SOLIDCAM - THE LEADERS IN INTEGRATED CAM

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SOLIDCAM 2010
WHATS NEW

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SolidCAM 2010 Whats New

1995-2010 SolidCAM All Rights Reserved.

Document number: SCWNENG10001

Contents

Contents
1. General

9 10 11 12 10 14

1.1 Managing SolidCAM settings 1.1.2 Loading the settings 1.1.3 Resetting the settings to default values 1.1.1 Saving the settings 1.2 CAM-Part synchronization settings

1.2.1 Synchronization of CAM geometry with design model 14 1.2.2 Synchronization of design model with original model 16 1.3 Managing warning messages and prompts 17 1.4 Deleting Coordinate Systems in CoordSys Manager 1.5 Simultaneous display of tool path for multiple operations 18 19

1.5.2 Displaying the tool path for all CAM-Part operations 20 1.5.1 Displaying the tool path for several selected operations 19 1.6 Browsing to last opened location 21 1.7 Removing unused CAM-Part data 1.8 Simulation and GCode generation for not calculated operations 1.9 Facet tolerance for Coordinate System definition 1.10 Templates 1.10.1 Common template parameters 1.10.3 Renaming templates 1.10.2 Template filtering 1.11 Closing the Machining Process from SolidCAM Manager 1.12 Simulation interface improvements 1.13 Warning about hardware key expiration 1.14 Support of 64-bit computing 1.15 SolidCAM controls in SolidWorks environment 1.15.1 SolidCAM tab in SolidWorks CommandManager 1.15.2 SolidCAM toolbars in SolidWorks environment 23 25 26 27 27 30 28 31 32 33 34 35 35 40
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2. Geometry

43 44 44 45 47 48 50 51 51 53 55 56 57 57 58 59 58 60 61 61 60 66 68 68 70

2.1 Loop geometry selection 2.1.1 Marking external loops as open pocket edges 2.1.2 Primary and secondary loop selection 2.2 Chains filtering by Z-Levels 2.3 Browsing geometries 2.4 Defining the direction of geometry chains 2.5 Geometry definition and synchronization for Drill Recognition operations 2.5.1 Definition of geometry 2.5.2 Synchronization of geometry
3. Tools

3.1 Cutting Length improvements 3.1.1 Definition of cutting length according to operation machining length 3.1.2 Tool filtering 3.2 H Length improvements 3.2.2 H Length 3.2.1 Holder overhang length 3.3 Spin and Feed definition improvements 3.3.2 Assigning the work material to the CAM-Part 3.3.3 Defining the sets of cutting conditions for different tools 3.3.1 Defining the work material 3.4 Visual tool check in Part Tool Table 3.5 Turning tool holder definition and visualization 3.5.1 Choosing the tool holder 3.5.2 Defining the tool origin position

Contents

4. 2.5D Milling

71 72 73 72 75 76 81 82 83 87 88 91 92 93 94 93 96 98 99 101 102 103 104 107 116 115 113

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4.1 Drill Recognition improvements 4.1.2 Complete hole group 4.1.1 Minimize hole cycle
5. Turning

5.1 Selecting geometry on envelope

6. High Speed Machining (HSM)

6.1 HSM Rough machining module 6.2 Constant Z and 3D Corner offset combined strategy
7. High Speed Surface Machining (HSS)

7.1 Stock definition improvements

8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.1 Start point definition improvements 8.2 Tool path linking definition improvements 8.2.2 Home position definition 8.2.1 Separate Approach/Retract and Linking definition 8.3 4-Axis output format for Sim. 5-Axis sub-operations 8.4 Axial offset technology for 5-Axis Engraving 8.5 Stock definition improvements 8.6 Motion limits control definition improvements 8.7 Multi-Axis Drilling operation 8.7.1 CoordSys page 8.7.2 Geometry page 8.7.4 Levels page 8.7.7 Miscellaneous parameters page 8.7.6 Motion limits control page 8.7.5 Technology page

8.7.3 Tool page 8.8 Sorting of cylindrical drilling patterns 8.9 HSM to Sim. 5-Axis tool path conversion
9. Simulation

106 117 127 133 134 137

9.1 External Simulator in SolidCAM 9.2 Turning tool holding system in Machine simulation

General

1.1 Managing SolidCAM settings SolidCAM provides you with settings that enable you to customize the SolidCAM environment. In previous versions, these settings were stored in the Windows registry. When user reinstalled SolidCAM on the current computer or migrated to another one, the SolidCAM settings customized by the user were lost and the default SolidCAM settings were installed. There was no possibility to save the SolidCAM settings externally in a file and then load them to substitute the existing settings. offers the new functionality that enables you to save the SolidCAM settings as an external file and then load the saved file into SolidCAM. Furthermore, SolidCAM 2010 enables you to reset the customized settings to their default values.
SolidCAM 2010

1.1.1 Saving the settings The Save button enables you to save the SolidCAM settings in a file. When you click on this button, the Save As dialog box is displayed. The default location is the SolidCAM User directory displayed in the browser. The default file name SolidCAM_Settings.screg is used. When you click on the Save button in the dialog box, all the customized settings are stored in the settings file.

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1. General

1.1.2 Loading the settings The Load button enables you to load the SolidCAM settings stored in the previously saved file. When you click on this button, the Open dialog box is displayed. The default location is the SolidCAM User directory displayed in the browser. All the settings files located in this or other location are available to be chosen. When a settings file is chosen and the Open button is clicked, SolidCAM displays the following message:

When the message is confirmed, SolidCAM loads the settings file. During the loading, SolidCAM overwrites the parameters values with the values stored in the settings file. When the loading is successfully completed, the SolidCAM Settings dialog box is updated and displays the updated parameters values. Load options The Load Options section provides you with the choice of parameters to be loaded: When the SolidCAM Settings only option is chosen, only the parameters that can be edited in the SolidCAM Settings dialog box are loaded. When the Complete SolidCAM environment option is chosen, the whole branch of current SolidCAM version that can be edited in the Registry Editor is loaded. This complete environment includes additional items not available within SolidCAM Settings e.g. last used positions of some SolidCAM dialog boxes.

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1.1.3 Resetting the settings to default values When launched for the first time, SolidCAM creates a set of settings stored in the SolidCAM branch of the Windows registry. These settings are available in the SolidCAM Settings dialog box and can be customized. In previous versions these settings could not be reset to their default values. provides you with the possibility to reset the customized SolidCAM Settings to their default values.
SolidCAM 2010

The Reset Page and Reset All buttons are added to the SolidCAM Settings dialog box. The Reset Page button enables you to reset all the parameters of the current settings page to their default values. When you click on this button, the confirmation message is displayed:

When this message is confirmed, SolidCAM resets all the settings of the current page. The Reset All button enables you to reset all the parameters of the SolidCAM settings to their default values. The confirmation message is displayed:

When this message is confirmed, SolidCAM resets all the settings to their default values.

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1. General

CAM-Part settings can also be reset to their default values in the similar manner. The Reset Page and Reset All buttons are added to the Part Settings dialog box.

During reset, the CAM-Part settings parameters, that are based on parameters in SolidCAM Settings, inherit new values from the SolidCAM Settings. The CAM-Part Settings parameters, that are based on the hard-coded values, are reset to their default hard-coded values.

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1.2 CAM-Part synchronization settings In previous versions, the synchronization settings were available only at the system level in SolidCAM Settings. The same settings were used for all the CAM-Parts. In SolidCAM 2010, the synchronization settings can also be customized for each CAM-Part. The synchronization options have been added into the Synchronization page of the Part Settings dialog box.

1.2.1 Synchronization of CAM geometry with design model Check synchronization always The synchronization check is performed automatically each time you click on the SolidCAM Manager tree.
Ask before synchronization check

When this check box is selected, after every change in the part or in the assembly and rebuild, SolidCAM will prompt you, before checking the synchronization of the geometries with the model or sketches. When this check box is not selected, the synchronization checking will be performed without any prompt to the user.
Synchronize automatically

This option enables you to perform the synchronization of geometries automatically.

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1. General

When this check box is selected, the synchronization check is performed, and then all the unsynchronized operations and geometries are automatically synchronized. When the synchronization fails for certain operations or geometries, SolidCAM marks these operations/geometries with an exclamation mark and deletes the operation tool path; such operations are marked with asterisk. This option is available only when the always check box is selected.
Calculate operations after the synchronization
Check synchronization

This option enables you to perform the calculation of the synchronized operations automatically. When this check box is selected, SolidCAM automatically calculates all the synchronized operations. The operations marked with the exclamation mark are not calculated. This option is available only when the Automatically synchronize geometries check box is selected. Check synchronization on user demand In this case, SolidCAM will not check the synchronization automatically. The Check Synchronization item in the Operation and Geometry right-click menus is enabled, and you can choose it to start the synchronization.

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1.2.2 Synchronization of design model with original model Every time the CAM-Part is opened, SolidCAM automatically checks the correspondence of the dates of the CAM-Part and the original SolidWorks design model. When the date of the original SolidWorks model is later than the date of the CAM-Part creation, this means that the SolidWorks original model has been updated. You can then replace the SolidWorks design model, on which the CAM-Part is based, with the updated SolidWorks design model. The Ask user to find original model option defines the sequence of SolidCAM operations in case the original model is not found in the location specified in the CAM-Part. This option enables you to display the browser window to look for the original model.

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1. General

1.3 Managing warning messages and prompts There is a number of messages in SolidCAM that are displayed in response to specific user input, such as warning messages, confirmation prompts and so forth. These messages are displayed each time a particular action is performed (for example, deleting operations), and it might be quite time-consuming to close them every now and then.
SolidCAM 2010

provides you with the possibility to control the visibility status of the most frequently displayed messages.

The Dont ask again check box added to each of these messages enables you to avoid displaying the message, after it appears on the screen for the first time. When the message box is confirmed, the message will not be displayed until you switch this option back on in SolidCAM Settings. The page added into the SolidCAM Settings dialog box enables you to handle the visibility of all frequently displayed messages by selecting the relevant check boxes in the Activate following messages section.
CAM Messages

Each message box is controlled by the relevant check box. When the check box is cleared, the message is not displayed, and confirmation of the event is performed automatically. When the check box is selected, the confirmation message is displayed. The status of the check boxes, defined in the Settings dialog box, is stored.
CAM Messages

page of the

SolidCAM

By default, after SolidCAM has been launched for the first time, all the check boxes in this page are selected, which means that all the confirmation dialog boxes are displayed. The Activate prompts to calculate operations section contains the list of operations that need confirmation before re-calculation of already calculated operation. When the check box is selected for the specific operation, the confirmation message will be displayed before this operation is re-calculated.
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1.4 Deleting Coordinate Systems in CoordSys Manager In previous versions, you were able to delete unused Coordinate Systems one by one or by groups of selected Coordinate Systems. When a group of Coordinate Systems was selected in the CoordSys Manager dialog box, SolidCAM provided you with the Delete command available in the right-click menu. When this command was chosen, SolidCAM deleted all selected Coordinate Systems one by one. For each Coordinate System the confirmation message was displayed:

In case of deleting a large number of Coordinate Systems, such confirmation messages could be inconvenient. In SolidCAM 2010, deletion of multiple Coordinate Systems using the same command in the right-click menu is accompanied with only one confirmation message:

When this message is confirmed, all the selected Coordinate Systems are removed. If some of the Coordinate Systems cannot be removed, SolidCAM displays the following message:

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1. General

1.5 Simultaneous display of tool path for multiple operations In previous versions the display of tool path of separate operations in SolidCAM Manager was toggled using the check box located to the left of the operation entry, causing the tool path display one operation at the time. This meant that in order to view the tool path for a number of operations or for all operations of the CAM-Part, user had to turn on display of the tool path for all the operations, one by one.
SolidCAM 2010

provides you with the functionality to display the tool path for all the CAM-Part operations or for a number of selected operations simultaneously. 1.5.1 Displaying the tool path for several selected operations

Each operation entry in SolidCAM Manager has a related tool path visibility check box, which can be selected to display the tool path of the corresponding operation.

When several operations are selected in SolidCAM Manager, clicking on this check box related to one of the selected operations changes the tool path visibility status for all the selected operations. After the click, the check boxes of all the chosen operations become selected, and the tool path of all these operations is displayed on the model.

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When one of the tool path visibility check boxes related to selected operations is clicked again, the tool path display and the check boxes are cleared. 1.5.2 Displaying the tool path for all CAM-Part operations The tool path visibility check box has been added to the Operations header in the SolidCAM Manager tree. Using this check box, you can control the tool path visibility status for all the operations defined for the CAM-Part. When this check box is selected, SolidCAM displays the tool path for all of the operations, and the tool path visibility check boxes are selected for all of the operations.

When this check box is cleared, SolidCAM clears the tool path display and the tool path visibility check boxes are cleared for all the operations. When a CAM-Part contains operations with different status of the tool path visibility, the tool path visibility check box related to the Operations header has solid black fill.

When the mixed tool path visibility check box related to the Operations header is clicked again, it is cleared; the tool path display and all the related tool path visibility check boxes are cleared.

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1. General

1.6 Browsing to last opened location SolidCAM enables you to display the browser dialog box when you choose one of the following commands: This command displays the browser dialog box that enables you to load a CAM-Part.
Delete. Open.

This command displays the browser dialog box that enables you to delete a CAM-Part.

This command is available from the Calculate CAM-Parts dialog box and enables you to choose the location where the CAM-Parts intended to be calculated are located.
Add Directory. Save As.

This command displays the browser dialog box that enables you to save the current CAM-Part in a different location and with a different name.

Change model reference/Browse.

The Browse button is available in the Change Model Reference dialog box. The browser dialog box available in this case enables you to locate the model that will be chosen as the reference model.

In previous versions, in all cases above, the browser dialog box was loaded with the default location defined in the User directories page of the SolidCAM Settings dialog box.

If the machining project you were working with was located in a different folder, you had to browse between directories to find the necessary file or location, which was inconvenient in some cases. provides you with the functionality that stores the last used location when the browser dialog box is used. When the browser dialog box is displayed next time, SolidCAM automatically displays the stored location as the default one. Such behavior enables you to save time spent on browsing for the necessary CAM-Part.
SolidCAM 2010 21

The Return to the latest used directory option is added in the CAM-Parts dialog box.

When this check box is not selected, SolidCAM uses the directory defined in the User section as the default location when the browser dialog box is displayed.
Directory for CAM-Parts

When this check box is selected, each time you try to open a CAM-Part using the Open command in the SolidCAM menu, the browser dialog box is displayed with the last location chosen in this browser.

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1. General

1.7 Removing unused CAM-Part data SolidCAM Parts can occupy a large amount of disk space, especially when they include a lot of data such as updated stock model files, unused geometries, NC files, etc. Some of these data might not be used in the CAM-Part, but they are still located in the CAM-Part folder causing undesirable increase of the CAM-Part size.
SolidCAM 2010 introduces a new functionality that enables you to perform the cleaning of the CAM-Part data. The cleaning operation automatically removes unused geometries, updated stock model files (which can be automatically recalculated), and any other unused data saved in the CAM-Part.

The Cleanup CAM-Part command is added to the right-click menu available on the CAM-Part header in SolidCAM Manager. When this command is chosen, the CAM-Part dialog box is displayed.
Cleanup

This dialog box enables you to define the options of the CAM-Part cleanup. When this check box is selected, SolidCAM removes all the GCode files from the CAM-Part folder. The files to be removed are determined according to the GCode Files Extension parameter specified in the MAC file used in the current CAM-Part. When this check box is selected, SolidCAM removes all the Updated Stock model files used for the SolidVerify simulation (*.stf).
Remove Updated Stock model files used for simulation. Remove GCode files.

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When this check box is selected, SolidCAM removes all the Updated Stock model files used for the rest material calculation (*.stfrm).
Remove unused geometries. When this check box is selected, SolidCAM removes all the geometries that are not used in the operations of the current CAM-Part. Remove unused tools. When this check box is selected, SolidCAM removes all

Remove Updated Stock model files used for rest material calculation.

the tools located in the Part Tool Table that are not used in the operations of the current CAM-Part.

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1. General

1.8 Simulation and GCode generation for not calculated operations In previous version, when you performed simulation or GCode generation for an operation that was not calculated previously, SolidCAM displayed the following error message:

After the message confirmation, you had to calculate the operation by clicking on the Save & Calculate button in the operation dialog box. After the calculation you had to click on the Simulate button for tool path simulation or on the GCode button for the GCode generation. provides you with a time-saving solution for the cases when the simulation/GCode generation is needed for non-calculated operation.
SolidCAM 2010

When you click on the Simulate or GCode button in the dialog box of an operation that was not previously calculated, the following confirmation prompt is displayed:

When you click on the Yes button, SolidCAM performs calculation of the operation tool path and then continues to simulation or GCode generation (according to your initial request). When you click on the No button, SolidCAM closes the message box and returns the focus to the operation dialog box, enabling you to perform calculation manually. The Dont ask again option enables you to automatically choose the Yes option, without displaying this prompt, next time a similar situation occurs. The visibility status of this confirmation prompt can be controlled using the relevant check box in the CAM Messages page of the SolidCAM Settings dialog box (see topic 1.3).

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1.9 Facet tolerance for Coordinate System definition During the CoordSys definition, SolidCAM generates the model box surrounding the model. Model facets are used in the process of model box generation. In previous releases of SolidCAM the faceting was performed with a hard-coded tolerance of 0.01. This value could not be changed, which sometimes resulted in issues of inaccurate triangulation that resulted in imprecise CAM-Part levels values related to the model box (e.g. 49.99 instead of 50). To avoid this problem, SolidCAM 2010 has added a possibility to customize the facet tolerance used for the CoordSys definition. The Facet tolerance for levels measuring parameter is added in the page of the SolidCAM Settings dialog box.
CoordSys definition

This parameter enables you to define the tolerance for faceting that will be taken into account during the model box generation in the process of CoordSys definition. The default value of the parameter is 0.01.
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1. General

1.10 Templates 1.10.1 Common template parameters SolidCAM enables you to insert a process template that contains a group of operations into the CAM-Part. In previous versions, at the stage of insertion, SolidCAM displayed a dialog box that enables you to define the Coordinate System that would be common for all operations in the process template. The geometries used in the process template operations had to be defined separately for each operation, after the process template insertion - even if there was a common geometry for several operations it had to be defined again for each operation. In SolidCAM 2010, the process template insertion functionality is improved by adding the following parameters: Geometry, Upper level and Lower level. These parameters are common for all the operations contained in the process template. When you choose the Add Operations from Process Template command in the right-click menu on the Operations header in the SolidCAM Manager tree to insert a process template into your CAM-Part, the Template Manager dialog box is displayed with the list of process templates available for insertion into the CAM-Part.

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When you choose a process template from the list and confirm the dialog box, the Template Common Data dialog box is displayed. This dialog box enables you to define a Coordinate System, a Geometry and Upper/Lower levels to be common for all the operations contained in the process template. The CoordSys combo box enables you to define the common Coordinate System for all the operations contained in the process template. The combo box enables you to choose the relevant Coordinate System from the list. The button enables you to define a new Coordinate System using the CoordSys Manager dialog box with the entire SolidCAM functionality of Coordinate System definition and management. The Geometry combo box enables you to define the common geometry for all the operations contained in the process template. The combo box enables you to choose the relevant geometry from the list. The Upper Level and Lower Level edit boxes enable you to define the common machining levels values for all the operations contained in the process template. The corresponding buttons enable you to pick the levels on the model. The defined geometry and levels data will be used only in the operations in which these data are relevant. 1.10.2 Template filtering When you have a large number of templates stored in your database, it might be difficult and time-consuming to navigate through the whole list and choose the necessary ones for particular machining tasks. provides you with the possibility to filter the defined templates.
SolidCAM 2010

In the

table of the Template Manager dialog box, a filter row is added for defining the filter for the table items.
Operation Templates 28

1. General

Template filtering can be performed by entering the first letters in the Name/Operation
type/Technology cell

and then clicking on the corresponding

button.

SolidCAM displays all items that include these letters at the beginning.

Template filtering can also be performed by selecting items in the table as filtering criteria. Click on any row in the table to select a template. The Name, Operation type and Technology cells will be automatically filled according to the template you have selected as a potential criterion for filtering. Then click on the button in the column you want to consider as the filtering criterion (Name, Operation type or Technology).

Filtering is performed according to the specified filter of the selected column.

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To reset the defined filtering, click on the button at the bottom of the Template Manager dialog box. The results of the previous filtering are displayed in the table until you click on this button. 1.10.3 Renaming templates When you define a template and save it in your templates database, you may not pay close attention to proper naming of the newly defined template. Afterwards you may find it difficult to locate the required template, navigating between a large number of templates with similar or non-meaningful names. SolidCAM 2010 provides you with the possibility to rename the defined templates. command located in the SolidCAM menu displays the Template Manager dialog box that enables you to manage the existing templates. The
Manage Templates

The Rename option is added into the template managing menu available by right-clicking on the templates in the table.

When you choose this option, the template name in the list becomes available for edit, and you can rename it.

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1. General

1.11 Closing the Machining Process from SolidCAM Manager When there is a Machining Process open for the CAMPart you are currently working with, its name appears in parentheses in the Machining Process header of the SolidCAM Manager tree. SolidCAM 2010 provides you with the possibility to close this Machining Process directly from SolidCAM Manager. The Close command has been added into the right-click menu available on the Machining Process header. When you choose it, the current Machining Process gets closed.

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1.12 Simulation interface improvements provides you with enhanced interface for SolidVerify, VerifyPlus, Rest Material, RapidVerify and SolidVerify for 3D simulations. The appearance of icons and controls on the simulation toolbars has been modified.
SolidCAM 2010

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1. General

1.13 Warning about hardware key expiration In previous versions, SolidCAM did not notify users in advance about the expiration of their license, therefore its termination was unexpected, and it took a certain amount of time for its renewal. In SolidCAM 2010, when your license is about to expire (10 days and less left), the following warning message is displayed:

This message is displayed once a day during the whole mentioned period of time.

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1.14 Support of 64-bit computing In previous versions, SolidCAM had a 32-bit functionality that was available for both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms. Designed to take full advantage of the increased RAM capabilities of 64-bit systems, SolidCAM 2010 supports 64-bit computing, so that the calculation and simulation of large parts will be further accelerated. of operation systems.
SolidCAM 2010 includes two separate installation packages for 32-bit and 64-bit versions

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1. General

1.15 SolidCAM controls in SolidWorks environment In the current release, SolidCAM controls have been added into the SolidWorks environment for enhancement of the user interface. 1.15.1 SolidCAM tab in SolidWorks CommandManager In the SolidWorks activated.
CommandManager,

the

SolidCAM

tab appears when SolidCAM is

The SolidCAM tab contains the following buttons:

About SolidCAM

This button displays the dialog box that contains the information about the SolidCAM software. This button corresponds to the About SolidCAM command in the SolidCAM menu.

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New CAM-Part

This button displays the list of available SolidCAM modules such as Milling, Turning, Mill-Turn, and so forth. This button corresponds to the New command in the SolidCAM menu.
Calculate CAM-Parts

This button displays the Calculate Parts browser that enables you to calculate the CAM-parts stored in the specified location. This button corresponds to the SolidCAM menu.
Open CAM-Part
Calculate CAM-Parts

command in the

This button displays the CAM-Parts browser that enables you to open a CAMPart stored in the specified location. This button corresponds to the Open command in the SolidCAM menu.

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1. General

Copy CAM-Parts

This button displays the Copy Parts dialog box that enables you to copy parts from one location to another. This button corresponds to the Copy command in the SolidCAM menu.
Delete CAM-Parts

This button displays the Part to delete dialog box that enables you to delete CAM-Parts from the specified location. This button corresponds to the Delete command in the SolidCAM menu.
Template Manager

This button displays the Template Manager dialog box that enables you to manage the operation and process templates. This button corresponds to the Manage Templates command in the SolidCAM menu.

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Load Tool Library

This button displays the Load browser that enables you to load the tool library to be edited. This button corresponds to the Edit Tool Library command in the SolidCAM menu.

SolidCAM Settings

This button displays the CAM Settings dialog box that enables you to manage the settings of the SolidCAM software. This button corresponds to the SolidCAM Settings command in the SolidCAM menu.

Technology Database

This button displays the Technology Database dialog box that enables you to manage the SolidCAM technology database. This button corresponds to the Technology Database command in the SolidCAM menu.
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1. General

Hardware Key info

This button displays the Hardware Key Info dialog box that enables you to get the hardware key info.

This button corresponds to the SolidCAM menu.

CAM Views

Hardware Key Info

command in the

The CAM-Views toolbar contains buttons that enable you to manage the model views related to the orientation of the selected CoordSys position.
Exit

This button enables you to exit SolidCAM. This button corresponds to the SolidCAM menu.
Exit SolidCAM

command in the

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1.15.2 SolidCAM toolbars in SolidWorks environment

The following SolidCAM toolbars have been added into the SolidWorks window:

SolidCAM General This toolbar contains the general buttons corresponding to the commands in the SolidCAM menu and the CAM-Views toolbar (see topic 1.15.1). SolidCAM New This toolbar contains buttons that enable you to activate the available SolidCAM modules: Milling, Mill-Turn, Turning, Turn-Mill, Milling STL, and Wire Cut. This toolbar corresponds to the New command in the SolidCAM menu.

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1. General

SolidCAM New Tool Library This toolbar contains buttons that enable you to start the definition of a new SolidCAM Tool Library (Milling, Turning, or Mill-Turn). This toolbar corresponds to the submenu of the SolidCAM menu.
Create Tool Library

command in the

Tool Library

SolidCAM Tool Library Options This toolbar contains buttons that enable you to manage the existing Tool Libraries and the related features such as Tool Types, Tool Holders, and so forth. This toolbar corresponds to the Tool Library command in the SolidCAM menu.

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Geometry

2.1 Loop geometry selection 2.1.1 Marking external loops as open pocket edges In previous versions, the Faces mode of geometry selection has been added to the Chains Selection dialog box. This mode enables you to define the wireframe geometry by selecting loops of model faces. In SolidCAM 2010, an improvement to the Faces mode has been made by adding the possibility to mark all edges of the loop as open edges, for use within Pocket operations. check box is added in the section of the Chains Selection dialog box. This check box enables you to automatically mark all the edges of the external loop of the selected face as open. Such loops will be treated as open pockets, and the tool will machine over the open edges.
Mark all edges of the loop as open Loops filter

The

This check box is available only for Pocket operations.

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2. Geometry

2.1.2 Primary and secondary loop selection In previous versions, SolidCAM enabled you to define the wireframe geometry by loops of model faces using the Chains Selection dialog box. With this dialog box, you could choose a single loop on the model using the Host CAD functionality and define the wireframe geometry on it. In SolidCAM 2010, a new loop selection functionality has been added to facilitate the process of single loop selection for geometry definition. The Loop option is added to the Chain section of the Geometry Edit dialog box. When this option is chosen, SolidCAM enables you to select a loop by picking one of its edges.

In this mode, all the controls of the Chains list section are disabled until a model edge is picked. When a model edge is selected, two faces to which this edge belongs are determined, and their loops are highlighted. The first determined loop is considered to be the primary and is highlighted with yellow color. The second loop is considered to be the secondary and is highlighted with cyan color.

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When you click on the Accept chain button, the primary loop (highlighted with yellow color) is chosen and displayed in the Chains list section; the closed geometry chain is defined on this loop; the secondary loop is rejected. You can make a loop primary by clicking on it. In such a way you can switch between both loops to choose the loop to be used for the chain definition.

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2. Geometry

2.2 Chains filtering by Z-Levels In previous versions, the chains selection filter could be defined by picking the Z-level on the solid model, and SolidCAM determined all the chains found at this level. In SolidCAM 2010, the chain filtering functionality has been enhanced by adding the possibility to define the range of Z-levels as a filtering criterion.

The From and To edit boxes enable you to define the range of Z-levels. The range can be defined by typing the values in the edit boxes as well as by direct picking on the solid model when the cursor is placed in the relevant edit box; the Z-coordinate of the picked position is displayed in the edit box.

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2.3 Browsing geometries In previous versions, SolidCAM enabled you to define a new geometry for an operation or to choose an existing geometry from the combo-box. When there is a large number of geometries defined in the CAM-Part, navigating through this list and choosing the right ones for operations was cumbersome.
SolidCAM 2010 provides an improvement to this functionality by enabling the user to visualize the geometries during the selection process.

The button has been added into the Geometry section of the SolidCAM operation dialog box. Clicking on this button displays the Browse Geometries dialog box that lists all the geometries of the type suitable for the chosen operation.

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2. Geometry

When a geometry is chosen in this dialog box, it is highlighted on the model.

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2.4 Defining the direction of geometry chains In SolidCAM 2010, the geometry selection functionality has been improved and provides you with control over the chain direction, during the picking of the first chain entity. SolidCAM determines the start point of the picked entity closest to the picked position. The direction of the picked first chain entity is defined automatically from the start point to the picked position.
Start point Direction Picked position Geometry chain

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2. Geometry

2.5 Geometry definition and synchronization for Drill Recognition operations 2.5.1 Definition of geometry Automatic and manual geometry definition In previous versions, the hole recognition process in Drill Recognition operations was performed automatically according to the user-defined filtering criteria. The resulting set of holes could only be manually modified by excluding some hole features. In SolidCAM 2010, a manual geometry selection mode has been provided in addition to the existing automatic mode. The manual mode can be useful in cases when the geometry has to be defined only for individual holes. The and Manual radio buttons have been added into the Options section of the HR Drill Geometry Selection dialog box.
Auto

The Manual option enables you to define the geometry for Drill Recognition operations by picking the specific hole features directly on the solid model. When this option is chosen, the filtering capabilities are disabled. In the Manual mode, a hole feature can be selected by picking its face or edge. When a face/edge is picked, SolidCAM checks in the HR database to which hole feature the selected entity belongs and adds the determined hole feature to the Holes Tree list. These two modes can be combined, but note that if you use the Auto mode after the Manual mode, the selections made in the Manual mode will be cleared. Defining geometry by color
SolidCAM 2010

introduces a new parameter that enables you to perform geometry filtering according to the color of the hole faces.

The Color section is added to the HR Drill Geometry Selection dialog box. This section can be enabled by selecting the corresponding check box.
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 Define

This button enables you to choose the color for filtering. The standard Color dialog box is displayed. This dialog box enables you to choose the color from the basic palette or to define a new one.
Pick from model

This button enables you to define the color by picking the faces of the hole features.

When the color is defined using either of the two buttons, SolidCAM determines its RGB components and displays them in the Red/Green/Blue edit boxes. The chosen color is accepted, and when you click on the Find Holes button, SolidCAM will add all holes with the specified color properties into the geometry. In case of hole features consisting of several segments with different colors, the holes recognition is performed according to the color of the hole top segment regardless of the color properties of the lower segments. Note when the process of holes recognition takes place for the first time, a holes database is created containing all the colors of the hole features. If you change the colors after the holes recognition, these changes will not take effect until the next time you perform holes recognition.

52

2. Geometry

If the color parameter is chosen by picking the color of a model entity, then this color parameter becomes associative with the solid model. If the color is defined by choosing from the Windows palette, there is no associativity. Removing recognized holes from the list In the right-click menu available on the items in the Holes list, the new Remove/Remove All options have been added. You can remove a single hole or a group of holes (Shape/Group) from the list using these commands.

Tree

2.5.2 Synchronization of geometry In SolidCAM 2010, the functionality of geometry synchronization has been improved. When you define the geometry using the filters and then change it manually, these changes are taken into account during the synchronization. After the synchronization, SolidCAM includes in the geometry the previously selected holes (automatically and manually) and the new holes added in the process of model change (if there are any) that meet the criteria of the filtering initially used for drill recognition. SolidCAM does not include in the geometry the holes that were removed manually and those whose diameter has been changed such that they do not match the filtering parameters.
Example:

The geometry has been defined by filtering the holes according to the diameter. The following changes were then made: One of the recognized holes is removed manually from the list; A hole with a different diameter is selected manually; A new hole that meets the flittering criteria is added to the model. After the synchronization, the geometry contains the holes chosen by filtering except for the removed one, the hole that was selected manually and the newly added hole.
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54

Tools

3.1 Cutting Length improvements Definition of certain milling tools includes several length parameters: Cutting Length, Outside Holder Length, Shoulder Length, and Total Length. These length parameters are defined for the following tools:
End Mill; Bull Nose Mill; Ball Nose Mill; Taper Mill; Drill; Tap tool; Reamer.
Diameter Shoulder Length Cutting Length Outside Holder Length Total Length

When a new tool of one of these types was created in previous versions, SolidCAM automatically assigned hard-coded default values to these parameters. Since the default values were generated without consideration of the machining depth, the default tool length could be unsuitable for machining in certain operations, e.g. the Cutting Length value could be smaller than the operation machining depth. In this case, customization of the length parameters was required.
SolidCAM 2010

provides you with improvements in the length definition functionality. Whenever a new tool, of the types listed above, is created in a SolidCAM operation, its Cutting Length is automatically assigned the value of the machining depth in this operation. SolidCAM enables you also to display, only the tools in the tool library, that are suitable to the Cutting Length parameter.

56

3. Tools

3.1.1 Definition of cutting length according to operation machining length When a new tool, of one of the types mentioned above, is created in an operation, SolidCAM determines the cutting depth of the operation and uses it for the definition of the Cutting Length parameter value of the tool. The depth is determined as follows: For Face Milling, Profile, Pocket, Drilling, Thread Milling, and Slot (with constant section) operations, the Depth parameter is defined directly in the operation interface. For Drill Recognition and Pocket Recognition operations, the Depth parameter is automatically determined as the depth of the deepest hole/pocket machined in the operation. For Contour 3D, 3D Milling, 3D Drilling, 3D Engraving, HSM, Slot (with shaped section), T-Slot, Translated Surface, Sim 5-Axis and HSS operations, the Depth parameter cannot be automatically determined the default hard-coded value is used for the new tool length definition. When a tool is defined in the CAM-Part environment (with no operation open), the hard-coded value is used for the Cutting Length definition. 3.1.2 Tool filtering
SolidCAM 2010 enables you to perform the tool range filtering by the Cutting Length parameter. The Cutting Length section is added to the Range dialog box.

The From value enables you to define the lower limit, and the To value enables you to define the upper limit of the Cutting Length range. Only the tools with the Cutting Length within the specified range will be displayed in the tool table as a result of filtering. To automatically define the lower limit value using the cutting depth of the current operation, click the From button.
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3.2 H Length improvements The H Length parameter is available for each milling tool. This parameter defines the distance from the tool tip to the spindle end face and is used for locating the tool in the spindle unit in the SolidCAM Machine simulation. Generally, the distance controlled by the H Length parameter depends on the chosen tool holder and the tool overhang from holder (controlled by the Outside Holder Length parameter). The chosen holder defines the distance between the holder end face and the spindle end face. The sum of this distance and the Outside Holder Length provides the exact value of the H Length.

Spindle

Tool Holder

H Length Outside Holder Length

In previous versions, the default value of H Length (100) was hard-coded and its definition did not depend on the holder type and the tool overhang from spindle. provides you with the following improvements in the process of H Length definition:
SolidCAM 2010

3.2.1 Holder overhang length The Holder overhang length edit box has been added to the Tool holders dialog box. This parameter defines the suggested distance between the tool adaptor end face and the end face of the spindle. This parameter is defined for each tool adaptor component of the tooling system defined in SolidCAM.

Holder Overhang Length

58

3. Tools

3.2.2 H Length In the Part Tool Table dialog box, a check box has been added to the H Length parameter edit box. This check box enables you to define the H Length parameter value either automatically or manually. When the check box is not selected, the H length edit box is disabled; in this case the automatically calculated H Length value is used and displayed in the edit box. When the check box is selected, the H Length edit box is enabled, and you can customize the H Length value.

When a tool holder is chosen, the value of the H Length parameter is recalculated as the sum of the Outside Holder Length, the Holder Overhang Length and the length of the chosen tool holder extension.
Length

If one of the tool holding system components or the value of the Outside Holder parameter is changed, the value of the H Length parameter is recalculated.

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3.3 Spin and Feed definition improvements In previous versions, the spin and feed defaults were defined according to the used work material and tool material. each tool a table, containing different sets of spin and feed defaults, to be used with different work materials and different CNC-machines. 3.3.1 Defining the work material SolidCAM enables you to define and manage the list of work materials to be machined. The Speed and Feed Defaults item in the has been renamed into Work Materials.
Tool Library SolidCAM 2010 provides you with improved functionality enabling the user to assign for

submenu of the

SolidCAM

menu

When you choose this item, the dialog box is displayed.

Work Material

This dialog box displays the list of available work materials and enables you to set the tool related parameters for each of them. You can edit the list by adding new items and/or deleting the existing ones.

60

3. Tools

3.3.2 Assigning the work material to the CAM-Part The Work Material section of the Part Data dialog box enables you to choose the work material for each machining project. The list displays all the work materials defined in the Work Material dialog box (see topic 3.3.1). 3.3.3 Defining the sets of cutting conditions for different tools Each tool library in SolidCAM is accompanied by a database containing the feed and spin data for the tools. For each tool, several work materials can be assigned. Such assignment means that the tool can perform machining of the assigned work material. For each work material, several sets of cutting parameters can be defined. Each set can be adjusted to a specific CNC-Machine through a cutting data correction table.
Tool Table dialog

The Cutting Conditions button has been added to the Default Tool Data page of the Part box.

61

This button displays the Cutting Conditions dialog box that enables you to define sets of cutting parameters relevant for machining of different work materials by the current tool (Sets sub-table). Also this dialog box enables you to specify the correction data for a different CNC-Machines (Corrections sub-table).

When the work material is chosen from the Work Material list, SolidCAM displays the Sets sub-table that contains a number of cutting condition sets relevant for the chosen work material. For each such set, several sets of correction data for different CNCMachines, are displayed. If no cutting condition sets are defined for the specified material, you can create a new set and fill it with the cutting parameters data. Managing sets of cutting conditions

You can add, edit and remove the sets of working conditions using the buttons at the bottom of the Sets section of the Cutting Conditions dialog box.
62

3. Tools

The Add button enables you to define a new set of cutting conditions. This button displays the Cutting Condition dialog box that enables you to define a set of cutting parameters for machining of the specified work material by the current tool.

The Edit button enables you to edit the existing sets of cutting conditions in the Cutting Condition dialog box. The Remove button enables you to remove the existing sets of cutting conditions from the table. When one of the rows listed in the Sets sub-table is marked with a selected check box, this means the following: when this tool will be chosen for machining of a CAM-Part with specific work material, the corresponding parameters will be used by default.

63

Adjusting the cutting parameters to a specific CNC-machine The Corrections sub-table enables you to adjust the defined cutting conditions for use on a specific CNC-machine. The buttons at the bottom enable you to manage the defined corrections.

The Add button enables you to add a new set of corrections. This button displays the CNC-Machine Definition dialog box that enables you to define a set of corrections. These corrections will be applied to the default parameters for machining of the current material, by the current tool, on a specified CNC-machine. The correction is defined as percentage from the original default value. The
Edit CNC-Machine Definition dialog

button enables you to edit the existing sets of corrections in the box.

The Remove button enables you to remove the existing sets of corrections from the table. The check sign, marking one of the rows listed in the Corrections sub-table, indicates the current active CNC-Machine correction. The CNC-Machine chosen for the current CAM-Part is marked by default (if it was added to the corrections table), otherwise the Default correction set is marked (this set is automatically added to each corrections sub-table).
64

3. Tools

When you have defined cutting conditions for tools in your Part Tool Table and then you change the CNC-machine in the CAM-Part definition, the following prompt is displayed:

If you confirm this prompt, the feed and spin data in the Part Tool Table are updated according to the corrections of the newly chosen machine (if these are defined), or are changed to values specified in the Default corrections set. Note that the feed and spin data are updated only in the Part Tool Table. If you want to update these parameters in the particular operation, you can perform this update by entering the tool data from the operation dialog box and clicking on the Reset according to Part Tool Table button.

To update the data for multiple operations, right-click on the operation entry in SolidCAM Manager and choose Change Tool Data; in the Operation Tool Data dialog box click on the Reset according to Part Tool Table button.

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3.4 Visual tool check in Part Tool Table In previous versions, the tools contained in the Part Tool Table could be previewed using the Show button that displayed the selected tool in a separate window.

SolidCAM 2010

provides you with additional functionality of visual tool check a tool preview is provided directly on the solid model. When the Part Tool Table dialog box is displayed with a tool selected, a half-transparent image of the selected tool follows the cursor that moves over the model. The tool image can be dynamically zoomed and rotated together with the model.

66

3. Tools

This functionality can be enabled by selecting the Enable visual tool check check box in the Miscellaneous page of the SolidCAM Settings dialog box.

The visual tool check is available only for Milling tools.

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3.5 Turning tool holder definition and visualization introduces a new functionality of turning tool holders definition and visualization in Machine simulation. With this functionality, SolidCAM 2010 also enables you to define the correct position of the tool on the CNC-machine.
SolidCAM 2010

3.5.1 Choosing the tool holder SolidCAM enables you to define tool holders in the Part Tool Table using STL files. The Holder tab has been added into the Edit page of the Part Tool Table dialog box. This page enables you to choose the tool holder, preview it and define its positioning on the machine. Use STL holder When this check box is selected, the holder use is enabled for the chosen tool. Holder name This field displays the name of the currently chosen holder. Holders folder This field displays the path to the holders storage location. The Browse button enables you to browse to the directory where the holder files are saved. Global Holders This list displays a number of tool holders existing in SolidCAM Holders Table, stored in the default Tables directory (see SolidCAM Turning User Guide).

68

3. Tools

A right-click menu available on the items in this list enables you to manage the available holders:
Copy holder to local

This option enables you to copy the selected tool holder to the Local Holders list.
Copy all holders to local

This option enables you to copy all the tool holders displayed in the list to the Local Holders list.
Add holder

This option creates another holder entry in the Holder enables you to add a tool holder to the Global Holders list.
Remove holder

name

field and

This option removes the selected holder from the list.

Remove all holders

This option removes all the holders from the list.

Edit holder

This option enables you to edit the tool origin position coordinates for the selected holder. The edit boxes in the Tool origin position CS section become available. Tool origin position CS This section displays the XYZ coordinates of the tool coordinate system origin, relative to the tool position coordinate system, used for the positioning of the tool on the CNC-machine (station_transformXXXX). These coordinates can be edited using the Edit holder option available in the right-click menu on items in the Global holders list.
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Local Holders This field displays the list of holders chosen for use in the current CAM-Part.

3.5.2 Defining the tool origin position In the Topology tab of the Edit page of the Part Tool Table dialog box, you can define the coordinates of the tool origin position. The Origin Pos Z and Origin Pos X (formerly Extension and Side offset respectively) parameters define the coordinates of the tool origin position relative to the Tool origin position CS (see topic 3.5.1).

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2.5D Milling

4.1 Drill Recognition improvements 4.1.1 Minimize hole cycle In previous versions, the GCode of Drill Recognition operations contained a separate GCode cycle for each machined position, which resulted in long GCode files. provides you with the capability to shorten the GCode file by grouping similar drilling positions under the same Gcode cycle - the holes that have the same Upper level and Depth data are grouped under a common single Gcode cycle.
SolidCAM 2010

The Minimize hole cycle check box is added into the Drill cycle section of the Drill Recognition Operation dialog box. When this check box is not selected, a separate GCode cycle is generated for each drilling position of the machined geometry. For example,
(DR-DRILL-R7-T3 - DRILL-HR) (-------------------------) X35.85 Y35.85 Z10. G98 G81 Z-96. R2. F33 G80 G0 X509.85 X509.85 Y35.85 Z10. G98 G81 Z-96. R2. F33 G80 G0 X35.85 Y459.85 X35.85 Y459.85 Z10. G98 G81 Z-96. R2. F33 G80 G0 X509.85 X509.85 Y459.85 Z10. G98 G81 Z-96. R2. F33 G80

72

4. 2.5D Milling

When this check box is selected, SolidCAM groups the drilling positions with the same Upper level and Depth under common GCode cycle. For example,
(DR-DRILL-R7-T3 - DRILL-HR) (-------------------------) X35.85 Y35.85 Z10. G98 G81 Z-96. R2. F33 X509.85 X35.85 Y459.85 X509.85 G80

4.1.2 Complete hole group provides you with the additional capability to sort holes by groups, in which the Upper level and Depth data are the same.
SolidCAM 2010

The Complete hole group check box is added into the Sequence of drill positions section of the Drill Recognition Operation dialog box. When this check box is not selected, the holes are drilled one by one, according to the chosen sorting method.

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When this check box is selected, the holes are sorted by groups, according to the specified sorting method; the drilling order within each group is determined according to the sorting method.

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Turning

5.1 Selecting geometry on envelope In the process of Target model definition, SolidCAM enables you to generate the envelope of the model. The envelope sketch is located in the CAM component of the CAM-Part assembly. SolidCAM enables you to define geometries on the envelope sketch. Turning geometry can be defined by selecting wireframe elements (the Wireframe mode) or by picking solid model entities such as faces, edges and vertices (the Solid mode). When the Solid option is chosen, clicking on the Define button displays the Geometry Selection on Model dialog box that enables you to define the geometry on the envelope by selecting model entities. In previous versions, geometry definition was governed by the choice in the Envelope side section of the dialog box. The segment of the envelope used for the geometry definition was determined between the start and the end entities picked on the model, on the chosen side of the envelope.
External envelope

Internal envelope

Selected faces
76

5. Turning

In SolidCAM 2010, the geometry definition mechanism has been facilitated. The previously available envelope side definition is not relevant any more and has been removed. The new interface offers you two modes of geometry definition: Automatic selection and Manual selection, which are mutually exclusive and can be enabled by selecting the corresponding check boxes.
Automatic selection

This mode enables you to automatically select the chain on the envelope by picking two model entities. When the Start and End entities are picked, SolidCAM projects their boundaries onto the envelope and determines the envelope segment between the picked entities, going counterclockwise from the start entity to the end entity.
End entity Geometry chain Start entity

Geometry chain Start entity End entity

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 Manual selection

This mode enables you to define the geometry chain manually by selecting the model faces. When the faces are selected, SolidCAM projects their boundaries onto the envelope and selects the envelope segment for each selected face, and then joins these segments into the geometry chain.
End face Start face

The Faces section lists the selected model faces.

Close gaps

The Close gaps options enable you to close the gaps determined between the chosen envelope segments: The Line from larger diameter option enables SolidCAM to close the gap by a horizontal line from the point of larger diameter to the vertical line passing through the point with smaller diameter.

The Line from smaller diameter option enables SolidCAM to close the gap by a horizontal line from the point of smaller diameter to the vertical line passing through the point with larger diameter.

78

5. Turning

The Direct connection option enables SolidCAM to close the gap by connecting the end points of the envelope segments by a line.

Extensions

The Start extension and End extension edit boxes provide you with the possibility to tangentially extend the defined envelope segment. The extension is performed by the specified distance, tangentially to the geometry at the start/end points.
End extension

Geometry Start extension

Selected faces

When model faces are selected, the Chain list section enables you to confirm or reject the resulting chain.

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80

High Speed Machining (HSM)

6.1 HSM Rough machining module In production of prismatic parts generally using 2.5D Milling operations, machining of 3D surfaces is often required (e.g. fillets).
SolidCAM High Speed Surface Machining (HSS) module brings the capabilities and surface quality of 3D Finishing to 2.5D users. But in many cases there is a need to remove large volumes of material. For these purposes, SolidCAM 2010 introduces the new HSM Rough module that provides the you with power and productivity of high speed roughing.

The new HSM Rough module includes the following operations: Contour Roughing, Hatch Roughing and Rest Roughing. operations are available in the SolidCAM Manager tree.
HSM Rough

The

operation is chosen, the dialog box is displayed. In the Technology section, you can choose the type of roughing operation.
HSM Rough HSM Roughing operation

When the

For more information about SolidCAM HSM Roughing operations, refer to the HSM Machining User Guide book.

82

6. High Speed Machining (HSM)

6.2 Constant Z and 3D Corner offset combined strategy In previous versions, the option to integrate two machining strategies in a single HSM operation was introduced by adding the Constant Z combined with the Horizontal, Linear and Constant step over machining. The current release offers the combination of the with the secondary 3D Corner offset strategy.
Constant Z

strategy supplemented

These two combined machining strategies share the Geometry, Tool and Constraint boundaries data. The technological parameters for calculation and linking of tool path passes are defined separately for the Constant Z and 3D Corner offset strategies.
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The Constant Z Passes page defines the parameters of the Constant Z machining strategy, which is used for semi-finishing and finishing of steep model areas.

The Pencil Passes page defines the parameters of the Pencil milling strategy, which is used for removing material along internal corners and fillets with small radii that was not reached in previous operations.

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6. High Speed Machining (HSM)

The Corner Offset Passes page defines the parameters of the 3D Corner offset machining strategy, which is used in order to machine all the internal corner radii to size.

Two

Link

Passes

pages, which are located under the Constant Z Passes and the Corner Offset pages, define the linking of the tool path for each of these strategies.

In the Link page for Corner Offset Passes, the Machining order tab enables you to define the order in which the Constant Z and Corner offset passes will be performed. The default option is Constant Z first.

When the tool has finished performing the passes of the first machining strategy, it goes up to the Clearance level, then descends back to the machining surface to continue with the next strategy.
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86

High Speed Surface Machining (HSS)

7.1 Stock definition improvements In previous versions, the stock parameters were defined at the Roughing page of the High Speed Surface Machining Operation dialog box along with the other features used for rough machining such as Multi-passes, Depth cuts, etc. In the current version, in order to clarify and facilitate the definition of these groups of parameters separately, the Roughing page interface has been changed. In the Roughing page of the High Speed Surface Machining Operation dialog box, the new Stock definition button has been added.

This button displays the Stock definition dialog box that contains the stock-related parameters previously available at the Roughing page.

88

7. High Speed Surface Machining (HSS)

Ignore segments shorter than This new option enables you to exclude the segments that are shorter than the specified tool path length.

When this check box is selected, the segments whose length is smaller than specified are excluded from the tool path.
Tool diameter Segment length

Check box is not selected

Check box is selected

The length of the tool path segments can be defined as a percentage of tool diameter or as a value.

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90

Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.1 Start point definition improvements In previous versions, the start position for the first cut was defined by specifying the coordinates of the point where machining was supposed to start.
SolidCAM 2010

provides you with the additional possibility to define the start point position via the vector of the surface normal. The Start point by section has been added into the Start point parameters dialog box. The and Surface normal direction options have been added into this section.

Position

The Position option enables you to define the start point by specifying the coordinates of the position. This option was available in previous versions. When the Surface normal direction option is chosen, the start point is located at the intersection of the tool path with the vector specified by user-defined XYZ coordinates. Vector coordinates can be set by numeric values, or the direction can be picked on the model using the button.
Start point Surface normal Vector

92

8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.2 Tool path linking definition improvements 8.2.1 Separate Approach/Retract and Linking definition In previous versions, the approach/retract parameters and linking parameters were defined in the same Link page of the 5-Axis Operation dialog box. In the current version, in order to clarify and facilitate the definition of these groups of parameters, the Link page has been divided into two tabs: Approach/Retract and Links.

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8.2.2 Home position definition introduces a new Home position option for tool path linking that can be applied to the first entry and last exit links. Home position is a point from which the first rapid movement of the tool starts during the approach and to which the tool eventually returns after the retreat.
SolidCAM 2010

The Start from home position check box has been added into the First entry section in the Approach/Retract tab of the Link page of the 5-Axis Operation dialog box. The Return to home position check box has been added into the Last exit section in the Approach/Retract tab of the Link page of the 5-Axis Operation dialog box. The Home position section has been added into the page of the 5-Axis Operation dialog box.
Approach/Retract

tab of the

Link

When the Start from home position check box is selected, the machining is performed as follows: The tool is positioned at the specified Home position, with the tool axis parallel to the Z-axis of the Coordinate System. It then performs its initial rapid movement to the Clearance area/Retract distance/Safety distance level or to the start point of the first cutting pass (depending on the First entry setting), where it gets tilted according to the defined Tool axis control parameters. From that point it performs the approach movement to the drive surface (or directly starts machining the latter in case of the Direct option chosen for First entry).
94

8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

When the Return to home position check box is selected, the machining is performed as follows: after the last cutting pass, the tool returns to the Clearance area/Retract distance/Safety distance level (depending on the Last exit setting) or directly to the Home position (in case of the Direct option chosen for Last exit).
Home position

Clearance area

Retract distance

Retract distance Safety distance

Safety distance

The Home position section enables you to define the coordinates of the home position. This section is available when at least one of the check boxes mentioned above is selected.

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8.3 4-Axis output format for Sim. 5-Axis sub-operations In previous versions, Sim. 5-Axis sub-operations intended for specific machining tasks, such as Cavity machining or Turbine Blade machining, were available only with 5-Axis output. In
Output format

the possibility to generate 4-Axis output has been added into the combo-box of the Toolpath parameters page of the operation dialog box, for the following sub-operations:
Cavity machining

SolidCAM 2010,

Turbine Blade machining

96

8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining Engraving

Electrode machining

97

8.4 Axial offset technology for 5-Axis Engraving SolidCAM enables you to offset the tool path along the tool axis. The Axial offset parameter defines the offset value. Each point of the tool path (including the start position) is shifted in the tool axis direction. The gouge control takes out all the gouges that result from this shift.

Axial offset

The Damp option enables you to smooth the tool path so that vertical jumps in the tool path are avoided. When this check box is not selected, the resulting tool path exactly follows the defined edge curve. When this check box is selected, the tool path is smoothed, and therefore does not contain sharp jumps.

the Axial offset and Damp options have been enabled also for the sub-operation. The Axial offset option and the Damp check box have been added in the Toolpath parameters page of the Engraving dialog box.
Engraving

In

SolidCAM 2010,

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.5 Stock definition improvements In previous versions, the stock parameters were defined at the Roughing page of the 5-Axis Operation dialog box, along with the other features used for rough machining such as Multi-passes, Depth cuts, etc. In the current version, in order to clarify and facilitate the definition of these groups of parameters, the Roughing page interface has been changed. In the Roughing page of the 5-Axis Operation dialog box, the new Stock definition button has been added.

This button displays the Stock definition dialog box that contains the stock related parameters previously available at the Roughing page.

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Ignore segments shorter than This new option enables you to exclude the segments of the tool path that are shorter than a specified length.

When this check box is selected, the segments whose length is smaller than the specified value are excluded from the tool path.
Tool diameter Segment length

Check box is not selected

Check box is selected

The specified length can be defined as percentage of tool diameter or as a value.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.6 Motion limits control definition improvements In previous versions, SolidCAM enabled you to use the machine limits defined within the machine definition to limit the tool path movements for translational and rotational axes. This option could be turned on (machine limits used for both translational and rotational axes) or off (no machine limits used). In SolidCAM 2010, this feature has been improved by adding more possibilities for machine limits use. Instead of the previously available check box that toggled the use of machine limits, a new combo-box has been added into the Machine limits section of the Motion limits control page of the 5-Axis Operation dialog box. In this combo-box, four options of machine limits use are listed:
All limits

When this option is chosen, SolidCAM uses the machine limits defined in the machine definition for both translational and rotational movements.
Translational limits

When this option is chosen, SolidCAM uses the machine limits defined in the machine definition for translational movements.
Rotational limits

When this option is chosen, SolidCAM uses the machine limits defined in the machine definition for both rotational movements.
No limits

When this option is chosen, all the machine limits defined in the machine definition are ignored.
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8.7 Multi-Axis Drilling operation In previous versions, SolidCAM provided you with basic capabilities of drill machining in Drilling and Drill Recognition operations. These operations enabled you to machine multiple drills, using a single Coordinate System. In cases of drills with different orientations (on multiple sides or on a free-form surface), the use of these operations was cumbersome since a separate Coordinate System was needed for each drilling direction; the Coordinate System definition often required some modelling and sketching.
SolidCAM 2010

introduces a new Multi-Axis Drilling operation that enables you to machine a series of drills that have different orientations.

When you choose the Multi-Axis Drilling command from the Add operation menu in the SolidCAM Manager tree, the Multi-Axis Drilling Operation dialog box is displayed.

This dialog box enables you to define the parameters of the Multi-Axis Drilling operation.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.7.1 CoordSys page

This page enables you to define the Machine Coordinate System for the Drilling operation.

Multi-Axis

In the Multi-Axis Drilling operation, you have to choose only the Machine Coordinate Systems. The multi-axis drilling tool path positions and tool axis orientation at each tool path position are generated relative to the Machine Coordinate System. The tool path is generated in the 4/5-axis space, relative to a Machine Coordinate System. The Machine Coordinate System is defined relative to the center of rotation of the machine (CNC-machine origin). You can choose an existing Coordinate System from the list or click on the Define button to define a new one using the CoordSys Manager dialog box. This dialog box enables you to define a new Coordinate System directly on the solid model. When the Coordinate System is chosen for the operation, the model is rotated to the selected CoordSys orientation. For more information on the Coordinate System definition, refer to the Milling User Guide book.
SolidCAM

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8.7.2 Geometry page This page enables you to define the geometry data for the Multi-Axis Drilling operation. You can choose an existing geometry from the list or click on the Define button to define a new one. When the geometry is chosen, the Show button enables you to display it on the model. Geometry definition When you click on the displayed.
Define

button, the

5X Drill Geometry Selection

dialog box is

Geometry definition is not available if the Target model is not defined.

Name

This section enables you to define the name of the geometry.

Configurations

This section enables you to switch between SolidWorks configurations and choose the relevant configuration for the geometry definition.
Model features

This section enables you to define the mode of geometry selection (Auto/Manual), the filtering of drills and the direction of drilling.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining Auto

When the Auto mode is chosen, clicking on the Find Holes button enables SolidCAM to find automatically all the drills present in the solid model. You can filter the drills by selecting the Use filter check box and clicking on the Filter button. The Filter dialog box is displayed. It enables you to filter the drills by Hole type (Blind/Through) and setting the Hole diameter and Hole height range.
Manual

When the Manual mode is chosen, you can select the drills manually by picking the hole faces on the solid model. The Use filter option and the Find Holes button are unavailable. The Show highlighted drills direction option enables you to display the direction of drilling by surface normals for the specific highlighted drills in the list. The Show all drills direction option enables you to display the direction of drilling for all drills in the list. The Reverse by model selection option enables you to reverse the direction of specific drills by selecting their faces on the model.
Drill Positions

This section lists all the drills found in the model. The Reverse button enables you to change the direction of the drill or a group of drills selected in the list. The Reject button enables you to remove the selected drill or a group of drills from the list. For more information on drilling geometry definition, refer to the book.
SolidCAM Milling 105

User Guide

8.7.3 Tool page

This page enables you to define the tool for the Multi-Axis Drilling operation and to set the cutting parameters (feed and spin). The following tool types are compatible with the Multi-Axis Drilling operation:
End Mill Bull Nose Mill Ball Nose Mill Drill Center Drill Chamfer Drill Spot Drill Reamer Bore Tap Taper

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.7.4 Levels page

This page enables you to define the machining levels for the Multi-Axis Drilling operation. Clearance area The Clearance area is the area where the tool movements can be performed safely without contact with the material. The tool movements in the Clearance area are performed with rapid feed. Depending on the part shape, you can choose different clearance area types:
Plane

This option enables you to define the Clearance area by plane. The tool performs a retract movement to the Clearance plane, and then a rapid movement in this plane.

Clearance area

SolidCAM enables you to define the location and the orientation of the Clearance plane.

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 Cylinder

This option enables to define the Clearance area as a cylindrical surface. The tool performs a retract movement to the Clearance cylinder, and then performs a rapid movement along the cylinder surface.
Radius

SolidCAM enables you to define the location, orientation and radius of the Clearance cylinder.
Sphere

When this option is chosen, the Clearance area has a spherical shape. The tool performs a retract movement to the Clearance sphere and then a rapid movement along the sphere surface.

Radius

SolidCAM enables you to define the location and radius of the Clearance sphere. For more information about the Milling User Guide book.
108 Clearance area

definition, refer to

SolidCAM 5-Axis

8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

Levels

This section enables you to define the approach and retract from the part.
Retract distance

Retract

and

Safety distance

for the tool to

In the Clearance area, the tool rotates to the final orientation for the first cut. After the rotation, the tool performs a rapid descent movement to the level specified by the Retract distance parameter. The Retract distance is measured from the start position of the drill.
Safety distance

Clearance area

Retract distance

After the descent movement to the Retract distance level, the tool starts the approach movement to the material. The approach movement consists of two segments. The first segment is performed with rapid feed up to the Safety distance. From the Safety distance level, the approach movement is performed with the cutting feed.

Clearance area

Safety distance

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Depth edit

This button displays the Depth Edit dialog box that enables you to choose the drills to be included in the geometry and modify the geometrical parameters of the chosen drills.
Holes Tree

This section displays the list of all drills chosen for the geometry. All the drills in the list are structured in Groups. Each Group has the same Delta start, Drill depth, Delta depth and Depth type data displayed in parentheses. When one of the items of the list is selected, the relevant parameters are displayed in the Delta start, Drill depth, Delta depth and Depth type sections. The corresponding drills are highlighted on the solid model with the arrow indicating the machining direction. The Reverse button enables you to reverse the direction of the chosen drills. The right-click menu is available on each item in the list:
Reverse

This command enables you to reverse the direction of the chosen drills.
Reverse All

This command enables you to reverse the direction of all drills included in the geometry.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining Restore Data from Model

This command enables you to restore the default parameters recognized on the Target model for the selected item (a group or a single drill). When this command is applied, SolidCAM checks the Holes Tree items and reorganizes them into groups according to the changed parameters.
Restore Data from Model to All

This command enables you to restore the default parameters for all the drills in the list. When this command is applied, SolidCAM checks the Holes Tree items and reorganizes them into groups according to the changed parameters.
Restore Reverse from Model

This command enables you to restore the default direction of the selected item (a group or a single drill).
Restore Reverse from Model to All

This command enables you to restore the default direction of all of the drills whose direction was previously reversed.
Select All/Unselect All

These commands enable you to toggle the selection of all recognized drills.
Hole Diameter (D)

This section enables you to set the diameter value and apply it to selected drills.
Delta Start (ds)

This section enables you to change the Z-value of the default drilling start point recognized on the Target model. When a positive value is entered, the start point is moved upwards from the default position. When a negative value is entered, the start point is moved downwards from the default position.
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 Drill depth (d)

This section enables you to define the value of the drilling depth and apply it to selected drills.
Delta depth (dd)

This section enables you to set the offset for the cutting depth and apply it to selected drills.
Depth type

This section enables you to define the Depth type for selected drills. You can define the diameter on the conical part of the drilling tool that will reach the specified drilling depth during the machining. You can also deepen a drilled hole in order to obtain a given diameter at the specified drill depth. The following options are available:
Cutter tip

The tool tip reaches the defined drilling depth.

Full diameter

The tool reaches the defined drilling depth with the full diameter.
Diameter value

The tool reaches the defined depth with the drill cone diameter specified by the Diameter value parameter. The Apply button, in each of the sections described above, enables you to apply the defined parameter to the selected list item (a group or a drill). The All check box enables you to apply the updated values to all the items in the list.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.7.5 Technology page

This page enables you to define the technological data for the Multi-Axis Drilling operation. Sequence of drill positions This section enables you to define the order of the drilling sequence. The Sort sequence by list provides you with the following modes of drilling positions sorting:
Default

Sorting is not performed. The drills are machined in the initial order provided by the Multi-Axis Drilling geometry.

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 Distance

Drills are sorted by the shortest distance. When this option is used, SolidCAM minimizes the length of the necessary tool movement. Machining of the first drill is performed at the first point defined in the drilling geometry. Then the nearest drilling instance is chosen, i.e. the one that is located at the shortest distance from the previous drilling position.
Line

This option enables you to define the direction of machining of the sequenced drilling positions by line. For more information about the line definition, refer to the Milling User Guide book.
Advanced SolidCAM

This option enables you to sort the drilling positions for machining of linear, circular and cylindrical drilling patterns. The button displays the Sorting dialog box.
Advanced

The Linear tab contains the sorting methods appropriate for machining of linear drilling patterns. The Circular tab contains the sorting methods appropriate for machining of circular drilling patterns. The Cylindrical tab contains the sorting methods appropriate for machining of cylindrical drilling patterns (see topic 8.8).
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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

Drill cycle This section enables you to define the drilling cycle that will be used in the current operation. For more information about the drilling cycles, refer to SolidCAM Milling User Guide book. 8.7.6 Motion limits control page This page enables you to optimize the calculated tool path according to the kinematics and special characteristics of your CNC-machine.

For more information about the Motion limits control parameters, refer to the SolidCAM Sim. 5-Axis Milling User Guide book.

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8.7.7 Miscellaneous parameters page

This page enables you to define a number of miscellaneous parameters and options related to the 5-axis tool path calculation. For more information about these parameters, refer to the SolidCAM Sim. 5-Axis Milling User Guide book.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.8 Sorting of cylindrical drilling patterns In previous versions, advanced sorting of the drilling positions was available for linear and circular patterns (see topic 8.7.5). In SolidCAM 2010, with the introduction of the new Multi-Axis Drilling functionality (see topic 8.7), the new Cylindrical sorting option is provided. Cylindrical sorting is available only for Multi-Axis Drilling operations. The tab has been added into the Advanced Sorting dialog box. This tab contains the sorting methods applicable to cylindrical drilling patterns.
Cylindrical

For the ordering of drilling positions by all of the cylindrical sorting methods, SolidCAM uses the center point around which the cylindrical pattern is defined. For each position of the chosen geometry, a radial vector passing through the cylinder axis and the drilling position is determined. SolidCAM then determines the angle between this vector and the X-axis at the center point. The Z-coordinates of the drilling positions also serve as a criterion for sorting. Circular pattern This section contains the following parameters:
Start angle
Z-levels

This parameter enables you to define the angle at which the start position will be chosen. This angle is defined according to the positive direction of the X-axis at the pattern center.

Z X Radius Angle
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The

button enables you to define the Start angle by picking a point on the model. The Pick angle point dialog box enables you to pick the position on the model and displays the coordinates of the picked position.
Pick

When the position is picked and the dialog box is confirmed, SolidCAM determines the direction vector from the pattern center towards the picked position. SolidCAM automatically calculates the angle between the direction vector and the X-axis at the pattern center and displays the angle value in the Start angle edit box.
Tolerance

During the cylindrical sorting, SolidCAM classifies the drilling positions into groups of those located at the same angle. The Tolerance value determines if drilling positions belong to the same angle group. For each group of drilling positions located at the same angle, SolidCAM determines the start position; each additional drilling position to be included into this group must be located at the angle that is within the angular tolerance (calculated automatically according to the specified tolerance) from the angle of the start position.
Change sorting center

By default, the pattern center is automatically defined at the origin of the Coordinate System used in the current operation. The Change sorting center button enables you to change the pattern center location by picking on the model. The Pick center point dialog box enables you to pick the center position and displays the coordinates of the picked point.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

Cylindrical sorting methods The following methods are available for advanced Cylindrical sorting:

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the increasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the clockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the same manner.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the decreasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the clockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the same manner.
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SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the decreasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the clockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the increasing order of Z-coordinates.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the increasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the clockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the decreasing order of Z-coordinates.
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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the decreasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the counterclockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the same manner.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the increasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the counterclockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the same manner.

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SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the decreasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the counterclockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the increasing order of Z-coordinates.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions located at the same angle. The machining is performed in the increasing order of Z-coordinates. When all the drilling positions located at the current angle are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate located at the next angle increment in the counterclockwise direction. At this angle, the machining is performed in the decreasing order of Z-coordinates.
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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the clockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value at the next Z-level, and the machining is performed in the same manner.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the clockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value at the next Z-level, and the machining is performed in the same manner.

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SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the counterclockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value at the next Z-level, and the machining is performed in the same manner.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the counterclockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the drilling position located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value at the next Z-level, and the machining is performed in the same manner.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the clockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the closest drilling position located at the next Z-level, and the machining of the next Z-level is performed in the opposite direction.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the clockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the closest drilling position located at the next Z-level, and the machining of the next Z-level is performed in the opposite direction.

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SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the maximal Z-coordinate (the closest to the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the counterclockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the closest drilling position located at the next Z-level, and the machining of the next Z-level is performed in the opposite direction.

SolidCAM determines the drilling position with the minimal Z-coordinate (the farthest from the center position) and located at the angle maximally close to the specified Start angle value. This position is accepted as the start position. From this position, SolidCAM performs the machining of all the drilling positions with the same Z-coordinate. The machining is performed in the counterclockwise direction. When all the drilling positions of the current Z-level are machined, SolidCAM moves to the closest drilling position located at the next Z-level, and the machining of the next Z-level is performed in the opposite direction.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

8.9 HSM to Sim. 5-Axis tool path conversion In some machining cases, there is a need to perform machining of 3D parts using the Sim. 5-axis capabilities. For example, HSM machining of deep cavities requires the use of long tools, which can cause tool breakage; the same cavities can be machined using a tool of smaller length while tilting this tool to follow the same tool path. To convert an HSM operation into Sim. 5-axis, add a new operation in the SolidCAM Manager tree and choose the Converting HSM to Sim. 5-Axis option from the right-click menu.

The Convert HSM to Sim. 5-Axis dialog box is displayed. This dialog box enables you to define the parameters of the convert operation.

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The Convert HSM to Sim. 5-Axis dialog box contains the following pages: Source operation This page enables you to choose the original operation that will be converted and define a number of the conversion parameters. In the Source operation section, you need to choose the operation to be converted from the corresponding combo-box. The Disassociate button cancels the connection between the source operation and the converted one. The source operations for conversion can be of the 3D Milling and HSM types. The Conversion data section enables you to specify the Cut tolerance parameter; this value defines the tool path accuracy (see SolidCAM Sim. 5-Axis Milling User Guide). Tool This page enables you to define the tool and the related parameters such as feed and spin for the operation. To convert a 3-axis operation (3D Milling or HSM) into a Sim. 5-axis one, a tool of the Ball-nosed mill type must be used in the source operation.

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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

Levels This page enables you to define the machining levels for the operation.

Tool axis control This page enables you to define the orientation of the tool axis during the Sim. 5-axis machining.

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Gouge check This page enables you to avoid the tool gouging of the selected drive and check surfaces.

In this page, SolidCAM enables you to define the parameters of automatic collision avoidance for Sim. 5-axis tool paths by tool inclination. The advantage of automatic collision avoidance is to free the user from manual choice of tilting angles: you only need to specify the desired tilting angle, the maximal angle allowed, and whether tilting will occur in areas where no collisions are detected. A new 3-axis to 5-axis conversion option is added for the Tilting tool away with max. angle strategy in the Gouge tabs available in the Gouge check page of the Converted dialog box. The Advanced button displays the Collision avoidance by tool tilting dialog box that enables you to define the following tilting parameters.
Maximum tilt angle

This parameter defines the maximal angle of tool tilting allowed to avoid collision. When this value is found not sufficient to avoid collisions, the tool returns to the Clearance level, and the system searches the remaining calculated tool path for gouge-free passes that can be performed according to the angle limitation. If no possible passes are found, machining is not continued.
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8. Sim. 5-Axis Machining

Desired tilt angle

When this check box is selected, the tool is tilted to the preferred angle specified in the related edit box, when a collision is detected. When this value is not sufficient to avoid collision, it is increased up to the specified Maximum tilt angle value. When this check box is not selected, the system automatically calculates the tool tilting angle in the range from 0 up to the specified Maximum tilt angle value.
Tilt for collision free zones

Desired tilt angle

When this check box is selected, the tool is also tilted to the specified Desired tilt angle, in areas where no collisions are detected. When this check box is not selected, the tool sticks to its initial axis defined for the 3-axis tool path while machining the collision-free areas.

Tilt for collision free zones check box is selected

Tilt for collision free zones check box is not selected

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Motion limits control This page enables you to define the parameters related to kinematics and special characteristics of the CNC-machine.

Miscellaneous parameters This page enables you to define a number of miscellaneous parameters and options related to the Sim. 5-axis tool path calculation.

For a more detailed explanation of the Sim. 5-Axis operation parameters pages, refer to SolidCAM Sim. 5-Axis Milling User Guide. When the converted operation is saved and calculated, the source operation is suppressed in the SolidCAM Manager tree.
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Simulation

9.1 External Simulator in SolidCAM provides you with a new External Simulator for simulation of operations in a separate window, in parallel to continued working in SolidCAM.
SolidCAM 2010

For example: Continue adding new operations while a SolidVerify simulation of the previous operations is working in the background. Building updated stocks, which takes a considerable amount of time in case of large and complex parts. The External Simulator window is displayed when you choose the Simulate External command from the right-click menu available on the Operations header of the SolidCAM Manager tree.

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9. Simulation

When the External Simulator window is displayed, all the operations included in the simulation (and the related items such as geometries, coordinate systems, and so forth) are marked by the lock icon in SolidCAM Manager; this locking means that these operations cannot be edited, deleted or recalculated. Also new operations cannot be inserted between the locked operations. However you can continue adding new operations, after the existing ones, while the simulation is running. Show SolidCAM Manager When this check box is selected, the Operations header of the SolidCAM Manager tree along with the simulation control panel is displayed in the left portion of the External Simulator window.

When this check box is not selected, the External Simulator window displays only the graphic area of the simulation, with the control buttons above it.

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Run as main process/Run as background process Since simulation is a process that takes up a lot of system resources, you may need to indicate the priority of the External simulator as a secondary task (while SolidCAM is a main task).

When the Run as main process option is chosen, the External simulator uses system resources, regardless of the other processes, on as-needed basis; SolidCAM might then run slower. When the Run as background process option is chosen, SolidCAM has higher priority than External simulator in terms of using system resources; therefore you can continue working with the CAM-Part while the simulation is running.

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9.2 Turning tool holding system in Machine simulation

SolidCAM 2010

enables the display of the turning tool holding system in the simulation mode.

Machine

To display the tool holder in Machine simulation, you need to define it in the Machine definition tree. Holder definition for machines with rotary turret In SolidCAM 2010, the rotary turret feature is supported in turning tool holding system. In case of machines with rotary turret, a number of tools can be mounted on the rotary turret with the possibility to switch between tools when necessary. Each tool has its slot in the turret, and the tool number corresponds to the number of the relevant coordinate transformation that represents this tool position in the CNC-machine definition.

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To enable the visualization of rotary turrets in the Machine simulation, you need to add the following items into the CNC-machine definition:
1. TRAxX

Add a new rotational axis to one of the translational axes (depending on the type of machine). This is the rotational axis of the rotary turret. Name it TRAxX, where X is the number of turret from the turrets table (for example, TRAx1). The TRAx name is hard-coded in SolidCAM and cannot be changed. Add a geometry to this axis and name it Drum_Turret. The geometry file is the model of the rotary turret saved in STL format.
2. station_transformXXXX

Add a new transformation to the TRAxX axis. This is the coordinate system of one of the tool positions on the rotary turret. Name it station_transformXXXX, where the XXXX characters stand for the following: the first character is the number of turret from the turrets table; the second character (a letter) is the tool position (A, B, C etc...) defined in the Part Tool Table; and the last two characters define the tool number in the Part Tool Table (for example, station_ transform1A01). The station_transform name is hard-coded in SolidCAM and cannot be changed. You can add as many station_transformXXXX items as you need according to the number of tool positions on your rotary turret.

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3. adaptor_transformXXXX

Add a new transformation under the station_transformXXXX item. This is the coordinate system defined as the Tool origin position CS in the Part Tool Table. Name it adaptor_transformXXXX, where the XXXX characters stand for the following: the first character is the number of turret from the turrets table; the second character (a letter) is the tool position (A, B, C etc...) defined in the Part Tool Table; and the last two characters are the tool number defined in the Part Tool Table. The adazptor_transform name is hard-coded in SolidCAM and cannot be changed. You must add as many adaptor_transformXXXX items as you need according to the number of tool positions on your drum turret. Add a fixture to this item and name it TH_adaptorXXXX (the XXXX will be inherited from the parent item in the tree). The fixture file is the model of the tool holder saved in STL format and defined in the Part Tool Table.
4. holder_transformXXXX

Add a new transformation under the adaptor_transformXXXX item. This is the coordinate system that is used for correct positioning of the tool. Name it holder_transformXXXX, where the XXXX characters stand for the following: the first character is the number of turret from the turrets table; the second character (a letter) is the tool position (A, B, C etc...) defined in the Part Tool Table; and the last two characters are the tool number defined in the Part Tool Table. The holder_transform name is hard-coded in SolidCAM and cannot be changed.
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You can add as many holder_transformXXXX items as you need according to the number of tool holders you are using. To the holder_transformXXXX item you can attach all the tool elements (such as arbor, shaft, flute, and so forth) and define their kinematic relationship with the CNC-machine components. Holder definition for machines without rotary turret In case of machines without rotary turret, only one tool at a time can be mounted on the holding system.

To enable the visualization of tool holders in the Machine simulation, you need to add the following items into the CNC-machine definition:
1. station_transform

Add a new transformation to the axis that is responsible for the tool movements. This is the coordinate system of the tool position. Name it station_transform. This name is hard-coded in SolidCAM and cannot be changed.

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2. adaptor_transform

Add a new transformation under the station_transform item. This is the coordinate system defined as the Tool origin position CS in the Part Tool Table. Name it adaptor_transform. This name is hard-coded in SolidCAM and cannot be changed. Add a fixture to this item and name it TH_adaptor. The fixture file is the model of the tool holder saved in the STL format and defined in the Part Tool Table. The number of these fixtures must be the maximal number of tools supported by the magazine of your machine.

4. holder_transform

Add a new transformation under the adaptor_transform item. This is the coordinate system that is used for correct positioning of the tool. Name it holder_transform. This name is hardcoded in SolidCAM and cannot be changed. To the holder_transform item you can attach all the tool elements (such as arbor, shaft, flute, and so forth) and define their kinematic relationship with the CNC-machine components.

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2.5D Milling

High-Speed Surface Machining (HSS)

High-Speed Machining (HSM)

Indexed Multi-sided Machining

Simultaneous 5 - axis Machining

Turning and Mill-Turn up to 5 axis

Wire EDM

iMachining

Service and Support

www.solidcam.com moc.macdilos.www
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