Lesson 3-04: Machine and Toolpath Group Setup

Selecting a machine type results in the creation of Machine and Toolpath Groups within
the Toolpath Manager. The Machine and Toolpath Group properties can be easily
modified to include stock and workholding parameters that will help you accurately
visualize toolpath operations as they are added.

1. Continue with the file from the previous module.

2. In the Attributes group of the Home tab, toggle the geometry mode to 2D.

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 3. Click the Planes tab in the Managers panel to display the Planes Manager.

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 4. Confirm that the +D+Z plane is assigned as the current construction plane. Also
confirm that the WCS and Tplane are assigned to the “Top” plane.

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 5. Display the Levels Manager by clicking the Levels tab on the Managers panel.

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 6. Next, click the Wireframe tab and click the Turn Profile command in the Shapes
group.

7. The Turn Profile panel will be displayed. Make sure that the Spin option is
selected and then click the solid in the viewport. Next, click the End Selection
button under the Selection Bar.

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 8. Under Profile, click the Full profile option and click the green OK button to
complete the command.

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 9. As a result of the Turn Profile command, several additional wireframe entities
have been created on Level 10.

10. Create a new level by right clicking in the viewport, then clicking in the Attribute
section’s level name field. Type “20:Spin Profile”.

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 11. A new level number 20, named Spin Profile, will be displayed in the Levels
Manager list and will be set as the active level. Click the solid body in the
viewport to select it and the click the Invert Selection button on the Selection
Bar.

12. All the un-selected wireframe entities will now be selected and the solid will be
de-selected. Right click in the viewport and click the Change Level button in the
Attributes panel in the menu.

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 13. In the Change Levels dialog, confirm that the Move option is selected, click Use
Active Level, and then click the OK button to accept.

14. The entity count for level 20 will now show that 66 entities have been moved to
that level. Turn level 10’s visibility off to hide the solid body and show only the
wireframe turn profile that was generated.

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 15. Navigate to the Toolpaths Manager by clicking the Toolpaths tab in the
Managers Panel. Click Files under Properties in Machine Group-1.

16. Click the Stock Setup tab of the Machine Group Properties dialog.

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 17. Click the Properties button in the Stock section of the dialog.

18. Select the Cylinder option from the Geometry dropdown menu.

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 19. Click the Use Margins checkbox. This will use the values shown in OD margin,
Right margin, and Left margin number fields to increase the stock size by
specified additional amount.

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 20. Next, click the Make from 2 points button to allow graphical input using the
mouse cursor to help define the stock size.

21. Click the origin as the first point for specifying the stock boundary.

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 22. Click a second point, this time on the turn profile wireframe geometry that was
created in the previous steps. Choose a point that represents the major diameter
to establish a stock diameter which would be suitable for machining the finished
part.

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 23. The Machine Component Manager dialog will be displayed after the second
point is selected. Change the value in the Length field to 3.0.

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 24. Next, change the value of the Left Margin to 2.0.

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 25. Click the Preview Lathe Boundaries button.

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 26. A preview of the cylindrical stock boundary will be displayed in the viewport.
Press the Enter key to return to the dialog.

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 27. Change the value of the OD margin to 0.125.

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 28. Change the value of the Right Margin to 0.1 and click the OK button to accept
the changes.

29. The stock has now been fully defined and its position has been specified as being
in the left spindle. Next, the chuck geometry will be specified. In the Chuck Jaws
section of the dialog, click the Properties button.

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 30. In the Position section, click in the Grip length field and enter a value of 2.0 and
click the Preview Lathe Boundaries button.

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 31. Note that a dashed outline preview of the chuck geometry is now displayed.
Press the Enter key to return to the dialog.

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 32. Also note that certain selections in the Display Options section are grayed out
and unavailable. This is because geometry was not defined for those selections
to be valid. Click the Shade boundaries option and then click the OK button to
exit.

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 33. The chuck and stock profile areas previously represented by dashed line
boundaries are now displayed as shaded regions in the viewport.

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 34. Right click the Toolpath Group-1 icon and then click Lathe stock update. Click
Enable stock update. This option allows the stock’s shape to update as new
toolpaths are added, providing a helpful representation of remaining stock that
needs to be removed to finish the part.

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 35. Navigate to the Levels Manager by clicking the Levels tab on the Managers
panel. Click in Level 10’s visibility box to turn on the visibility of the solid body on
the Level 10.

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 36. Double click the Viewsheet 1 bookmark to restore the viewport’s display state
that was stored as a bookmark. Notice that stock and turn profile are hidden.
This is because viewsheet bookmarks also store the display conditions of the
stock and workholding components which were not visible when the Viewsheet 1
bookmark was created.

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 37. Click the Turning tab and then, in the Stock group, click the Stock Display icon’s
text to expand the menu. Click the Left stock and Left chuck options. Note that
the shaded regions of the chuck and stock are now visible again.

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 38. To update the viewsheet bookmark so that it now includes these items in a visible
state, right click on the Viewsheet 1 bookmark tab and click Save Viewsheet
Bookmark. Finally, save the file with the changes that have been made.

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