Morph Strategy

[JMahon]

In the attached file, I am trying to cut the green surfaces using a single multiaxis toolpath.  Parallel and morph get me close, but the stepover is odd...

Anyone care to show me a morph strategy to get some smooth motion?  or even better, I single toolpath to finish the whole inside.  That would be sweet!

Thanks,

Jon

morph.X_T

[ahaslam]

Could you put a Z2G file on here with what you have? That way we aren't starting from scratch. Thanks

[JMahon]

Yea, ill have to strip it down a little though.

[JMahon]

This is the best I can do for now, I cannot share the actual file.  Its on a Mazak VCN Compact with a small Sankyo rotary table.

Let me know what other information you need.

MORPH.ZIP

[crazy^millman]

Don't use the whole chain for your tool axis control. I would draw a line from the center of the 2 long lines. Only use one of the lines and I think you will like the results. Also put the line at a place of line of sight for the shape. Sometimes I will take an edge curve and offset it in and then move above to be the line of sight chain when doing something like you are doing.

If I were going to use Morph between 2 curves I would probably drive it through a center point, but it would do a better job on this show than what you have. I would also make a surface to go over the void or use model prep to make it more uniform of a surface it will help you get better motion there. Who care if you cut some air if you get a nice looking part.

You have collision control why aren't you using it?

[JMahon]

34 minutes ago, C^Millman said:

Don't use the whole chain for your tool axis control. I would draw a line from the center of the 2 long lines. Only use one of the lines and I think you will like the results. Also put the line at a place of line of sight for the shape. Sometimes I will take an edge curve and offset it in and then move above to be the line of sight chain when doing something like you are doing.

If I were going to use Morph between 2 curves I would probably drive it through a center point, but it would do a better job on this show than what you have. I would also make a surface to go over the void or use model prep to make it more uniform of a surface it will help you get better motion there. Who care if you cut some air if you get a nice looking part.

You have collision control why aren't you using it?

I had to strip the file down, so I just threw some parameter together real quick.

Thanks Ron, I will give this a shot first thing in the morning!

[crazy^millman]

1 hour ago, JMahon said:

I had to strip the file down, so I just threw some parameter together real quick.

Thanks Ron, I will give this a shot first thing in the morning!

Okay was going by what I was seeing. You are close and I think with a little tweaking you will get the results you are looking for.

[JMahon]

Ok here is something closer to what i was talking about.  I was too worried about stripping the model down.

Notice it takes a large stepdown after about 20 passes... any way to smooth that out? 

 

Ron,  not sure what you mean by driving through a point for morph between two curves.  You mean using "to point" for tool axis control?

Would morph be able to handle all of the inside undercut surfaces in one toolpath?

 

Thanks,

Jon

MORPH.ZIP

[crazy^millman]

27 minutes ago, JMahon said:

Ok here is something closer to what i was talking about.  I was too worried about stripping the model down.

Notice it takes a large stepdown after about 20 passes... any way to smooth that out? 

 

Ron,  not sure what you mean by driving through a point for morph between two curves.  You mean using "to point" for tool axis control?

Would morph be able to handle all of the inside undercut surfaces in one toolpath?

 

Thanks,

Jon

MORPH.ZIP

Yes tool Axis control.

Yes when you use the Collision Control with Tilt then it will respect that point for tool axis control unless it needs to tilt the tool away from a check surface. Your shape is what is creating the difference and I might look at a different way to machine this. I have created a .005 box in the center of a shape with .001 fillets on each corner. I use morph between 2 curves and that was my inside shape and the shape of the part was my outside shape. Then might try spiral to see if it cuts a little nicer. Not an easy shape to cut and really need to be creative in your motion and your approach to cut it. You have a good grasp on the toolpath, but in this application might need to try something a little different.

I looked at the roughing abilities of this toolpath in 2018. They are in 2017, but 2018 cleaned the interface up to make it easier to understand. Look at that page and see if the morph pocket might do what you are after with Parallel.

Yes Morph is a very good toolpath, but I would look at a Lollipop tool verses a full Ball Endmill.

[JMahon]

I actually started out using a 1/8" lollipop but I kept breaking them.  I swapped to a 1/16 Mitsubishi ball nose and it seems to be more rigid but I cant quite get it how I like it.

I think I see what you a saying about the .005" square as the "morph to" chain, but I cannot think of a good shape to use as a "morph from" chain...if that makes any sense.

 

I will poke around with the roughing page, never thought of that!  There are so many new parameters and lingo when you go beyond a simple 5 axis curve, just gotta figure them out one at a time!
 

 

[crazy^millman]

19 minutes ago, JMahon said:

I actually started out using a 1/8" lollipop but I kept breaking them.  I swapped to a 1/16 Mitsubishi ball nose and it seems to be more rigid but I cant quite get it how I like it.

I think I see what you a saying about the .005" square as the "morph to" chain, but I cannot think of a good shape to use as a "morph from" chain...if that makes any sense.

 

I will poke around with the roughing page, never thought of that!  There are so many new parameters and lingo when you go beyond a simple 5 axis curve, just gotta figure them out one at a time!
 

 

That is the cool thing about morph it doesn't need to be the shape of the part. It can be and it helps, but is doesn't need to be. I have used 2 lines on a shape before top and bottom and it acted like a parallel toolpath using them that way. You can get real creative with your chains and as long as they make geometric sense they will normally work.

[crazy^millman]

I could old school with 5 Axis curve. Make a toolpath in 3d for that shape then drive it using 5 axis curve projected to the surface with tool axis control lines and it would cut very nice, but it would take the better part of 4 hours to make it do what I can normally do now in minutes with the new toolpaths.

[JMahon]

I ended up using morph.  Thanks Ron, that got me almost exactly what I was looking for.

Here's what I came up with:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ctf4ryhz8bvqi0h/MORPH.ZIP?dl=0

 

Let me know what you think.