SurfCAM 2-Axis AdvancedExercise focus:

- To show how to use the automatic rest material function.- To show some advanced dialog box operations.

PROJECT #4:This file is called 2dcover.dsn located in the surfcam\samples

directory.

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This is the first part we will be dealing with. The goal is to pocket the five internal profiles with a 2.00 e.m. Then to automatically have Surfcam detect where there is material left and machine the remaining material with a 1.00 e.m.

Chain these profiles using the pocket command.

Instead of going into the graphical tool selection interface, simply type 2.00 in this field.

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This area is a manual override to the tool library interface. This field will update the description located to the left of the tool button. (ver. 2001.1 or later)

Cut control tab information.

Set your depths to match mine, and also check the little check box in the lower right hand corner. The will tell Surfcam that you want it to automatically look for rest material.

The advantage to checking the box, rather than doing it as a separate operation, is that Surfcam will remember the material boundaries. This way you don’t have to re-chain the geometry, select the side, etc. it will remember and do what it needs to.

If you have done everything correctly, this dialog box should have popped open automatically. Set your tool diameter to 1.00, go to your cut control tab double check your depths of cut and hit ok.

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Double check these values and let it go.

At the end of this exercise you should:

- Be familiar with the dialog boxes in the tool information and cut control tabs.

- Know how to automatically rest machine a 2-d profile.

Once completed remove your tool paths from your operations manager.

PROJECT #5:

Exercise focus: - Apply a 5-degree taper to the four larger internal profiles.

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Notice how the 2.00 inch cutter was too large for all the selected areas. It made no attempt to drop the tool into that small pocket.

The 1.00 inch cutter however was able to machine in the small pocket. It also picked the corners from the other tool pockets. Surfcam remembered the boundaries which will save you a couple of steps along the way. If you know that the tools you are using are going to be too big to machine everything, check the machine leftover material button.

- Convert a tool path to usable geometry.- Learn how to use the geometry bottom selection.- Learn how to chain offset.

Exercise description

I want to take a .375 bull nosed tool and apply a 5-degree taper to the inside walls stepping down every .015. The problem is, I will be here all day cutting with such a small step down. So I want to take a .500 cutter and pocket out the large areas with aggressive step downs clearing the bulk material from the pockets. The problem is I do not know where to stop the pocket routine because of the taper that is going to put there.

So what we are going to do is put the taper on with a contour operation so we can find our boundary. Then we will convert the tool path to geometry and pocket from the new boundary.

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Only focus on the four larger profiles. Chain them as a contour operation.

Grab a .375 bull nosed tool .

Note the corner radius.

Key in 5 degrees here

When you hit ok and Surfcam asks you to select side to contour click to the inside, and look at your part from view 2.

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Set your step down to .015 here.

No finish passes or lead moves please.

Note the taper.

-It’s important to understand that what you represented on the screen when you see a tool path is the centerline of the tool.

-We need to keep only the bottom profile only once converted. You will need to delete the rest of the tool paths.

- We will be chain offsetting this bottom profile to the outside the radius of the tool we used to cut the profile.

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We are going to select the tool path we want to convert to actual usable geometry, and select the INC to geometry button.

-After all the extra passes are deleted and offset, it should look something like this.

-This profile represents the bottom of the cut. It is at a different z-level than the rest of the part profile.

-We need to tell Surfcam that we will

Chain the bottom profile with the pocket command as if you were chaining any other profiles for machining.

Top View

Set your tooling on the pocket routine like so.

-We will set our geometry setting to bottom. By telling it bottom, we tell surfcam to start above the geometry and cut down to the geometry.

-When geometry is set to top, the tool path will start at the geometry and cut below the

At the end of this session you should be able to:

- Apply taper angles to any 2-d profile with a pocket or contour operation.- Convert a tool path into usable boundaries for machining.- Understand how to use the geometry bottom and top settings in the cut

control tab. - Chain offset geometry profiles.

PROJECT #6:

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Tool path will start .750 above the chained profile and cut down to the profile .250 per pass.

Part profile

Tool path

Bottom profile

View 2

Exercise focus:

- Introduce the basics to view machining.

- Understanding how your construction view affects your posted G-code.

- Geometry settings Top-Z and Bottom –Z.

- Creating new views to emulate part orientation.

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-Initially we are going to focus on the front pocket, or view 2. -In order to view machine you are going to set the construction view to the orientation you want Surfcam to look at the part.-Notice how Surfcam is looking at the Z-axis.

There are a few important things that have to happen to do view machining.

- Set your c-view- Change your coordinates from world to view

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This is coordinate world will be looking at your part

This is coordinate view will be looking at your part

If you do not change the coordinate settings you can see Surfcam will not be looking at the part in the correct orientation.

Right about now, people say that my tool cannot do this. Oh yes it can. Look at the Z-axis. This is a vertical tool path. You have emulated the part being flipped on its side without actually flipping it.

Change your c-view to 5 and repeat the process on the green profile

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Note the axis orientation is vertical to the right side. Once again we have emulated a part flip without actually flipping the part.

Repeat the process for the red profile view 1.

Something you may not have caught. Notice your rapid plane setting for the view 5 machining. It set itself to 18 inches. It did this because of where Z zero is on this part. Notice the yellow axis gnome. It is at the bottom of the part looking from c-view 5.

Also note that I told it to cut 2.00 deep at .250 per pass. Lets see what the posted code looks like.

As you can see we are able to bring the part into verify and it will verify correctly, however the numbers that were generated in the G-code were not correct to run at

the machine unless we bump some offsets at the machine control.

What I want to show you next is a possibility of how to use the geometry settings.

Your immediate reaction is going to be, that looks wrong.

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In the posted code we were expecting to have the first depth of cut to be Z-.250. However if we look it is at Z16.75. It did this because of where Z0.00 is on this part and the part is 17 inches tall. If you were to touch your tool off to the bottom of your part you would be fine. However most people touch their tools off to the top of their parts.

Lets primarily focus on the tool path from c-view 5.

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I have regenerated my tool path, and changed the rapid plane to 1.00, and the geometry to 0.00. This tells Surfcam to ignore where the geometry is actually at, and put it to this absolute position.

This tool path clearly looks like it is in the wrong place. However remember that the programmed numbers are always coming from the zero coordinate.

Now we will do the paths the preferred way. We will set up our own views for machining the profiles from their respective orientations.

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In this posted code note the z-levels are indeed correct. However looking at the tool path on the screen it clearly looks like it is incorrect.

-As an advanced Surfcam user this is really no problem to understand. However as a new user this may see a bit scary. The bottom line is always remember that the posted numbers are relative to where zero is for that specific tool path.

-Another point to make here is that you will be unable to verify this tool path with the rest because it will show as a machine crash for obvious reasons.

-The first way we did this file, the tool paths looked in the correct spot. We could also verify the paths, however the posted numbers didn’t come out how we wanted them. The way we just tool pathed, our numbers will come out right, but it looks scary, and I

Create, view, 3 points. Read your prompt lines carefully.Things to note about

selecting pick points.

- The points chosen must represent the plane of machining.

- Know what you are picking. Don’t accidentally grab the wrong piece of geometry.

- You can put zero anywhere you want.

- The X positive pick is important. The X- axis will snap parallel to the vector between the first pick and the X positive pick.

- If your Z- axis is facing the wrong way, it was the X

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1st location on the X-axis

2nd location in the X-axis positive direction

3rd location in the Y-axis positive direction

When Surfcam prompts you for the local origin, it wants to know where you want zero to be. For this exercise, pick the same location as your first pick. Name it green profile machine view.Once completed set your C-view to 9, and your view to 7.

Notice how the axis gnome has moved. Keep in mind we did not move the part. We moved zero for a particular operation.

Notice how the rapid set itself to a better number automatically. Also I changed the geometry back to top.

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The tool path looks correct.I can get turn key posted G-code.I can verify the part with all tool paths displaying correctly.

Draw or open file called clamp.dsn.

I have modified the color of the top profile only for illustration.

I already know you could chain the bottom profile and call it geometry bottom.

I want you to chain the top profile however as a standard contour.

Exercise focus

- Contour cutting of non-planar geometry.

- Sine plate fixturing for verification purposes.

- View creation on an arbitrary plane.- Chaining options- Open profile machining- Chaining directions’ influence on tool

path out come.

PROJECT #7:

Now re-chain the geometry once setting that option.

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Notice how it will only chain the planar elements. The elements that are planar with the construction view.

You need to go to the chain options dialog box located in the nc, 2 axis, contour, chain options.

When chain planar elements is set to yes, it will only allow things to be chained within the current construction view. When set to no, it will look on multiple planes.

Surfcam is now attempting to get around the profile. Because you told it to look to multiple planes it is unsure which direction it should go.

Notice your prompt line reads “branch point found, select next element or end to finish.”

Simply select the next element you need it to follow by clicking on that element on the screen. You will have to do this until you get all the way around.

Click

My intentions initially are to position this part on a sine plate to machine the taper.

We need to emulate the part being tipped with out actually tipping it. We will create a view for this.

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Contour the outside profile and inside slot using a .375 end mill.

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A few things to point out.Notice how the X-axis is parallel to the long edge.Notice that the Z-axis has the slope of taper.

I placed zero where it is at for visual effect only. I would probably have zero in a different position in real life.

Use the create view three point method and try to emulate this view.

Remember the X-axis positive direction is very important.

Machining that taper.

Chain only the line on the top edge. Chaining direction is very important. If not done correctly the tool path will go the wrong direction.

You need to tell it that there is stock on the sides.

You need to tell it geometry bottom.

You need to give it a -.050 stock to leave on the sides.

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Tell it geometry bottom so I can take two passes on the profile.

The amount of material in Z-axis varies. I told it there was .250 and to take it in .225 passes. It will start above the profile and cut down to the profile.

I also had it over cut the profile so it didn’t leave a lip once completed.

I told surfcam there was an extra amount of material on the sides so it will take multiple passes on the geometry chained.

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Now your boss comes in and says, “why do you have that thing on the sine plate?” “Stand that thing on edge and machine from the edge orientation.

Exercise tasks

- Create a view with a similar orientation

- Machine the taper form this new view.

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First pick location on X axis.

Second pick location in the X-positive direction.

Third pick locations in the Y- positive direction.

Local origin is the intersection of these two lines.

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Same outcome different set up technique.