Using the 'Finishing' section
- Kevin Strider (Unlicensed)
The ‘Finishing' section provides a granular level of control for the ‘stock to leave’ aspect of the finishing toolpath.
For an overview of this section’s features and functionality, see Finishing.
This page uses examples and instructions to help you use the features of the ‘Finishing’ section:
Type of freeform finishing operation used
To use this feature, take the following steps:
Hover over the chosen ‘action’
A drop-down box will appear, as show in the image to the right.
Select one of the options from the drop-down box (for details, see Finishing).
Please be advised, CAM Assist’s ‘SteepAndShallow’ option:
Is in Beta - ‘Contour3D’ is currently the default.
Requires the Fusion Manufacturing Extension extension to be ‘Active’.
May yield better toolpaths and/or machining time results.
Finishing operation ordering
To use this feature, take the following steps:
Hover over the chosen ‘action’
A drop-down box will appear, as show in the image to the right.
Select one of the options from the drop-down box (for details, see Finishing).
Use two tools for large flat areas
For ‘Use two tools’, you have the following options:
Checked - use two tools for large flat areas:
Uses a combination of larger and smaller End mills for large, flat areas in order to reduce the machining time.
This is done by large flat areas that are fully machinable by the smaller End mill and partially machinable by the bigger End mill.
Unchecked - use one tool for large flat areas.
‘Use two tools for large flat areas’ - checked
When ‘Use two tools for large flat areas' is checked, CAM Assist uses a larger and smaller end mill to reduce machining time.
The following screenshot shows that two tools were used for the large, flat area (compare with ‘unchecked’, below):
Larger tool - T22105 (5/16” Bullnose end mill)
Smaller tool - T22102 (3/32” Bullnose end mill)
‘Use two tools for large flat areas’ - unchecked
When ‘Use two tools for large flat areas' is unchecked, CAM Assist uses just one tool.
The following screenshot shows the tool used for the large, flat area (compare with ‘checked’, above):
Tool - T22102 (3/32” Bullnose end mill)
Generate operations for partially machinable flat areas
For ‘Generate operations’, you have the following options:
Checked - enables flat finishing operations for floors that can’t be fully machined by any of the available tools in the selected ‘Tool library’.
Unchecked - CAM Assist will not machine unmachinable floors; they will be left unmachined.
The screenshot to the right shows a part with a slot that contains a cylindrical protrusion. The protrusion makes the flat area at the bottom of the slot partially machinable due to the cylinder’s shape and it's proximity to the wall of the slot.
It’s recommended to run the simulation to determine which section of the flat area is unreachable.
‘Generate operations for partially machinable flat areas’ - checked
The following screenshot shows the CAM Assist-computed toolpath for the part when ‘Generate operations’ is checked.
In the above screenshot, CAM Assist’s computed toolpath for the ‘Flat’ operation finishes the area at the bottom of the slot as much as possible, given the selected ‘Tool library’ (compare with the unchecked option, below).
In this example, due to the closeness of the cylindrical protrusion to the wall of the slot, the flat finishing operation may not fully finish the surface. As a result, there is a note appended to the operation (for ‘[T22153] Flat’)
‘Generate operations for partially machinable flat areas’ - unchecked
The following screenshot shows the CAM Assist-computed toolpath for the part when ‘Generate operations’ is unchecked.
In the above screenshot, CAM Assist’s computed toolpath for the ‘Flat’ operation does not finish the flat area at the bottom of the slot (top row, 2nd from the left): compare this with the checked option, above.