2D Geometry Creation Notes

First Choice CAD/CAM system for Windows™
AlphaCAM Training
2D Geometry Creation Notes
Part 1 Part 2
Part 3
Table Of Contents
CONVENTIONS WHEN USING THE NOTES ............................................................................ 1
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 2
THE PART GEOMETRY .............................................................................................................. 3
CREATING THE GEOMETRY Part 1 ........................................................................................... 4
Draw the Centre Circles.......................................................................................................... 4
Draw the outer profile................................................................................................................ 4
Draw the Radius 38 and Radius 75 Circles .......................................................................... 5
Trim the circles. .................................................................................................................. 6
Add the 13mm Radius ........................................................................................................ 6
Join The Geometry into One Profile .................................................................................... 7
Save the Drawing................................................................................................................ 7
CREATING THE GEOMETRY Part 2 ........................................................................................... 8
Draw the Centre Circles.......................................................................................................... 8
Draw the outer profile................................................................................................................ 8
Draw the Radius 48 and Radius 85 Circles .......................................................................... 9
Draw the tangential lines .................................................................................................. 10
Trim the circles. ................................................................................................................ 10
Join The Geometry into One Profile .................................................................................. 11
Save the Drawing.............................................................................................................. 11
CREATING THE GEOMETRY Part 3 ......................................................................................... 12
Draw the Centre Circles........................................................................................................ 12
Draw the outer profile.............................................................................................................. 12
Draw the Radius 54 and Radius 91 Circles ........................................................................ 13
Draw the tangential lines .................................................................................................. 14
Trim the circles. ................................................................................................................ 15
Create the Peripheral Holes and Lugs ................................................................................ 16
Create Lug and Hole circles. ............................................................................................. 16
Copy Lug and Hole circles. ............................................................................................... 17
Rotate Lug and Hole circles............................................................................................... 19
Mirror Lug and Hole circles. ............................................................................................. 20
Switch off the Hole circles. ............................................................................................... 21
Trim the Circles and Outer Line ........................................................................................ 22
Add the 4mm Fillet Radii .................................................................................................. 23
Turn On The Hidden Geometries...................................................................................... 24
Save the Drawing.............................................................................................................. 24
AlphaCAM Geometry Creation Notes
CONVENTIONS WHEN USING THE NOTES

1. AlphaCAM requires a 2-button mouse.
The LEFT mouse button LMB [ is used to select commands and options from menus and
dialogue boxes, and to select items or X, Y positions on the screen by clicking on them. In what
follows, ‘Click [ on’ means “Put the screen arrow pointer on the place specified and click the
LEFT mouse button”.
The RIGHT mouse button RMB ] usually means FINISHED selection. But if the screen pointer is
on top of a dialogue box, you can press the RIGHT button to go back to the previous dialogue.
When appropriate, the RIGHT button brings up a floating menu at the screen pointer position. In
what follows, ‘Click ] on’ means “Put the screen arrow pointer on the place specified and click
the RIGHT mouse button”.
3. Keyboard keys are shown as R j or T or 2 Function key 2.
Type the answer given exactly as shown, highlighted in bold: e.g. Type 1.5 j
To make entry of X/Y co-ordinates easy and natural, you can type Xvalue j Yvalue or
Xvalue , Yvalue as well as Xvalue f Yvalue as in standard Windows.
4. Pull-down menu names are in bold CAPITAL letters, and commands selected from the menus
are in bold Normal Case. For example:
Select GEOMETRY | APS Fast Geometry means pull down the GEOMETRY menu by
clicking on Geometry at the top of the screen, then click on APS Fast Geometry.
If the command is in a ‘pop-out’ side menu, the sequence of selections is shown: e.g. to
select the Copy command, you will see “Select EDIT | Move, Copy etc | Copy”.
Dialogue options are inside ( ) brackets: For example CAD | Dimension (Horizontal)
All the methods of selecting commands will be shown EG FILE | Open C+O.
This means the Open command can be selected from the FILE menu or by picking the
button on the toolbar or by holding down the C key down whilst pressing the O key
5. When selecting items from the screen, you can click [ on them one by one, or drag a
selection window around several items, or combine both methods. Only items completely
enclosed by the window will be selected. Selected items are shown dark blue. If you have
selected some items incorrectly, clicking [ on them will de-select them. Click the RIGHT
mouse button ] when you have finished selecting the items in order to action the command.
6. Pressing s will recall the previous command - including the one before Undo.
7. The contraction APS means AlphaCAM Programming System e.g. APS Fast Geometry.
8. Notes and comments are in Italics to separate them from the main text. If there are different
ways of achieving the same command or option, these are also in Italics and can be ignored
the first time you work through these notes.
9. The symbol indicates a new command for you to action.

10. The symbol indicates a sub part of command for you to action
The HELP file is very comprehensive. When you have finished these notes, please take time to
have a look at it. Select HELP | Contents.
Page 1
INTRODUCTION
These AlphaCAM Notes have been designed to give you a flavour of how AlphaCAM works,
how interactive it is, how easy it is to learn and how easy it is to use. We assume that you are
familiar with the concepts involved with CNC programming and have a reasonable
understanding of your computer and the Windows operating system. AlphaCAM has been
developed as a true 32-bit Windows 95 or NT application, so if you use other Windows programs
you will be familiar with features such as floating button bars, tabbed dialogue boxes, etc. If not,
you should look at HELP | Contents | Screen Layout.
AlphaCAM systems are available for all machining disciplines. Each one is specifically designed
for the machine type, but the look and feel of all the systems is standard. These notes can be used
with both Standard and Advanced AlphaCAM modules. They describe the construction of the
geometry for the following drawing.
If you have not already done so, start ‘AlphaCAM’. This will take you into the graphical portion
Pull Down Menus
Button Bars arranged around the Graphics

Area.
You can turn Button Bars on /off with the

Configure
option in the File pull-down menu or with the
Graphics Area
Command Prompt Line

Help / Status Line
of the system. Your screen will look similar to the one below.
During these notes we tell you where to find commands on the pull down menus. If there is a
button for the command, this will also be shown.
Take the trouble to locate where the buttons are to be found on your screen. You can speed your
work by avoiding having to pull down menus and side menus to click on commands when one
click on a button takes you straight there.
To see what command a button takes you to, put the screen pointer on the button for a couple of
seconds, and a prompt will appear beside the pointer.
Page 2
THE PART GEOMETRY

These drawings are the parts you are going to create. they were drawn, dimensioned and printed
with AlphaCAM.
AlphaCAM provides various ways of creating part geometry, however for the purposes of these
notes we will be using only CAD style geometry creation, whereby individual geometric features
are created and then trimmed in order to create geometric contours. Toolpaths are then applied
to the geometric contours from which the NC program is produced.
CAD style geometry creation mainly utilises Line, Arc, Circle and rectangle commands, however,
AlphaCAM also includes “Special Geometries” which automatically produces standard geometric
shapes.
Part 1 Part 2
Part 3
Page 3
CREATING THE GEOMETRY Part 1

This geometry consists of three profiles, two holes and an outer profile. The datum will be the
centre of the 20 mm hole.
Draw the Centre Circles
Select GEOMETRY | Circle | Centre + Diameter

The command line will prompt you to enter the circle diameter. Type 20 j
Type 0 j 0 j for the co-ordinates of the circle centre. The 20mm diameter circle will be
drawn
The command line will again ask you for the circle diameter. Type 30 j.
Type 100 j 0 j for the co-ordinates of the circle centre. The 30mm diameter circle will
be drawn.
Draw the outer profile

The outer profile is created by drawing two circles, trimming them, then add the fillet’s and
finally join the elements to form a continuous profile.
Page 4
Draw the Radius 38 and Radius 75 Circles

Select GEOMETRY | Circle | Centre+Radius
The command line will prompt you to enter the circle radius. Type 38 j
The command line will now prompt you to enter the co-ordinates of the circle centre. Using
8, click [ on the edge of the 20 dia circle.
The command line will again ask you for the circle radius. Type 75 j.
The command line will now prompt you to enter the co-ordinates of the circle centre. Using
8, click [ on the edge of the 30 dia circle.
Page 5
Trim the circles.

Select EDIT | Break, Join etc | Trim.
The command line will prompt you to select the cutting geometries. In this case both the
larger circles are cutting geometries, as they provide the trimming position for each other, so
click [ on the circles. They will turn blue.
Click [ on Finish [Esc] or press the E button.
The command line will prompt you to pick the geometry/tool path to trim, i.e. which bits are
to be removed.. Click [ on the right-hand side of the left circle and the left-hand side of the
right circle and they will disappear as you pick them.
Add the 13mm Radius

To draw the 13mm radii between the two circles we will use the fillet command.
Select EDIT | Break, JOIN etc | Fillet

A dialogue box will be displayed
Set the following options in the dialogue box then select K
Fillet Radius = 13
Corners = Individual [Pick 2 Elements]
Page 6
The command line will now prompt you to pick the first line or arc. Click [ on the bottom
half of the right-hand circle close to the point of intersection.
The command line will now prompt you to pick the second line or arc. Click [ on the
bottom half of the left hand circle close to the point of intersection. The 13mm radius fillet
will be drawn.
Repeat this operation on the top half of the two circles to create the other fillet radius.
The geometry should now look like this.
Join The Geometry into One Profile

Select EDIT | Break, JOIN etc | JOIN .
The command line will ask you to select the geometry/toolpath to join. Select each geometric
element in the outer profile, and they will turn blue, click [ on Finish [Esc] or press E.
All of the separate geometries will now be joined together to form a single profile.
Select View | Display Options | Ghost Tools C+G to see the Ghost Tools.
When the geometry is joined successfully the display
will only show ONE ghost tool per profile.
Save the Drawing
Select FILE | Save As C+s.

The Save As dialogue will be displayed. The default Save In folder will be Licomdir.
Set the save in folder to the folder where the work is to be saved.
In the File Name field enter the name by which the file is to be referenced.
Click [ on K.
Page 7

This geometry consists of three profiles, two holes and an outer profile. The datum will be the
centre of the 20 mm hole.

drawn
be drawn.

The outer profile is created by drawing two circles connected together with tangential lines,
trimming them, and finally join the elements to form a continuous profile.
Page 8

Select GEOMETRY | Circle | Centre + Radius
The command line will now prompt you to enter the co-ordinates of the circle centre.
Using 8, click [ on the edge of the 20 dia circle.
The command line will again prompt you to enter the circle radius. Type 85 j.
Select VIEW | Zoom All | C+A to make the geometry fit the screen.
Page 9
Draw the tangential lines

Select GEOMETRY | Line .
The command line will prompt you to enter the co-ordinates for the start point of the line.
Select UTILS | Snaps | Tangent to 0 click [ anywhere on the bottom side of the
radius 85 circle.
The command line now prompts you to enter the co-ordinates of the end point of the line.
Select UTILS | Snaps | Tangent to 0 and click [ anywhere on the bottom side of the
radius 48 circle.
The line command draws lines in a consecutive fashion with the end point of the previous line
becoming the start point for the next. In this case therefore, it will be necessary to re-select the
line command to enable us to enter the new start point for the next line.
To draw the tangential line on the other side of the circles simply repeat the above steps but
click [ on the top side of the two circles.
The drawing should now look like this.
Trim the circles.

The command line will prompt you to select the cutting geometries. In this case the lines are
cutting geometries, as they provide the trimming position for each of the circles, so click [
on the lines. They will turn blue.
Page 10

Save the Drawing

The Save As dialogue will be displayed. The default Save In folder will be Licomdir.
Set the save in folder to the folder where the work is to be saved.
In the File Name field enter the name by which the file is to be referenced.
Click [ on K.
Page 11

This geometry consists of three profiles, two centre holes, 8 peripheral holes and an outer profile.
The datum will be the centre of the 20 mm hole.

drawn
be drawn.

The outer profile is created by drawing two circles connected together with tangential lines,
trimming them, and finally join the elements to form a continuous profile.
Page 12

The command line will again prompt you to enter the circle radius. Type 91 j.
Select VIEW | Zoom All | C+A to make the geometry fit the screen.
Page 13
Draw the tangential lines

Select GEOMETRY | Line .
The command line will prompt you to enter the co-ordinates for the start point of the line.
Select UTILS | Snaps | Tangent to 0 click [ anywhere on the bottom side of the
radius 85 circle.
The command line now prompts you to enter the co-ordinates of the end point of the line.
Select UTILS | Snaps | Tangent to 0 and click [ anywhere on the bottom side of the
radius 48 circle.
The line command draws lines in a consecutive fashion with the end point of the previous line
becoming the start point for the next. In this case therefore, it will be necessary to re-select the
line command to enable us to enter the new start point for the next line.
To draw the tangential line on the other side of the circles simply repeat the above steps but
click [ on the top side of the two circles.
The drawing should now look like this.
Page 14
Trim the circles.

The command line will prompt you to select the cutting geometries. In this case the lines are
cutting geometries, as they provide the trimming position for each of the circles, so click [
on the lines. They will turn blue.

Page 15
Create the Peripheral Holes and Lugs

To create these geometries we need only draw one hole and lug circle then copy them both into
three positions on the top half of the outer profile. We can then use the mirror command to
create the opposite three. Trim the lug circles and the outer profile and join the elements
together. Finally adding the 4mm fillets.
Create Lug and Hole circles.
The command line will now prompt you for the co-ordinates of the circle centre.
Select Utils | Snaps | QUADRANT Point

The command line will prompt you to select the arc. Click [ on the left-hand arc.
An 8mm-diameter circle will be drawn.

The command line will prompt you to enter the circle radius.
Type 10 j
The command line will now prompt you for the co-ordinates of the circle centre. The figures
should be correct so click [ on K if you are not sure Use 8, click [ on the edge
of the 8 dia circle.
Page 16
We can now use the copy command to position the pairs of circles required to create the bosses.
Copy Lug and Hole circles.

Select EDIT | Move, Copy etc | Copy
The command line will now prompt you to select the geometry to copy.
Click [ on the 10 Rad and 8 Dia circles just drawn. They will turn blue.
Click [ Finish [Esc] or press E .
The command line will now prompt you to pick the base point for the move.
Select Utils | Snaps | Arc CENTRE of
Click [ on one of the blue circles. The circles are now on the cursor and a copy can be
positioned at any point selected.
Type —18.47j —50.74 j.as the co-ordinates for the position of the copy
A copy of the two circles will now be placed at the new position.
The command line will still be prompting you for a new position.
Type 68.86 j —85.55 j. The third set of circles will be drawn.
The next set has no X, Y co-ordinates marked on the drawing. It will therefore be necessary to
position these in a different way.
Page 17
There are several ways to achieve this. For the purposes of these notes we will position the circles
on centreline at the right hand end of the outer profile and use the rotate command to move them
into position.
Select Utils | Snaps | QUADRANT Point

The command line will prompt you to select the arc. Click [ on the right-hand arc in the
outer profile.
The circles will be drawn and can now be rotated into position.
Page 18
Rotate Lug and Hole circles.

Select EDIT | Move, Copy etc | Rotate
The command line will prompt you to select which geometries you want to rotate.
Select the 10 Rad and 8 Dia circles just drawn, they will turn blue.
Click [ on Finish [Esc] or press E.
The command line will now prompt you to pick the base point for the rotation in other words the
fulcrum about which the rotation will take place.
Select Utils | Snaps | Arc CENTRE of
Click [ on the 30 diameter hole.
The command line will ask you for the angle of rotation. Type —35.
The command line will now ask you how many copies you would like including the original.
Type 1 j.
The circles will now be positioned at the correct point.
Page 19
Mirror Lug and Hole circles.

To position the final three sets of circles we can now use the mirror command.
Select EDIT | Move Copy etc | Mirror
The command line will ask you to select which geometries you want to mirror. Click on the
three sets of circles we have just drawn on the top of the geometry. They will turn blue.
Click on Finish [Esc] or press E.
The command line will prompt you to pick the first point of the mirror line. This is the first of
two points that AlphaCAM will ask for to set the plane of the mirror.
Select UTILS | Snaps | Centre of
Click on the 20mm diameter circle.
The command line will prompt you to select the second point of the mirror line.
Select UTILS | Snaps | Centre of
Click on the 30mm diameter circle.
A dialogue box will appear asking you if you want to keep the original geometries.
Click [ Y The three sets of circles will now be copied on to the bottom of the shape.
The screen should now look like this.
Page 20
Switch off the Hole circles.

To make the trim command easier switch off the hole circles. This will ensure that the hole
circles do not get trimmed by mistake.
Select CAD | Hide Parts
The command line will ask you to select which geometries you want to hide. Click on the
seven 8 Dia holes and they will turn blue. Click on Finish [Esc] or press E and they
will be hidden.
Page 21
Trim the Circles and Outer Line

Select EDIT | Break, JOIN etc | Trim.
The command line will ask you to select cutting geometries. Click on the seven 10mm radius
circles you have just drawn and the outer profile geometry and they will turn blue.
Click on Finish [Esc] or press E.
The command line will now ask you to select the geometries to trim. Click on the inside of
the seven 10mm radius circles. The selected semicircles will disappear as they are selected
and the break points will be highlighted with a cross.
Select VIEW | Redraw C+r to tidy up the display. This will not affect the trim
command, as the redraw command is “transparent”.
The command line will still be asking you to select the geometry to trim. Click on the bits of
the outer profile that are inside the remaining 10mm semicircles. They will disappear as they
are picked and a cross will appear at the break points. If the display becomes cluttered with
crosses during this process then the Redraw command described above may be used at any
time.
The display should now look like this.
Page 22

The command line will ask you to select the geometry/toolpath to join.
If the trimming was completed without any mistakes the geometry to be joined should be
selected when the Previous button is picked.
If all the geometry is not selected select the rest of the geometry in the outer profile. When it
is all blue, click [ on Finish [Esc] or press E.
Add the 4mm Fillet Radii
Select EDIT | Break, JOIN etc | Fillet.
A dialogue box will be displayed.

Set the following options in the dialogue box then select K
Fillet Radius =4
Corners = All [As set by Ghost Tool]
The command line will ask you to select the geometry you want to fillet. Click on the
outer line of the geometry or pick Previous . It will turn blue. Click on Finish [Esc] or
press E. The 4mm fillet radii will be drawn.
Page 23
Turn On The Hidden Geometries

Select CAD | Show All .
Save the Drawing

The Save As dialogue will be displayed. The default Save In folder will be Licomdir. Set the save
in folder to the folder where the work is to be saved. In the File Name field enter the name by
which the file is to be referenced.
Click [ on K.
Page 24
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First Choice CAD/CAM system for Windows™

CONVENTIONS WHEN USING THE NOTES

9. The symbol indicates a new command for you to action.

Button Bars arranged around the Graphics

You can turn Button Bars on /off with the

Command Prompt Line

THE PART GEOMETRY

CREATING THE GEOMETRY Part 1

Draw the Centre Circles

Select GEOMETRY | Circle | Centre + Diameter

Draw the outer profile

Draw the Radius 38 and Radius 75 Circles

Trim the circles.

Add the 13mm Radius

Select EDIT | Break, JOIN etc | Fillet

Join The Geometry into One Profile

Select FILE | Save As C+s.

CREATING THE GEOMETRY Part 2

Draw the Centre Circles

Select GEOMETRY | Circle | Centre + Diameter

Draw the outer profile

Draw the Radius 48 and Radius 85 Circles

Draw the tangential lines

The drawing should now look like this.

Trim the circles.

Join The Geometry into One Profile

Select FILE | Save As C+s.

CREATING THE GEOMETRY Part 3

Draw the Centre Circles

Select GEOMETRY | Circle | Centre + Diameter

Draw the outer profile

Draw the Radius 54 and Radius 91 Circles

Draw the tangential lines

The drawing should now look like this.

Trim the circles.

Join The Geometry into One Profile

Create the Peripheral Holes and Lugs

Select Utils | Snaps | QUADRANT Point

Select GEOMETRY | Circle | Centre + Radius

Copy Lug and Hole circles.

Select Utils | Snaps | QUADRANT Point

Rotate Lug and Hole circles.

The circles will now be positioned at the correct point.

Mirror Lug and Hole circles.

Select UTILS | Snaps | Centre of

Click on the 20mm diameter circle.

Select UTILS | Snaps | Centre of

Click on the 30mm diameter circle.

The screen should now look like this.

Switch off the Hole circles.

Trim the Circles and Outer Line

Join The Geometry into One Profile

A dialogue box will be displayed.

Turn On The Hidden Geometries

Save the Drawing

Select FILE | Save As C+s.

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