Parralel Spiral Facing Operation?

[LibertyMachine]

I'm trying to figure out how to do something:

I've got a plate of steel I need to face. It's 22" long and 11" wide. My machine has only 22.5" of travel. The only facing operation I can find has a few operations for direction and climb/conventional, but it's not giving me what I would really like to utilize. What I'm looking to do would be a parallel spiral to center. (For finish reasons, I can't face it in the 11" wide direction).

Basically how one would typically mow ones lawn....That make any sense?

[jeff.walters]

so your talking about cutting it like a pocket?

[LibertyMachine]

Yes, but from the outside in. Start outside the part in safe area and spiral to center

[jeff.walters]

like this?

[LibertyMachine]

I suppose that will be as close as we are going to get huh? My only issue with the scallop pass is how it leads into the next cut the way it does. I realize that hand writing the toolpath is almost always shorter, but I would think it would just be:

G0X-1.Y-1.

X10.

Y-5.

X1.

Y-2.

X9.

Y-4.

X2.

Y-3.

X8.

G0Z.250

(simple spiral hand written)

[jeff.walters · Accepted solution]

you can always change the transition type to something closer if you want.

[LibertyMachine]

Thank you Jeff! I knew there had to be a way to change that, but for some reason I wasn't seeing it. I'm just gonna blame it on running 2 mills at the same time as trying to program my next job......

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't say that this is solved. It is more of a workaround. I think there should be a paralell and circular facing operation option. I have tried to use pocketing to do this with mixed results. Sometimes the selections don't allow for it to work. It seems like it should be really simple to add to the facing options. It is a much more effective option than any of the options currently given. Conventional and Climb aren't bad except that you waste time with retracting the tool and moving all the way back to the start for more passes. But if there were a spiral-in option the tool could stay cuttting the whole time. Also, the "both ways" option isn't great because then you can get varied finishes between rows of conventional versus climb cuts.

Please open this back up to be an open idea.

[LibertyMachine]

To an extent, I agree with most of what you say. I "accepted the solution" only because it was the only one available at the time. You know what I actually ended up doing? Drawing (sketching) the toolpath I wanted and then running a contour with no comp. Definitely not a solution, long term. I really like whatMasterCam had to offer in the way of Facing options. It's an area that I really feel should recieve some more attention from the Fusion team. In MCAM, you had the option of offsetting the toolpath in any direction (of your choice) so you could equalize the cut in the Y direction, specifying offsets, either all around, or on one or more edges, you could also specify what sort of toolpath you wanted, whether it was zig-zad, one direction, spiral (true spiral), adaptive. Options were nice and useful.

I don't know if the moderators can mark something "Unresolved", but if they can, it would be nice. Barring that, I think the next best thing to do would be to put something up on the IdeaStation and make a clear case for additional Facing options. Post back here if you do and I'll gladly cast my vote for it.

[changedsoul]

5 years later and this still doesn't seem to be implemented.

Plenty of times I have tried to face a part with a uniform spiral outside to inside, and making a sketch for the tool path seems to be the only way.

[Don.Cyr]

Would be a FANTASTIC improvement.

[ifuASTJY]

I use 3d adaptive for that and will generate the toolpath according to your stock shape.