Extremely slow CAM generation

[joeystreet_wst]

Hi All,

I am trying to create a relatively simple 2D tool path and the cam generation takes upwards of a couple hours. I've read some of the other posts in regards to this and have tried a lot of the suggestions but still no luck. My tool path does consist of quite a few chains, but I still feel like the simplicity of the overall project should be easier to deal with. 

NOTE: 

I am also getting very bogged down in the design environment when I am inside the particular sketch that has all these chains.

Is this a fusion thing? or something to do with my computer?

[LibertyMachine]

Can you share your file or at least a screenshot of what you are dealing with?

[joeystreet_wst]

here is the file. So what I've done is created a circuit board using Eagle. I've then pushed it into fusion and traced all of the circuitry in a sketch in order to mill out the circuit board. 

[jeff.pek]

Thanks for sharing your model.

Is there a particular operation (or set of them) that you're seeing this slowness with?

Is it possible for you to create a video showing this "in action"?

Thanks,

  Jeff

[joeystreet_wst]

In this case, It is the operation called "2D Adaptive1" Using tool 21. Unfortunately, I don't have the means to create a video.

Thank You for your help with this!

[jeff.pek]

Also, can you quantify, "how slow is slow?" 

Thanks,

  Jeff

[joeystreet_wst]

This one operation took upwards of 2 hours to generate

[LibertyMachine]

As an aside, Autodesk does have a tool called "Screencast" that is a plug-in for the software. Works quite well 🙂

[jeff.pek]

OK, thanks for the info. I'm seeing this too -- seems to get "stuck" at 80%. I need to show this to some folks familiar to what's happening under the covers, to see what ideas they have.

Jeff

[joeystreet_wst]

Thanks Seth, That was news to me!

So I downloaded Screencast, and made a video. I have it on my private dashboard, but cant figure out how to make it public so that I can post it here. Any suggestions?

[joeystreet_wst]

Thanks again Jeff, I look forward to hearing back!

[LibertyMachine]

After you've recorded the video, you are presented with a dialog to upload it. Set it to the following:

If you set it to "Private" or "Anyone with this link", you can change that at the dashboard by left clicking on this button and selecting Edit

Sorry for the hijack Jeff 🙂

[joeystreet_wst]

here is my screen cast.... i tried to show my tool path variables, and also a brief viewing of the generation speed

[paul.clauss · Accepted solution]

Hi @joeystreet_wst

Thanks for posting! I've seen a few of these issues before and usually this is indicative of something in the toolpath making generation take a long time for legitimate reasons. I believe this is occurring on your end - the Adaptive toolpath does continue to generate and I bet it will complete if given the necessary time (which is sometimes overnight in these situations).

This is because of the way Adaptive toolpaths are calculated - because Adaptive toolpaths look for paths with constant tool engagement, they are computationally more intensive than some other options like Pocket. This is discussed in this article on CAM Performance and toolpath generation - please give it a read.

With your toolpath partway generated, we can see the tool is looking for curved paths through all the small contours. 63 chains is a large selection for any toolpath, but the problems with this are amplified when we are trying to force adaptive paths through small channels .

That is a lot of very small, arced cuts to clear out some pretty straightforward pocket geometry. While it would be great if Adaptive could generate quickly here, we'd still get a huge amount of code to run at the machine with this toolpath.

I think that Pocket is a better operation here. If you right click the "stuck" Adaptive operation and create a derived 2D Pocket operation, the toolpath will generate very quickly and result in a toolpath with faster machining times, less code, and nice straight cuts instead of the arcs.

Now, if you let the Adaptive sit overnight and it does not generate, feel free to let me know and we'll log a bug. With that said, I think that this cut would be better approached with a Pocket strategy than Adaptive. I'll leave it calculating over the Thanksgiving break on my end as well so I can compare the machining times and NC file sizes when I return next week.

[joeystreet_wst]

Hi Paul,

The adaptive path was generating after a couple hours, I just thought that seemed like a long time.

I tried what you said and created a derived pocket from that operation though, and it worked instantly!

Thank you so much for your time on this matter!!

Regards,

Joey

[speedfreakgarage]

I have this exact same issue when using adaptive toolpaths.  Although I understand why using pocket is better (sometimes), why is Fusion so extremely slow to generate the toolpaths?  My processor is running at 10% and everything else is running at 1%, so something inside Fusion's code is not properly utilizing my computer's processing power.  Does the Fusion team plan to fix this?  Seems like only one processor thread (out of 16) is being utilized for this toolpath generation.

[seth.madore]

@speedfreakgarage Without seeing your file, it's going to be near impossible to understand why it's taking so long. Can you share your file?

[marshall.henry]

Have you seen anything on increasing the processing power for toolpath generation? I have files with 20+ set ups each with 20+ Tool Paths per Setup and at this point, even a basic contour is taking minutes to calculate. I've tried lots of possible fixes (increasing tolerances and smoothing, decreasing graghics, 7 day free trail of the machining extension, extremely limiting sketches (there is no lag in CAD, only CAM)) I have a supercharged PC but it seems Fusion, even when working in offline mode, only utilizes 20% of the CPU for toolpath generation/calculation. When will this be addressed?

[marshall.henry]

@seth.madore Seth, are there any plans to increase the CPU processing power utilized by the CAM workspace? Once CAM files reach a high degree of detail, several set ups with several toolpaths, everything bogs down to a crawl because it's only utilizing 20% of my CPU?

[seth.madore]

I'm not aware of any big plans to improve this behavior, at present. However, the teams are continuously looking at individual toolpaths and complex models in an effort to improve the user experience.