Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks Tutorial -...

TUTORIAL

X4-MCfSW-7x9-Tutor.indd 1 8/4/2009 12:53:50 PM

Mastercam for SolidWorks TutorialSeptember 2009

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II • MASTERCAM FOR SOLIDWORKS TUTORIAL

Mastercam for SolidWorks® X4 - Mastercam for SolidWorks Tutorial

Date: September 2009Copyright © 2009 CNC Software, Inc.— All rights reserved.First Printing: September 2009Software: Mastercam for SolidWorks X4Part Number: X4-SW-Tutor

TERMS OF USE Use of this document is subject to the Mastercam End User License Agreement. A copy of the Mastercam End User License Agreement is included with the Mastercam product package of which this document is part. The Mastercam End User License Agreement can also be found at: www.mastercam.com/legal/licenseagreement/

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III

Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................... 1

Tutorial Goals ...................................................................................2

Before You Begin .............................................................................2

If You Need More Help ....................................................................3

Additional Documentation ..............................................................4

2D Toolpaths ....................................................................................... 5

1. General Setup - Mold Core......................................... 7 Lesson Goals ....................................................................................7

About the Mold Core Part ...............................................................7

Exercise 1: Selecting Your Machine ......................................... 8

2. The 2D Facing Toolpath ........................................... 11

Lesson Goals ..................................................................................11

Exercise 1: Defining the Tool plane......................................... 11

Exercise 2: Setting Up the Stock Model ................................. 13

Exercise 3: Creating the Facing Toolpath................................ 14

Exercise 4: Backplot and Verify the Facing Toolpath .............. 17

Exercise 5: Verifying All of the Toolpaths ............................... 19

Exercise 6: Posting the Toolpath ............................................ 20

3. 2D Area Mill ............................................................. 23

Lesson Goals ..................................................................................23

Exercise 1: Creating the Area Mill Toolpath............................ 23

Exercise 2: Backplotting and Verifying the Toolpath............... 27

Exercise 3: Verifying All of the Toolpaths ............................... 28

Exercise 4: Posting the Toolpath ............................................ 29

IV • MASTERCAM FOR SOLIDWORKS TUTORIAL

3D High Speed Toolpaths........................................................ 31

1. General Setup - Phone Cradle................................... 33

Lesson Goals ................................................................................. 33

About the Phone Cradle Sample Part.......................................... 33

Exercise 1: Selecting Your Machine........................................35

Exercise 2: Defining the Tool Plane .........................................36

Exercise 3: Defining the Stock ................................................38

2. The Core Roughing Toolpath..................................... 41

Lesson Goals ................................................................................. 41

Exercise 1: Creating the Toolpath ...........................................41

Exercise 2: Backplotting and Verifying the toolpath ................45

Exercise 3: Posting the Toolpath.............................................46

3. The Rest Roughing Toolpath..................................... 49

Lesson Goals ................................................................................. 49



4. The Scallop Toolpath ................................................ 57

Lesson Goals ................................................................................. 57



5. The Waterline Toolpath ............................................ 65

Lesson Goals ................................................................................. 65

Exercise 1: Creating the Waterline Toolpath ...........................65


FBM Toolpaths ................................................................................ 71

1. FBM Mill.................................................................... 73

About the FBM Sample Part ........................................................ 73

Lesson Goals ................................................................................. 74

Exercise 1: Set Up ..................................................................74

Exercise 2: Defining the Stock ................................................75

Exercise 3: Creating the Mill Toolpaths...................................76

Exercise 4: Customizing the Toolpaths....................................78

V

Exercise 5: Backplotting and Verifying the Toolpaths ............. 80

2. FBM Drill .................................................................. 83

Lesson Goals ..................................................................................83

Exercise 1: Creating the Drill Toolpaths .................................. 84

Exercise 2: Customizing the FBM Drill Toolpaths.................... 86

Exercise 3: Backplotting and Verifying the Toolpaths ............. 87

VI • MASTERCAM FOR SOLIDWORKS TUTORIAL

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Mastercam X4® for SolidWorks® provides Mastercam X4 CAM functionality within SolidWorks. Inside SolidWorks, you can access many toolpath strategies:

3D high speed (HST) toolpaths

2D feature based machining (FBM) mill toolpaths

2D feature based machining drill toolpaths

Non-FBM high speed 2D toolpaths

Besides these powerful toolpaths, Mastercam for SolidWorks features many supporting functions, including:

Boundary creation

Part setup (including tool and material managers)

Toolpath transformations

Backplotting

Verification

Post processing

Communications

Thread management

In this tutorial, you learn to use many strategies to apply toolpaths to parts in Mastercam for SolidWorks.

2 • MASTERCAM FOR SOLIDWORKS TUTORIAL

Tutorial Goals Set up a part in Mastercam for SolidWorks.

Define a tool plane and stock.

Create 2D High Speed toolpaths.

Create HST milling toolpaths.

Create FBM Mill and Drill toolpaths.

Backplot and verify toolpaths.

Post toolpaths.

Before You BeginThis tutorial focuses on Mastercam for SolidWorks. You can learn more about the standalone version of Mastercam in the Mastercam Getting Started Tutorial series, which includes the following modules:

Welcome to Mastercam

Files and Mastercam

Working in the Graphics Window

Basic 2D Design

Basic 2D Machining

For information and availability, please contact your local Mastercam Reseller.

General Tutorial RequirementsBecause each lesson in the tutorial builds on the mastery of preceding lesson’s skills, we recommend that you complete them in order. In addition, this tutorial has the following requirements:

You must be comfortable using the Windows® operating system.

You must have installed SolidWorks 2009 or higher and Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks.

You must have the part files that accompany this tutorial. You can store them in a folder with the tutorial or in a location that you prefer.

Preparing for the TutorialBefore you start the tutorial, be sure you have completed the following tasks:

INTRODUCTION • 3

1 Start SolidWorks using your preferred method:

Double-click the SolidWorks desktop icon.

Or

Launch SolidWorks from the Windows Start menu.

2 In SolidWorks, verify that you have a Mastercam menu. If you do not have the Mastercam menu, please refer to installation instructions in Getting Started in Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks, which is included in the Mastercam for SolidWorks package.

If You Need More HelpThere are many ways to get help with Mastercam for SolidWorks, including the following:

Mastercam for SolidWorks Help—Access Mastercam for SolidWorks Help by selecting Help, Contents from SolidWorks’s menu bar.

Mastercam for SolidWorks videos—To see videos of many Mastercam for SolidWorks features, choose Videos in the Mastercam X4 Help section of the SolidWorks Help menu.

Mastercam for SolidWorks tutorial videos—In your Start menu, under Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks, Documentation, You can find a full set of interactive tutorials that are based on the lessons in this book.

Context Sensitive Help—Most dialog boxes feature a Help button that opens Mastercam for SolidWorks Help directly to related information.

Online help—You can search for information or ask questions on the Mastercam Web forum, located at www.emastercam.com.

Mastercam Reseller—Your local Mastercam Reseller can help with most questions about Mastercam for SolidWorks.

Technical Support—CNC Software’s Technical Support department (860-875-5006 or [email protected]) is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. USA Eastern Standard Time.

Documentation feedback—For questions about this or other Mastercam documentation, contact the Technical Documentation department by e-mail at [email protected].

http://www.emastercam.com

http://www.mastercam.com

http://www.mastercamedu.com

mailto:[email protected]





Additional DocumentationYou can find more information on using Mastercam for SolidWorks in the book Getting Started in Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks, which is included in the Mastercam for SolidWorks package. You can also find a PDF version of the book in the \Documentation folder of your Mastercam for SolidWorks installation. The default installation path is C:\Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks.

Section 12D Toolpaths

L E S S O N 1

1General Setup - Mold CoreBefore generating toolpaths for a part, you must prepare Mastercam for SolidWorks and the part file. This preparation includes such tasks as selecting a machine definition and defining a tool plane. Failure to set up the part correctly will give unpredictable results. This lesson introduces the tutorial part files for Section 1, “2D Toolpaths” and shows how to create a machine group.

Lesson Goals Explore the part files.

Select a machine.

Copy a toolpath.

About the Mold Core PartThe lessons in this section are based on the MoldCore.SLDPRT file, which is included with the tutorial. The following picture shows the part file as it displays in SolidWorks. This demo part contains nearly 20 operations, which demonstrate many of Mastercam for SolidWorks’s 2D toolpaths.


This tutorial covers only two of the toolpaths: Facing and Area Mill.

Note: To fully machine the part requires more operations than are described in this book.

The part files included for this portion of the tutorial are:

2DToolpath01.SLDPRT—The tutorial file for starting Lesson 1

2DToolpath02.SLDPRT—The tutorial file for starting Lesson 3

2DToolpathComplete.SLDPRT—The tutorial file after completing Lesson 3

MoldCore.SLDPRT—The fully toolpathed part

Exercise 1: Selecting Your MachineToolpaths are contained in Machine groups. For this reason, your part file needs at least one machine group before you can toolpath the part. Mastercam for SolidWorks automatically creates a machine group for each machine you select from the Machine Selection menu item. To see how machine selection works, complete the following exercise.

1 Open the part file 2DToolpath01.SLDPRT, which was provided with this tutorial.

2 Save the part under the name 2DToolpath01Tutorial.SLDPRT.

Saving the part under a new name helps prevent your accidentally modifying the original file.

3 From the Mastercam X4 menu, choose Machine Selection, and then select your machine from the submenu.

Mastercam for SolidWorks creates a machine group for the selected machine.

GENERAL SETUP - MOLD CORE • 9

TIP: To customize the Machine Selection list, choose Mastercam X4, Machine Selection, Manage List. For more information on the dialog box that displays, click the dialog box’s Help button ( ).

4 In the SolidWorks FeatureManager, click the Mastercam Toolpath Manager tab to display the Toolpath Manager.

Note: The Toolpath Manager in Mastercam for SolidWorks is nearly identical to the Toolpath Manager in the standalone version of Mastercam.

5 Click the 2D High Speed (2D Core Mill) operation to select it.

A green check mark shows that the operation is selected.

6 Right-click the selected toolpath, and choose Cut from the menu that displays.

Mastercam for SolidWorks removes the operation from the Toolpath Manager.

7 Click the toolpath group in your new machine group.


8 Right-click the selected toolpath group, and choose Paste from the menu that displays.

Mastercam for SolidWorks pastes the operation into your new machine group.

Note: The red arrow in the machine group indicates where Mastercam will paste the operation. For Step 8, the red arrow should be located below the new toolpath group. If it’s not, drag it down with your mouse.

9 Right-click Machine Group-1, and select Groups, Delete from the pop-up menu.

Mastercam for SolidWorks removes the old machine group, leaving only the one you created.

10 Right-click your new machine group, and select Groups, Rename from the pop-up menu.

Mastercam for SolidWorks highlights the current group name.

11 Type a new machine group name.

TIP: The machine group name can be anything you want, but choose a name that describes the machine and its operations.

12 If the copied operation is dirty (marked with a red X), click the Regenerate all dirty operations button.

Mastercam for SolidWorks regenerates the toolpath for the new machine.

13 Select File, Save to save the file.

L E S S O N 2

2The 2D Facing ToolpathThe first toolpath you explore in this tutorial is 2D Facing. Your starting part file, 2DToolpath01Tutorial.SLDPRT, already has a single toolpath defined (the 2D Core Mill operation). In this lesson, you add the facing operation to the part file.

Lesson Goals Define the part’s tool plane.

Set up the part’s stock model.

Add the 2D Facing toolpath.

Backplot the toolpaths.

Verify the toolpaths.

Exercise 1: Defining the Tool plane1 If necessary, open the

2DToolpath01Tutorial.SLDPRT file that you created in the previous lesson.

2 In the CommandManager, click the Mastercam X4 tab.

The CommandManager displays Mastercam for SolidWorks commands.

3 Click View Manager.

The View Manager dialog box displays.


4 Click the Geometry button.

The View Manager dialog box minimizes to uncover the SolidWorks graphics area.

5 Click the upper surface of the part’s base, as shown in the image to the right.

The selected surface becomes highlighted, and Face<1> displays in the Define View with geometry dialog box, which is docked on the left side of the SolidWorks window.

6 Click OK (the green check) in the Define View with geometry dialog box.

Mastercam for SolidWorks creates a new view based on your selection, and the View Manager reappears.

7 Right-click NEW VIEW #1, and choose Rename from the menu that displays.

8 Type MACHINE, and press [Enter].

9 Click in the MACHINE row’s T column.

A T displays in the column, indicating that MACHINE is now your tool plane.

THE 2D FACING TOOLPATH • 13

10 If necessary, select the Enable origin option, and then click the Select a new origin for the selected view button.

The View Manager dialog box again minimizes to uncover the SolidWorks graphics area.

11 In the graphics area, click the part’s lower-left corner, as shown in the picture to the right.

A point named Vertex<1> displays in the Selection dialog box, which is docked on the left edge of the SolidWorks window.

12 Click OK in the Selection dialog box.

Mastercam for SolidWorks places the new view’s origin at the selected point.

13 Click the View Manager’s OK button to finalize your choices.

You have now defined your part’s tool plane.

Exercise 2: Setting Up the Stock ModelBefore Mastercam for SolidWorks can generate toolpaths, it must know the dimensions and orientation of the stock from which your part will be cut. The following exercise shows how to set up the stock for your part.

1 In the SolidWorks FeatureManager, click the Mastercam Toolpath Manager tab to display the Toolpath Manager.


2 In the machine group’s Properties, click Stock setup. (If necessary, click the + to expand the options.)

The Stock Setup tab of the Machine Group Properties dialog box displays.

3 Click the All Entities button.

Mastercam for SolidWorks calculates the dimensions of the stock required.

4 Click the OK button to close the Machine Group Properties dialog box.

The stock model shows in the graphics area with dashed red lines.

Exercise 3: Creating the Facing Toolpath1 In the Mastercam X4 CommandManager,

click Pocket Toolpaths.

The Chain Manager displays, docked on the left edge of the SolidWorks window.


2 Right-click to select the line segement shown in the picture to the right, and then choose Select Loop from the menu that displays.

Mastercam for SolidWorks chains the selected geometry, as shown below, and Loop<1> appears in the Chain Manager’s Selection tab.

3 Click OK in the Chain Manager to finalize your choice.

The 2D Toolpaths dialog box displays.

4 In the 2D Toolpaths dialog box:

a Select the Toolpath Type page.

b Click the Facing toolpath.


TIP: Notice the Chain geometry section in the Toolpath Type page. To the left of the Select chains button is (1), which means you have specified one chain for the toolpath. The chain referenced is the one you created in Step 2.

5 In the 2D Toolpaths dialog box:

a Select the Tool page.

b Select the 5/8 FLAT ENDMILL tool.

6 Set the following options:

a Set Feed rate to 120.

b Set Spindle speed to 6000.

c Select Rapid Retract.

7 Select the Cut Parameters page, and then:

a Set Across overlap to 50.

b Set Along overlap to 75.

c Set Max stepover to 50.

d Turn off the Reverse direction of last pass option.


8 Select the Linking Parameters page, and then:

a Set Retract to 2.0.

b Set Feed plane to 1.6.

c Set Top of stock to 1.5.

d Set Depth to 1.25.

e Ensure that all values are set to Absolute.

9 Click OK to finalize your choices.

Mastercam for SolidWorks creates the toolpath shown in the following picture.

Exercise 4: Backplot and Verify the Facing Toolpath1 In the Toolpath Manager, click the

Backplot selected operations button.

The Backplot controls display at the bottom of the graphics area.


2 Click the Play button to watch Mastercam for SolidWorks backplot the toolpath.

TIP: To increase Backplot’s speed, drag the Backplot dialog box’s slider to the right.

3 When Backplot finishes, click OK or Cancel (the red X) to close the Backplot controls.

4 In the Toolpath Manager, click the Verify selected operations button.

The Verify controls appear.

5 Click the Fast Forward button to start Verify.

Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation, as shown in the following picture.


6 Click the OK or Cancel to close Verify.

Exercise 5: Verifying All of the Toolpaths1 In the Toolpath Manager, click the Select

all operations button.

Mastercam for SolidWorks places green check marks on both the Core Mill and Facing toolpaths.


The Verify controls appear.


Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates both of the cutting operations, as shown in the following picture.


TIP: To verify the toolpaths more quickly, click the Fast Forward button( ), instead of Play. Mastercam for SolidWorks then processes the toolpath without updating the screen until the Verify completes.

4 Click OK or Cancel to close Verify.

Exercise 6: Posting the Toolpath1 If necessary, click the Mastercam Toolpath

Manager tab to display the Toolpath Manager.

2 Click the Post selected operations button.

The Post processing dialog box displays.

3 If they are not already selected, select the NC File and Edit options, and then click OK.

The Save As dialog box displays.

4 Enter a file name for the NC File, and click Save.


Mastercam for SolidWorks analyzes all operations and creates the NC file for the part. Because you selected the Edit option, the NC file displays in Mastercam Editor, as shown in the following picture.

5 Close Mastercam Editor.

6 Save your work by choosing File, Save from the SolidWorks menu bar.

7 Choose File, Close to close the file.

L E S S O N 3

32D Area MillAnother toolpath used to cut the mold core part is Area Mill, which will cut the pocket using a smooth, clean motion. In this lesson, you add the Area Mill toolpaths to the part. Note that the part file you use contains three toolpaths, the two from the previous part file and an Area Clearance toolpath.

Lesson Goals Add the Area Mill toolpath.



Exercise 1: Creating the Area Mill Toolpath1 Choose File, Open, and then load the

2DToolpath02.SLDPRT file, which was provided with this tutorial.

2 Save the file as 2DToolpath02Tutorial.SLDPRT.

Saving the file under a new name prevents you from accidentally modifying the original.

3 In the CommandManager, click the Mastercam X4 tab.

4 Click 2D High Speed Toolpaths.

The Chain Manager dialog box displays.


5 Right-click on the edge shown in the picture to the right, and then choose Select Loop from the menu that appears.

6 If necessary, click the yellow arrow to switch the selection from the face to the edge.

Mastercam for SolidWorks chains the entire selected edge, as shown in the following picture.

7 Click OK in the Chain Manager dialog box.

In a few moments, the 2D High Speed Toolpath dialog box displays.

2D AREA MILL • 25

8 Click Toolpath Type, and select Area Mill.

9 Click Tool, and select the 1/2 FLAT ENDMILL.

10 Change the Feed rate to 80 and the Spindle speed to 8000.

11 Click Cut Parameters to display the Cut Parameters page, and change % of dia. to 40.0.

12 Click Depth Cuts, and then turn off the Depth Cuts option.

13 Click Linking Parameters, and set the following (as seen in the next picture):

a Retract to 2.0, Absolute

b Feed plane to 1.5, Absolute

c Top of stock to 1.25, Absolute

d Depth to 1.125, Absolute


14 Click OK to finalize your choices.

Mastercam for SolidWorks generates the toolpath shown below.

2D AREA MILL • 27

Exercise 2: Backplotting and Verifying the Toolpath1 In the Toolpath Manager, click the


The Backplot controls display at the bottom of the graphics area.


3 When Backplot finishes, click OK or Cancel to close the Backplot controls.


The Verify controls display.


Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation, as shown in the following picture.



Exercise 3: Verifying All of the Toolpaths1 In the Toolpath Manager, click the Select


Mastercam for SolidWorks places green check marks on all of the toolpaths.




Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates all of the cutting operations, as shown in the picture below. The full verification might take several minutes.

TIP: You can click the Stop button at any time to see how far the verification process has proceeded, and then click Fast Forward to pick up where Verify left off.


2D AREA MILL • 29








Mastercam for SolidWorks analyzes all operations and creates the NC file for the part. Because you selected the Edit option, the NC file displays in Mastercam Editor.



7 Choose File, Close to close the file.

Section 23D High Speed Toolpaths

L E S S O N 1

1General Setup - Phone CradleAs you learned in Section 1, before generating toolpaths for a part, you must prepare Mastercam for SolidWorks and the part file. Because the exercises in this lesson use a different part than the first three lessons, you need to set up the new part for your machine. As before, this preparation includes such tasks as selecting a machine definition and defining a tool plane. Failure to set up the part correctly will give unpredictable results. This lesson introduces the tutorial part files, as well as teaches you to set up the parts for toolpathing.

Lesson Goals Understand the part files.

Select a machine.

Create and set the tool plane.

Define the stock.

About the Phone Cradle Sample PartLessons 1 through 3 of this section are based on the PhoneCradle.SLDPRT file, which is included with the tutorial. The following picture shows the part file as it displays in SolidWorks.


This tutorial covers only a subset of the toolpath types used to machine the part. These toolpath types are as follows:

Core Roughing

Rest Roughing

Scallop

Waterline

Note: To fully machine the part (shown in the following picture) requires more operations than are described in this book.

The part files included for the phone cradle portion of the tutorial are:

PhoneCradle01.SLDPRT—The tutorial file for starting Lesson 1

PhoneCradle02.SLDPRT—The tutorial file after completing Lesson 1




PhoneCradleComplete.SLDPRT—The tutorial file after completing all lessons

PhoneCradle.SLDPRT—The phone cradle’s full SolidWorks drawing, with no toolpaths

GENERAL SETUP - PHONE CRADLE • 35

Exercise 1: Selecting Your MachineToolpaths are contained in machine groups. For this reason, your part file needs at least one machine group before you can add a toolpath to the part. Mastercam for SolidWorks automatically creates a machine group for each machine you select from the Machine Selection menu item. To see how machine selection works, complete the following exercise.

1 Open the part file PhoneCradle01.SLDPRT, which was provided with this tutorial.

2 Save the part under the name PhoneCradleTutorial.SLDPRT.

3 Optional: If you want to use a machine definition other than the default:

a From the Mastercam X4 menu, choose Machine Selection, and then select your machine from the submenu.


TIP: To customize the Machine Selection list, choose Mastercam X4, Machine Selection, Manage List. For more information on the dialog box that displays, click the dialog box’s Help button ( ).


b Click the Mastercam Toolpath Manager tab to display the Toolpath Manager.

c Right-click Machine Group-1, and select Groups, Delete from the pop-up menu.


Exercise 2: Defining the Tool PlaneMastercam for SolidWorks uses planes to determine the orientation of the toolpaths it creates. The following exercise shows one way to define the tool plane for a part.

1 On the SolidWorks CommandManager, select the Mastercam X4 tab.

Commands specific to Mastercam for SolidWorks display in the CommandManager.

2 Click View Manager.

The View Manager dialog box displays.


3 Click the Geometry button.

View Manager minimizes to uncover the SolidWorks graphics area.

4 Click the upper surface of the part’s rectangular base.

The selected face highlights, and its default name, Face<1>, displays in the Define View with geometry dialog box.

5 Click OK (the green check) to finalize your selection.

The View Manager redisplays.

6 In View Manager, right-click NEW VIEW #1, and select Rename from the pop-up menu.

7 Type MACHINE, and press [Enter].

You now have a user-defined plane named MACHINE.

8 With the MACHINE plane selected, click the Set your current tool plane and origin to the selected view button.

Mastercam for SolidWorks aligns your tool plane to the MACHINE plane.


9 Select the Enable origin option, if necessary, and then click the Select a new origin for the selected view button.

The View Manager minimizes to uncover the SolidWorks graphics area.

10 Click the bottom left corner of the part’s base, and then click OK in the Selection dialog box to finalize your choice.

Mastercam for SolidWorks places the origin at the selected point.

11 Click the View Manager’s OK button.

You have now defined your part’s tool plane.

Exercise 3: Defining the StockBefore Mastercam for SolidWorks can generate toolpaths, it must know the dimensions and orientation of the stock from which your part will be cut. The following exercise shows how to set up the stock for your part.

1 In the SolidWorks FeaturesManager, click the Mastercam Toolpath Manager tab.

The Toolpath Manager displays.


2 In your machine group’s properties, select Stock setup. (If necessary, display Stock setup by clicking the + next to the Properties icon.)

The Stock Setup dialog box displays.

3 Click All Entities and then OK.

Mastercam for SolidWorks analyzes the part’s geometry and creates stock of the appropriate size, as shown in the following picture.

4 Click OK, and save your work by choosing File, Save from the SolidWorks menu bar.

L E S S O N 2

2The Core Roughing ToolpathIn this lesson, you program the roughing toolpath that removes the majority of the material from the phone cradle. Because the feature to cut is a dome-shaped core, and because the tool can approach the feature from the outside, you will create an HST Core Roughing toolpath to rough out the part. The following picture shows the Core Roughing toolpath being cut on a Makino vertical machining center.

Lesson Goals Set a containment boundary.

Set toolpath parameters.

Generate the toolpath.

Backplot and Verify the toolpath.

Post the toolpath.

Exercise 1: Creating the Toolpath1 If necessary, load the file

PhoneCradleTutorial.SLDPRT that you saved at the end of the previous lesson.

Alternatively, you can start this lesson with the file PhoneCradle02.SLDPRT.


CAUTION: The steps in this exercise describe only the key settings required to create the Core Roughing toolpath for the phone cradle part. Your toolpath settings might vary depending on your selected parameters, including machine definition, tooling, material, toolpath type, surface finish requirement, and cycle time requirement. For this reason, as you work through this exercise, review all settings in each dialog box to ensure that the settings are correct for your situation.

2 If necessary, click the Mastercam X4 tab to show the Mastercam CommandManager.

3 In the CommandManager, click Surface High Speed Toolpaths.

The Enter new NC name dialog box displays.

Note: If you are asked to try the Toolpath Refinement feature, select Suppress this feature and OK.

4 Type a name for the toolpath’s NC file, and click OK.

In a few moments, the Surface High Speed Toolpaths dialog box displays.

5 On the Toolpath Type page, select Core Roughing.

THE CORE ROUGHING TOOLPATH • 43

6 Click the Select containment boundaries button.

The dialog box minimizes to uncover the SolidWorks graphics area.

7 To create the containment boundary:

a Right-click the edge shown highlighted in the image to the right.

b Choose Select Loop from the menu that displays.

Mastercam for SolidWorks highlights all four edges of the upper rectangle.

8 Finalize your choice by clicking OK in the Selection dialog box.

Mastercam for SolidWorks sets the selected geometry as the toolpath’s containment boundary.

9 Select the dialog box’s Tool page, and click Select library tool.

The Tool Selection dialog box displays.

10 Select a 3/4” flat endmill.


11 Set Feed rate to 80 and Spindle speed to 2000.

12 Select the Cut Parameters page, choose the Add cuts option, and then enter a Stepdown of 0.125, a Min stepdown of 0.0125, and a Max profile stepover of 0.375.

13 Set the stock to leave on walls and floors to 0.05

14 Select the Arc Filter/Tolerance page, and set Filter ratio to 2:1. Make sure that Filter tolerance is 0.001333, Cut tolerance is 0.000667, and Total tolerance is 0.002.

15 Click OK.

Mastercam for SolidWorks generates the Core Roughing toolpath. (It might take a minute or so.)


Exercise 2: Backplotting and Verifying the toolpath1 In the Toolpath Manager, click the


The Backplot controls display in the PropertyManager.


TIP: To increase Backplot’s speed, drag the Backplot dialog box’s slider to the right.

3 When Backplot finishes, click the OK or Cancel (the red X) to close the Backplot controls.





Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation as shown in the following picture.










Mastercam for SolidWorks analyzes all operations and creates the NC file for the part. Because you selected the Edit option, the NC file displays in Mastercam Editor, as shown in the following picture.



L E S S O N 3

3The Rest Roughing ToolpathBefore you apply the finishing toolpath, the part needs further roughing. The Rest Roughing toolpath is a good choice, because it removes only stock remaining from previous toolpaths, rather than cutting the entire part. Here, you program the Rest Roughing toolpath that will smooth out the surface of the main phone cradle. The following picture shows the toolpath being cut on a Makino vertical machining center.

Lesson Goals Create a containment boundary from construction geometry.

Set the toolpath parameters.

Generate the Rest Roughing toolpath.

Backplot and Verify the toolpaths.

Exercise 1: Creating the Toolpath

CAUTION: The steps in this exercise describe only the key settings required to create the Rest Roughing toolpath for the phone cradle part. Your toolpath settings might vary depending on your selected parameters, including machine definition, tooling, material, toolpath type, surface finish requirement, and cycle time requirement. For this reason, as you work through this exercise, review all settings in each dialog box to ensure that the settings are correct for your machine.


1 If necessary, load the file PhoneCradleTutorial.SLDPRT that you saved at the end of the previous lesson.


2 Hide previously generated toolpaths:

a Display the Toolpath Manager, by clicking the Mastercam Toolpath Manager tab.

b Click the Select all operations button.

c Click the Toggle toolpath display on selected operations button.

3 Click the Mastercam X4 tab to display the Mastercam CommandManager.

4 In the CommandManager, click Surface High Speed Toolpaths.

In a few moments, the Surface High Speed Toolpaths dialog box displays.

5 On the Toolpath Type page, select Rest Roughing.



THE REST ROUGHING TOOLPATH • 51

7 If necessary, click the plus mark in the upper left corner of the graphics area to display the flyout design tree.

8 In the design tree, select Sketch6.

SolidWorks highlights Sketch6 on the screen, and Sketch6 displays in the selection box.

9 Click OK to finalize your selection.

You have now defined a containment boundary for this toolpath.

10 Select the Tool page, and choose the 3/4” flat endmill.

11 Also on the Tool page, set Feed rate to 80 and Spindle speed to 2000.

12 Select the Cut Parameters page, ensure that Add cuts is still selected, and then enter 0.03 for Stepdown, a Min stepdown of 0.003, and a Max profile stepover of 0.375.


13 Set the stock to leave on walls and floors to 0.02

14 To set how to compute the remaining stock:

a Select the Rest Material page

b Select the One other operation option

c Choose the Core Roughing operation, as shown below.

15 Select the Arc Filter/Tolerance page, and make sure that Filter ratio is still set to 2:1, and that the other values are still set as shown in the image to the right.

16 Click OK.

Mastercam for SolidWorks generates the Rest Roughing toolpath. (It might take a minute or two.)





2 Click the Play button to watch a backplot of the toolpath.

3 Click OK or Cancel to close the Backplot controls.

4 In the Toolpath Manager, click the Select all operations button and then the Verify selected operations button.

The Verify controls appear in the PropertyManager.

5 Click the Fast Forward button to start the Verify function.

Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation. The first picture following shows the result. The second picture following shows the part after Rest Roughing has been completed.


TIP: To turn off the animated display, and so get to the results quicker, click the Fast Forward button in the Verify dialog box. Verify might still take a while to complete, but not as long as it would take if Mastercam for SolidWorks needed to concurrently update the display.


6 Click OK or Cancel to close the Verify dialog box.


L E S S O N 4

4The Scallop ToolpathWith the roughing complete, it’s time to apply a finishing toolpath to the phone cradle’s surface. The high speed Scallop toolpath uses a 3D stepover distance that is measured along the surface, instead of parallel to the tool plane. This ensures a consistent scallop height, regardless of the surface direction. In this lesson, you create a Scallop toolpath to finish the surface of the main phone cradle. The following picture shows the toolpath being cut on a Makino vertical machining center.

Lesson Goals Set Scallop toolpath parameters.

Generate a Scallop toolpath.

Backplot the toolpath.

Verify the toolpath.


Exercise 1: Creating the Toolpath

CAUTION: The steps in this exercise describe only the key settings required to create the Scallop toolpath for the phone cradle part. Your toolpath settings might vary depending on your selected parameters, including machine definition, tooling, material, toolpath type, surface finish requirement, and cycle time requirement. For this reason, as you work through this exercise, review all settings in each dialog box to ensure that the settings are correct for your situation.






c Click the Toggle toolpath display on selected operations button twice.

3 Click the Mastercam X4 tab to display the Mastercam CommandManager.

4 Click Surface High Speed Toolpaths in the CommandManager.

The Surface High Speed Toolpaths dialog box displays.

THE SCALLOP TOOLPATH • 59

5 On the Toolpath Type page, select the Finishing option, and then choose Scallop.



7 If necessary, click the plus mark in the upper left corner of the graphics area to display the flyout design tree.

8 In the design tree, select Top TCB.

SolidWorks highlights the Top TCB geometry on the screen, and Top TCB displays in the selection box.

9 Click OK to finalize your selection.

You have now specified a containment boundary for the Scallop toolpath.

10 On the dialog box’s Tool page, click the Select library tool button.

The Tool Selection dialog box displays.


11 Click the 3/32” ball endmill, and click OK.


13 Select the Cut Parameters page, and enter a Stepover of 0.005. Make sure that Scallop height is 0.000067.

14 Set the stock to leave on walls and floors to 0.0.

15 Select the Steep/Shallow page, and set From to 0.0 and To to 60.


16 Select the Arc Filter/Tolerance page, and then set Filter ratio to Off and Total tolerance to 0.001.

17 Click OK.

Mastercam for SolidWorks generates the Scallop toolpath. (It might take several minutes.)







4 In the Toolpath Manager, click Select all operations and then Verify selected operations.



Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation for all the toolpaths. The first picture following shows Verify in progress, whereas the second picture following shows the completed cut on the actual part.

L E S S O N 5

5The Waterline ToolpathThe last toolpath covered in the phone cradle tutorial finishes the wall areas of the part. Due to the angles involved, which can be constrained to between 30 and 90 degrees, a Waterline toolpath is appropriate. Waterline toolpaths are similar to finish contour toolpaths, but use Mastercam's high speed toolpath techniques for a smoother, more efficient tool motion. In this lesson, you generate the Waterline toolpath for the phone cradle part.

Lesson Goals Set Waterline toolpath parameters.

Generate a Waterline toolpath.

Backplot the Waterline toolpath.

Verify the Waterline toolpath.

Exercise 1: Creating the Waterline Toolpath

CAUTION: The steps in this exercise describe only the key settings required to create the Waterline toolpath for the phone cradle part. Your toolpath settings might vary depending on your selected parameters, including machine definition, tooling, material, toolpath type, surface finish requirement, and cycle time requirement. For this reason, as you work through this exercise, review all settings in each dialog box to ensure that the settings are correct for your situation.






c Click the Toggle toolpath display on selected operations button twice.


3 Click the Mastercam tab to display the Mastercam CommandManager.

4 Click Surface High Speed Toolpaths in the CommandManager.

The Surface High Speed Toolpaths dialog box displays.

5 On the Toolpath Type page, select the Finishing option, and then choose Waterline.



7 If necessary, display the flyout design tree by clicking the plus mark in the upper left corner of the graphics area.

8 In the design tree, select Wall TCB Upper and Wall TCB Lower.

SolidWorks highlights the selected geometry and displays Wall TCB Upper and Wall TCB Lower in the selection box.

THE WATERLINE TOOLPATH • 67

TIP: If SolidWorks ignores your second selection, click on the screen away from the flyout list, and then try the second selection again.

9 Click OK to finalize your selections.

You have now specified containment boundaries for the Waterline toolpath.

10 Go to the dialog box’s Tool page, and choose the 3/32” ball endmill.


12 On the Cut Parameters page, ensure that Add cuts is still selected, and then enter a Stepdown of 0.005, a Min stepdown of 0.0005, and a Max profile stepover of 0.046875.

13 Set the stock to leave on walls and floors to 0.0.

14 Select the Steep/Shallow page, and set the From value to 30 and the To value to 90.


15 On the Arc Filter/Tolerance page, make sure that Total tolerance is 0.001.

16 Click OK.

Mastercam for SolidWorks generates the Waterline toolpath. (It might take several minutes.)






4 In the Toolpath Manager, click the Select all operations and Verify selected operations button.


THE WATERLINE TOOLPATH • 69


Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation.



Section 3FBM Toolpaths

L E S S O N 1

1FBM MillAbout the FBM Sample PartLessons 1 and 2 of this section introduce the Feature-Based Machining (FBM) functions in Mastercam for SolidWorks. The following picture shows the part file as it displays in SolidWorks.

The part files included for the FBM portion of the tutorial are:

FBMPart01.SLDPRT—The file for starting the FBM section of the tutorial

FBMPart02.SLDPRT—The file after completing Lesson 1

FBMPartComplete.SLDPRT—The FBM tutorial file after completing Lessons 1 and 2

FBM Mill is a powerful feature-based machining (FBM) strategy that analyzes a solid part, detects all machining features in a specified plane, and generates the 2D milling toolpaths needed to machine the detected features. In this lesson, you use FBM Mill to generate toolpaths for the part shown in the following picture. The goal is to generate toolpaths for the following operations:

Facing the top surface

Contouring the part’s outside edges

Cutting the main pocket

Cutting the slots in the main pocket

Cutting the two large holes in the main pocket


Lesson Goals Set up a machine group.

Define the part’s stock.

Generate FBM Mill toolpaths.

Modify FBM Mill parameters.

Backplot and Verify the toolpaths.

Exercise 1: Set Up1 Load the part file FBMPart01.SLDPRT,

which was supplied with this tutorial

2 So that you do not overwrite the original during this tutorial, save the file as FBMPartTutorial.SLDPRT.

3 Optional: If you want to use a machine definition other than the default:

a From the Mastercam X4 menu, choose Machine Selection, and then select your machine from the submenu.


b Click the Mastercam Toolpath Manager tab to display the Toolpath Manager.

FBM MILL • 75

c Right-click Machine Group-1, and select Groups, Delete from the pop-up menu.


Exercise 2: Defining the StockFBM Mill requires that you set up stock for the part. The following exercise shows how to complete this task.

1 In the SolidWorks FeaturesManager, click the Mastercam Toolpath Manager tab.

The Toolpath Manager displays.

2 In your machine group’s properties, select Stock setup. (If necessary, display Stock setup by clicking the + next to the Properties icon.)

The Stock Setup dialog box displays.

3 Click All Entities.

Mastercam for SolidWorks analyzes the part’s geometry and creates stock of the same size as the part’s geometry.


4 Change the X, Y, and Z dimensions to 102, 152, and 27, respectively.

Now you have extra stock for a facing operation and to cut the outside contour.

5 Change the Z coordinate of the stock origin to 2.

This change takes all of the extra stock that is normal to the Z axis and places it above the part’s front face, which is the tool plane.

6 Click OK.

The Stock Setup dialog box closes, and Mastercam for SolidWorks displays the stock as dashed red lines.

Exercise 3: Creating the Mill Toolpaths1 In the Mastercam X4 CommandManager,

click FBM Mill.

The FBM Toolpaths - Mill dialog box displays.

2 Select the Setup page.

FBM MILL • 77

3 Select Rough outside of part and Finish outside of part.

FBM Mill will now create rough and finish toolpaths for the outside edges of the part.

4 Deselect the Create as needed option.

Now FBM Mill can only use tools from the library selected in the Tool library box.

5 Click the Detect button.

FBM Mill analyzes the part to identify features to machine, and then displays the detected features in the Features page.

6 Click OK to generate toolpaths for the detected features.

The Enter new NC name dialog box displays.

7 Type a name for the NC file, and click OK.


FBM Mill generates all of the 2D operations needed to machine the detected features, as shown in the following picture.

Exercise 4: Customizing the ToolpathsNotice that FBM Mill identified the largest hole as a feature to cut, but missed the smaller, 20mm hole. In this exercise, you change the FBM Mill parameters to include the smaller hole.

1 In the Toolpath Manager, click the FBM Mill Parameters icon.

The FBM Toolpaths - Mill dialog box displays.

2 Select the Feature detection page.

FBM MILL • 79

3 Change the Recognize holes greater than this diameter as features setting to 10.

The value of 10 ensures that FBM generates a toolpath for the 20mm hole that is located inside the pocket.


FBM Mill reanalyzes the part to identify features to machine and then displays the features in the Features page. Notice the new Zone 5 operation, which is the 20mm hole.

5 Click OK.

The dialog box closes, and Mastercam for SolidWorks marks the FBM Mill operation as dirty.

6 Click the Regenerate all dirty operations button.

FBM Mill regenerates the toolpaths, this time including the smaller hole as a detected feature, as shown in the following picture.


Exercise 5: Backplotting and Verifying the Toolpaths1 In the Toolpath Manager, click the Select


2 Click the Backplot selected operations button.


3 Click the Play button to watch a backplot of the toolpaths.


FBM MILL • 81

5 Click Verify selected operations.



Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation. The following picture shows the results.



L E S S O N 2

2FBM DrillFBM Drill is a feature-based machining (FBM) strategy that can detect holes in a solid and automatically generate a complete series of drill operations for the selected features. With FBM Drill you can:

Detect holes in a solid using specified criteria.

Review the detected features list and edit or delete features.

Preview toolpath operations and make additional changes before they are generated.

Automatically generate a complete series of drill operations for the selected features.

In this lesson, you use FBM Drill to generate toolpaths to drill the holes indicated in the following picture.

Lesson Goals Generate FBM Drill toolpaths.

Adjust feature detection.

Customize FBM Drill toolpaths.




Exercise 1: Creating the Drill Toolpaths1 If necessary, load the part file

FBMPartTutorial.SLDPRT that you saved at the end of the previous lesson.

Alternatively, you can start this lesson with the file FBMPart02.SLDPRT.

2 In the Mastercam X4 CommandManager, click FBM Drill.

The FBM Toolpaths - Drill dialog box displays.


FBM Drill analyzes the part and displays a set of operations for all detected holes, as shown in the following picture. Notice that the 20mm hole, which was toolpathed by FBM Mill in the previous lesson, is in the list.

FBM DRILL • 85

4 Select the Hole Detection page.

5 Set the Minimum diameter and Maximum diameter settings to 0.5 and10.0, respectively.

Reducing Maximum diameter to 10 ensures that FBM Drill does not generate a toolpath for the 20mm hole.

6 Click the Detect button again.

FBM Drill uses the new parameters to reanalyze the part. The 20mm hole no longer appears in the feature list.

7 Click OK.

FBM Drill generates the drilling toolpaths and adds them to the mill toolpaths that FBM Mill generated in the previous lesson.

8 To hide the FBM Mill toolpaths so that you can see the drill toolpaths more clearly:

a Select the FBM Mill toolpaths by clicking FBM Mill-FRONT in the Toolpath Manager.

Mastercam for SolidWorks selects the entire toolpath group and deselects all others.

b Click the Toggle toolpath display on selected operations button.

Mastercam for SolidWorks removes the FBM Mill toolpaths from the display, leaving only the unselected FBM Drill operations, as shown in the following picture.


Exercise 2: Customizing the FBM Drill ToolpathsSuppose now that you decide that the 8mm holes should be counterbored instead of just drilled. You can adjust the parameters for the drilling operations to get the results you want. This exercise shows you how.

1 Click the minus sign to the left of FBM Mill-FRONT in the Toolpath Manager.

Mastercam for SolidWorks collapses the mill toolpaths to remove them from view.

2 Click the FBM Drill Parameters icon.

The FBM Toolpaths - Drill dialog box displays.

FBM DRILL • 87

3 On the Features page, choose the Select common features option.

You can now select entire groups of similar features with a single mouse click.

4 In the features list, click one of the 8mm holes.

FBM Drill automatically selects all four of the 8mm holes.

5 In the Hole type column, right-click one of the 8mm holes, and select Hole type, Counter bore from the pop-up menu.

FBM Drill changes the hole type for all four 8mm holes.

6 Click OK to dismiss the dialog box.

Mastercam for SolidWorks marks the FBM Drill operations as dirty.

7 Click Regenerate all dirty operations.

FBM Drill regenerates the toolpaths based on the new parameters.

Exercise 3: Backplotting and Verifying the Toolpaths1 In the Toolpath Manager, click Select all

operations and Backplot selected operations.

The backplot controls display in the PropertyManager.


2 Click the Play button to watch a backplot of the toolpaths.





Mastercam for SolidWorks simulates the cutting operation. The following picture shows the results.

FBM DRILL • 89


7 Save the file.

671 Old Post RoadTolland, CT 06084 USAwww.mastercam.com

X4-SW-PDF-Tutor

Mastercam is a registered trademark of CNC Software, Inc. ©Copyright 1983-2009. All rights reserved. SolidWorks is a registered trademark of DS SolidWorks Corporation.

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