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On maintenance, but need a litle help on 3D finishing.....
So, I am a long time FeatureCAM holdover on active Maintenance.
I've lost my VAR after the ADSK takeover.
Is there a specific place I can turn to with a relatively simple 3D strategy question?
Again, I am on an active maintenance but do not know where to call.... ( for a dedicated answer )
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Good Morning @acad-caveman
Sorry to hear you are struggling ...
One of the easiest ways to contact support is to do the following:
Go to www.autodesk.com/gethelp
Choose post purchase support.
Help using my software.
Choose the products and select then give a brief description.
Click see options.
You will then be presented with some options depending upon the level of support that you have.
Choose from either Schedule a call / Create a case.
If you choose schedule a call ... Someone will call you at your selected time
More information can be found below
Video
Article
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/account-management/users-software/support-options
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If you want to work with a certified Autodesk partner, you can visit the Autodesk Services Marketplace
You can look for one in your area by changing the location filters. From there, you can pick from the ones available.
I work for a reseller in Canada that dedicates serving Canadian customers. If you reside in Canada, reach out and we can discuss how we can bring you over to SolidCAD. The real benefit of working directly with a partner is that you get support benefits from both sides. Even though you work directly with a partner, you can still reach out to Autodesk for support like @lee.hillman mentioned.
The forum here gets monitored pretty frequently as well, if you upload your project and give some details on what you are trying to accomplish, we may be able to help you out here directly.
Thanks,
Technical Specialist - CAM
SolidCAD - Canada

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OK, so please let me recap a little.
Back when I had a VAR, I knew where to turn to for help.
Never needed it much, but when got cornered a couple of times, they were there just a phone call
or E-mail away to get almost immediate help.
That was one of the perks of being on active Maintenance.
Well, that does not seem to be the case anymore.
Anyhow, my problem is relatively simple.
I do very little in the way of 3D surface milling, so whenever I come up with a part that needs it I struggle from
beginning to end, and the final result is always some sort of compromise.
Yes, I am at fault here as I just never took the time to dig deep and figure out the various options and methods.
2D programs I believe to have managed quite well over the years, don't remember the last time running up a wall,
let alone needing help.
Let's just say there isn't a paper bag I couldn't program my way out of blindfolded, in the middle of a hurricane while
sipping a cup of coffee.
3D part OTOH are absolutely killing me!
I will try to attach an FM file for my latest dilemma.
It should be an incredibly simple single 3D surface feature.
Part is an Aluminum extrusion, holes drilled/tapped and the contour is 2D milled to near-net using another operation.
All I need to do is mill the angled surfaces, and I really only need to finish mill them.
That is it!
And yet, I cannot figure out how to coerce FeatureCAM to:
1: Include the vertical wall for machining. It is continuous with all others, and yet it does not touch it.
2: Cannot figure out how to tell it to consider the entire stock when ramping.
3: Cannot define a horizontal ramp distance so it can safely plunge and then feed into the profile.
My way around #3 is to do a bottom-up strategy, but that is just a workaround and would not work if I didn't have
a long enough endmill to use.
The source solid is an Inventor assembly that is accurately representing the stock and the finished part.
If anyone is willing to take a look at the attachment and tell me where am I going wrong,. I do appreciate it.
It is created in FC Premium 2020
Thank You
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@bhorstTGM48 wrote:See if this is going in the right direction?
WOW!!!
That right there pretty much solves all the points I was asking about!!!
THANK YOU!!!
I will be mulling over the details of what you may have changed in the feature creation, but at first glance all I did to it is to change the lead in-out amounts so the tool never plunges into material, and the result became
EXACTLY what I was after!!!
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https://www.screencast.com/t/MlqdjIAv
I have been turning the rest of my hairs grey on this one for the past couple of days. This is a 4th axis setup.
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I do a fair amount of parts like that, bosses on cylindrical/countoured surfaces.
If its on a purely cylindrical surface, I will rough it out and finish the floor with a wrapped side/pocket feature. Extract your wrapping curves from the base of the boss, that way your 2d wrapped feature will also finish the corner where the boss intersects the floor. This is generally much more efficient than any of the rotary 3d toolpaths, is much easier to constrain, and usually leaves a better finish on the floor.
Then if the bosses are linearly extruded features, a 4 axis swarf toolpath to finish them. This works best if you can use a ballnose, otherwise you will often have to limit the depth to avoid gouging the floor and add some other toolpaths to clean up around the base.
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I am very curious about this method you are suggesting. If I upload my .FM file can you show me a quick example of the 2D curve and the wrapping?
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Hi @bhorstTGM48
Not sure what type of wrapping you require, but here are a few articles I did awhile back that explains the basics.
How this helps a bit.
Technical Specialist - CAM
SolidCAD - Canada

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Thanks for your interaction on this and ALL of the topics you help out on. I have really enjoyed learning from you in this forum.
On this project it is not clear how I can do this pocket and have it avoid the two bosses projecting out of the cylindrical surface?
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Here is a very rough example, there are a few prerequisites that make doing it on this model/file a bit difficult and I am a bit short on time this morning!
To do this properly you will need to remove the fillets from your model and reimport, in order to be able to extract the curve of the exact intersection between the boss and the cylinder. Then you just use an endmill with the correct corner radius.
The swarf toolpath needs an endmill that matches the smallest radius on the profile, and you need to play around with the check surfaces and axial check allowance to find the best balance between gouge avoidance and maximal material removed. Also you will need to add some small area finished toolpaths to remove the left material after the wrap and the swarf are done, but it will be minimal.
Hope this helps
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