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4th axis issues

forrest86LD6
Advocate

4th axis issues

forrest86LD6
Advocate
Advocate

Hi,

 

I have two issues going on with my 4th axis CAM.

1st, I can't get the stock size to match the part OD in my setup (setup 1). If you look the model, you will see I had to add a radial offset. This is wrong because the part is already turned to size.

2nd, the slot on one side does not point at the axis of revolution, and the 3rd operation gouges the part. You can see this during simulation. I'm looking for strategies to mill this troublesoe4m wall.

 

File and screencast attached.

 

Thank you!

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LibertyMachine
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Ok, so here's the deal:

 

Your stock selection/definition issue is coming from the fact that your model is actually 58 unstitched surfaces. On that note, this is likely the same issue with why you couldn't do the chamfer in your last screencast.

You need to go into the Patch environment and stitch all the surfaces together. But, once you do that, all your toolpaths will be lost, so you will need to reselect them. However, there seems to be a bug currently that's not letting you reselect them properly....

 

On to the gouging....

A 2D Contour (Wrapped) is going to gouge at the top or the bottom. There's no way around it. Only thing you really could do is attack it like a 2 axis part.

 

This is one of the significant limitations of the current Wrapped toolpaths. They are not "model aware" and they do not have the computational ability to justify both top and bottom going where they need to be


Seth Madore
Owner, Liberty Machine, Inc.
Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.
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forrest86LD6
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I brought the file over from Solidworks as a step file... prt>>step. Therefore, question one would be, is something wrong with the way Solidworks is doing the conversion. Note, I have tried IGES but Fusion barfs on it.

 

Regarding the gouging, I guess I could select the axis carefully for setup 1 and then clean the slot up in 2D. I might have to hand code some G1 A'whatever" after the tool goes to home after op2.

I'm going to leave this open until I resolve the file issues.

Thank you!

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forrest86LD6
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Here are the part and step files. I wonder what is happening that creates unstitched surfaces?

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forrest86LD6
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I just pointed Z along along an edge of the offending slot face, and unchecked Wrap. It seemed to work fine. During simulation, the face is still green, and not quite part colored ( a little of the part color comes through). I have Stock to Leave set to 0.0 Wondering if this is my graphics card, or something I have done wrong?

 

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LibertyMachine
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Mentor

With Tool Orientation, it will align the part/tool along the indicated Z axis just fine. This is not the same as Wrapped toolpath and will work just fine for this application. Where it would become a problem is if you tried to also machine more of the radius around the part. This would require Wrap.

So, not a graphics issue.

 

Regarding the model; Is this a native Solid Works file, or an imported into SW, imported again into Fusion?

I prefer the .xt format, I never have conversion issues with that one


Seth Madore
Owner, Liberty Machine, Inc.
Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.
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forrest86LD6
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What is Tool Orientation?  Is it a checkbox?

 

The files are straight from Solidworks.

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LibertyMachine
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Interesting that the file is straight in from SW. Un-stitched and faces reversed.... hmm. I'm not a SW guy, so I don't know what would cause that.

 

Tool Orientation is a checkbox on the Geometry tab of the operation.

 

What you did (I think) is just change the orientation of the Setup by redefining what the Z axis is. That is essentially what you should do every time you have to make a setup. With Tool Orientation, you  can have your setup HOW YOU WANT IT, and then use Tool Orientation to reach new areas that aren't otherwise accessible. For tool orientation, define as such:

2018-12-12_16h49_50.png


Seth Madore
Owner, Liberty Machine, Inc.
Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.
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forrest86LD6
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Yes, that is how I oriented Z. Is there a video on Tool Orientation?

 

Regarding the files, I think the source of the problem may have been too many conversions. The file actually went through the following process IGES>PRT>STEP. I think IGES to PRT generated the errors.

 

I have a fresh PRT that I converted to X_T and have tried to OPEN it. It uploads but does not show.  Do you have any idea why it may not show?

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forrest86LD6
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I now have the parasolid open, and it does not have patches all over it, so that is great. Is there a procedure to conveniently take the setup, and operations from the "patched" model, and copy them into the new parasolid/Fusion instance? I realize that I will have to re-pick the geometry.

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LibertyMachine
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Accepted solution

Click on the Setup(s), press CTRL+C and go over to your new file (in the CAM section) and press CTRL+V


Seth Madore
Owner, Liberty Machine, Inc.
Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.
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forrest86LD6
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I forgot to "Like" all your posts. Will do it if you have a way. I seemed to be lock-out, now that I have accepted the solution.

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