Rough and finish in same operation?

[honeybunches]

Typically use Contour rough/finish for simple profile operations. It would be much easier if I could program to leave say .010 stock during the roughing, keep the tool down, then step over and run the full depth finish pass while there. I am using X2MR2. Not sure if this revision can do it or if we need to upgrade to consider this.

 

Thanks

[uncle_dolan]

If you tell it to use multipasses, there is an option for finishing amount on it...just set it to run 1 roughing and 1 finishing pass. You can elect to only run the finish pass at the final depth as well if you like

[honeybunches]

I must have my settings slightly off because I have used multi in the past and just never got what I wanted. I assume I can get it to where I helix down around a profile leaving .010, then step in and run a full depth finish and still lead out as desired with the lead settings?

[andate caga]

The flaw with that is that you cannot specify different feeds and speeds for rough and finish.

[honeybunches]

And that is also something I need to do but forgot to mention. Is that a feature in later revisions or are we stuck making 2 ops?

[K2csq7]

From my experience as an operator.

Keep the finishing separate from the roughing.

Safe start points.... if you just need to run a spring pass or would like to back off .002, run the finish pass & check, then go for it... You aren't going to want to re-run all the roughing passes.

 

And BTW if you play with the linking parameters in the 2 operations you can get Mcam to rough something out, then finish without retracting the tool. 2 operations in Mcam, but only 1 from an operators perspective. (I only do this if the tolerance is wide open.)

[honeybunches]

I think that is all I am trying to arrive at - wasting time pulling the tool. I just want the finish pass to start right after roughing, with the tool still down. I was trying to avoid for chaining, etc as well I have never linked any ops. Is this considered a "remachining" op?

[AshM]

I think that is all I am trying to arrive at - wasting time pulling the tool. I just want the finish pass to start right after roughing, with the tool still down. I was trying to avoid for chaining, etc as well I have never linked any ops. Is this considered a "remachining" op?

 

If you are using contour toolpaths you can right drag the roughing operation down in the operations manager, then choose 'copy after' whichs give you 2 identical operations, then you can go into the parameters for the second operation and change everything you want to for finishing, but most will be thesame. that way you are not going to need to rechain or resetup all of the duplicated data like the tool, linking parameters and all that.

 

I'm assuming this works in X2, I jumped from V8 to X4 aways back, so I've never used X2

[andate caga]

This is a major short coming in MC. There is also no way to call a spring pass. Pocket toolpaths have better options for rough and finish.

 

Why can't contour recognize stock that is left? Other software had that figured out 6 years ago.

[AshM]

This is a major short coming in MC. There is also no way to call a spring pass. Pocket toolpaths have better options for rough and finish.

 

Why can't contour recognize stock that is left? Other software had that figured out 6 years ago.

 

Using the contour toolpath you can run a spring pass with 2 or more finish passes (in mulitpasses) without spacing, so it will run thesame finish pass twice. Personally I like contour how it is. Its simple but works well and it very reliable.

 

I'm guessing X2 doesn't have all of the dynamic 2d high speed toolpaths, but in there you have toolpaths like the dynamic contour, which has the ability to remachine a contour to remove the stock left over from a previous larger tool, which might be what you want.

 

I don't use the pocket toolpath very often any more, but isn't there a checkbox or something to 'create separate finishing operation' or something like that? what does that do?

[Bucky Cornstarch]

The flaw with that is that you cannot specify different feeds and speeds for rough and finish.

 

This. Why Mastercam doesn't offer this feature in countouring baffles me.

[MIL-TFP-41]

You can do what you are asking using "change at point" very effectively. Unfortunately it is not a very well documented tool & you have to play for a bit to get things to work the way you want. Basically you make a path....then go into the change at point interface...you can specify different RPM's, feedrate, dwells, ect for any point that is on your path. You have the option for doing it just at one point, or for the whole chain. (with some tweaking it can be a crazy powerful tool) Someone please correct me if I am mistaken....you cannot "change at point" on a lead in/lead out move. It has to be a point on the actual chain you picked. then you also have the option of creating 2 paths & then using the toolpath editor to keep the tool down between the 2 paths.

[Newbeeee™]

JMC - thanks for the heads up on change at point.

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