Surface High Speed Toolpath

[Jaz]

When using the new Surface Toolpaths how do I prevent the cutter from rolling over the edges of a surface? i.e. how do I tell MasterCam to only cut just on the selected surface? I know I can build tool containment or use the 'old' toolpaths.

[YoDoug®]

Personally I think the best method is to select all of your surfaces including check surface and then use the createboundary.dll chook to make you tool containment. Otherwise the tool will roll over the edge and potentially gouge your part.

[cobra95kev]

Doug is right, I always select the whole model as drive surfaces. If you do that you shouldn't get any gouges.

 

What bothers me the most is when using surface finish waterline it likes to drag the tool nose over the flat or almost flat surfaces and leaves tool marks, unless you add offset surfaces.

 

 

[YoDoug®]

I have noticed that also Kevin. I normally do a horizontal finish on the flat surfaces fisrt before running a waterline finish.

[YoDoug®]

:hijack:

 

Kevin, did your company end up buying the Cimco-hsm add-on. The latest version supports multi-processors and is very fast.

[Ocean Lacky™]

quote:

---

What bothers me the most is when using surface finish waterline it likes to drag the tool nose over the flat or almost flat surfaces and leaves tool marks, unless you add offset surfaces.

---

Use the Angle settings under Steep/Shallow to limit tool motion on shallow areas

[cobra95kev]

Hey Doug,

 

No they didn't, they went out of business.

Figures huh?

 

I am actually starting a new job here in a couple of weeks. I think I will get the Demo again and show my new boss.

 

Yeah I do the horizontal pass first too. But waterline always ever so slightly drags the tool on the bottom, it is not even a gouge it just leaves a slight mark. Sometime I leave .001 ont waterline path and take the horizontal to 0.00 it goes away.

[cobra95kev]

Thanks Ocean I will try that too.

 

[MLS]

Where you heading Kevin?

[cobra95kev]

Air Capital Machine & Tooling,

They had an ad on the Mastercam website a while back.

[MotorCityMinion]

I've created lines on the surfaces edges, (create curves), then used Xform offset contour set to an amount that equals half the BNE plus a few tenths. Some trimming is usually in order and the splines can get a little wacky but using those lines / arcs as a boundary works pretty decent with regards to keeping the tool from rolling over the edges of surfaces.

[MLS]

Cool. Good luck Kevin.

[cobra95kev]

Thanks man,

Sending you an E-mail.

 

[ICT_Outkast]

R&R went out???

[cobra95kev]

No,

I used to work at Southwest Precision Manufacturing. They got bought by Youngers.