solids vs. surfaces

[jason martin]

What is advantage of solid over surface. Or surface over solid. I am have heard Cam-Tool is more accurate because of how it calculates toolpath. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[New Job]

What are you really asking? Is one package better than the other? -OR- How does surface vs solid compare in Mcam?

 

[jason martin]

How does surface vs solid compare in Mcam? Is main question but I guess I am curious in comparison of software also.

[jason martin]

I currently use X MR2 and I like alot. But have heard Cam-Tool is better for hardmilling. I like flexability of mastercam. Ability to do everything in one software and program is big plus for me. Also will mastercam become more precise and smoother in future.

[Hardmill]

I hear its a great product, and yes its geared for hardmilling.

The little ive seen the trocoidal toolpaths are great.

 

Your not going to get everything that MC has to offer with it though.

 

 

PEACE

[beej]

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Also will mastercam become more precise and smoother in future.

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I'm assuming from your questions that cam-tool outputs spines rather than just point to point. that does make the program smoother but a lot of machines still don't handle splines yet anyway. but you can change mastercam tolerances to anything you want and your paths will calculate accordingly. keep in mind that a tolerance of .001 is acutally .0005 per side so if you choose to use .0001 your deviation is actually .00005 per side thats pretty smooth in my industry.

[LaszloK]

I find solids machining is a whole lot easier than surface machining in mcam. This assumes the solid is a good mcam solid. The basic reason is that a solid is one entity that is aware of itself and has one orientation. This explanation could be expanded and I'm sure there are other forum members who feel the exact opposite.

[Kannon]

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I'm sure there are other forum members who feel the exact opposite.

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yep.. that would be me... I love machining surfaces much better then solids. I create solids then turn them into surfaces.. thats just me. I feel I have better control with the toolpaths with surfaces.

jm2c

[Guest]

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I create solids then turn them into surfaces..

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I feel I have better control with the toolpaths with surfaces.

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There are times and situations where this is exactly the case. Sometimes it's easier to get something done with a surface and other times a solid will do just fine.

 

You really need to have both of these options in your bag of tricks

[heavychevy2155]

it is easier to see your drive surfaces with surface machine over solids, most of the time its easier to modify a solid than surfaces. You also have the boolean tools and history tree.

[Keith @ Solid Code Solutions]

quote:

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There are times and situations where this is exactly the case. Sometimes it's easier to get something done with a surface and other times a solid will do just fine.

 

You really need to have both of these options in your bag of tricks

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+1000

[P_Scott]

jason martin,

 

I agree with both LasloK and John Paris on this one. Surfaces are still good to work with if you don't have to modify the model at all. Solids is better if there are minor changes, such as fillet sizes, and quickly regenerate the program. Having both gives you the most flexibility.

 

Most CAD software today uses some form of solid modeling. Being able to quickly read in the "native" file format as a solid and manipulating the model to position it for machining is much easier when you have Solids in Mcam. I was trying to explain this to a customer just yesterday and what should've taken a few seconds, was taking many minutes because they didn't have the license for Solids in Mcam. HTH

[New Job]

Does MC still convert solids to surfaces when calculating toolpaths?

 

[Roger Peterson]

Jason, probably the biggest differences between solids and surfaces, when it comes to machining them, is that surfaces have gaps between them, even though it may be very small. Solids do not. If you have a gap between two surfaces of .001" and your finishing with a .125" diameter ball endmill the gap is not a problem. If you are finishing with a .006" ball endmill a .001" gap will be noticeable.

 

 

Adaptive Clearing for Mastercam is very desireable for roughing out hardened steel.

 

Give me a call if you have any questions.

[kinglouie V]

how much time does it take to translate a solid model on the screen compared to the same surface model. any difference?? intresting to me to see the answer to this one.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Depending on the complexity, solid modeling can be VASTLY faster than surface modeling. There are still situations where surfacing is king, and I'm just thankful I got into the industry when surface modeling was the prevalent technology for creating 3D objects. I think the people getting into it these days have only had exposure to solid modeling which puts them at a severe disadvantage when having to model organic shapes.

 

Gotta have and use both.

 

JM2C

[Müřlıń®]

Surfaces do not have all that security crapola to slow you down ......YET......

[LaszloK]

Surface machining used to be the only alternative with the CAD/CAM packages I was using. I now have 5 years using mastercam solids for mold cavities and have NEVER had to machine a single surface. Solid model what you want to cut and let mcam do the rest.

[MLS]

We have had parts large enough that using them as solids is not an option in Mastercam. Even to dynamically rotate them caused a lag, not to mention trying to actually drive the solid in a toolpath.

 

Our method is to create a solid and create surfaces from the solid to drive(then save solid as a parasolid and delete it if size dictates that) Makes it much quicker to generate the initial toolpaths and much easier to regenerate specific toolpaths relative to certain surfaces when there is a rev change on a part instead of regenerating all of them because the solid has changed.

[kinglouie V]

MLS,

 

see, that's what I was talkin' 'bout.

I figured that it would be the other

way around for big files. (solids faster

than surfaces)

[Kannon]

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You really need to have both of these options in your bag of tricks

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JP sums it up!

[Hardmill]

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I think the people getting into it these days have only had exposure to solid modeling which puts them at a severe disadvantage

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LOL, Noobs are special

 

:bites at ear and hits chest:

 

 

PEACE