Plug-Ins Tutorials Chapter 4

TP TRANS This Plug-in allows you to modify the location, orientation, and size of selected toolpath. Operations may be moved in X, Y and Z, rotated, mirrored, and scaled. The toolpath is duplicated when it is transformed and an operation is created for each instance of the toolpath. This exercise will introduce you to the use of the TP Trans Plug-in. We will start with one simple pocket and translate, rotate, mirror, and scale the toolpath. 1. Open part Transform.vnc from the sample part files. 1. Click on the Tools and the Machining buttons. This part has one existing operation and one geometric shape that is pocketed by this operation. 2. Double-click the operation to load the toolpath. 3. Select TpTrans from the Plug-Ins menu. The Transform Ops dialog appears. 4. Select Translate and enter the values shown in the following image. We will be translating (and duplicating) the toolpath down and to the right of the existing pocket so that the additional pocket’s upper left-hand corner is near the arc of the first pocket. 5. Click Do it. Your screen will look like the image below. Keep the Transform Ops dialog open. You will notice that the operations are all highlighted. If you look at Operations in the operation list, you will see that the two operations are grouped, indicated by a plus sign. With the operations selected, we will now duplicate and rotate the existing toolpath. 6. In the Transform Ops dialog, select Rotate and enter the values shown in the image. Click Do it. Your screen will look like the following image. We will now duplicate and mirror the toolpath to complete this exercise. 7. Select Mirror Horizontally and enter 0 for the H coord. Click Do it. We now have eight grouped operations in the Operation List and the toolpath has been duplicated symmetrically around the part. When rendered, your part will look similar to the following image. CONVERT TO TROCHOIDAL TOOLPATH (OP MODIFIER) This exercise will introduce you to creating Trochoidal Toolpath. 1. Open part Trochoidal.vnc from the sample part files. This part currently contains two tools, three geometric shapes and a stock body defined through geometry. First, we will create a Contouring operation to go around the inside pocket of the stock. This will be the first set-up operation. 2. Create this Contour process with Tool #1. 3. Set the machining markers as shown on the smaller ellipse. 4. Create the toolpath. We will now create Trochoidal Toolpath from the operation. 5. Select the smaller tool #2, and the Contour operation we created, Right-click the operation and choose Operation Modifiers from the menu, then choose Convert to Trochoidal. 6. Select the Full-Circle option and enter an offset of 2.5mm. Click Do it when you are ready. The Contour operation is modified to the trochoidal parameters. During rendering, you will notice how the Trochoidal Toolpath is effectively scooping out the inner shape from the stock. Trochoidal Toolpath is able to simulate large cuts by performing a series of small, fast cuts. We will now create a Roughing operation to pocket out the rest of the part. 7. Create this Rough process with tool #2. 8. Select the larger ellipse and the outer geometry. 9. Create the toolpath. We will now modify this toolpath to a Trochoidal toolpath. 10. Select tool #2 and the Roughing operation we created, the operation and choose Operation Modifiers from the menu, then choose Convert to Trochoidal. 11. Again we will use the Full-Circle option with a 2.5mm offset. Click Do it when you are ready. A new Roughing operation is created. Double-click the new operation; your screen should look like the image below. When rendered, you can see just how wide a groove this type of operation is able to make. While a 10mm tool would cut a groove that is just as wide, the smaller tool will provide for more accurate corners. When fully rendered, the part should look like the image. Once the operations are complete, you may delete the setup operations. However, it is recommended that you not do so until you are sure you have the desired Trochoidal Toolpath. Remember to save your part. STOCK WIZARD The Stock Wizard helps to create a rectangular or cylindrical stock definition with or without a single hole, rather than manually creating it. The hole may be a rectangular or circular shape. The hole in the stock may be a blind hole (a pocket) or a through hole This tutorial is intended to illustrate the operation of the Stock Wizard and familiarize you with its use. In this exercise we will make a cylindrical stock with a rectangular blind hole but will start out creating a cuboid stock to illustrate changing the stock. Please Note: The Stock Wizard was not designed to work with spinning Part Stations. Defining Stock 1. Create a metric 3 Axis Vertical Mill part with the following workspace stock size: +X: 175 –X: -175, +Y: 175 –Y: -175, +Z : 0 –Z : -75 This will provide a workspace large enough to visualize the new stock. The Z values in this dialog are critical to the Stock Wizard. The depth value of the stock will be taken directly from this dialog. All other settings for the stock size may be adjusted in the Stock Wizard dialog but the stock depth is defined in and controlled by the Document Control dialog. 2. Choose Main Tools> Stock Wizard from the Plug-in Menu. Cuboid When the Stock Wizard is first opened you can choose to make a Cuboid or Cylinder shaped stock. 1. Click the Cuboid button. This will make a cuboid shaped stock and progress to the next step where we will define the size of the stock. 2. Enter the values shown and click the Next button. The stock will always be equal to or less than the workspace defined in the Document Control dialog and the depth of the stock is always equal to the Z values in the Document Control dialog. The Stock Wizard definition will always override the Document Control dialog. In step 3 we will define the shape of a rectangular hole in the stock. 3. Select the Rectangular hole type. Blind Rectangular Hole We will create a blind hole in the stock. Holes must always be contained within the X and Y bounds of the stock. If the hole overlaps the stock no hole will be produced. 1. Enter the values shown to define the size of the blind hole and click the Finish button. Rectangular holes can be placed anywhere within the stock boundary. 2. View the stock in rendering mode (F6). Cylindrical We will now recreate the stock to be a cylinder with a depth of 100mm. Doing so will illustrate how the workspace size will change. 1. Modify the workspace stock size as shown. To change the depth of the stock we must modify it from the Document Control dialog. 2. Open the Stock Wizard and select Cylinder for the stock shape. 3. Define the cylindrical stock as shown and click the Next button. Note that the radius of the stock is greater than the workspace. 4. Select a rectangular hole shape. The Stock Wizard has kept the hole size from the previous stock definition. 5. Change the depth of the hole to -75 and click the Finish button. 6. Open the Document Control dialog. Note that the X and Y values have been modified to accommodate the stock. 7. View the stock in rendering mode (F6). DISTRIBUTION ONLY TUTORIALS Distribution Only plug-ins are items that were developed to fit a particular need and may be of use elsewhere. These items often do not adhere to the GibbsCAM look and feel and are not considered a normal part of the system. Get Section The Get Section Plug-in is generally used with solid Lathe parts to extract a flat profile of geometry for machining. This exercise will introduce you to extracting geometry with the Get Section plug-in. 1. Open part Get Section.vnc from the sample part files. 2. Select the solid and choose Solids>Get Section from the Plug-Ins menu. 3. Select HV Plane and the Positive side and click OK. The system has extracted geometry from the intersection of the solid and the HV Plane (the current CS), which in this case is the XZ Plane. Because the Positive option is selected, the system will only extract geometry from the positive side of the V (or X) Axis. 4. Delete the extracted geometry. We will now extract geometry from the HD Plane. 5. Select the solid and choose Get Section from the Plug-Ins menu. 6. Select HD Plane and the Negative side and click OK. The system has extracted geometry on the negative side of the D axis from the intersection of the solid and the HD Plane (plane perpendicular to the current CS). Deburring Process The Plug-in cleans up selected edges of parts. This exercise will introduce you to the use of the Deburring Process Plug-in. First, ensure that “Deburring Process” is enabled within the Plug-In Manager. 1. Open part Deburr.vnc. We will use the Deburring Process to clean up the inside and outside edges of the four circular holes on the side of the part. 2. Select and drag the form tool provided can also use a lollipop tool for this process onto Process #1 and select Deburring . (You .) This opens the machining palette and creates a process tile . 3. The Process dialog opens. Enter the values shown below. 4. Ensure Face and Edge selection are enabled and select the outside face and one of the outside edges of the circular holes as shown. 5. You will notice that the Do-it icon is now available on the Process dialog. Click this to create the toolpath. The toolpath will look like this. 6. Deselect the operation in the operation list. Select the outside face and edge of the next hole. Click Do it. 7. Using the same selection method, create a deburring operation for the other two outside edges of the circular holes. 8. Use the same selection method to deburr the inside edge by selecting the inside face and one of the inside edges of the circular holes. 9. Repeat the procedure for each of the three remaining inside edges. Remember to deselect the operation tile immediately after you create it so the next operation doesn’t overwrite the previous one. You will now have a total of eight separate deburring operations. 10. Render the operations. 11. Save the part.