Tutorial: Using the 3 Axis Machining Mode

This tutorial guides you through the process of using CAM Assist's ‘3 Axis’ machining mode to compute a toolpath strategy for a part.

The tutorial uses CloudNC’s part ‘Demo 1’. However, the same process can be used for any part that can be opened in Mastercam 2025.

Preparation

Before you can follow this tutorial, you must have successfully completed the preparation steps:

Install CAM Assist - follow the instructions in Installing CAM Assist for Mastercam.
Open a part - this tutorial uses the part ‘Demo 1’ (for details on how to open that part, see Getting Started with CAM Assist).
Open CAM Assist - from the CAM Assist panel, select ‘CloudNC CAM Assist’, the first option.

CloudNC CAM Assist ribbon

Using the ‘3-Axis’ Machining mode

Video
For an illustration of the content of this tutorial, see the YouTube video Tutorial - 3 Axis Machining Mode.

On completing the above Preparation, you’ll see the CAM Assist user interface with ‘Demo Part 1.prt’ open, as shown below.

To magnify any image/screenshot, click it.

Mastercam - part ‘Demo 1’ open with CAM Assist

To use the ‘3 Axis’ Machining mode, you’ll take the following steps:

Specify the Machining mode

Select a Tool Library from the drop-down

CAM Assist selects tools, machining strategies, and cutting presets based on the selected material (see the Tool Use tab for a report on the selected ‘Tool library').

For Machining mode, CAM Assist provides you with two options: ‘3 Axis’ and ‘3+2 Axis’.

Configure the Setup orientation

The content of the ‘Setup orientation’ section reflects the ‘Machine group’ configuration of the part, as displayed in Mastercam’s ‘Toolpaths’ view.

Check the Setup

You’ll notice that the part ‘Demo 1’ has two Machine Groups: ‘Machine Group-1’ and ‘Machine Group-2’.

If you want CAM Assist to create a toolpath strategy for a Machine Group, ensure its respective checkbox is checked in CAM Assist (see below).

In CAM Assist:

Setting the orientation

The ‘Selected plane’ must be configured for each checked Machine group.

Set the Workholding security

CAM Assist will choose roughing tools suitable for the specified workholding.

Set the slider to the required position between the two extremes:

Excellent - a more secure ('excellent') workholding, such as a vise with serrated jaws, will result in CAM Assist selecting larger tools or more aggressive cutting parameters. This will result in faster toolpaths, but with more force on the workpiece.
Poor - a less secure ('poor') workholding, such as a thin part held by a soft jaw, will result in CAM Assist selecting smaller tools or less aggressive cutting parameters. This will produce slower toolpaths, but with less force on the workpiece.

Select Avoidance geometries

For details and step-by-step instructions, see the tutorial Using Avoidance Geometry.

Examining CAM Assist’s other tabs

Before clicking OK, it’s a good idea to examine the other tabs to ensure that the requirements for CAM Assist’s tool strategy are fully configured:

Compute a Toolpath Strategy

When you've fully configured CAM Assist:

On clicking OK, CAM Assist closes and computes a toolpath strategy, which is displayed within Mastercam’s ‘Toolpaths' view (as illustrated in the following screenshot).