” stillexists in the History list of this model. The cylinder with the offset faces could then be subtracted from thecube.

1. Original model needs a larger hole

2. Original cylinder3. Value by which to offset the

cylinder4. Original cube5. Offset cylinder6. New model with larger hole

Figure 27: Editing an existing solid to modify the end result

Modeling

54

METHOD 3: REPLACE/SWAP AND REBUILDIn this example, the user would create the new extrusion with the larger diameter and then replace the oldsmaller extrusion with the new larger extrusion by using Replace. Replace will replaces a solid with any othersolid in any stage of the tree. Then use the Rebuild function to incorporate the new larger extrusion into thecuboid and generate the modif ied solid.

1. Original model needs a larger hole.

2. New extrusion3. Original extrusion is extracted

from History list4. History is Replaced by the new

Extrusion.5. The model is Rebuilt6. The new model

Figure 28: Using Replace and Rebuild to modify a solid.

Modeling

55

METHOD 4: HISTORY, RECREATE AND REBUILDUse the History, Recreate and Rebuild functions to make the necessary changes. The History lists maintain allof the bodies that were used to create any model. Anytime a solid is created or modif ied, it is assigned a nameand reference. If a modif ication is made to an existing solid, a new solid with a new reference will be created.The Recreate function is the only exception to this; it allows users to make modif ications to an existing solidwithout creating a new solid. It changes the existing solid while maintaining the original name and reference.The solid that was recreated now exists in the History list, while the original solid that was modif ied no longerexists—it has effectively been deleted from the system. It cannot be retrieved. The Rebuild function simplyreprocesses the History list of a given model. The only way to change a model using the Rebuild function is bymaking modif ications to a solid in the history of that model using the Recreate function.

1. History list is opened.

2. The body is extracted.

3. Recreate function is accessed.

4. The dialogs and geometry that created the cylinder are activated.

5. New geometry is created and extruded.

6. Rebuild the changes.

7. The History list is reporcessed.

8. The model after being rebuilt.

Figure 29: Modifying solid using recreate and rebuild.

Modeling

56

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES• Avoid congruent face modeling

The system will attempt to solve co-planar congruency problems (where the faces that are congruent areplanes) and is often successful; however, as a general rule the user should avoid Boolean operations withcongruent faces. When possible, adjust one of the bodies (by offsetting faces, etc.) so as to not havecongruent faces. It’s good practice to always try to overlap bodies when possible.

• Avoid co-edge modeling

There must be exactly two faces per edge in a solid.

• Slice simple solids

A CS or plane acts as a big knife and will slice every solid that it intersects. For purposes of accuracy, it isbetter to perform slicing operations on a simple solid.

• Blend corners last

Rounded bodies have more faces, which can slow down several of the functions. Another reason to roundlast involves the Rebuild function. Bodies that have rounded edges can be rebuilt; however, there cannot beany signif icant changes to the topology in order for the rebuild to work.

• Do not round fillets that can be left by a tool

The intersection surfacing option is designed to machine edges at the intersection of two surfaces. Theintersection process can only be applied to edges that are not blended. So, if you want to create a necessaryf illet using the radius of a ball or bullnose endmill, do not create the f illets on the part model.

• Minimize generations

Be careful with Modify operations, such as Duplicate And..., as each time one is performed a new body iscreated. It is good practice to think carefully about the modeling operations in order to reduce the f ile sizeand make all future modeling more eff icient. Another way to minimize generations of solids is to intersectbodies rather than perform two subtraction operations.

• Name your body

Bodies should be given distinct, descriptive names to avoid confusion. Bodies can be named using theProperties dialog or by changing the icon name when the solids are in the Body Bag.

• Minimize the use of non-destructive Boolean operations.

Promote the use of the History list. By having fewer bodies, the f ile size is smaller and processing time willbe faster.

• Deselect the Body Bag items

If a body in the Body Bag is selected it may be accidentally deleted. The safest way to handle this is to keepthe Body Bag closed when not being used.

Modeling

57

• Use the Un-Bag It function for small items in the Body Bag

Often a body is so small it can’t be seen when the Body Bag renders it to scale. The easiest way to selectthese small objects is to right-click the name and choose Un-Bag It from the context menu.

• Bag and Un-Bag many items in the Body Bag at once

The title bar context menu for the Body Bag contains two important bagging techniques for baggingmultiple selected items, Bag Selected and Un-Bag Selected, which are especially useful for surface f ileimports.

Modeling

58

MACHINING

Machining

61

CHAPTER 4 : MachiningINTRODUCTION TO 2.5D SOLIDS MACHININGThis chapter contains reference information on the multi-surface machining functions in the system. This f irstsection explains some of the terms and concepts that the user will need to know in order to utilize the multi-surface machining capabilities. Refer to the Mill manual for information on the standard machining functionscontained in the Production Milling module.

2.5D MACHINING DETAILSContour and Roughing are the primary toolpath processes for the 2.5D Solids option. Contour and Roughingcan be used in several ways. Both can cut selected geometry shapes. Both can project these toolpaths on top ofselected bodies. Both can machine Prof iler loops (See “Prof iler” on page 17.) and edge selections, with orwithout Projection. Both can directly machine selected faces.

Contour’s primary solid machining function is to machine selected faces, with a constant Z toolpath. This iseasy to visualize as slicing the selected faces, at various Z depths. Unselected faces are not machined.

Roughing/Pocketing is a 2D area clearance function. It’s primary solid machining function is to remove all thematerial in the region represented by the selected faces. This region concept is especially important whencutting at Zs above the part body, or above the selected faces. The tool will cut on centerline on a regionboundary above the model. In the model, the faces control the toolpath.

Large through holes & empty areas (see the image below) make the selection & machining of their regionsdiff icult. You can’t select a face that isn’t there. You can always make a process model, one without the hole, ifyou so desire. Or you can use the advanced short cut of selecting the walls of the hole. Selected walls on theedge of a region, will extend the region where ever possible. In general, select faces to machine more, deselectfaces to machine less.

Picture a rectangular pocket, 35mm deep in a part whose total depth is 50mm. It has a 50mm diameter throughhole in it’s floor. For the f irst pocket, the walls of the pocket are selected to extend the “clear” region across thehole. When pocketing down to Z-35 we’ll have a simple rectangular toolpath, as the through hole’s region ispart of the region that was selected to clear. For the second operation the wall of the through hole is selected sothat when pocketing down to Z-50 we don’t waste time f inishing the floor across the top of the through hole.Don’t confuse this “through hole” in the f inish part model, with where there is, or is not material.

Machining

62

GEN 3 ENGINEGibbsCAM v7.0 utilizes the new Gen 3 solids toolpath engine. The Gen 3 engine boasts many improvementsover Gen 2, namely smoother and more optimized toolpath for contouring operations. Gen 3 is optimized toproduce toolpath consisting of lines and arcs.

Compatibility With Earlier VersionsSince the system has a new solids toolpath engine, what happens if a part that was created in an older versionneeds to be opened in a newer version of the system? Or what if a part needs to be saved to an earlier version?The Gen 3 Engine has the capability of automatically converting toolpath to or from older versions of thesystem.

Older to new version: Data coming from earlier versions of the system does not have all of the functionality ofthe Gen 3 engine and the new features. To accommodate this, the process will be rebuilt with whatever datacan be gathered from the old process and the default values will be used for new options.

New file being saved to an older version: When saving to an earlier version, all of the new functionality will belost, but valid toolpath will still be generated. Saving back to versions 5.1 through 6.1 will use Gen 2 and evenGen 1 where appropriate. Saving back to versions prior to 5.1 will use the Gen 1 engine exclusively. Saving a f ileto prior versions will not result in identical toolpath but the toolpath will be valid.

SURFACE TOLERANCE The Surface Tolerance affects how closely the toolpath will approximate the surface to be machined. Thetolerance value specif ies an amount that the toolpath can deviate from the actual surface, either on the insideor the outside. The example illustrates a valid toolpath and displays the surface being machined and thesurface tolerance region.

Because the toolpath can cut on the “inside” of the surface by the tolerance amount, specifying a surface stockgreater than the tolerance amount will ensure that the surface will not be gouged at all by the toolpath.

The smaller the surface tolerance, the more closely the toolpath will follow the actual surface. Coarsertolerances provide increased performance at the expense of processing time. It is recommended that coarser(larger) tolerance values be used on roughing operations and tighter (smaller) tolerance values be used onf inishing operations to reduce processing time and the length of the generated code.

1. Machined Surface2. Surface Tolerance3. Toolpath

Machining

63

MACHINING PALETTEThe Machining palette contains function tiles which are used to create machining processes. The availablemachining functions include: drilling, contouring, roughing and threading. Combining a function tile with atool tile in the process list accesses a machining process dialog specif ic to the function where all of themachining parameters are entered. In addition to the standard processes are three buttons for controllingmachining selections. This manual describes the contouring and roughing processes as they pertain tomachining bodies and sheets. Descriptions of the other functions contained in the Machining palette can befound in the Mill manual.

Machining Selections: These buttons are used when selecting the cut shape, constraints and stock for a set ofprocesses. They allow the user to select what to cut, what not to cut and what to use as the stock condition foreach Process Group. The Part button is selected by default. Any selections made while the Part button isclicked will be used as the cut shape for the process list. All machining processes in the process list will beapplied to the selected cut shape whether it be a solid, sheet, contour, etc. The second button is the Constraintbutton. Solids, sheets or faces can be selected as constraints for processes. When the second button isdepressed, any bodies, faces or sheets selected will not be cut. By default, any unselected faces of a solid beingmachined will be considered constraint faces and will not be machined. The third button is the Stock button.Solids and sheets can be designated as local stock which means that the selected body will act as the startingstock condition only for the current process list.

1. Part2. Constraint3. Stock

Figure 30: Machining palette options

Machining

64

STOCK DEFINITIONThe stock shape is used to create machining operations and display the cut part rendered image of the partonce those operations have been generated. Stock that def ines a part may be set in one of three ways. Thesemethods are the workspace stock in the Document Control dialog, a workgroup that is def ined as stock and asolid that is def ined as stock. Stock def initions have different effects on different operations. The primaryeffects are to extend or reduce the 2D area being machined. They can also reduce the area being machined in Z.

Workspace Stock: This is the initial set of values specif ied for every part in the Document Control dialog. Thismethod of stock def inition can be overridden by other methods; however, these values still def ine theWorkspace and the area used by the Unzoom command.

Part Stock: Geometry in a workgroup may be used to def ine the initial material condition. The shape may beextruded or revolved and may contain a single hole. A stock workgroup will override the stock cuboid as theinitial material. There should only be one stock workgroup, as additional instances will be ignored.

Stock Body: The 2.5D Solids option allows any solid or sheet to be a designated as stock. The Properties dialogcontains options that allow users to specify that a particular body is either a Part, Stock, or Fixture. Selectingthe Stock option will cause the selected body to act as the initial stock condition for the part. This stockcondition will be used for machining operations as well as in cut part rendering. This is considered a globalstock specif ication as it will be used for the entire part. A stock body must completely enclose any bodiesselected to be machined. This will override any workgroup or stock cuboid def initions. Only one stock bodywill be used, although it may be a multi-lump body.

Temporary Stock: A body may be def ined as stock for a single set of processes. This will temporarily overrideany of the above three stock def initions. Create a temporary stock body by selecting the desired bodies todef ine the stock and press the stock button in the Machining palette. This can be useful for def ining stocksmaller than the part and to restrict the area being machined for a single set of processes. For roughing, thestock and part loops created at a single Z level/slice should not intersect.

NOTESOperation Stock Size: For proper toolpath to be generate a part should be contained within the workspacestock. Included in the stock condition for operations is the stock tolerance. (part plus surface stock) within theworkspace stock size. Error messages may appear if the operation may be invalid because the Surface StockAllowance goes beyond the workspace stock size. This will alos lead to problems when attempting to calculateremaining material.

Fixtures: Fixtures are recognized differently in roughing and contouring operations. Roughing operations willgo around a f ixture while contouring operations will retract over f ixtures.

Machining

65

CONTOURING PROCESSContouring operations are designed to take a single f inishing pass along a selected cut shape. The cut shapefor a contouring operation can be a solid, a sheet, selected faces of a solid or sheet, a contour (connected 2Dshape) or some combination of the above.

• Selecting only a 2D contour will create a single pass around the selected shape based on the machiningmarkers. This is no different than standard 2D machining.

• Selecting a 2D contour and a solid (or sheet) for the cut shape will create a toolpath based on the contourselected and the machining markers. That toolpath will then be projected up in Z onto any selected body.The Z moves of the toolpath will only be modif ied where it would have gone into the body.

• Selecting only a body for the cut shape will create a toolpath that will take a single pass around the surfacesof the selected body at the specif ied Z depths. The system determines the contour based on the solid (orsheet) selected.

USING THE PROFILERThe prof iler can be used for quick & easy selection of faces for machining. The Prof iler can be used to setmachining markers for a Contour operation, like geometry. The advantage of this is that the start and endfeatures may be extended. Please note that the extended moves are not gouge protected. The prof iler will beautomatically activated when an operation that uses the prof iler is double clicked. Machining sheets using thismethod is not supported.

Machining

66

ROUGHING PROCESSThe Roughing process creates offset, zig zag and face milling routines designed to remove material quickly. Cutshape selection for roughing is very similar to contouring.

• Selecting a closed 2D contour for the cut shape will create a roughing routine to remove material from theinside of the selected closed shape. This is no different than standard 2D machining.

• Selecting a 2D contour and a solid (or sheet) for the cut shape will create a toolpath based on the selectedshape. That toolpath will then be projected down in Z onto the body. The Z moves of the toolpath will onlybe modif ied where it would have gone into the selected solid (or sheet).

• Selecting a body for the cut shape will create toolpath that will pocket out the body (or face) from thestock. The stock is used as the outer shape for the pocket.

• Individual faces on a model can also be selected for the cut shape; this allows for individual pockets to bemachined. To machine selected pockets, select the bottom face of the pocket for the cut shape.

The toolpath at the f inal Z depth (specif ied by the floor Z) is calculated f irst. Each pass will be calculated fromthat depth and moved up in Z by the specif ied Z step amount. If the pass at the floor Z depth cuts into aselected solid or sheet, that pass will not be created, and the next pass (a step above) will be the f inal pass. Thesystem will continue creating steps up in Z until the surface Z level is encountered. No pass will be createdabove the surface Z.

When Use Stock is unchecked, the stock def inition is ignored. Roughing a solid will machine all selected faces,meaning that a pocket can be machined by simply selecting the floor (if the pocket’s floor is flat).

When Use Stock is active, toolpath will be conf ined to the current stock def inition even if the part extendspast the stock. The only exception is any value def ined in the open pocket dialogs, which specif ically allow atool to move beyond the stock. Note that any passes above the stock will be omitted but passes below the stockwill still be generated to the f inal Z depth.

If a fully-selected solid is being roughed, the tool will machine inward from the stock def inition to removematerial. The term “fully-selected” refers to all the faces the tool can see being selected. This does not includefaces on the backside. A partially-selected solid will not use the stock to create a larger area to rough but willtrim the pocket to stay inside of the stock def inition.

Machining

67

MATERIAL ONLYMaterial Only calculates toolpath for all remaining material left on walls by prior operations only. Remainingmaterial is stored for 2D operations including contouring, roughing and drilling. Remaining material is NOTstored for 3D operations including Lace, Surface Flow and 2 Curve Flow cuts. Material Only supports customstock def initions, sharp/bullnose/tapered/ball endmills and most form tools. Undercutting tools are notsupported. Material Only may be used as a single operation or as part of a multiple process group.

When the Material Only option is selected, the system will track the areas where material is left during anoperation by creating closed shapes with both “wall” and “air” features or a combination shape for eachoccurrence of remaining material. During subsequent operations, the system will generate toolpath to removeonly the material within these shapes. Toolpath generated in these areas is based upon an open-sided pocketconf iguration.

Machining PreferencesThe Allow Mill Material Only checkbox in the Machining Prefs dialog box must be active in order to track andstore the condition of remaining materials. It is strongly recommended that this option be deselected if theMaterial Only option is not going to be used in operations.

When this option is active, the system will perform the necessary calculations for a Material Only operationeven if the calculations will not be applied; this information will also be saved with the part f ile.

Material Only PocketsThere are two different types of pockets when calculating toolpath for Material Only machining operations—closed and open. When generating toolpath for a solid that has closed and/or open pockets, SolidSurfacer usesthe Multiple Shapes method described below. More information on Material Only and cutting geometry can befound in the Mill manual.

Multiple Shapes Method: This is the recommended method for assuring the best toolpath when generatingtoolpath for Material Only machining. This method requires at least two shapes. The f irst is an all “air” shape,which represents the stock, and another shape representing the pocket as an island. This second shape is an all“wall” shape. Using this method, the system treats the pocket as an island inside the stock.

Machining

68

To generate these shapes, 2.5D Solids performs a horizontal slice of the solid at each Z-level cut depth def inedin the process dialog box. The all “air” shape is based on the stock condition at each Z-level step and the all“wall” shape(s) is based on the part condition at each Z-level step.

The following part shows what the “air” and “wall” shapes would look like at two different Z-level steps for thepart. The part consists of a floor at Z0 and four walls with the tallest at Z25.

1. Part model2. Custom Stock3. Air geometry for stock4. Material at Z205. Material at Z10

Figure 31: Material Only—Multiple Shapes - air and wall shapes

Machining

69

Optimizing Material Only for Solids• Avoid full solid selections. Only select the area (faces) to be cut.

• Use 2.5D toolpath optimization. This will produce better toolpath (not just G1s but G2s and G3s) and willalso allow for a tighter Surface Tolerance setting. Avoid undercuts when using the 2.5D toolpathoptimization feature.

• Select Ignore Tool Prof ile when permissible (see the Mill manual for more information on Ignore ToolProfile).

Material Only Limitations:

• Undercutting tools

• Custom Stock with undercuts

• Depth First

Troubleshooting

• If wasteful toolpath is generated, the Past Stock value for this operation may be too large. Therecommended value for Past Stock is the tool diameter minus 2.5 times the maximum surfacetolerance of the previous operation.

• If no toolpath is generated, the f inal cut depth may be below the stock bottom. Redef ine the stockdef inition for this operation, then move the stock bottom to the desired f inal cut’s Z-depth.

• If all else fails, extract edge geometry and machine as geometry. When extracting the edgegeometry, specify a small tolerance so that the edges will be extracted as lines, arcs, and circles(analytics). Then use the Multiple Shapes method described in Figure 31.

Machining

70

SOLIDS TABThe Contouring and Roughing process dialogs have a Solids tab which contains information specif ic tomachining solids and sheets.

Cutting Direction: Note that the user must select the Cutting Direction only in the Contouring Process dialog.The selection made for the cutting direction determines whether the tool will climb cut or conventional cutduring a contouring operation. When geometry, prof ile or solid is selected for a contouring operation,machining markers appear on the selected geometry, allowing the user to indicate the direction of the cut byselecting the appropriate arrow. If the cut direction is indicated with the machining marker arrows, the settingfor the cutting direction contained in the Contouring dialog will match the selection indicated by the arrows.Likewise, if a selection is made for the cutting direction, the machining markers will be updated to match thatselection. One does not supersede the other; the system uses the last selection made before the operation isprocessed. These options are especially useful when only a solid or sheet is selected for a contouring operation,because when that is the case, machining markers do not come up on the screen, providing the user with amethod to designate the direction of the cut.

Tolerance: When Use Global Settings for Solids is checked in the Document Control dialog, use these radiobuttons to toggle between a Rough and Finish tolerance (applicable only to the specif ic process). Using thissetting speeds up toolpath and minimizes G-code.

Advanced Settings: Use the Advanced Settings to override the tolerances setin the Document Control dialog on a process-by-process basis. Click theAdvanced Settings button to access the Advanced Settings dialog and thenselect the Override Global Settings checkbox to apply the clearance andtolerance values to the process. A blue checkmark will appear on theAdvanced Settings button if the global settings are being overriden.

Clearances: This section allows the user to set the interaction betweentoolpath and f ixtures that are to be avoided. A f ixture may be def ined asa sheet or a solid designated as a f ixture.

There is a text box for the clearance value from a Fixture. This value is theadditional distance the toolpath will be offset from the object.

Tolerances: These are the machining tolerances for the toolpath, or the margin of error. The toolpath maydeviate by up to these amounts. A looser tolerance will require less memory and creates shorter output. Toprovide as much flexibility as possible, there are separate settings for Cutting, Stock, and Fixture. TheCutting tolerance is the tolerance of the toolpath over the selected face or faces—the area to be cut. TheStock tolerance is the accuracy of the toolpath’s interaction with the stock def inition. The Fixture tolerancespecif ies the accuracy of the toolpath’s interaction with areas that are to be avoided. The default value forall selections is 0.005" or 0.127mm.

Project 2D Toolpath: The system will trim toolpath to a specif ic area when a solid and 2D geometry are selectedfor contouring. The toolpath will be bound within the selected geometry and will not go beyond the bounds of

Machining

71

the stock if the geometry overlaps the def ined stock. The behavior of the toolpath within the geometry isoptional based on the Project 2D Toolpath option.

When this option is disabled, selected geometry acts as a boundary that the toolpath will not cross. The toolwill take successive 2D passes in Z, using the solid as a shape to follow and the geometry as a boundary. Whenthis option is on, the toolpath will be projected over the solid, creating 3D toolpath while following the shapeof the geometry (that is, the tool will take a pass around the geometry). If viewed from the top, the toolpathwill look like toolpath for a regular 2D pocket. If viewed from another angle, the difference is apparent. Byprojecting the toolpath, an adequate f inish is left on the part and the tool always moves in the same direction.However, this toolpath creates extra cut time and can re-machine the surface of the part on multiple passes. Anexample of using Project 2D Toolpath is illustrated below in Figure 32.

Surface Stock: The Surface Stock setting specif ies the amount of material that will be left by the toolpath onany sheet or solid machined by the process. The toolpath will be offset by the Surface Stock amount in X, Yand Z. The Stock± amount entered in the Contour tab only adds stock in the cutting plane (machining CSX,Y). If both Stock± and Surface Stock are entered, they will be added together; one does not override theother. Surface Stock can be less negative up to -0.00005 less than the corner radius of the tool.

Z Step: If Desired Z Step is selected, the step in Z will be constant based on the value entered. The Ridge Heightselection will create variable steps in Z resulting in a uniform ridge height on the cut part, generating asmoother f inish on the part. The Ridge Height (also called scallop height) is calculated from the tool's cornerradius cutting a flat surface. It is an approximate value.

Toolpath Generation: Use these radio buttons to toggle between using the Gen 3 or the Gen 2 Engine. Thesystem is set to use Gen 3 by default for contouring operations. The user must specify a tolerance for theconstraint faces as well as the Create 2D Toolpath settings (described in the section below) if using Gen 2.

1. Project 2D Toolpath is enabled2. Project 2D Toolpath is disabled

Figure 32: Example of using Project 2D toolpath.

Machining

72

Constraint Faces Tolerance: This value specif ies the tolerance for constraint faces. Note that this valueshould be smaller than the Constraint Faces Clearance value to avoid gouging.

Constraint Faces Clearance: This value specif ies the clearance for constraint faces, or the distance by whichyou wish tools to clear these faces.

Create 2D Toolpath: The purpose of the Create 2D Toolpath settings is to produce toolpath from what mightotherwise be a 3D toolpath. The system has multiple options on how to achieve this toolpath for contouringoperations. This allows more control over the results of toolpath generation.

The term “2D toolpath” is used to identify a toolpath of the type desired for machining a 2D prismatic part and“3D toolpath” to identify a toolpath typical of machining a complex surface. Strictly speaking, the system’s 3Dtoolpath methods frequently produce toolpaths that are mathematically 2D, as they only move in X and Y.These are not, however, optimal for the machining of 2D prismatic parts. “Prismatic” refers to parts that can beconstructed by extruding XY shapes along the Z-axis.

A 2D toolpath contains lines and arcs and does not vary with surface tolerance. A 3D toolpath is usually a largenumber of small line moves that vary from the true surfaces by the surface tolerance. A 3D toolpath is createdwhen solids and surfaces are being machined.

Create 2D toolpath is useful when a solid or single surface is being machined and most useful when the solidbeing machined has 2D elements such as planes and cylinders. The selected faces of a feature must be stitchedtogether into a single surface. Create 2D toolpath is recommended primarily for use on solids, but if sheetsmust be machined, then they should only be used to machine a collection of surfaces if each surface is a singlefeature (for example, if each of the surfaces was a single pocket).

None of the choices available from Create 2D toolpath will approximate complex surfaces with arc moves. Anyof the options may fail to produce a toolpath. This is why multiple choices may be selected. They are attemptedin the order in which they are listed. When one fails, the next is attempted. If they all fail, a 3D toolpath iscreated. An informational message box will appear listing the status of each of the 2D methods attempted.Even if a method creates a toolpath, it may nevertheless be an invalid toolpath. Several of these methods haveprotection limitations that are different from the standard 3D toolpath. They are documented below and arenoted as they apply to each option.

Stock Body: By activating this option, the system will attempt to create 2D toolpath from a stock body forthe outermost loops of a roughing operation. The 2D toolpath can come from geometry, solids, and stockdef initions. Solid stock body def initions do not inherently produce 2D toolpath but instead produce alarge number of small line moves. Selecting the Stock Body option will apply the Slice Offset Body only tothe stock body. Since the stock can be used as the outer loop of pocket, a 2D toolpath here will improve allthe roughing passes in a pocket. This function will produce better toolpath with 2D and 2.5D prismaticshapes, and will work better with the Material Only option.

There is no undercut protection if the Create 2D Toolpath option is selected for stock. If a stock def initiongets smaller as you go down in –D, then the area to be machined at D= –2 can be smaller than the area atD= –1. We only see the area at the level being machined; this can lead to a rapid Z move into an area wethink is clear, only to discover that uncut material from a higher level is bigger, resulting in a crash. To

Machining

73

avoid this, you can either avoid using the Create 2D Toolpath options for your stock, or else you must besure to visually check your entry plunge moves.

Part Body: This option allows the system to generate optimized toolpath based on the selected body. Thereare four Part Body options for how the toolpath is generated. Any combination of these options may beselected. The system will start with the simplest, quickest one, try to generate toolpath, then move downthe list of selected items to the next option if the current option fails. When this option is inactive, thesystem produces 3D toolpath from all solids.

The model below is ideally suited for 2D toolpath. The next four examples will show the toolpathgenerated using the various Part Body options on the same model. Without Create 2D Toolpath, standard3D toolpath is created as shown. A similar image will be used for each of the four options.

From 2D Body: This option will generate 2D toolpath (lines and circles)without the surface tolerance deviation, provided that all of the facesselected are 2D. It makes high-quality 2D toolpath very quickly. Note thata horizontal chamfer or f illet is not 2D.

In order for the From 2D Body option to work, either the entire body orall faces of a pocket must be selected. No passes above the part will begenerated and all Z steps will be uniform—there will not be a variablestep. The From 2D Body has limited undercut protection, no constraint face protection, no f ixtureprotection and can fail due to complex face edges. If a partial body selection is made, (faces are selectedinstead of the entire body), it is recommended that Use Stock be turned off.

1. Clear Entry with undercut protection2. Clear Entry without undercut warning3. Stock4. Part

Figure 33: Undercut protection in a T-shaped part

Model that is ideal for 2D toolpath Standard 3D Toolpath

Machining

74

Slice Offset Body: This option will accept any shape body with 2D or 3Delements. It is relatively fast and produces high-quality 2D toolpath. Thisoption will work on all selected faces including 2D, 2.5D and 3D but only2 and 2.5D faces will produce optimized toolpath. Note that this is theonly choice that produces 2D toolpath from 2D and 2.5D faces. A 2.5Dface is a face that can result in a 2D toolpath from an XY plane slice at aspecif ic Z level. This 2D toolpath may be different at each Z level.Examples include spheres, cones, Z-axis revolved bodies, and some sweptbodies.

In order for the Slice Offset Body option to work, the entire body or all faces of a pocket must beselected. Additionally, all selected faces must be able to offset by the tool’s corner radius amount. If theselected faces fail to be offset by the tool’s corner radius, Slice Offset Body will not work. The probablecause is that faces at concave corners are smaller than the offset amount. If Slice Offset Body succeedsin its offset calculation, it will generate all toolpath and will skip any other Create 2D Toolpath choices.Slice Offset Body does not protect against undercutting, constraint faces or f ixtures. If a partial bodyselection is made (faces are selected instead of the entire body), it is recommended that Use Stock isoff.

2D on Top, Replace on Bottom: This is intended for bodies that have a topZ range that is entirely 2D but then transition to 3D below this range. The2D on Top, Replace on Bottom option will use From 2D Body methodsfor the top Z range and Replace TP with 2D Sections below that. Thisoption is intended to improve performance in pockets that are primarily2D with a complex floor. This option does a good job of cleaning up slow3D toolpath where 2D and 2.5D faces have failed.

Replace TP with 2D Sections: This will produce a combination of 2D and3D toolpath. There are no restrictions on the shapes the option can workfrom.

The Replace TP with 2D Sections option will produce a 2D range down toa depth where 3D toolpath will be needed. The From 2D Bodyoptimization option will be used to within the tool’s corner radius in Z ofthe start of the 3D range. 3D toolpath will be generated from this Z leveldown. This may produce some 3D toolpath on 2D faces near the transition area in Z, but is safer thangouging the part.

This option works best with single pockets as opposed to a large and complex group of faces that maytransition from 2D to 3D at different Z depths in different areas. This option can signif icantly reducetoolpath generation time as the From 2D Body option is extremely fast but slowed on toolpathrequiring many moves.

Limitations of Create 2D ToolpathUndercut protection: 3D toolpath has undercut protection and will not allow the tool to cut a section of thepart if doing so violates a higher area of the part. This includes a wall with grooves, a mushroom-shaped part,or blind features such as a pocket on the backside. This is why it is a good idea not to select backside faceswhen using Create 2D toolpath options. Some of the 2D methods do not have this protection. Undercutprotection on a stock body has a different effect than undercut protection on a part body. On a part body,undercutting will gouge the part. Undercutting on a stock body may fool a tool into plunging into overhanging

Machining

75

material, because it thinks there is no material at the Z level being machined; this does not cause a part gouge.Undercut protection eliminates both potential problems.

Constraint Face Protection : 3D toolpath will not gouge an unselected face on the same body. Some of the 2Dmethods do not have this protection. Without this capability, you cannot cut one face of a square pocket, asstarting at the face’s edge will cut into its unselected neighbor.

Fixture Protection : 3D toolpath will not cut into a f ixture body or face. Some of the 2D methods do not havethis protection and will ignore f ixtures.

Despite these limitations (listed on the following pages with the appropriate function), there are many partsthat do not need this protection, and the advantages of a 2D toolpath for prismatic solids are signif icant.

Figure 34: Areas of a part that may cause undercut problems

Machining

76

OPEN SIDES TABThe system has an enhanced ability to machine open-sided pockets. Thisability as it relates to geometry is fully detailed in the Mill Manual. WithSolidSurfacer, geometry does not necessarily need to be created or def ined as“air” for this function to work. The part’s stock will function as “air” geometry,and bodies will function as “wall” geometry.

Both the Contouring and Roughing (with the exception of Face Milling)dialogs includes an Open Sides tab to specify parameters for open sides.

Overhang: This option only applies while roughing, and allows users to specify anamount that a tool will overlap the part’s stock to clean up edges that mightotherwise have a ridge. If this f ield is left empty, the system will automaticallyoverhang the tool on the stock by the tool’s cutting radius. This is also themaximum allowable value. Small values are best for normal roughing; large valuescan leave small ribbons of material for the last pass to clean up.

Minimum Cut: This option determines the smallest amount of material to removealong the outside of the material def inition to complete a toolpath. The minimumallowable value is the tool’s cutting radius.

Clearance: This f ield allows users to specify the distance from an open-sided pocketfrom which a tool will enter.

To machine this model, a pocketing process will be created along with drilled entryholes. This will all be done from one routine. The routine will consist of threeoperations: a hole operation and two pocketing operations. Note that the toolpathextends to and rides on the stock diagram.

When the operation is rendered, we see that only one entry hole is drilled for thepocket that is bounded by the model. The model acts as a “wall” to the operation.Thus, the tool will start at the center and work its way outward. In this image we also see that the outer pocket,which has no boundary, only “air,” has been started from an edge and the tool is working inward.

Machining

77

Once the open-sided pocket is complete, the system moves on to the bounded pocket. Note that this operationis machining outward.

Machining Tips

• Remember the stock hierarchy: temporary stock (Machining palette), stock body, workgroupstock, workspace stock.

• Deselect undercut faces for 2D toolpath.

• When Use Stock is active, a pocket in a solid can be machined by simply selecting the face thatcomprises the floor of the pocket.

• If a part with Corner Cleanup is saved to an earlier version of the system, the operation can be lost.This is because there is no compatible operation in earlier versions. The Corner Cleanup operationmay be viewed, output to geometry and posted but if the operation is redone or if Redo All Ops isselected, the operation will be deleted.

• When performing a Roughing or Contouring operation, there is a very small chance that theactual tolerance may be off from the machining tolerance by up to 70%. This is most likely to occurat sharp corners. If this is the case, try tightening the machining tolerance by 50%. If a f inishingoperation remains to be performed, there is nothing to do as the remaining stock is greater thanany deviation in the tolerance.

Machining

78

SOLID MODELING

Solid Modeling

81

CHAPTER 5 : Solid ModelingABOUT THE TUTORIALSThis chapter contains step by step instructions for creating models for a variety of parts. The models in thischapter will be machined in the Machining Exercises so be sure to save them for later use. Themeasurements for these models can be found at the end of this manual.

#1: 2.5D CAP• Create a new part named “Cap.vnc”with the dimensions shown.

• Open the Solid Modeling palette.

• Open the Create Solid palette.

• Open the Cuboid dialog.

• Enter the data in the Cuboid dialog as shown andclick the Do it button.

Pressing the Stock Dim. button will enter mostof the data so that only the Max Z f ield needsto be changed.

Solid Modeling

82

• Create the rectangle shown.

• Double-click the cube to place it in the BodyBag.

• Switch to the home view (Ctrl+H).

• Create the circle shown.

• Select the circle and choose Plug-Ins > GeoTools >Segment Circle. Enter 4 for the number of sections.

• Choose Modify > 2D Rotate and enter the valuesshown and click the Do it button.

• Open the Create Solid palette and the loft

dialog.

Solid Modeling

83

• Ctrl+click the sync points shown.

Select each point in sequence and in the direction of the loft, from the circle to the square.

Alignment points are used to determine how the shapes will be aligned and blended. Alignment pointsmust be selected in the right order. Alignment points can be selected in two ways, selecting alignmentpoints from shape to shape or select a single shapes alignment points, in order, followed by the nextshape in the same order.

• Subtract the loft from cube

• Create the Rectangle with the Fillet Radius shown.

• Open the CS list.

• Create CS2 and label it “XZ plane”.

• Open the CS palette.

Method 1 - Shape Sequence Method 2 - Shape to Shape

First shape Second pointFirst point

Third pointFourth point etc.

Solid Modeling

84

• Click the XZ button.

• Switch to the home view (Ctrl+H).

• Create the profile geometry in the XZ plane.

• Switch to XY plane.

• Switch to the isometric view (Ctrl+I) anddouble-click the cube base to place it in theBody Bag.

• Select the profile and open the Sweep Solid

dialog.

• Place the Base Curve pointer on therectangle with fillets and click the Do itbutton.

• Open the Rectangle dialog and enter thefollowing dimesions.

• Select the square and create the extrusion shown.

Solid Modeling

85

• Subtract the tapered extrusion from sweep.

• Switch to the XZ plane.

• Create the points shown.

• Create the 40mm arc terminated between thetwo points as shown.

• Select the arc and Revolve the arc with thefollowing information.

• Switch to the XZ plane and choose Modify > Translate.

• Select the revolve, enter the following information and click the Do it button.

• Subtract revolve from sweep

Note that the sweep is now two disjunct shapes but onemulti-lump body.

• Select the sweep and Separate it.

• Add the swept shapes to the modified

cube.

• Turn on edge selection.

• Save the part file.

Th

e C

ha

lle

ng

e Solid Modeling

86

#2: BUILDING A SPHERICAL ELLIPSETHE CHALLENGEYou need to create a concave elliptical where the lowest point is in the center.

THE PROBLEMThe print specif ies values for one quadrant of the 3Dshape; this is how we might normally go aboutbuilding the part, one quadrant at a time. We build thef irst quadrant and then create a “Coons Patch”between the geometry. We then duplicate and mirrorthe Coons Patch sheet over the X and Y center linesand stitch the sheets together. This result looks like thef inished shape we want.

However, there is a problem with this modelthat cannot be clearly seen until the part ismachined. If you turn on “Show Edges”, youcan see the intersecting lines running throughthe model. These intersecting lines runparallel to the X and Y axes at the centerline.When the part is machined, these lines willshow up as if they have been magnif ied. Themodel, not the machining, is the cause of theproblem.

Is this problem unique to GibbsCAM? No, thisis the result of poor modeling techniques andwill be reproduced in any other CAD or CAD/CAM system unless a better set of modelingtechniques is used. GibbsCAM is machiningthe model exactly as it was built.

THE SOLUTIONTo create a single continuous 3D flowing shape we will create a “3 Point Arc” on the XZ CS, another “3 PointArc” on the YZ CS and then Sweep a sheet over these two arcs. Follow the steps below:

Step #1• Create an XZ plane.

• Create points at X–35, Y0, Z0 then at X0, Y0, Z–8 and lastly X+35, Y0, Z0.

• Select the points we just created.

• Create a “3 Point Circle” (the circle will have a radius of 80.563mm).

• Terminate the circle with the points at X–35 and X+35.

Th

e S

olu

tion

Solid Modeling

87

Step #2• Create a YZ plane.

• Create points at Y–25, Z0, X0 then Y0, Z–8, X0 and Y25, Z0, X0.

• Select the points we just created.

• Create a “3 Point Circle” (circle will have a radius of 43.063mm).

• Terminate the circle with the points at Y+25 and Y-25.

Step #3• Switch to the XY plane.

• Open the Surface Modeling palette.

• Open the Sweep Sheet dialog.

• Set the sweep options as shown.

• Place the base curve pointer on thecurve shown and double-click theother curve as the drive curve.

• Click the Do It button to create thesheet.

• Create a cube based on the workspacestock size.

Th

e S

olu

tio

n Solid Modeling

88

• Slice the cube with the swept sheet.

Now you have a continuous shape which does not havequadrant intersections. Turn on Edge Selection and you willonly see the edges of the spherical ellipse at the top surfaceof the body. There are no edges in the middle of the sphericalellipse like we saw with the quadrant building technique. Youmay machine as desired (the sample part uses a lace cut) andyou will not see any lines in this area as you did before.

• Save the file.

Pa

rt C

re

atio

nSolid Modeling

89

#3: REPLACE HISTORYIn this tutorial we are going to modify a model to create a pocket. We will machine the pocket with savedprocesses. After we machine the part we will import a new body that represents a redesigned pocket. UsingReplace, we will recreate the model and redo the machining.

PART CREATION• Open part file Swap Example.vnc.

This part f ile has 2 bodies — Block and Cavity. Cavity is currentlynot visible as it is in the Body Bag.

Saved ProcessesThe f irst thing we will do is make thesaved processes available for use.

• Open the ..SampleParts\Solids\Required\Swap Examplefolder and copy the Swap Processesfolder to My Documents.

Placing the saved processes here willmake it easy to f ind them when we needthem.

• Select Processes > Set Directory. Openthe My Documents folder and choose theSwap Processes, folder.

Unstitching and Subtracting “Pocket”

We are going to unstitch the bodynamed “Cavity” to close off the shape, thereby creating a core. The interior topology is not important; itis the exterior shape we will be subtracting from the Block.

• Turn on face selection and right-click the bottom flatface of the pocket body.

• Choose the Select Faces Above option.

All faces inside the pocket except the flats on top of thebosses should be selected.

• Select the two flat tops of the bosses, as shown.

Block

Cavity

Opposite isometric view (Ctrl+Alt+I)

Ma

ch

inin

g t

he

Pa

rt

Solid Modeling

90

• Click the Unstitch button.

This results in two solids.

• Select and delete the smaller of the two resulting solids.

We do not need the core that was created, but we need the f illed pocketbody.

• Subtract the filled cavity from the Block.

MACHINING THE PARTLoading Processes.• From the Process menu select 1) Rough Pocket.prc.

This creates a tool and a process that will rough the pocket.

• Select the faces in the pocket the same way weselected the faces for the unstitch and create thetoolpath.

• Deselect the operation and delete the process tile.

• From the Process menu select 2) Finish Pocket.prcand create the toolpath.

• Render the operation.

• Deselect the operations and place the model in theBody Bag.

Mo

dify

ing

the

Pa

rt

Solid Modeling

91

MODIFYING THE PARTImporting the Changed Pocket

We are now going to import a modelthat is a different pocket shape. Wewill use the Replace function toinsert it where the f illed Pocket bodywas used.

• Import the file Large Cover.x_t fromthe Swap & Replace folder with theoptions shown.

Replacing the Model History• As with the smaller pocket shape, right-click the bottom face and choose Select Faces Above and then

select the tops of the two bosses.

• Unstitch the solid to fill it and delete the smaller solid.

• Extract the smaller filled pocket from the History of the Block.

• Select the filled Large Cover solid then the smaller filled pocket. Click theReplace button.

You will not see any changes but you may bewondering why we had to unstitch the largerpocket. Shouldn’t we be able to just extract theoriginal smaller body and replace that? Theanswer is, in this case, no. The modeler is not ableto match up the faces of the two bodies. If we wereusing a function that was not face-dependent(translate, booleans, etc.) we could just select thetwo original bodies and perform a swap or replace.

• Right-click the Block model and choose Rebuild.

Redoing the OperationsNow we will update the operations based on thenew model.

• Select Edit > Redo All Ops and render the part.

• Save the file; it is complete.

Mo

dif

yin

g t

he

Pa

rt

Solid Modeling

92

MACHINING SOLIDS

Pa

rt S

et-U

pMachining Solids

95

CHAPTER 6 : Machining SolidsABOUT THESE TUTORIALSThe part models for all of the following exercises were created in the Modeling Exercises chapter of thismanual. If you have not gone through those exercises and created the solid models for these parts, youshould do that now. We assume you are familiar with the interface and the principles presented in the Milland Advanced CS Modules. If you are unfamiliar with that information please read through those manualsbefore attempting the following tutorials.

All parts in these exercises are assumed to be made of cast aluminum alloys. The feeds and speeds are alldefaults, based on the CutDATA™ values. The exercises do not provide a step for setting the material but ifyou have CutDATA, please set the part material when you open the part f ile. If you do not have CutDATAsimply use the default material — stainless steel. The feeds and speeds may be set by clicking on thecalculation buttons.

POCKETS AND CONTOURSIn this exercise, we will use a pocketing process to rough the part. The part will be f inished using Contouroperations on the whole body and selected faces.

PART SET-UP• Open the 2.5D Solids part created in modeling exercises. Set the

Global Settings as shown.

• Ensure that the part has a Clearance Plane value of 15mm.

• Create the following tool list.

# Type Total Length Diameter Bottom Radius # Flutes Flute Length Material1 Face Mill 50mm 50mm 0mm 5 11.5mm HSS2 Rough EM 92mm 16mm 0mm 3 32mm TiN Coated3 Finish EM 66mm 10mm 2mm 3 16mm TiN Coated

Ma

ch

inin

g t

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

96

MACHINING THE PART#1, Face Milling

First we will Face Mill the part.

• Create this roughing process with tool #1.

This will clear off the top of the part. Face Millingis not dependent on having a solid to machine.Face milling machines either selected geometry orthe workspace stock.

• Create the toolpath.

#2-3, Pocketing• Create this Roughing process with tool #2.

When all of the options are set, create the operation.

The Use Stock option will trim the toolpath to the stock condition. Since this is an open pocket we canget some drastically different results. If you wish to see the difference, try re-doing the operation withUse Stock off.

The Rough tolerance setting allows us to generate toolpath faster with looser tolerances. This will bef ine since we’re going to f inish the surface in the next group of operations.

Ma

ch

inin

g th

e P

ar

tMachining Solids

97

• Create the toolpath and render.

This process creates two operations.

#4-5, ContouringWe will now do the f irst of two sets of contouroperations to f inish the prof ile.

• Create this Contour process with tool #3.

The Desired Z Step determines how smooth thewall will be. Alternatively, the Ridge Heightoption can be used to specify the part’ssmoothness. Often the rendered part is far moreaccurate in showing any scallops that are on thepart than our eyes can discern.

Ma

ch

inin

g t

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

98

• Create the toolpath and render.

This operation produces smoothtoolpath that wraps around thewalls of the part. When renderedyour part should look similar to theimage to the right. Because wespecif ied Depth First, the toolpathis completed around one wallbefore rapiding over and machiningthe other.

#6, ContourThe last operation will contour the inner pocket.

• Modify the existing Contour process as shown.

• Turn on face selection mode.

Pa

rt S

et-U

pMachining Solids

99

• Select the faces of the angled pocket.

• Create the toolpath and render.

• Save the part.

#2: THE HOT PUNCHThe Hot Punch will only have one operation — a projected engraving operation. The part consists of astock body. We will create a text shape and project the contour toolpath onto the model.

PART SET-UPDocument Control Dialog• Open the Hot Punch.vnc part. Set the global settings as shown.

• Ensure that the part has a Clearance Plane value of 15mm.

Tool List• Create the following tool.

# Type Total Length Diameter Corner/Tip # Flutes Flute Length Material1 3.15mm Center Drill 31.5mm 3.15mm 118° 2 1.9mm Carbide Solid

Cr

ea

tin

g O

pe

ra

tio

ns

Machining Solids

100

CREATING OPERATIONS#1: Engraving

We will create text and engrave the top face of the part. The contouring process provides for centerlinemachining of all selected shapes which include text and artwork. Contouring operation toolpaths canbe projected on to sheets and bodies.

We will need to create text geometry that can be machined. The system can create spline geometryfrom any TrueType font. You may need to set the directory that contains the fonts for your system.There is a Set Font Directory item in the Preferences submenu which allows you to designate adirectory that contains your system fonts. The Moorpark TrueType font used in this exercise is shippedwith each order.

• Open the Text Creation dialog from the Shape palette inthe Geometry Creation palette.

• In the Text Flow tab select the clockwise arc.

• In the Text Flow tab enter the information shown.

• Click the Do It button to create the text.

If you have any problems with text creation, refer to theText Creation Exercise in the Geometry CreationManual.

• Select the text geometry.

• Create this Contouring process with tool #3.

When more than one shape is selected prior tocreating a contouring process, the systemautomatically assumes that you are doingengraving. When this is the case, several of theitems in the Contouring Process dialog will begrayed out. The Z Stock option is used in thiscase so that the engraving toolpath will cut intothe selected body. The toolpath generated by theoperation will be shifted down along the Z axisonly by the amount specif ied. The toolpath itselfwill be projected onto the surface of the bodyand then will be shifted down in Z to cut into thebody.

Cr

ea

ting

Op

er

atio

ns

Machining Solids

101

• In the Options tab enter the information shown.

• Ctrl+click the model.

The text and the model should both beselected. When 2D geometry and a solid orsheet are selected for the cut shape of aprocess, the toolpath will be a projection ofthe 2D toolpath onto the body or sheet.

• Create the toolpath

• Render the operation.

Ab

ou

t th

e P

ar

t Machining Solids

102

#3: THE BASEABOUT THE PARTThis part is intended to help you become familiar with two important tools - the Prof iler and usingconstraint shapes and faces.

• Open the part file Base.vnc.

This part has an existing stock condition and twogroups of operations including two drillingoperations and a roughing operation. Drilling in2.5D Solids, as with the standard Mill package, isaccomplished with geometry or the Hole Wizard sowe do not need to go over the Holes process.

The roughing operation uses a combination ofcontainment faces to achieve the desired results.Let’s look at how this works.

Part Set-UpThe part should be ready for you to apply operationsto it but to be safe we will go over certain aspects.

• Ensure that the part is using a 5 Axis Vertical Mill MDD,that the Clearance Plane is set to 350mm and the Global Settings are as shown.

The part has four tools as detailed below.

# Type Total Length Diameter Bottom Radius/Tip # Flutes Flute Length Material1 Drill 260mm 80mm 90° 2 n/a TiN Coated2 Drill 260mm 40mm 118° 2 n/a TiN Coated3 Rough EM 121mm 25mm 0mm 3 45mm TiN Coated4 Finish EM 72mm 10mm 0mm 3 22mm TiN Coated

Ma

ch

inin

g T

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

103

MACHINING THE PARTOp 3, Roughing• Double-click operation #3.

• Turn on Face Selection and deselect the top flat face as shown.

• Redo the operation.

The results are very different. By deselecting the face we havetold the system that face is a constraint and we cannotmachine by it.

• Reselect the top face and Re-do the operation to return it to itsoriginal state.

Ma

ch

inin

g T

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

104

Ops 4-6, Rough & ContourWe will now create a roughing and contouringprocess group to machine the angled face.

• Switch to CS2.

• Create this roughing process with tool #3.

The Surface Z and Depth Z values are acquiredby interrogating the top of the circular boss andthe large flat angled face. If your machining CS isset to something other than CS 2 you may getdifferent results.

Ma

ch

inin

g T

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

105

• Create this contour process with tool #4.

As usual, the rotations information isautomatically acquired.

• Select All (Ctrl+A) the entire model, thendeselect the two faces that define the hole in theboss.

We have already drilled out this hole and wedon’t need to waste toolpath on it.

• Create the operations.

You can see that we have some toolpath that isnot necessary. We forgot to select the constraintgeometry.

Ma

ch

inin

g T

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

106

• Ctrl+double-click on the “air” geometry and redo theoperation.

These results are more desirable. You may get an errormessage. If you do, you can ignore it. This toolpath createsmoves that are partially out of the stock boundary so thesystem is warning us of this.

Op 7, Contouring with the ProfilerThe last thing we will do is use the Prof iler to machine aselected area of the part. Operation #3 leaves stock on therounded wall.

• Switch to the XZ plane.

• Activate the Profiler.

• Turn off the Coordinate system grid.

You will f ind it easier to see and work with the Prof iler if theCS grid is off.

• Right-click the profile grid and choose Profiler Depth.

• Interrogate the face shown and click the Apply button.

Unfortunately at this depth the Prof iler does not see therounded wall. We will have to manually move the Prof iler.

• Click anywhere on the Profiler’s grid and drag the Profiler to alocation in the center of the rounded wall, as shown.

Ma

ch

inin

g T

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

107

• Create a Contour process with tool #4 as shown.

The Final Z depth can be acquired byinterrogating the same face we tried to use forthe Prof iler depth.

• Click the Profiler and set the machining markersas shown, then create the operation.

You may f ind it necessary to go to the Home view to get themarkers in the correct location.

Ma

ch

inin

g T

he

Pa

rt

Machining Solids

108

• Render the operations.

• Save this part.

APPENDIX

Appendix

111

CHAPTER 7 : AppendixGLOSSARY

2D Solid Model Also referred to as a prismatic body. A 2D solid is an XY shape extruded in Z, for example acircle produces a cylinder. All Z slices produce the same shape, and the slice of a cylinderface produces a circle segment.

2.5D Solid Model

A solid that has all 2D or 2.5D analytic faces and can be cut with a series of 2D toolpaths (ofvarying shapes) at different Zs, producing analytic toolpath feature output from underlyinganalytic model faces.

3D Solid Model A term used for any model that exceeds the 2.5D solid model def inition including parts withvariable radii and f illets at an angle.

Alignment Points

Alignment points are also referred to as sync points. The selection of alignment points isused with the lofting and sweeping modeling functions. Alignment points indicate how thesystem will blend the selected shapes into a solid or sheet.

Analytics This term is used to describe surfaces that are def ined by a precise mathematical equation.Some examples of analytic surfaces include spheres and cylinders. Analytic surfaces are lessmathematically complex than parametric surfaces and are therefore easier for the system tohandle. Because analytic surfaces are completely def ined by simple equations, it is mucheasier and faster to perform modeling functions such as rounding and boolean operationson analytic bodies. Often times when bodies or surfaces are imported into the system, theyare converted from analytic surfaces to parametric surfaces. The Solids > Tools > Simplifyoption will attempt to convert any parametric surfaces back into analytic surfaces within atolerance amount.

Atomic Bodies Atomic bodies are also referred to as primitive bodies. Atomic bodies are bodies that werecreated using the standard modeling functions available in the Create Body palette. Atomicbodies are not created from the combination of other bodies using boolean operations.Examples of atomic bodies include spheres, cuboids, revolved bodies and extrusions.

Body The term “body” is a generic term that refers to both solids and sheets. A solid body can bethought of as a bowling ball, while a sheet body is more like a balloon with an inf initely thinwall.

Body Bag The Body Bag is used as a storage place for bodies and sheets in order to keep the Workspaceas uncluttered as possible. Double-clicking on a body or sheet in the Workspace will placethat entity in the Body Bag. The Body Bag is accessed by clicking the Body Bag button in theTop Level palette. Bodies and sheets are represented as icons when they are in the Body Bag.Similar to standard desktop icons, they can be dragged within the Body Bag and alsodragged back into the Workspace. Bodies and sheets contained in the Body Bag areconsidered active bodies, in that several functions (such as Boolean operations) can beperformed on them while they are in the Body Bag.

Appendix

112

Boolean Operations

Named for G. Boole, an English mathematician, Boolean operations are used to combinetwo entities (either bodies or sheets or some combination of the two) to create a new, singlebody or sheet. The Boolean operations contained in the system are addition, subtractionand intersection. Boolean operations are destructive, in that the initial two bodies selectedfor the Boolean operation are deleted and only the resulting body remains active in theWorkspace. The deleted bodies used in the Boolean operation become dormant bodies andcan be retrieved from the history tree. Non-destructive Booleans can be performed byholding down the Alt key. Non-destructive Booleans will generate the new body and placethe two original bodies used in the Boolean operation in the Body Bag.

Chord Height This term describes the method by which bodies and sheets are rendered on the screen.Solids must be faceted when they are rendered. Facets are small planar surfaces thatcompose the rendered modes. The chord height setting determines the number of facetsthat will be used to render a solid model. The smaller the faceting chord height, the morefacets that will be used to compose the model and the better the model will look on thescreen. The overall chord height used by the system is specif ied in the File > Preferences >Graphics dialog. Different chord heights can be applied to individual bodies and sheetsusing the Chord Height specif ication found in the Properties dialog. The chord height caneither be designated with the sliders or by entering a numeric value.

Coincident When two features (from points to surfaces) are located in the same position in space, theyare said to be coincident. For example, when two surfaces overlap and all points on onesurface also lie on the other surface within the area of overlap, these surfaces are coincident.Also, if two points are in the identical position in 3D space, these points are coincident.

Continuity This is a mathematical concept that the system uses to evaluate curves, usually used inreference to lofting and sweeping. Continuity refers to the smoothness of the curve. C0continuity signif ies that there are sharp corners in the selected curves. C1 continuitysignif ies that there are tangencies, but no corners.

Disjunct This term means that items are disjoined or separated, not touching at all. Multi-lumpbodies are composed of disjunct solid components. Tiles that are disjunct are not acontinuos order.

Edge This term refers to the line or curve between two adjoining surfaces. An edge of a solid musthave exactly two faces connected to it. In order for a body or sheet to be considered a validsolid object, it must have a single edge between all adjoining faces. The user can view andselect edges of bodies or sheets using the Edge Selection button located in the Taskbar.Several modeling and machining functions require the selection of edges, such as blending,drafting, stitching/unstitching, and intersection machining.

Edge Loop What bounds a surface def inition into a f inite bounded surface.

Face This is the term used for a single surface of a body or sheet. A Sheet face includes thepositive and negative sides while a solid only includes the positive side. Faces, however,contain more information than merely the surface def inition. Faces have knowledge of allneighboring faces and they are adjoined. For example, one side of a cube would beconsidered a face. Every face is bound by a loop, which is composed of all of the connectededges that bound the face. A simple face is bounded by one loop.

Geometric Modeling

The process of def ining a model with simple geometric constructions such as points, lines,circles and splines. Geometry can be def ined in either two- or three-dimensional space.

Appendix

113

Internal Edge An internal edge is one that is viewed from the inside of the model looking outward. Theconcept of internal versus external edges is useful when performing stitching operations onsheets. All edges that are successfully stitched become internal edges so that when the ShowInternal Edges checkbox is unselected, the only edges that will be displayed are externaledges. It is these external edges which still need to be stitched together. When performingstitching operations, turning off internal edge display provides the user with a method ofdetermining which edges were not successfully stitched together. All stitched edges becomeinternal edges.

Loft A lofted shape is created by selecting a series of shapes that will be blended together usingselected alignment points. Also referred to as skinning or blending

Loop This term refers to the bounding curve of a face. A loop is the series of connected edges thatprovides the boundary or trim for the face. A face is composed of a surface bounded by asingle loop. The faces of a body or sheet must have an adjoining edge in order for it to be avalid entity.

Modeling The process of def ining a part’s shape and dimensions on a computer. Common types ofmodeling include geometric modeling, solid modeling, and surface modeling.

Multi-lump bodies

These bodies are composed of disjunct solids—solid pieces that do not intersect at anypoint. Multi-lump bodies are considered one entity by the system and can be identif ied byselecting the body. If all or more than one of the disjunct pieces becomes selected, then it isa multi-lump body.

Parametric This term is used to describe more complex surfaces that are def ined within a given set ofparameters and not merely an equation. Parametric surfaces are often referred to as free-form surfaces. The system utilizes B-splines, which are a class of parametric surfaces. Whenmodeling functions such as lofting or Coons patch are used, the resulting entity is composedof parametric surfaces.

Primitive Bodies See “Atomic bodies”

Sheet A sheet is the modeling entity that represents a surface. A sheet contains more informationthan a surface because a sheet has knowledge of the neighboring surfaces that surround it.A sheet is represented as a single object. Sheets do not have any thickness or volume. Asheet is the graphical representation of a surface or collection of surfaces.

Solid A solid is a body composed of faces and the area enclosed by the faces. Solids have volume.Solids bodies are used as the building blocks in creating part models in GibbsCAM. Unlikesheets, solids only have a positive side. Solids can either be single bodies (lumps) or acollection of bodies (multi-lump body).

Solid Modeling The process of def ining a part as a solid object. The process begins with the creation of asimple solid known as an atomic or primitive body. Boolean operations can then beperformed on an atomic body to create a new, distinct body.

Surface A surface is either a face group of faces (depending on how the surface was created) of asolid or side of a sheet. Sheets have two surfaces.

Surface Modeling

The process of creating sheets as the foundation for a model.

Surface Trim The edge of an island or a cavity that is within the faces selected to be cut.

Lynch Points See “Alignment points”

Target Face A selected face on a body. This term is often used for a face that will be used in the selectionof other faces or for modif ication.

Appendix

114

Topology This is the term used in solid modeling to refer to how specif ic faces of a body arepositioned relative to other faces. Modeling functions that change the shape of a face do notnecessarily affect the topology, unless the function requires that a change be made to themanner in which the faces are connected together at their edges. For example, the numberof edges of the body is changed if the modeling function creates new faces, and thereforethe topology is changed.

Vertex A vertex is an endpoint of an edge.

Workspace The Workspace consists of the drawing window, which is the main portion of the screen,and the Body Bag. Bodies and sheets that are contained in one of these two locations aresaid to be active bodies. Modeling functions can only be performed on active bodies. Bodiesthat are no longer in the Workspace can often be retrieved from the History list.

PART PRINTS

117

Part

Pri

nt 1

: Sph

eric

al E

llips

e

C

B

A

88

35

25

A

B

C

20

6080

118

Part

Pri

nt 2

: 2D

Con

tour

R 7.0

25

R 6.0

9

40

40

26

21

R 13

15

R 130

R 130

R 25

53

R 4 R 4

INDEX

Index

121

NUMERICS1 Pass Stitch: 312.5D Solid Model: 52.5D Solids product: 32.5D Toolpath: 52D Chain: 162D curve: 372D Normal Base Curve: 37–382D on Top, Replace on Bottom, part body option: 742D Solid: 3, 52D Toolpath: 5, 72–75, 773D Chain: 163D curve: 373D Faces, Body Select context item: 163D Normal Base Curve: 373D Toolpath: 72, 74

AAddition function: 25, 46Advanced Settings: 18, 70

Clearances: 70Tolerances: 70

Advanced Solid Modeling palette: 33, 40Air Walls: 76Align Face To CS, Body Context menu: 15Alignment Points: 35, 38

definition of: 111Allow Mill Material Only: 67Analytic Geometry: 3Analytics, definition of: 111Atomic Body: 10, 15, 23–24, 33, 45, 51

definition of: 111Axis of Revolution, revolve solid: 35

BBag It, Body context item: 15Bag Selected: 17Base Curve: 37Blend edges, tip: 56

Blendingsee also Loftingsolid edges: 42

Body: 9Definition of: 4, 111

Body Bag: 10, 17, 24–25button: 9definition of: 111

Body Validity, Check: 14Boolean Operations: 10, 25, 52

definition of: 112Boundary: 16B-pointer marker: 37

CCap, solidify sheet: 38Chord Height: 11–12, 18

definition of: 112Clean Up Body Bag: 17Clear History: 15Clearance, open sides: 76Climb Cut: 70Closed Shape: 37Co-edge Modeling: 56Coincident, definition of: 112Collapse All (History): 17Commenting Bodies: 11Congruent Face Modeling: 56Constant Chamfer, solid: 42Constant Radius, solid: 42Constraint button: 63Constraint Face Protection: 75Constraint Faces

Clearance: 72Tolerance: 72

Constraints, body machining: 63Continuity, definition of: 112Contour Operations: 65Contour Process: 65, 70Contouring Process

Dialog: 70

Index

122

Conventional Cut: 70Coons Patch: 29, 31Coordinate Systems: 25Corner Cleanup: 77Create 2D Toolpath: 71–75

Limitations: 74Create Plug, unstitch: 43Create Solid palette: 24, 33Cuboid, solid: 24, 34Cut Part Rendering

Stock: 64Cut Shape: 63Cutting Direction: 70

DDCP (Drive Curve Plane) Alignment: 38Deselect: 13

Body Bag: 17Tangent Faces: 16Wall Faces: 16Workspace: 17

Desired Z Step: 71Destructive process: 25Diagnosing problems in solids: 14Difference, see SubtractionDisjunct, definition of: 112Document Control dialog: 64Dormant Bodies in History: 15Drive Curve: 37

Plane Alignment: 37

EEdge: 9, 31

definition of: 5, 112Edge Loop: 16, 30, 32

definition of: 112Edge Selection: 31

2D & 3D: 16Edge Tolerance: 31Enlarge Solid: 13Expand All (History): 17

Extrude: 24Solid: 34Solidify Sheet: 39

FFace: 9

Check: 32Definition of: 4, 112Validity, Check: 14

Face Selection: 30Face Selection mode: 15Faces Above, Body Select context item: 16Faces Below, Body Select context item: 16Faceting Tolerance: 18Facets: 18–19Fillets, Body Select context item: 16Fillets, creation tip: 56Finish Tolerance: 70Fixture

Display Only: 11Fixtures: 64

designating body as: 11–12Protection: 75

Flat Face: 16Floor Faces, Body Select context item: 16Floor Z: 66Floor/Wall Angle Tolerance: 16From 2D Body, part body option: 73

GG-code: 70Gen 2 Engine: 14, 62, 71Gen 3 Engine: 62, 71Geometric Modeling: 23

definition of: 112Geometry

As Stock: 64Boundary: 71Extraction: 49From Solids: 49

Geometry Extraction: 49

Index

123

Global Settings for Solids: 70

HHeal Only: 43Heal Solid: 42Healing Components: 44History: 10, 15, 17, 24, 26, 55

Characters: 51Names: 51

History list: 15, 45, 51–52History tree: 27Hole Extraction: 49

IIGES Files: 30Indicate Sheet Side button: 41Internal Edges: 31

Definition of: 113Intersection function: 25, 48Invert Selection, unstitch: 44

LLoft: 24

Definition of: 113Sheet: 29Solid: 35–36

LoopDefinition of: 5, 113

Lower boundary: 16Lump: 23Lump body: 51

MMachine Partially Selected Solids, Pocketing: 66Machining

Preferences: 67Processes: 63Selections (part, stock, fixture): 63Tips: 77

Machining Face Check: 14Machining Markers: 17, 70Machining Surface: 62Main palette: 9Material Only: 67–69, 72

3D operations: 67Multiple Shapes Method: 67Parameters: 67Tips for Solids: 69

Minimum Cut, open sides: 76Modeling, definition of: 113Modifying Bodies: 52–55Multi-lump bodies: 25, 46, 48, 51

definition of: 113Multiple Loops, unstitch: 44Multiple Passes Stitch: 14, 32Multiple properties dialog: 12Multiple Tries Stitch: 32

NNaming Bodies: 11Neighboring faces: 16Non-Atomic Bodies: 10Non-destructive Booleans: 25, 56NURBS: 14

OOffset

Shelling amount: 41Solid: 40–41Solidify sheet: 39Solidifying: 13

Offset function: 53Open Pocket Settings: 66Open Sides Tab: 76–77Open Terminated Shapes: 35, 37–38Open-Sided Pockets: 76–77Overhang: 76Override Global Settings: 70

Index

124

PPalettes

Main (Top level): 9Parametric, definition of: 113Parent Body: 10Part Body

Create 2D Toolpath option: 73–74Part button: 63Part Stock: 64Part, body definition: 11Part, designating body as a: 12Parting Line: 49–50Physical Properties of a solid: 11Planar Sheet: 28Plane, create: 28Planes, see Coordinate SystemsPlug-Ins: 14Primitive Body, see Atomic bodyPrimitive Solids: 23, 33Prismatic Shapes: 72Profiler: 9, 65

Context Menu: 17Selection options: 13Setting Depth: 17

Project 2D Toolpath: 70–71Properties dialog: 11–12, 19, 64Properties, Body context item: 15

RRebuild Body: 15, 26–27Rebuild function: 52, 54–55Recreate Body: 15, 26–27Recreate function: 52, 55Red Body: 15, 26Reduce Number of Sheets: 14Reduce Size of Solid: 13Remove Remaining Material, see Material OnlyRemove Unneeded Topology: 14Render Shaded Objects: 9Render/Wireframe button: 18

Rendering of Bodies: 18Replace Solid function: 25, 45, 52, 54Replace TP with 2D Sections, part body option: 74Resize All Icons, body bag: 17Revolve: 24

Sheet: 28Solid: 35

Ridge Height: 71Rough Tolerance: 70Roughing process: 66–70

Z step: 66Rounding solid edges: 42

SScallop height, see Ridge HeightSelect

All Profiles: 13Body Bag: 17Faces From Selected Profiles: 13Tangent Faces: 16Wall Faces: 16Workspace: 17

Select All Profiles, Profiler: 17Select Faces From Selected Profiles, Profiler: 17Select Faces Inside Selected Profiles, Profiler: 17Selecting

By Body Comment: 13By Body Name: 13Edges: 13Sheets: 13Solids: 13Walls From Selected Edges: 13

Separate function: 25, 48Sharp Swept Corners: 37Sheet: 9

Definition of: 4, 23, 113from Face: 30Toggle Side: 13

Sheet Side: 9Shell, Solid: 40Shell, solid: 41Show

Index

125

Solids: 9Show Internal Edges: 31Shrinkage: 13Simplify (NURBS Surface): 14Skinning, see LoftingSlice function: 45Slice Offset Body: 72

Part body option: 74Snap to Grid: 17Solid

Definition of: 4, 23, 113Solid Modeling: 23, 33

Definition of: 113Solid Modeling palette: 10, 33Solid Models: 3Solid Unstitch: 53

Options: 43Solidify: 24

Closed Sheets: 38Closed Surfaces: 39Sheets: 38–39

Solidify Sheets: 39Solids button: 9Solids tab: 70–75Sphere, solid: 24, 33Splines: 29Stitch

Multiple Passes: 32Multiple Tries: 32

Stitch Sheet: 31–32Stitch Utilities: 14Stock: 64

Defining: 64Designating body as: 11–12Display Only: 11Hierarchy: 77Ignoring: 66Local: 63Multi-lump Body: 64Temporary: 63–64Toolpath confined to: 66Workgroup: 64

Stock Body: 64

Create 2D Toolpath option: 72Stock button: 63Stock Shape: 64Stock, designating body as: 11Subtraction function: 25, 46Surface

Definition of: 4, 113Surface Area, calculating: 11Surface Entities: 3Surface Machining Tolerance: 18Surface Modeling: 23

Palette: 28Surface Modeling palette: 28Surface Normals: 41Surface Stock: 62, 71Surface Tolerance: 62Surface Trim

Definition of: 113Surface Z: 66Surfaces button: 9Surfacing Process: ??–77Swap function: 25, 45Swap Solid: 52Sweep: 24

Sheet: 30Solid: 37

Sweeping Plane: 38Synchronization Points: 35

See also Alignment Points

TTangent Faces, Body Select context item: 16Tapered Extrusion solid: 34Target Face: 16

Definition of: 113Taskbar: 9Temporary Stock: 64Tolerance

Solids Tab setting: 70Tool, moving past stock: 66Toolpath

Index

126

Deviation: 62Not cutting entire part, only the stock: 66

Toolpath, Trim: 70Tools menu: 14Top level palette: 9Topology: 41

Definition of: 114Transition Faces, Body Select context item: 16Trim Surface: 30Trimmed Surface Edges, Check: 14Trimmed Surface Polyline, Check: 14

UUn-Bag It, Body context item: 15, 57Un-Bag Selected: 17Undercut Faces: 77Undercut protection: 72, 74Union, see AdditionUnstitch

Components: 44Solid: 42, 44Surfaces: 32

Untrim Surface: 30Upper boundary: 16Use Cap, unstitch: 44Use Global Settings for Solids: 18Use Stock: 66, 77

VVariable Radius Rounding: 42Vertex: 16

Definition of: 5, 114Volume, calculating: 11

WWall Faces, Body Select context item: 16Wireframe Drawing: 18Wireframe View: 9Workgroups: 25

Workspace: 24–25, 45As Stock: 64Definition of: 114

ZZ Step: 71