Versions Compared

Version Old Version 30 New Version Current
Changes made by

Geoffrey Brennan

Geoffrey Brennan

Saved on

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.

The ‘General’ ‘Machine parameters’ section of the General Tab is expandable/collapsible; it enables you to do the following:

Specify the machining environment: ‘Tool library’and 'Stock material’.

  • Edit the properties of the chosen ‘Machine’.

  • Specify the ‘Machining mode’.

    • Layout

    The layout of the ‘General’ section changes depending on your action for the following:

    • Machine - clicking the drop-down arrow for the Machine displays a set of properties that CAM Assist needs to compute a toolpath strategy.

    • Machining mode - CAM Assist provides two modes: ‘3+2 Axis’ and ‘3 Axis’.

    • Machining direction - displayed when the selected Machining mode is ‘3+2 Axis’.

    The screenshot to the right shows all of the ‘General’ section’s features, including the ‘Machine’ properties and the ‘Machining direction’ options.

    For more information on each of above features, see below.

    image-20240617-081808.pngImage Removed
    Features

    contains the following:

    • Machine settings

    • Machining mode selection

    image-20250113-095211.pngImage Added

    image-20250113-095120.pngImage Added

    Machine settings

    The following table describes each feature in the ‘General’ ‘Machine parameters' section, as shown in the screenshot above.

    Feature

    This feature is display only.

    Description

    How to Use

    Tool library

    Lists all of the Mastercam tool libraries available to CAM Assist.

    • Click the down arrow to select from the Tool library list.

    • Click image-20240612-095343.pngImage Removed to refresh CAM Assist (if you change the selected Tool library).

    • Click image-20240612-095753.pngImage Removed to select a system-level folder containing tool libraries.

    Tool Summary

    Shows a summary of the tool, including the following:

    • Number of tools - the number of tools in the selected ‘Tool Library’.

    • Number of tools for material - the number of tools in the selected ‘Tool library’ that can be used on the selected ‘Stock material’.

    Stock material

    Lists all of the materials that you can use in CAM Assist (see Supported Materials).

    Info

    CAM Assist will select tools, machining strategies, and cut parameters based on the Stock material you select.

    Click the down arrow to select the Stock material you want to use.

    Machine

    Shows the machine that will be used for the part. The machine is configured within Mastercam but there is a set of properties that CAM Assist requires to compute toolpath strategies.

    Follow the instructions to the right to check/amend the CAM Assist ‘Machine properties’.

    1. Click the down arrow image-20240612-102523.png to the right of the machine name.

      • ‘Machine’ will expand to display the required Machine properties.

    image-20240613-090601.pngImage Removed

    image-20241114-105601.pngImage Added

    1. The properties can be amended as follows:

      • Enter the value directly into the box.

      • Use the up/down arrow to increment/decrement the displayed value.

    2. After ensuring the properties are correct, you may click the up arrow to collapse/hide the Machine properties.

    Machining mode

    See Machining mode, below.

    Machining direction

    Only displayed when ‘3+2 Axis' is selected for the Machining mode (see Machining mode, below).

    Machining mode

    Depending on which Machining mode is selected, the layout of the ‘General’ ‘Machine parameters’ section changes, as shown in the following side-by-side screenshots.

    Layout if the ‘3 Axis’ Machining mode is selected

    image-20240612-101039.pngImage Removed

    image-20250113-095356.pngImage Added

    Layout if the ‘3+2 Axis’ Machining mode is selected

    image-20240612-100912.pngImage Removed

    image-20250113-095423.pngImage Added

    3+2 Machining mode choices

    As can be seen from the above

    screenshots

    screenshot, CAM Assist provides the following 3+2 Machining mode choices:

    3 Axis

    • 3+2 Axis - if selected then a Machining direction is required:

      • Aligned to X, Y, Z axes - the tool orientation

    used to create toolpath strategies can only come from

      • will use the +X, -X, +Y, -Y, and +Z axes coordinates from the part model.

      • User defined - the tool orientation comes from the orientation specified by the user

    in the Target setup(s) within CAM Assist

      • . When this selection is made, additional controls in the Setup orientation section.

      • Automatic - automatic 3+2 strategies are

    only available for evaluation through participation in CloudNC’s ‘Early Access Beta Program'

      • in preview state. Access to this functionality is available on request.

    Info

     For detailed step-by-step instructions on using all four choices, see Machining modes in the 'How-to Guides' section.