Introduction
CloudNC Cutting Parameters is the engine behind CAM Assist’s computation of toolpath strategies. The Cutting Parameters add-on exposes that engine in the form of a graphical user interface that can be used to examine or fine-tune the cutting parameters for selected operation toolpaths.
CloudNC Cutting Parameters takes a set of inputs for the selected operation toolpath and dynamically produces recommendations for cutting parameters of the tool that is used for that operation. The inputs originally come from the Fusion Browser that was populated by CAM Assist computation of a toolpath strategy for a model/part.
Within the Cutting Parameters add-on, those inputs can be changed.
The recommendations based on the inputs are graphically represented by the following:
As soon as any cutting parameter is changed, the recommendations are immediately updated, providing you with an area for experimentation.
Overview
Before you can see/adjust Cutting Parameters' recommendations, the Fusion Browser must first have been populated with a toolpath strategy that was created by CAM Assist for a selected part (see Getting Started with CAM Assist).
To use Cutting Parameters, take the following steps:
Open Cutting Parameters - to open, right-click an operation in the Fusion Browser
For step-by-step instructions, see Opening Cutting Parameters.
Adjust the ‘inputs’ - adjust the inputs for the cutting parameters using the ‘Input’ features
For more details, see Inputs, below.
Examine the dynamic recommendations - as the cutting parameters are adjusted, the 2D Milling diagram, Heatmaps, and Fine Tune Sliders provide dynamic recommendations.
For more information, see Dynamic recommendations, below.
Save your adjustment operation - once you are happy with the recommendations resulting from your adjustments, save them then view them in the Fusion browser.
For details, see Saving and applying recommendations, below.
Scope
Cutting Parameters makes recommendations for the following operations and tool types:
Roughing
Flat end mill
Radius end mill
Ball end mill
Finishing
Flat end mill
Radius end mill
Ball end mill
Reamer
Holemaking
Drill
Threadforming
Tap
Inputs
Recommendations for the tool associated with the selected toolpath are based on inputs from two sources:
Fusion and CAM Assist - the original configuration of the tool when it was first selected from the Fusion Browser (see Opening Cutting Parameters)
Cutting Parameters - the value of inputs and sliders used within Cutting Parameters that change the original configuration (see below).
Cutting Parameters' Inputs
There are three sections of the Cutting Parameters interface that are used to configure the inputs (as annotated in the screenshot to the right).
The following table provides an overview of those sections.
# | Section name | Description |
|---|---|---|
1 | Input tabs | Each of the input tabs displays its current value. Clicking a tab, displays it’s pop-up, in which certain parameters can be changed. For more details, see Input Tabs. |
2 | Aggression Control sliders | So named because they indicate the level of ‘aggressive control’ you assign over a tool in the machining operation. For more details, see Aggression Control Sliders. |
3 | Fine Tune sliders | An expandable/collapsible section that contains a set of parameters whose values can be changed by multi-functional sliders. |
For a detailed look at the features of the interface, see Cutting Parameters - Features and Functionality.
Dynamic Recommendations
Recommendations are dynamic: they change when the inputs change.
When changes are made to the inputs (see above), those changes are immediately reflected in the recommendations made in the Cutting Parameters interface; this occurs in three separate sections of the Cutting Parameters interface, as shown in the following screenshots.
The following table provides an overview of the recommendation sections (as shown in the above screenshots).
# | Section name | Description |
|---|---|---|
A | 2D Milling diagram | Provides a dynamic illustration of the Cutting parameter recommendations. The left image represents the cutting engagement. The right image represents the z-place view of the machining process. For more details, see 2D Milling Diagram. |
B | Fine tune section | A expandable/collapsible section that is populated with a set of cutting parameters that you can use to ‘fine tune’ the tool’s application of the selected operation. Each parameter can be adjusted via a multi-functional ‘fine-tune' slider. For more details, see Fine Tune. |
C | Heatmaps | Heatmaps use a series of color-coded ranges to show the tool’s current configuration, based on the value of the relevant cutting parameter(s). The heatmaps are for information purposes only, they are a visual aid to help you configure a tool’s cutting parameters effectively. For more details, see Heatmaps. |
Saving and applying the recommendations
When you have finished configuring cutting parameters, take the following steps:
Within Cutting Parameters, click Save Operation.
This sends all of the feeds and speeds, from Cutting Parameters, back to the operation toolpath that was originally selected from the Fusion Browser.
Within the Fusion Browser, right-click on the same operation then:
[optional] Select Edit - displays the values from Cutting Parameters.
[required] Select Generate - generates the toolpath with the adjusted cutting parameters.
Measuring improvements
It's recommended that you compare the machining time for the operation (along with other qualitative and quantitative results) against the original results to determine the effectiveness of Cutting Parameters' recommendations, given the adjustments you specified.
You can always use Cutting Parameters again with a different set of values.