Toolpath silhouette

[SlaveCam]

Hello!

 

When checking a toolpath using simulation, there'a a quick evaluate button that paints gray wherever the tool has been. Is there a way to create a silhouette of this area? In other words, let's assume a toolpath which has a lot of small radius arcs. If I try to mill it with a large endmill, there are undercuts. So, I need a curve that is the original toolpath but as if it was driven using this large endmill.

 

Can't explain any better due to language barrier

 

TY.

[rrichard]

  Well if you are talking about like turning a tool path into geometry, you can save toolpath as geometry when you use verify on the save top right toogle

[SlaveCam]

  Well if you are talking about like turning a tool path into geometry, you can save toolpath as geometry when you use verify on the save top right toogle

 

I'd like to have bounding geometry around the gray silhouette in A. Or, I'd love to know if it's possible to generate the geometry B from geometry A using a desired radius (the tool in this instance is a D10 endmill, so the radii are R5).

 

Do I make more sense now?

[jlw™]

Is this for subsequent ops?

[Fred @ Slate Industries]

Another way is to draw it , "Create fillet  *.* original cutter size dia.

Draw it in another color so you can see it easily.

 

Like Jlw says above 

 

Do you want to see how much stock is left and or use the geometry to drive another toolpath to pick out the leftover stock ?

[Richard Thomas - Mastercam UK]

Start with rrichard's idea to backplot the toolpath and then save the geometry to a level.  Look at your shape in the Isometric view to see that you have also got vertical wireframe that you will probably want to delete.  Then what you can do is use Xform Offset Contour on the new toolpath geometry and offset it by the radius of your cutter.  Make sure that the "corners" option is set to either Sharp or All.  I think that will give you what you want.

[SlaveCam]

Start with rrichard's idea to backplot the toolpath and then save the geometry to a level.  Look at your shape in the Isometric view to see that you have also got vertical wireframe that you will probably want to delete.  Then what you can do is use Xform Offset Contour on the new toolpath geometry and offset it by the radius of your cutter.  Make sure that the "corners" option is set to either Sharp or All.  I think that will give you what you want.

 

Thanks! Strange that I had already tried this exact method and couldn't get it to work. However I tried it again and now it indeed did work.

[JayM]

Another way to "shade" the toolpath like you are asking is to use Create > Surface > Swept.  Draw a circle the same diameter as your tool at the start of the toolpath.  The circle will be your "across" selection and the toolpath geometry will be your along.