How to use In-Process Stock for next Setup?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

In September 2020 Product Update this function went live from preview.

It's described with "In process stock also transfers between setups. Define the stock for the current setup as the result from the previous setup!" but I can't find how to do it.

Can you help me how to make stock from last operation in SetupX as stock for SetupX+1?

[Richard.stubley · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

I think what you are after is a different Feature flag that works in tandem with In process stock. 

This will allow you to then use preceding stock as an option in the setup.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. You explained me how to use it but this feature it's almost what I was hopping for.
It still needs to other have preview feature on and it only works with X and X+1.

I have some parts with changed order of setups (or skipped) and it would be nice if you could choose from which setup you load stock.

[Richard.stubley]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thank you for that feedback I will defiantly pass it onto the right people.

[Anonymous]

@Richard.stubley 

Also there is one other flaw. When using "old way" (save stock to mesh, import, stock from solid) it showed size of stock. Loading from previous doesn't have that feature.

It's small things (choosing which and dimensions) but it would be nice to have them.

[DarthBane55]

If this size preview can be fixed, maybe it will fix the export to simulator problem as well (Vericut, NCSimul).  Right now it exports a big box instead of the correct stock, I think it's related to the stock size preview, because it looks like it is doing the correct stock only internally.  If the stock size preview gets fixed, I guess that means it will actually load the previous stock in the setup correctly, instead on just internally.

Right now for people using external simulator, this is a major problem, as the correct stock does not get exported.

[Anonymous]

@DarthBane55I just exported stock to stl and it worked fine.

From Setup1 which was set as fixed size cylinder and from Setup2 which loaded stock from previous operations.

Maybe for Setup2 you didn't have checked continue rest machining box?

[DarthBane55]

@Anonymous 

hmmm, when you say that you exported the stock to STL, do you mean like this:

Op2 setup used the rest material from setup 1.  Then you exported the resulting stock after op2 setup (to STL), and opened that STL file to see if it was good?

If that is what you mean, then yeah... this is not what I meant... hehe

So, if I take your example to illustrate back what I meant:

op1 setup as cylinder, everything ok with that, even export to NCSimul.

Op2 setup, choose to use the rest material option from op1 setup.  Works perfectly inside Fusion.  But, when exporting that to NCSimul, that exports the op1 stock again, not the result after op1, but the original cylinder, and that is bad...

I believe this is then result of what you said before, that it doesn't show the correct size preview in the op2 setup.  When exporting to NCSimul, I need the stock for op2 setup, which is the result after machining op1.

Yes, exporting to STL after simulation does the export correctly, but this is not what I need.

I hope it makes sense...  I think we are after the same thing, that the stock in op2 is loaded internally only, so cannot show the preview correctly, and also cannot show the size preview.

[Anonymous]

@DarthBane55

I think I'm missing something because of a lack of knowledge.

How are you exporting that to NCSimul? Can you explain that to me? Step by step or which features you are using. I was sure that you use export to stl for that.

[DarthBane55]

Ah sorry, right, to export to NCSimul, when posting the g-code, we add a cascading post, which triggers a NCSimul post after the regular machine post, and inside that NCSimul post there are functions that automatically export the whole setup, WCS, tools, etc, to NCSimul.  So it is automated, we just post as normal, and because of the cascading post, it all gets exported sort of "behind the scene".  It does export the stock as a STL though, but it takes the stock from the setup, and since under preview (in the setup), the previous op stock is not shown correctly, I think they bypassed that in Fusion (for the setup), this function is probably only activated in simulation by the looks of it.  If it was activated at the setup level, it would show the stock preview correctly, along with the stock size preview.