Selecting surfaces for tool paths

[Stephen]

Hello all,

If I do a surface rough tool path and have to select a large quanity of surfaces how do I save the surface selection for a future finish operation?

Or if I choose one tool path and don't like the cutting results and want to change it to another style of tool path can this be done? There has to be a faster way...

 

Thanks...Steve

[Hardmill]

After creating your new op drag your geom. from

the old to the new.

Or I always pick drive surfs by colors--

Drive surf one color--Check surfs another.

 

PEACE

[crazy^millman]

Have you tired to take the selected surfaces and put them on a seperate layer then when you only want those surfaces for machine just have they layer on withthe bounding box? You could also change all of the surfaces to another color and then in your selction method you juts choose color and that should wrok also. You could do the same wit hthe color and blank the un wanted stuff. All kinds of ways which one will work for you is the answer. I hope that helps.

[Stephen]

These are great tips that I didn't know about. My mistake,my geometry is a solid not a surface. Is draging and dropping the best way since you can't choose drive or check geometry by color using solids?

 

Steve

[DavidB]

When you create the finishing toolpath.Toolpath -Surface - Change Drive to N this lets you create the toolpath with no surfaces then drag the Geometry from the rougher to the finisher toolpath.

 

[crazy^millman]

Oh but yes you can do this. If you only only wanting certain sufaces on the soild then you can create those surface from soild by create/surface/next meun/from soild and create the surfaces. Now it goes back to the levels or the blanks or color for section. If you can create a bouinding box using the outside of the surfaces then you can use that for certain surface toolpaths and then just select the whole soild as the toolpath using the boundary to control where it is machined. Problem with this is that is takes alot longer to process toolpaths on very big models but if you have 2 or 3 session of Mastercam running then you can use that quick and easy way to process toolpaths and going to the next thing. I have found though on slower computers better to make smaller than the other sessions of Mastercam so the one running is always visiable. For some reason every now and then it will just lock up if not showing through to the main screen.

 

HTH and good luck

[Dan Schnars]

save the surfaces you want in a "group" , name it whatever makes most sense to which surfaces are in it and just pick that group when you do your toolpaths... You could make groups of drive surfaces and groups of check surfaces... that might save you some time too.