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I'm working on a custom built mill-turn machine that's equipped with a Fanuc 30i control. The axis of the milling head is along the X-axis of the lathe, so mill programming is in the G19 plane. I cannot get the control to respond to cutter comp. Regardless of what values I enter for tool radius (in either the Geometry or Wear registers), the machine follows the programmed path with no adjustment or deviation. The control acknowledges that G41 (or G42) is active, but the cutting path remains the same. Any ideas how to solve this?
Many thanks for all the replies. I definitely have a better understanding of this now and was able to finish the project with some nice looking surfaces.
Here's another question: I tried changing the cutting strategy to One Way, reasoning that the surface then becomes just a series of circles at different Z depths. When I post this, however, there's not a single arc to be found; just linear X-Y moves. Why? Is there a way to get arcs?
crazy millman: Wow! Thanks so much for this explanation! Looking at the linked images, am I right in thinking that endpoints are white and line segments are green? I'm confused about filtering settings. Does moving the slider to the right produce more arcs in your code or am I not understanding this?
JParis: My contract prevents me from posting the actual part file, but I've attached a sample piece that shows the problem. I'd sure appreciate any suggestions on eliminating the faceting! Also, what's with the crazy motion when the tool gets to the +Z extreme?
surface test.mcam
I have a part with an odd-size round-over edge and would like to cut it with Surface Finish Flowline Toolpath and a bullnose endmill. My problem is that there are very obvious facets. How can I eliminate these? I've tried reducing the total tolerance from 0.001" to 0.0005", but the facets are still apparent. Instead of using the solid geometry, I also tried creating a surface by sweeping a 90-degree arc along a path of lines and arcs. This had no bearing on the facets. What else can I try?
Ok, now I'm really baffled. Yesterday the Curve All Edges command worked fine. Today it's dead. I can select the geometry, but clicking the green checkmark does nothing - no response at all. Likewise, the Help question mark and the red X to close the command also do nothing. The blue checkmark is grayed out. Hitting escape is the only way out. I've tried different MC files where the command previously worked and I've tried creating new files from various SolidWorks and STEP files, but the behavior is the same. What happened overnight? How do I fix this??
Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm working in MC 2002.
If I use the Silhouette Boundary command to create wireframe geometry of a part's perimeter, curved edges are either a series of small arcs or (worse) a group of lines and arcs. As examples, the edge of a hole will be created as four (or more) arcs of unequal length. A simple 90-degree curve will be two lines plus an arc. The Curve Edges command, on the other hand, creates arcs that accurately reflect the part's geometry. A continuous arc on the solid model will be a single wireframe arc. Why do the two methods produce different results? Is this controlled by a setting?
I have a toolpath group and the final operation is a Stock Model that reflects the results of all of the operations up to that point. If I copy an operation within the group, MC adds a second Stock Model at the end of the group. Why? Is there a way to prevent this?
In Verify, I want each operation to have a different color, rather than each tool. I can't find the setting for this. Can someone please point me to it?
I let my MC subscription lapse a few years ago, but now am considering upgrading or renewing. Am I obligated to stay with the reseller my previous subscription was with? Will pricing vary between resellers or is it dictated by CNC Software?
Millman: That doesn't help here. In Dylan's example there is only one machine group with two toolpath groups. One vise is used in the first toolpath group and the other is used in the second.
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