MORPH BETWEEN 2 CURVES BEST TOOLPATH EVER

[crazy^millman]

Yes I am fully aware i put in it in all caps. It is that amazing what I am been able to do the last couple days with this toolpath. I did a swarf area with this toolpath and got no retracts. We are using a 5/8 Ballendmill 8" OAL with a 6" Stick out with .75 LOC cutting at 7000 rpms and 75 ipm 5.5" deep. We cut 8 pockets .79 wide x 5" deep on a 20.54 Dia on the top side to a 14.30 diameter on the insdie with a 40 deg tilt in less than 4 hours that is roughing and finshing. We had one rapid move into the part and one rapid out of the part index and go to town.

Other side has some undercutting with a Lolipop cutter. Made my surfaces, then my chains and then my 4 control line and done. No needing to lie to Mastercam and do not do this or do not do that or blah blah blah blah to cut the part. I cut it and done.

I will repeat that encase you did not understand what I was saying.

I CUT IT AND DONE!!!!!

[tozmaster]

Give this man a cookie...lol

Great work, Mastercam and you getting it done!

[crazy^millman]

What am I talking about here?

 

See if this helps you see what I am talking about. Programmed in less than 5 minutes after Model was prepared to my liking. Tool path took less than 30 seconds to generate and run very well on the machine.

 

[Zoffen]

Vericuted?

[compressor sam]

I agree, This is an excellent toolpath, i tried using this to machine our screw compressors, and it is very quick to program, the only downside i had with it, is when changing my preferred tooling to high feed tools, i could not get any control on forcing the tool to cut on the leading edge.

[tozmaster]

I know the tool path although I have not been able to implement it very often.

And another problem here is that I can not view any videos at work what so ever. Corporate IT has us locked down

tighter than you could ever imagine.

 

That does not diminish my congratulations to you or my respect for your talents Milman.

I have read many of your posts that have helped countless people out of trouble spots

* respect *

[crazy^millman]

Tozmaster funny the lack of response to this thread. Taking a Lollipop cutter and sneaking it into a tight area to me is one of those real challenges and to do it and get such a nice toolpath out of it was very cool. The toolpath has tons of options and functions. Processing speed is awesome and would think it would get more attention. Oh well I have a new favorite toolpath that seems like it will 90% of everything I program in Multi-axis in one toolpath. I am doing a new project with some really extreme blends and such using some different Lollipop tools this toolpath gave me the ability to go through very quickly.

 

Need to do Swarf it can handle it.

Need to do Under cutting it will handle it.

Need to have check surfaces it will handle it.

Need to have controllable retracts and approaches it will handle it.

Need to do Multi-pass it will handle it.

Need to do it 3 axis it will handle it.

Need to do it 4 axis it will handle it.

Need to do it 5 axis it will handle it.

Need to use a Flat endmill no problem.

Need to use a Bull Endmill no problem.

Need to use a Ball Endmill no problem.

Need to use a Custom tool no problem.

Need to machine surfaces with different flow lines no problem.

 

Think of the Blend Toolpath on Steroids with a coolness factor unlike anything you ever seen out of Mastercam. Combine this with HST and you are making some amazing methods and processes to machine a part. I make a living machining parts now and the ability to make something I feel 100% comfortable in is very important. This is one of those toolpaths that gives me that comfort. I thought I was sharing something good, but the lack of response tells me I am really as crazy as I think I am or so many people have been using it for so much it just old news and I should have been using it since X7 first came out. I hope the later is true, but only time will tell.

[Colin Gilchrist]

Hi Ron,

 

I think most of the "Advanced Multi-axis" toolpaths have some great options for controlling the tool axis and tool motion. I think there is a lack of documentation available to the average user to figure out what all the different toolpath options do, and how to best create a toolpath using these options. There are a lot more options, and it can be daunting to figure out what combination of settings gives you a great toolpath.

 

Can you share any files with some sample geometry as an example? Or create something similar that could be shared? I think that the knowledge sharing here on Emastercam is some of the best in the world. I've learned a great deal of what I know from the wealth of information and opinions in this forum.

[tozmaster]

It is probably the most versatile and easy to control multi axis tool path that mastercam has engineered into its software suite.

Personally I have only been able to use it in a very limited amount of "real world" machining scenarios to date.

As the company I am working for is being closed by the corporate "powers that be" and we are not taking on any new projects.

However I have been playing with it in self tutorial fashion by making up my own models and pulling some old models out of archives.

I have to agree that this Morph between 2 curves would have made so many jobs I have done in the past so much quicker, easier AND get better g-code as the end result.

Perhaps in the future I will be able to revisit this tool path and get to watch the results actually machine a part.

For now and the near future (after June 2nd) however it looks like I will be in Unigraphics land.

[crazy^millman]

Colin, I am working on it, but making the decisions on what I share and how I share it.

[Jeremy Herron@DBS Solutions™]

I love that toolpath! I just recently realized that my curves don't even have to be on the surface I am cutting. Has anyone tried one the curves being a point?

[crazy^millman]

Jeremy, no but I can see where on some shapes that might be cool. Might also think about a .005R half Circle.

[Jeremy Herron@DBS Solutions™]

I have run into some parts where I thought it would work great I just didn't have time to experiment.

[crazy^millman]

Jeremy that was an example where I was not sure how it would work, but thought the time saved if it did work verse the hammering a square peg into a round hole other toolpaths offer it was worth the try. Paid off and what you see if what I was proving out on the machine after posting. No edits just loaded on the machine and run. Motion was something you always look for and only 4 control lines. The finish and blends were very nice. I used the same toolpath to cut a swarf. TK added some more control lines as I was using every bit of the tolerance in one area, but even that was a quick adjustment re posted and run like a champ.

[TK-32™]

I think these toolpaths are saving me %70 time of what i was doing before. Programing wise.

[Jrygus]

All of my 5-axis paths lately that are generating a surface have been Morph Between 2 Curves. I do not need to use it often, but it is way better than my previous attempts with older paths.

[shazam/TPP]

just curious, which toolpaths was everyone using before you started using Morph Between 2 Curves?

[Joe788]

I think these toolpaths are saving me %70 time of what i was doing before. Programing wise.

 

Is it the toolpath that's saving you 70%, or the fact that Ron is doing it for you?

[shazam/TPP]

^^ where is that plus one button

[TK-32™]

Is it the toolpath that's saving you 70%, or the fact that Ron is doing it for you?

 

I like to think of it as team work. ROUR

 

I was using 5 axis flow line a lot. Many times I had to make my own surfaces because the ones the customer provided were bad or the toolpath was a jackhammer show.

[Newbeeee™]

I like to think of it as team work. ROUR

Ron does the work and you buy him breakfast

[Newbeeee™]

I think most of the "Advanced Multi-axis" toolpaths have some great options for controlling the tool axis and tool motion. I think there is a lack of documentation available to the average user to figure out what all the different toolpath options do, and how to best create a toolpath using these options. There are a lot more options, and it can be daunting to figure out what combination of settings gives you a great toolpath.

 

Colin - I would think there would be a good market for you to make one of your excellent pdf's with an example mcam file or two for each toolpath.

 

Ron - 9.9 out of 10 for the toolpath and video.

But 10 out of 10 for getting in there up close with the door open - hope you had your hard hat on

 

[crazy^millman]

Well seeing how I am no longer there hard to be doing it for him.

 

5 Axis Curve, 5 Axis Multi Surface, 5 Axis Flow line and then I have starting using it in replace for Flow line for 3 axis and 4 axis operations as well. Normally I would recreate one surface for my flow line toolpaths so I can make that or blend do what I wanted. Now I am using this toolpath with my surfaces trimmed to where I want to cut and done. On Impellers where they have been ignorant and called out a to size radius I will make a new model with Radii that are little bigger so none of my toolpaths will run into that radius. Then I might want to come with a size smaller tool to cut that radius and not cut the whole surface. What I have done before getting more comfortable with this toolpath is recreate that section from the different surfaces. Recreating one surface so I could get a flowline toolpath to cut it. Thing is you would still get the occasional jackhammer on the edges from time to time.

 

With this toolpath you take 40 different surfaces with 40 different U V directions and trim to what you want to cut. Make your 1st chain thinking like you would for blend and make your 2nd chain again thinking along the lines of blend. You then set the parameters like you want 30 seconds to one minute later you have a complete toolpath that is smooth trouble free and no worry about it freaking out and cutting into the surface next to it. Go do a check surface with flowline or blend and see the problems that creates. Do that here and done. Want to avoid your holder or something else in the tool or have it get with .005 of a surface you can control that. You cannot control this with any of the HST toolpaths. You cannot control this with any of the old school toolpaths. This toolpath gives you all that functionality in one and done. Again I cut the part you see in that Video right there 1st time. That was not proven or checked before running it on the machine other than backplot and Verify in Mastercam. The shank gets within .002 of the part and you can see the movement of the head in this example. In other example I did a 3 axis toolpath using this and Flowline had 40 retracts on the same surface. Morph between 2 curves had a Rapid move to start the toolpath and a retract toolpath to end the toolpath.

 

Well the only way to see what is going on is to open the door. I had my safety glasses on and my steel toe boots is that good enough.

[gcode]

have you tried this toolpath with a bull endmill?

A couple of years ago I spent quite a bit of time trying to rough vanes with

morph between 2 curves and morph between 2 surfaces.

I never did get acceptable results and concluded that bull endmills were not

supported.

I'm wondering if that has changed in newer releases

[crazy^millman]

I was using Flat tools and Tapered Ball Endmills. I think TK was using Bull Endmills, but he would have to comment on that not me. I was able to use a Lollipop with no problems. That to me would be harder to support than a bull endmill.