mcamx2 art tutorial

Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial

(Inch version)

March 2007

Mastercam X2 MR1 © 2007 CNC Software, Inc.

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Mastercam® X2 Art Tutorial (Inch version)

Date: March, 2007 Copyright © 2007 CNC Software, Inc. - All rights reserved. Software: Mastercam X2 MR1 ISBN: 1-883310-63-6

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Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial v

Table of Contents 1 Introduction......................................................................... 1

Hardware requirements ........................................................................ 2 Compatibility with other Mastercam products................................... 3 If you need more help ........................................................................... 3 Resellers .......................................................................................... 4 Technical support.................................................................................. 4 Additional resources............................................................................. 6

2 Mastercam X2 Art Overview............................................... 7 Frequently asked questions................................................................. 8 Mastercam X2 Art terminology ............................................................ 9 The Mastercam Art process ............................................................... 12 2D Art to 3D Surface…a short example ............................................ 16 Basic features ...................................................................................... 17 New toolpaths for Art surfaces.......................................................... 24 What’s Next ........................................................................................ 26

3 Mastercam X2 Art Quick Start ......................................... 27 Parts used in the tutorial examples................................................... 27 Geometry sources and creation ........................................................ 28 Exercise 1 – Starting Mastercam X2 Art ........................................... 30 Exercise 2 – Starting the design process ......................................... 31 Exercise 3 – Creating the base surface ............................................ 33 Exercise 4 – Creating an organic surface operation ....................... 35 Exercise 5 – Viewing options............................................................. 39 Exercise 6 – Saving the file ................................................................ 47 Exercise 7 – Creating an elliptical organic surface ......................... 48 Exercise 8 – Creating multiple surfaces ........................................... 51 Exercise 9 – Creating swept surfaces............................................... 57 Exercise 10 – Challenge ..................................................................... 61

4 Introduction to Mastercam X2 Art ................................... 63 Exercise 1 – Exploring Mastercam X2............................................... 64 Exercise 2 – Starting Mastercam X2 Art ........................................... 71 Exercise 3 – Opening a file................................................................. 72 Exercise 4 – Creating an Art base surface ....................................... 74 Exercise 5 – Creating an organic surface......................................... 78 Exercise 6 – Saving the file ................................................................ 88 Exercise 7 – Exploring Art base surface parameters ...................... 89 Exercise 8 – Exploring organic surface parameters ....................... 95 Exercise 9 – Challenge ..................................................................... 104

vi Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial

5 Machining and Verifying Organic Surfaces.................. 105 Exercise 1 – Opening a saved file.................................................... 107 Exercise 2 – Selecting the machine type ........................................ 108 Machine type and machine definition ............................................. 108 Machine group properties ................................................................ 109 Exercise 3 – Defining the stock boundary...................................... 115 Exercise 4 – Changing levels and views......................................... 120 Exercise 5 – Creating the medallion toolpath ................................ 122 Exercise 6 – Creating a contour toolpath ....................................... 135 Exercise 7 – Simulating machining (Verify).................................... 140 Exercise 8 – Exploring with Verify................................................... 147 Exercise 9 – Holding the part ........................................................... 148 Exercise 10 – Challenge ................................................................... 150

6 Using Art Manager .......................................................... 151 Exercise 1 – Modifying a convex arc shape ................................... 152 Exercise 2 – Modifying the parabolic cross section...................... 157 Exercise 3 – Using Undo and Redo................................................. 162 Exercise 4 – Changing a parabolic shape to an angle .................. 165 Exercise 5 – Documenting surfaces................................................ 172 Exercise 6 – Examining Art Manager in detail................................ 174 Art Manager functions ...................................................................... 175 Art Manager history tree................................................................... 179 Art Manager right-click menu........................................................... 182 Editing in the Art Manager................................................................ 185 Exercise 7 – Challenge ..................................................................... 188

7 Reshaping Surfaces ....................................................... 189 Exercise 1 – Defining the Art base surface .................................... 190 Exercise 2 – Creating and stacking base surfaces........................ 192 Exercise 3 – Stacking surface details (Celtic knot) ....................... 200 Exercise 4 – Modifying the Celtic knot – model 1 .......................... 204 Exercise 5 – Modifying the dish surface......................................... 207 Exercise 6 – Modifying the Celtic knot – model 2 .......................... 209 Exercise 7 – Reversing changes...................................................... 219 Exercise 8 – Challenge ..................................................................... 222

8 Integrated Design, Border and Plane Surfaces............ 223 Exercise 1 – Converting a file with Trace Image............................ 224 Exercise 2 – Dragging to position ................................................... 232 Exercise 3 – Scaling geometry......................................................... 233 Exercise 4 – Working with levels..................................................... 235 Exercise 5 – Creating Border and Plane surfaces ......................... 236 Exercise 6 – Creating the part’s base ............................................. 245 Exercise 7 – Using the Blend application style.............................. 248

Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial vii

Exercise 8 – Smoothing surfaces.................................................... 262 Exercise 9 – Adding textures ........................................................... 266 Exercise 10 – Modifying a texture.................................................... 270 Exercise 11 – Converting a part to a mold...................................... 272 Exercise 12 – Setting Art base surface top to Z0........................... 274 Exercise 13 – Exporting to STL format ........................................... 277 Exercise 14 – Challenge: translating a bounding box................... 279

Appendix A Machining Practices ...................................... A-1 Factors affecting cutting conditions ............................................... A-1 Tool selection .................................................................................... A-5 Cutting ...................................................................................... A-5 Preparing to machine...................................................................... A-10 About cutting tools.......................................................................... A-11 Tools used in Mastercam X2 Art.................................................... A-17 About chips .................................................................................... A-18 Tool holders .................................................................................... A-23 Workpiece/work holding................................................................. A-26 Tool offsets .................................................................................... A-32 Tramming the head ......................................................................... A-33 Aligning the vice.............................................................................. A-39 Locating part positions................................................................... A-41 Machining square and parallel....................................................... A-44 Challenge .................................................................................... A-48

viii Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial

Introduction

Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial 1

1 Introduction

Mastercam, the world leader in CAM software, brings its power and experience to artistic relief design and cutting with Mastercam X Art. Mastercam X Art is CAD/CAM software designed specifically for specialty wood crafters, sign makers, cabinet makers, custom shops, ring makers, and anyone else who needs to add artistic flair to their work. With Mastercam X Art, you can create machinable models “by eye,” experimenting until you get the exact look you want. Specifically, the Mastercam X Art process takes you from flat art to a beautifully sculpted piece. The result is a complex and detailed image that took only minutes to produce, saving time and money.

You can import designs from a scanned bitmap, illustration program, another CAD/CAM package, or you can create them in Mastercam X Art.

With Art, you can bring 2D sketches, clip art, photos, and CAD files to life, by crafting them on screen and cutting them with specialized toolpaths. What would have taken a sign maker, custom cabinet maker, or other artisan weeks to do, you can do in minutes.

Chapter 1

2 Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial

Mastercam X Art eliminates many of the problems of creating machinable artwork. An add-on option to Mastercam Mill or Router, Mastercam X Art delivers a robust set of fast and easy-to-use toolpaths that have been developed specifically for cutting artistic, finely detailed surfaces. Once you have modeled your project, Mastercam X Art provides a wide variety of fast cutting techniques to ensure the part comes off the machine exactly as imagined.

With Mastercam X Art, you can easily go from a graphic file to cutting this 3D part.

This tutorial is designed to help you learn Mastercam X Art quickly. After completion of the tutorial, you will have a good introduction to common Art operations in Mastercam. (Note that the tutorial does not try to cover every Mastercam X Art feature.)

Hardware requirements The following are minimum performance specifications. To increase performance, we recommend that you first increase the processor speed, then the RAM, and finally the graphics card memory.

Introduction

Operating systems: Windows® XP or Windows® 2000 Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6 or better Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4, 2 GHz processor or better Memory: 512 MB memory or better Windows®-compatible mouse Monitor minimum resolution 1280x1024 or better Graphic cards: 64 MB memory with 1280/1024 graphics mode or better (NVIDIA® has been a very successful graphics card for Mastercam.)

Compatibility with other Mastercam products Mastercam X Art will open files created by Mastercam Design, Mill, and Router.

If you need more help Online help

Online help contains the latest and most up-to-date information about Mastercam. Use it as a reference for specific “How to…” or “What’s this…” questions, like “How do I delete an operation?”, “What’s an Organic surface?”, or “How do I create a new Art Base Surface?” This brief tutorial shows you how to use online help.


Chapter 1


Click the help button in the current dialog box or ribbon bar to learn more about that user interface element. You can also press [Alt + H] at any time to open the online help.

Resellers If you have a question about Mastercam and have not been able to locate the answer in this tutorial or the online help, contact your local Mastercam Reseller. You can locate your local Mastercam Reseller through www.mastercam.com.

Technical support If your Reseller is unavailable, you can contact CNC Technical Support Services by phone Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m., USA EST at (860) 875-5006 or by e-mail at [email protected].

In a help topic, click on the underlined words to get more information or display related topics.

Introduction


When calling CNC Software, Inc. for technical support, please follow these guidelines:

Be sure you have already tried to contact your Mastercam Reseller. Provide the serial number of your SIM HASP or NetHASP. Be ready to describe the problem in detail. Write down what happened, particularly if you cannot call immediately after the problem occurs.

Be in front of your computer when you call. If possible, try to duplicate the problem before calling. Our Support Services technician may require you to duplicate the problem while you are on the phone.

Have ready a complete description of your hardware, including your operating system (OS), central processing unit (CPU), mouse, and memory.

You can also leave a message for CNC Support Services twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week via our e-mail or Web site addresses. Please include the serial number of your SIM and a telephone number and contact information where you can be reached. Keep the following information on hand in case you need to reach us:

Important Information

Address CNC Software, Inc. 671 Old Post Road Tolland, Connecticut, 06084-9970 USA

Phone (860) 875-5006

Fax (860) 872-1565

Internet Address http://www.mastercam.com

E-mail [email protected]

FTP Address ftp://ftp.mastercam.com

Chapter 1


Additional resources For information on training, contact your Mastercam Reseller. For an ongoing discussion of Mastercam-related topics, visit the Mastercam online forum at http://www.emastercam.com.

http://www.emastercam.com/

Mastercam X2 Art Overview


2 Mastercam X2 Art Overview

With Mastercam X2 Art, you design “by eye” and get great results without worrying about precise mathematical dimensions. You can enter precise values, or use the mouse to dynamically enter values based on selected geometry, surfaces, planes, or positions. Mastercam Art provides iterative editing, letting you experiment with different settings until the model meets your specifications. At any point, you can undo and redo your modeling steps.

The Art Manager is a central place where you work with the Art model. It records and displays a historical list of operations for every Art model. Undo and Redo functions let you view the change history and, with a single selection, roll back or restore one change or an entire series of changes.

Chapter 2


Once you have modeled your project, Mastercam X2 Art offers a variety of cutting techniques to ensure that the finished part is exactly as you imagined it. The software features a robust set of ultra-fast and accurate toolpaths developed specifically for cutting artistic surfaces. Our tests show that to create a toolpath on a complex model of 1,350,000 STL patches (a measure of complexity for a CAD model) takes under one minute. These toolpaths support flat, ball, and bull cutters.

This chapter gives an overview of Mastercam X2 Art’s main features. The subsequent chapters in this tutorial show how to make practical application parts, step by step. By building these parts, you learn how Art’s functions interrelate.

In this chapter, you explore: Frequently asked questions about Mastercam X2 Art The Mastercam X2 Art process Specialized terminology Basic features New toolpaths for Mastercam X2 Art surfaces Hardware requirements

Frequently asked questions What is the purpose of Mastercam X2 Art?

Mastercam X2 Art allows you to bring your 2D sketches, clip art, photos, and CAD files to 3D life, by crafting them on screen and cutting them with specialized toolpaths.

What skill level is required for Mastercam X2 Art?

Mastercam X2 Art is appropriate for all skill levels, from the beginning artist to the experienced CAD/CAM user. Beginning users can create their first complex models by defining shapes from clip art or their own scanned artwork. Experienced users have a full range of modeling tools to create even more sophisticated pieces.



What type of industries is Mastercam X2 Art suited for?

Mastercam X2 Art is suited for artistic design and manufacturing applications in many industries. It can simplify processes and reduce production times in many areas. The following table highlights some of the many Mastercam X2 Art applications.

Woodworking Industries

Metalworking Industries

Miscellaneous Industries

Sign making Artistic electrode production

Paper embossing

Furniture making Mold making Coining Cabinet making Prototyping Sculpting Jewelry making Toy production

Mastercam X2 Art terminology Because Mastercam X2 Art surfaces differ from standard Mastercam surfaces, you need specialized terminology to describe them. Following are definitions of specialized Art terms.

Art model – The entire Mastercam Art part. In the Art Manager, the model represents the top level of organization. Each Art model can include one or more Art base surfaces and, for each Art base surface, one or more Art surface operations. The Art Manager provides the historical record of all events that have occurred since the model was first created.

Chapter 2


Art base surface (ABS) – A 2D point grid that defines the extents of the Art model surface area. Each Art model can contain one or more Art base surfaces. The first step in creating an Art model is to define an Art base surface. You then apply Art surface operations to this base surface.

Art surface operation –Manipulations applied to the ABS to add details or features. Many Art surface operations use geometry as contour boundaries. A cross section defines its 3D profile.

Art surface operations can be stacked (added or subtracted from each other) to create sculptural models.



Art Manager – Provides access to functions and displays a hierarchical and historical tree. This tree is used to organize the Art base surfaces and Art surface operations contained in the Art model. The Art Manager displays in the Operations Manager pane with the Toolpath Manager and Solids Manager.

Resolution – Defines the number of grid points displayed per inch or millimeter. Resolution controls the crispness of the image displayed and the speed at which the screen redraws. A low resolution permits rapid redraws, which allows for experimentation. A higher resolution shows fine detail but increases the redraw time.

Low resolution

Higher Resolution

Chapter 2


The Mastercam Art process The following illustration shows the flow of a design concept, from a raster image through Mastercam X2 Art to a finished piece of jewelry. The following section describes the steps in more detail.



Import the art You can import clip art, a CAD file, or a scanned sketch. Mastercam X2 Art then converts the artwork into flat, machinable geometry. The conversion is done with an automatic converter that allows lines, arcs, and splines (the most efficient form). Mastercam X2 Art connects converted splines automatically, eliminating unconnected boundaries. You can also import and convert photographs. The Mastercam Classic Design Library, which is distributed with Mastercam X2 Art, gives you over 5,000 classic artistic elements to place in your model.

Build a 3D model To create a full, 3D sculpture from your 2D artwork, you select elements of your flat art that Mastercam "puffs up" using a cross section you select or create. You can add or remove one surface from another, and modify the model by eye to make sure it represents exactly what you want.

Chapter 2


Create a toolpath Choose one of Mastercam X2 Art's specialized toolpaths to cut your project. You can experiment with these fast, reliable cutting strategies, trying a variety of cut techniques to get the perfect result.



Machine your art on screen Solid-model verification provides an on-screen simulation of your cut part before you put stock on the machine. You can zoom in and inspect this model, ensuring it is exactly what you want, and so avoid wasted time or stock. If you see an error here, the error will be on the part as well.

Output code to your machine Select the correct postprocessor for your CNC machine, and Mastercam X2 Art generates the NC code from your toolpaths. Then, upload the code to your CNC machine.

Machine the part Clamp the part securely, shut the safety enclosure, press the start button, and machine the part. In a production setting, you may want to make custom jigs and fixtures first.

Chapter 2


2D Art to 3D Surface…a short example The power of Art is its ability to create complex organic surfaces with a few mouse clicks. Once you have selected the basic outline of your project, you can quickly "puff it up" by applying a cross section to the outline. You can create your own cross section or use a dynamic cross section from the included library.

For the ant graphic below, we selected an organic surface from the Art menu, and then selected the 2D geometry.

2D drawing becomes a 3D surface

To use an organic surface, the selected 2D geometry must consist of closed boundaries. The boundaries can comprise lines, arcs, and splines, but must not have gaps. (Other operation surface types can handle open chains. For example, a swept surface can use both open (unconnected) and closed (connected) chains.)

To define the profile of the puffed up surface, we selected a cross section from the cross section library, entered the dimensions, and the ant took shape.



Basic features Organic surfaces … Mastercam X2 Art’s backbone

The organic surface is the most used surface in Mastercam X2 Art. You create an organic surface by selecting a closed chain of geometry and applying a cross section to it. You can scale and manipulate the cross section for perfect results. Shown below is the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box, along with definitions of parameters that define the organic surface.

Presets – You can save your dialog box settings with Mastercam X2 Art’s presets. When you need those settings again, pick the preset from the list, and all the dialog parameters repopulate with those settings.

Dynamic Cross Sections – Mastercam X2 Art includes a cross section library. You can choose a cross section and dynamically manipulate it by adjusting the handles to create the desired shape or by entering dimensions. Custom cross sections can also be drawn and selected from Mastercam, as well as stored to a library.

Application Styles – The Application Style drop-down menu lets you select functions that add, subtract, intersect, and blend surfaces.

Adjust Ridge – The Adjust Ridge drop-down menu lets you reshape or smooth your initial surface into a new shape.

Chapter 2


Application Styles

Mastercam X2 Art's application styles let you add, subtract, intersect, and blend multiple organic surfaces.

You can test different results by choosing various application styles for each shape. The following figure displays a few of the most-used application styles. Add Blend

Add Cut Sub

Stacking surfaces

Art operations can be stacked (added or subtracted from each other) to create sculptural models. The following example illustrates how you can add and subtract surfaces to create the surface you want. Each element is added to or subtracted from the other elements thus “stacking up” to make a sculptured image.



1. Subtract the inner dome.

2. Add the ring, dog body, and skull.

3. Add the ears, snout, eyes, eyebrows, and the foot stepping out of the dome.

4. Add the nose.

5. Subtract the pupils and nostrils.

6. Add the fur detail.

Nested chains

Nested chains are boundaries within boundaries. For example, a triangle inside a circle inside a square has three individual chains nested two deep. Mastercam X2 Art understands nested chains, allowing the creation of multiple complex surfaces in a single operation. Art can see all the chains and identify which chain lies within which. It then puffs the first boundary up, and the next boundary down.

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In the dragon example below, we selected, in a single widow, the 2D geometry that makes up the dragon. Then we chose a single cross section to describe the shape of the dragon surface. The selected geometry consisted of over 100 individual boundaries/chains, some nested six deep. Mastercam X2 Art puffed the dragon image in one operation, in under 30 seconds. This powerful function can save considerable time when working with complex geometry.

Tip: If you get the reverse of what you want with nested chains, simply add or subtract an external boundary to reverse the logic.



Art Manager

Similar to Mastercam’s Solids Manager, the Art Manager is a history tree that tracks your model’s creation step by step. You can select a surface operation and adjust, reorder, or edit it. The Art Manager gives you the flexibility to change your design, fix mistakes, and try new design strategies. You can also disable and enable individual surface operations. This ability allows you to have multiple design options and/or machining options in a single file.

Undo/Redo

Experimentation is productive if you can undo and redo your modeling steps. You can create a base surface, view it, and then undo it or redo it. Mastercam X2 Art saves a list of operations, so you can undo or redo many operations at once. (Undo/redo is a linear process, so undoing or redoing an operation also affects the operations that depend on it.)

Mastercam Classic Design Library

The Mastercam Classic Design Library comes with Mastercam X2 Art. This library contains over 5,000 pieces of classic art in Mastercam spline format.

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To view the library, choose Art, Browse Classic Design Library. Select a directory and then a piece of art from the viewer. The geometry will be imported attached to the cursor, ready to be scaled, rotated, mirrored, and placed.

Single-click mold creation With Mastercam X2 Art, you build your model as positive so you can visualize what it will look like. Then with one click, you can convert it into a clean mold with no undercuts. You can also round sharp edges with a filter.



Photo-to-surface conversion

The New Art Base Surface from Image function lets you create a 3D model directly from a digital image. You scan a photo, and Mastercam X2 Art creates organic, sculpted art using the highlights and shadows as guidelines for the height of the surfaces. With the New Art Base Surface from Image function, you can convert bitmaps or photos into embossed surfaces.

This process is also called 256 gray scale conversion. You set the height range, and Mastercam X2 Art sorts the points by gray scale into the correct Z level, creating a base surface. You can output the result to STL or to Mastercam surfaces.

You can also achieve a magical effect by creating a surface from a photo using this function, and then reversing it. After you create the toolpaths and NC code, cut the model into a translucent colored piece of acrylic; milky white works especially well. The model will look rough, but hold it up to a light, and you see a near perfect rendering of the photo.

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Resolution

With Art, you can model detailed work on a "high resolution" base section and work more loosely on a "medium resolution" section. This technique can speed your modeling and reduce programming time. You can also put these base surfaces on different machining planes for added flexibility.

For example, you can have six different base surfaces on the six sides of a cube. You can machine a cabinet door with a large, low-resolution base in the center, and four small, high-detail bases in the corners. Because you can machine just what you want, you could machine the detail with a small cutter and tight toolpaths, and the large detail with a larger cutter and looser toolpaths.

Save your knowledge Toolpath Manager is a history tree for toolpaths. It saves your toolpath process, and lets you edit your cut strategies at any time. You can also save successful sets of strategies and apply them to future jobs.

New toolpaths for Art surfaces Mastercam X2 Art provides a wide variety of cutting techniques created for machining artistic surfaces, including multiple roughing and finishing techniques. Built with an eye toward speed, these toolpaths are generated quickly, giving you machine-ready results, usually in seconds. The following dialog box lists some of the cutting methods you can choose.



Radial up to corner

The following images show example toolpaths.

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Parallel at an angle toolpath (45 degrees)

Rectangle spiral rounded corners toolpath

Supported cutters

Mastercam offers a powerful set of techniques or strategies to fit every project. Roughing toolpaths use big tools for quick stock removal, while finishing toolpaths use smaller tools to pick up the detail. You can use:

End mills: Flat, Ball, Bull Nose Tapered end mills: Flat, Ball, Bull Nose

What’s Next In the next chapter, you begin making a part by building Art surfaces.

Mastercam X2 Art Quick Start


3 Mastercam X2 Art Quick Start

This chapter provides an overview and exercises to get you started using Mastercam X2 Art. It assumes you are somewhat familiar with Mastercam. That is, the exercises describe general procedures, but reserve in-depth explanations for later chapters. If you are unfamiliar with Mastercam X, start with Chapter 4.

The first project, a house sign, offers an overview of the Art surface creation process.

Parts used in the tutorial examples You can find the parts used in the exercises in a subfolder of your Mastercam Mill or Router installation. By default, the exercise files are located in the following folder:

[C:\mcamX2]\documentation\art tutorial parts

(Where [C:\mcamX2] is your Mastercam X2 installation location.)

However, the files may be in a different folder, depending on where you have installed Mastercam. The example parts are read-only so that you do not accidentally overwrite them. Create a separate working folder where you can save your own parts as you complete the tutorial.

Note: The parts for the exercises in this tutorial were created using inch units of measurement. When you open a file, if you are currently using a different unit of measure, Mastercam automatically switches configuration files to match the units in the current file. For example, if you are working with a metric configuration file for Mastercam Mill, and you open an inch part, the system switches to the inch configuration file.

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Geometry sources and creation The graphics for the border of the sign and the scrolls were imported from the Classic Design Library. The letters and numbers were created by converting TrueType® fonts. The ellipse and two splines were also created in Mastercam to complete the design.

Note: More information on creating letters can be found in Mastercam online help.

Following is a graphic overview of the project.

House sign geometry

House sign solid model



House sign toolpath

When you complete this chapter, you will understand the following processes:

Starting Mastercam X2 Art Starting the design process Creating the base surface Creating an organic surface operation Viewing options Saving the file Creating an elliptical surface Creating multiple surfaces Creating swept surfaces

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Exercise 1 – Starting Mastercam X2 Art

To start Mastercam X2 Art, do one of the following: Double–click the Mastercam icon on your Windows®

Desktop:

Select Mastercam from the Windows Program menu.

By default, Mastercam starts in the Design application. Select Art functions from the menu, as shown next. When

working with an Art model, you can also select Art functions from the Art Manager.

Note: You can also switch between Mastercam products by choosing certain functions from the drop-down menus or toolbars or by selecting an operation from the Toolpath Manager.



Exercise 2 – Starting the design process

In this exercise, you use the Bolen house sign geometry to create an Art base surface (ABS). The ABS defines the work area for the Art surface operations you add to create a solid model of the part.

Opening a file 1. Select File, New to initialize Mastercam X2 Art.

2. Choose File, Open. The Open dialog box displays. 3. Navigate to

[C:\mcamx2]\documentation\art tutorial parts

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4. Select Sign.mcx and choose to open the file. The part displays in Mastercam’s graphics window.

5. If the part opens in any other view, choose the Top Gview toolbar button to view the part from the top.


6. Choose the Fit toolbar button. Your part should look like the following picture.

7. Press the Page Down keyboard key. This keystroke reduces the

part display by approximately 20 percent, adding room on the screen to work around the part.



Exercise 3 – Creating the base surface

Mastercam X2 Art starts with a clean “canvas” or Art base surface to which you add your art. Each time you start a new project, you must define an Art Base Surface (ABS). The ABS is a flat rectangular grid of points. This exercise guides you through the setup of a new ABS on which to create the house sign.

Creating a base surface 1. From the menu bar, choose Art, New Art Base Surface

Rectangular. The Art Base Surface New dialog box displays.

Note: Values to be set or selected are identified in this tutorial’s illustrations by a rectangle or ellipse.

2. Set the following values to define the extents of the ABS. Set the Lower Left Point X and Y to 0.000. Set the Upper Right Point to X 24.500 and Y 12.500. Set the Z to -2.000. Click the Z limit checkbox to activate it, and set the

Z-Limit to 2.000. Set the Resolution to 20, and leave the Level at 10.

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Click on Color. When the Colors dialog box opens, choose 16 for the color, and click OK to close the Colors dialog box.

3. Click OK in the Art Base Surface New dialog box to finalize your

entries. The ABS displays as a grid on the screen in the selected color as shown next.

House sign geometry on ABS



Exercise 4 – Creating an organic surface operation

Organic surfaces are “puffed up,” free-flowing surfaces within a 2D connected boundary called a “closed chain.” A chain is a collection of geometric elements, called “entities,” in which all entities connect at their endpoints. If the chain of geometry is not closed, Mastercam cannot create the organic surface operation. (Other Art surface operations support open and closed chains and are discussed later in the tutorial.)

The following shaded graphic shows the organic surface you will create to form the sign’s border. You will specify the surface cross section, which defines its profile, as a one-inch arc and smooth it using arc high as the ridge adjustment. You will apply a ridge adjustment to blend the shape. See the next illustration.

House sign border

Working with multiple viewports Mastercam X2 Art can display a part in multiple viewports (views) simultaneously. Viewing the Art model from different perspectives, as wireframe and shaded, aids the selection and creation process. 1. Select View, Viewports, Viewport 1 Top, Viewport 2 Bottom.

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Viewport 1 displays top and isometric views of the part, as shown next. You may rotate and zoom the views independently to achieve your desired viewing requirements.

When you change the viewports, if the part is off the screen, place the cursor in the viewport and right-click. Choose Fit from the drop-down menu. Repeat in the next viewport if needed.

Note: The geometry and settings are shown independently in each viewport. Change each viewport separately as desired.

Two views displayed simultaneously using Viewports



Creating the border organic surface You have defined the ABS. The next step is to create Art surface operations. The first operation you will create is an organic surface forming the border. 1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. If the Chain selection mode is not selected, select it. (See the next illustration.)

2. In the graphics window, select the outside chains that define the

border. Specifically, select the lower left side of each border at the points indicated in the following illustration (points 1 and 2). As you select each point, Mastercam highlights the entire chain and allows you to select another.

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Note: To make the selection points easier to see, the figure shows the part without the ABS grid displayed.

3. Click OK to indicate that chaining is complete. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens.

4. Create the border by entering the following values: 1.000 for the Radius 0.125 for the Base Height, which raises the border from

the bottom with a flat wall. 5. Click the Adjust Ridge down-arrow and select Arc High.


6. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box. Mastercam displays the part,

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which should look like the following picture.

House sign with border surface

rcise 5 – Viewing options

Next, you will view what you have created from different planes, with and without shading. You will also change viewports and display the system origin axes.

Changing to single viewport 1. Select View, Viewports, Viewport 1 is Entire screen to return to

a single viewport.

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Note: The viewport can be changed any time as needed.

2. Choose Fit from the toolbar to view the entire part in the graphics window.

Viewing the system origin and shading the part 1. Press [F9] to display the system origin and axes.


2. Choose Isometric Gview. The following illustration shows how the part should look. (You might have to choose Fit again.)

House sign without shading and with the origin and axes displayed.

3. Press [F9] again to toggle the origin and axes display off. 4. Press [Alt + S] to toggle shading on, or choose the Shaded button

from the shading toolbar. Shading makes the surface appear solid.



Changing the viewing plane 1. Choose Front Gview to view the depth of the part, or choose

View, Standard Views, Front Gview from the menu. The horizontal line is the X axis in this view. It shows the Z0 plane. From this view, you can see that the part does not extend above Z0. As creation progresses, you will notice that it gets closer to Z0. (Press F9 to toggle the origin and axes display, as necessary.)

House sign front view showing part relative to Z0 plane

Note: The part should not cross the Z0 plane because Z0 represents the top of the stock and also the plane used to set the CNC machine. If the part crosses above the Z0 plane, it will not be machined. In this case, you can move the model below the Z0 using a transform function.

2. Choose Top Gview and Fit in preparation for the remaining the surfaces.

Note: Changing the graphics view does not move or otherwise translate the geometry; it moves only your vantage point. However, the geometry appears to rotate when you change the view.

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Creating the internal part floor organic surface

House sign internal part floor organic surface

1. Select Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The Chaining dialog box opens.

2. Create a chain by selecting the inner border as shown in the next picture.

3. Choose OK to indicate that chaining is complete. The Organic

Surface Parameters dialog box opens. 4. Enter 1.000 for the Radius. 5. For the Adjust Ridge parameter, click the down arrow, and choose

Arc Medium. 6. In the dialog box, click Fit (see the following figure) to update the

Cross Section display.



Click the Fit icon after changing parameters to view the entire crosssection in the window.

Make sure your settings match those shown in the following illustration.

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7. Click at the top left corner of the dialog box to open the Advanced Parameters - Organic dialog box.

8. Enter 200 for the Scale C-section. This setting stretches the cross section toward the center of the surface by 200 %. Make sure your settings match those in the following figure.

9. Click OK at the end of both parameter dialog boxes to exit and

create the surface.

Viewing the part from different viewpoints You have completed the creation of the first two surfaces. Now view the part from different viewpoints to see your creation.

1. Choose Isometric Gview. From this view, you can see the curved surface inside the border of the surface you just created.



House sign with border and floor surfaces

2. Press [Alt + S] to Shade the part. Press [Alt + S] again to turn shading off, or click the Wireframe toolbar button.

Note: Shading covers the whole model, including all surfaces created and the flat Art base surface.

House sign shaded

3. Choose the Dynamic Rotation toolbar button, or choose View, Orient, Dynamic Rotation from the menu bar.

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4. Select the center of the part to set the rotation point. Move the cursor to rotate the part on the screen. You can turn the part in any direction. When the part is in the position that you want to keep, click again to freeze the view. Experiment with different views to get a good mental image of the part.

5. Choose Zoom Window, and drag a window around the inside corner to inspect the details.

Note: The Zoom Window function magnifies a portion of the graphics window. When you use this function, Mastercam prompts you to draw a rectangular selection window around the portion of the graphics area that you want to magnify. The graphics window then fills with the contents of the selection window.

6. Choose Fit to zoom the graphic to the extent of the screen. 7. Choose Top Gview to return to the top plane for creating the

remainder of the surfaces.



Exercise 6 – Saving the file

It is a good practice to save often in the creation process. You should always save the part after finishing an operation and prior to beginning the toolpath 1. Choose File, Save As from the menu bar. The Save As dialog box

displays.

2. The file that you are working on is highlighted in the Save As dialog box. Add your initials in front of Sign.mcx. (For example, enter JW Sign.mcx.) This allows you to save without overwriting the original file.

3. Choose OK to save the file with the new name.

Note: While working on this tutorial, you should save at the end of each exercise. Consider adding the exercise number to the file name so that you can return to that part of the tutorial at a later time.

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Exercise 7 – Creating an elliptical organic surface

Note: A separate ellipse surface function creates an ellipse defined numerically in which existing geometry is not utilized for surface creation. Creating this kind of ellipse surface is discussed in a later chapter.

Make sure the graphic view is set to Top Gview to begin this exercise.

Creating the ellipse base 1. Select Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. 2. The Chaining dialog box opens. Make sure chain selection mode

is active, and then select anywhere on the ellipse geometry.

3. Choose OK to indicate that chaining is complete. The Organic

Surface Parameters dialog box opens.



4. Select the icon for the Dynamic Cross Section Library and select Convex Parabola.

5. Enter 2.0 for the Width and 0.625 for the Height. 6. For the Adjust Ridge parameter, choose Arc Medium.

7. Click Advanced Parameters to open the Advanced Parameters -

Organic dialog box. Set the values as shown in the next picture.

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Note: Inside creates the surface to the inside of the geometry boundary. Outside creates the surface to the outside of the geometry boundary and leaves the inside unaffected. To create the ellipse, set the creation direction inside.

8. Choose OK twice to close both dialog boxes. Mastercam displays the part, which should look like the following picture.

House sign elliptical surface



Exercise 8 – Creating multiple surfaces

In the preceding exercises, you created one surface at a time. In this exercise, you create several surfaces at once, which requires selecting multiple chains. When selecting multiple chains, some chains may be nested (a chain within a chain). The letter B is an example of nested chains, where the inner boundaries are nested inside the outline of the letter.

In nested chains, the space from the outermost chain boundary to the next inner boundary is considered positive space. The space from the inner boundary inward is considered negative space. If you have multiple nested chains, the pattern continues—positive, negative, positive, and so on.

Creating the letter and number surfaces in one selection 1. Select Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. 2. In the Chaining dialog box, choose the Polygon chain selection

mode. Polygon chain selection allows you to draw a polygon around irregular geometry that would be difficult to select in a rectangular window.

Note: The window selection mode also allows you to select a group of chains at once by dragging a window around the chains you want.

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3. Select the points identified in the following picture to form a

polygon around the geometry. Complete the polygon by double-clicking the first point again. Mastercam prompts for a search point.

Note: Make certain the polygon encloses all the entities, while avoiding the two splines below the numbers “143,” as shown in the following figure. View the part as a shaded model to better see where to click.

4. Click inside the polygon. The selected geometry turns yellow to

signify that it is chained.



5. Click OK to end the chaining process. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box is displayed.

6. Enter the information shown below in the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box.

7. Choose OK. The completed part displays. 8. Choose Isometric Gview button. The part should look like the

following picture.

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House sign unshaded

9. Press [Alt + S] to shade the model.

House sign shaded

Note: Look closely at the circled area and note that the area is not carved down into the floor. In the next step, you cut it out.



Creating a subtracted surface Next you will create a depression in the inside of the emblem to make it look deeper and more rounded, as if carved. You will use the Sub (subtract) Application Style to cut away the model. Previously, you used Add Application Style, which adds to the model.

1. Choose Top Gview. 2. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. 3. Click in the two areas shown below to select the chains that form

the inside of the emblem.

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4. Choose OK to indicate that chaining is complete. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens.

5. Enter 0.250 for the Radius.

6. In the Application Style drop-down list, choose Sub. Instead of puffing up the surface, Sub makes a cavity.



7. Choose OK. Mastercam displays the part. 8. Choose Isometric Gview. 9. From the Art Manager, choose Hide Geometry. The part should

look like the following picture. Note the depression in the bottom of the emblem, which is a result of the Sub function. The part now looks more carved.

House sign with subtracted surface

Exercise 9 – Creating swept surfaces

The surfaces you created up to this point have been organic surfaces. In this exercise, you create swept surfaces using the scroll lines/splines under the house numbers.

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Unlike organic surfaces, swept surfaces can use both open and closed chains. Swept surfaces also build the selected cross section to both sides of the selected geometry.

Geometry for swept surfaces

1. Choose Top Gview to return to the top plane to create the swept surfaces.

2. From the Art Manager, choose the Hide Geometry button. This action toggles the setting off and displays the geometry.

3. Choose Art, Create Swept Surface Operation. The Chaining dialog box displays.

4. In the dialog box, choose the Single chaining mode.



5. Select the two splines shown in the following picture, and click

OK to indicate that chaining is complete. The Swept Surface Parameters dialog box displays.

6. In the dialog box, enter 0.125 for the Radius.

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7. For the End Condition, select Round, which rounds the ends of the geometry. (Flat would square off the ends.)

8. Make sure that your settings match those shown in the following figure.

9. Choose OK. 10. Press [Alt + S] to shade the model. The part should look like the

following illustration.



Completed house sign

You have now completed the surface creation example. You have a complete part ready to begin the toolpath programming process. Remember to save the file as (Your initials) sign.mcx.

The next two chapters lead you through part creation in more detail. You will program the toolpath, create a solid model of the toolpath, and produce the machining code.

Exercise 10 – Challenge

In this challenge exercise, do as many tasks as you can without referring to exercises in the tutorial. Repeat each task until you can perform them without help.

1. Exit Mastercam X2 Art. 2. Restart Mastercam X2 Art. 3. Open the file that you just completed named (Your initials)

sign.mcx. 4. Fit the geometry to the screen. 5. View the part from the Front plane. 6. View the part from the Side plane. 7. Zoom different areas of the part. 8. Exit Mastercam. Restart Mastercam.

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9. Open the original geometry and try to build the part. Use the tutorial as little as possible. Also, experiment with the cross section types, Application Styles, and Adjust Ridge functions to create different effects.

Introduction to Mastercam X2 Art


4 Introduction to Mastercam X2 Art

This chapter presents similar concepts to those you learned in Chapter 3, but presents them in greater depth. Also, these lessons do not assume familiarity with Mastercam, and so start by describing Mastercam X2 Art security features and the interface.

Besides this tutorial, you should refer to the documentation that accompanies Mastercam X2, particularly the Mastercam X2 Getting Started Guide. This guide, as well as and the Mastercam X2 Reference Guide (installed as a PDF in your \documentation folder), provides detailed information about Mastercam X2, its interface, and functions.

In this chapter, you create a medallion that must fit into a 3.000-inch diameter by 0.250-inch deep circular pocket. To do this, you construct a model comprising text on a round part. Following are illustrations of the part geometry, the finished shaded surface, and a solid model of the machined part.

Medallion part (geometry, finished shaded model, and solid model)

Upon completing this chapter, you will have studied the following topics: Mastercam X2 environment Starting Mastercam X2 Art Opening a file Creating an Art base surface

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Creating an organic surface Saving the file Exploring Art base surface parameters Exploring organic surface parameters

Exercise 1 – Exploring Mastercam X2

Learning about the HASP and NetHASP Mastercam uses two types of licensing: single-user licensing (HASP) and network licensing (NetHASP). If you have a single-user license, to run Mastercam, you must have a piece of hardware called a HASP (sometimes called a dongle or SIM) attached to your parallel or USB port. The following error message indicates a missing or improperly configured HASP:

If you see this message, refer to the Mastercam X2 Installation Guide or contact your Mastercam Reseller for assistance. Network licensing requires a NetHASP on a computer on your network. If any of the following messages display when starting Mastercam, contact your network administrator for assistance:

Error checking out an Art license. No licenses have been purchased for this product.

Active NetHASP server not found. All available licenses are in use.

For more information on NetHASP installation, see the “Mastercam X2 Installation Guide” included with your Mastercam X2 application, or use Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the “Mastercam X2 Installation Guide” PDF file installed in your Mastercam X2 \documentation subdirectory.



Exploring the Mastercam interface The Mastercam interface comprises many distinct elements. At the top of the screen is the menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc.). Below the menu bar are the toolbars, the AutoCursor ribbon bar, the General Selection ribbon bar, and the ribbon bar for the current function. To the left of your screen is the Operations Manager, which houses the Toolpath Manager, Solids Manager, and the Art Manager. To the right of the Operations Manager is the graphics window, where Mastercam displays part files. Under the Operations Manager and graphics window is the status bar. To the far left of the screen are vertically docked copies of the toolbars defined in your toolbar state settings. To the far right of the screen is the vertically docked MRU (Most Recently Used) toolbar. The following picture shows some of the main Mastercam X2 interface elements.

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Menu bar

You can access most Mastercam functions through a series of standard, drop-down menus and submenus, located across the top of the Mastercam window. Click the menu choice to view its functions. Most functions have toolbar icons beside them, so you can associate the function with its image.

Toolbars

Toolbars collect common functions represented by icons. Black arrows in toolbars represent drop-down menus with additional functions. By default, toolbars dock below the menu bar. They can be undocked by dragging them outside the toolbar area or by double clicking them. You can dock toolbars horizontally or vertically.

General Selection

For most Mastercam functions, use the General Selection ribbon bar to select entities in the graphics window.

AutoCursor

Use the AutoCursor ribbon bar to enter X, Y, and Z coordinates manually. You can also use this ribbon bar to detect and snap to points as you move the cursor over geometry in the graphics window. AutoCursor becomes active whenever Mastercam prompts you to select a position in the graphics window.



Ribbon bars

Use ribbon bars to create and edit geometry. Click the function buttons on the ribbon bars to perform the function or to open a field so that you can enter values. You can undock, dock, and move ribbon bars.

Note that if an active function is unassociated with a ribbon bar, a blank ribbon bar displays.

Operations Manager

The Operations Manager houses the Toolpath, Solids, and Art Manager tabs. Click the tabs at the top to switch between the Toolpath Manager, Solids Manager and Art Manager.

Toolpath Manager

The Toolpath Manager lists the toolpath groups and machine types for the current file. Use the Toolpath Manager to generate, sort, edit, regenerate, verify, backplot, and post any operation. The Toolpath Manager includes both associative and non-associative toolpaths.

Solids Manager

The Solids Manager lists each solid in the current file, along with its operation history and associated toolpaths. Use the Solids Manager to edit solids and their operations.

Art Manager

The Art Manager lists each art element in the current file, along with its operation history and associated parameters. Use the Art Manager to edit Art base surfaces and Art operations.

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Graphics window

The graphics window is the workspace in which you can view, create, and modify your parts. The graphics window also displays information about the current measurement system (inches or millimeters), the views in which you are working (Graphic view, Cplane, Tplane, WCS), and the coordinate axes for the current views.

Status bar

The Status bar is located along the bottom of the Mastercam window. It provides quick access to functions that let you modify attributes, levels, groups, and orientation (views and planes) of geometry and toolpaths in the graphics window.

Controlling part display in the graphics window Mastercam provides several different ways to control how parts display in the graphics window. You use these controls throughout this tutorial.

Note: The Mastercam X2 interface is customizable, so yours might look different from the interface described here.



Located in a toolbar, the buttons shown below let you control the display scale of the part in the graphics window:

In the View Manipulation toolbar are buttons that control the graphics view (Gview), which affects the view orientation of the part in the graphics window:

Note: The graphics view does not affect the plane in which the part geometry exists. In Mastercam, this is called the “construction plane” or “Cplane.” Please refer to Mastercam’s online help for more information on Cplanes and Gviews.

Zoom with window Lets you use the cursor to draw a box around the area to be enlarged.

Zoom Target Automatically scales selected entities to fit the graphics window.

Unzoom Returns to the display scale before last zoom.

Fit to screen Enlarges or reduces the display scale to fill the screen.

Repaint Redraws the screen and removes remnants.

Dynamic rotation Use the mouse to rotate the part in the window.

Top view

Front view

Right side view

Isometric view

Tip: You can also access graphic options by right-clicking in the graphics window.

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When you right-click in the graphics window, a fully customizable menu displays. This menu lets you control the display as the toolbar buttons do and also provides additional controls.

Note: AutoCursor helps you select points by automatically detecting entity positions such as midpoints and endpoints.

Accessing Mastercam X2 Art functions

Choose Art from the Mastercam Menu to access Art functions. You can access most of Mastercam Art functionality in the Art menu.

Note: Additional Art functions are available in the Art Manager tab, and in its right-click menus.

Using end-of-page controls At the bottom of many Mastercam X2 Art dialog boxes, you will see the following icons:

Green check mark means OK. This button performs the actions

specified in the settings. Red X cancels the action and closes the dialog box. Question mark opens online help.

Clear colors Clears groups and results from the database.

Zoom controlEnlarge the display scale of the

window, or reduce it by 50%.

Graphic view control Choose the top, front, side, or isometric view.

Draw controlEnlarge or reduce the display scale to

fit the screen, or refresh the screen.

Dynamic controls Use the mouse to spin (rotate) the displayed part, to move the view right, left, up, or down, (pan), or to zoom in or out.

AutoCursorHighlights any entity under the cursor and

snaps to the nearest entity for selection.




Exercise 2 – Starting Mastercam X2 Art

This document assumes that you have successfully installed Mastercam X2 Art, have completed the necessary post-installation procedures, and are ready to begin using Mastercam to design and machine parts.

Note: For information on installing Mastercam, see the Mastercam X2 Installation Guide included with your software, or contact your local Reseller.

To start Mastercam X2 Art, do one of the following: Double–click the Mastercam icon on your Windows®

Desktop:

Select Mastercam from the Windows Program menu.

By default, Mastercam starts in the Design application.

Select Art functions from the menu as shown in the following figure. When working with an Art model, you can also select Art functions from the Art Manager.

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Exercise 3 – Opening a file

In this exercise, you use existing part geometry to create surfaces. In Chapter 5, you create the toolpath for this model.

Note: In Chapter 8, you learn how to use file converters to read artwork into Mastercam X2 Art.

Starting a new file and clearing the database Starting a new file clears the database, giving you a fresh start on your part. This process also returns all settings to their defaults. It is important to start a new file before working on a new part or opening a different file.

1. Choose File, New. 2. If you have been working on a file, and it is unsaved, the following

dialog box displays. Select Yes if you want to save the file or No if you do not.

3. If you choose Yes, select or enter a file name.

4. Select OK. Mastercam saves the current file, and you are ready to

begin a new one.



5. Choose File, Open to load this exercise’s file. The Open dialog box displays.

6. Navigate to the tutorial files, and choose the geometry file named medallion.mcx: ..\documentation\art tutorial parts\MEDALLION.mcx

Note: Select Preview to display thumbnail images of the files to aid you in proper selection.

7. Choose OK to open the selected file.

Preview

1. Select File2. Choose OK

8. Choose the Fit toolbar button. Your part should look like the

following picture.

9. Choose the Unzoom Previous /.5 button from the toolbar.

Mastercam reduces the part by about 50 percent, giving room on the screen to work around the part.

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10. Press [F9] to display the origin and axes so that you can see the location of the origin.

Exercise 4 – Creating an Art base surface

In this exercise, you set up an Art base surface (ABS) on which to create the medallion. An Art base surface represents an unaltered flat surface on which to construct your sculpted model. Each time you start a new project, you must define an Art base surface.

The Art base surface is a flat rectangular grid of points. You define the base dimensions. Mastercam Art “grows” a sculpted model from the flat grid (sheet) by raising and lowering the points.

Mastercam Art surfaces are different from Mastercam Mill or Router surfaces, where you patch together individual surfaces of various types. In Mastercam Art, you do all manipulations to a single base.

Art base surface and origin

Note: Keep in mind that when working on 2D geometry, the X direction (or axis) is horizontal across the screen and Y is vertical across the screen. The Z direction is into or out of the screen.



The position of the Art base surface in space corresponds to the position of the part on the machine. An Art base surface represents where you create the object, as well as the location of the part for machining. The standard is to set the lower left corner of the Art base surface (the origin) at X0, Y0. The upper right corner of the Art base surface is a second important point. Its X coordinate defines the base width, and its Y coordinate defines the height.

Locations of reference points

The machine and part origins are rarely the same position. Before machining, the machine coordinate system has to be transferred to the part. This is known as setting the zero point or home position.

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The Z coordinate defines where on the Z axis the Art base surface plane resides. The standard is Z0. The Art base surface dialog box defines the base’s origin, the base’s size, and the part depth (Z).

Note: The Art base surface must extend beyond the part boundary to program the toolpath to the surface’s full extent. If you do not provide this extra space, the toolpath will be truncated at the base’s edge.

Creating a new base surface 1. From the menu bar, choose Art, New Art Base Surface

Rectangular. The Art Base Surface New dialog box displays.

2. Set the values as shown in the following illustration. These values

define the size (Surface Extents) of the base.



3. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box. The base displays as a grid.

Note: See Exercise 7 for additional information on creating new Art base surfaces. Chapter 6, Exercise 6 contains detailed information on using the Art Manager.

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Exercise 5 – Creating an organic surface

Mastercam X2 Art uses the following terminology: Art model refers to the entire sculpted model. An Art base surface (ABS) is a specific type of 2D point grid or 3D point cloud surface unique to Mastercam Art. You can display the ABS as shaded or as a line grid. You create every element in the Art model on the ABS. Art surface operations manipulate the ABS by adding details or features. Art surface operations use geometry as contour boundaries and are built using cross sections that you define and adjust.

In this exercise, the first element you create is an organic surface. An organic surface reaches from opposing boundaries to the center. The surface scales and trims itself as the boundaries become closer or farther apart. It creates flowing shapes to the inside or outside of contours. The organic surface is the most used surface in Mastercam Art.

Note: In this exercise, you create an organic surface first, and then learn organic surface concepts. If you prefer to master concepts first, you might want to go to Exercise 8 and read more in-depth descriptions of organic parameters before completing this exercise.



Creating the concave base surface With the Art base surface set up, you next create surface operations. The first surface operation you create is a circular dish. 1. From the menu bar, choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface

Operation. The Chaining dialog box displays. 2. Select the lower left side of the circle, as shown in the following

figure. The selected chain turns yellow.

Note: The graphic is shown without the grid displayed to make the selection point easier to see.

3. Choose OK to finalize the chain. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens.

4. Click the top Cross Section button, and select Convex Parabola. 5. Enter the Height and Width values indicated in the following

dialog box illustration.

Note: If the Cross Section display does not match that shown in the following illustration, click the Zoom to fit button in the dialog box.

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6. Select Sub from Application Style to subtract the new surface from the base.

7. Ensure that Adjust Ridge is set to Normal.

8. Click OK. Mastercam Art displays the surface. 9. Press [F9] to display the system origin and axes. 10. Choose the Isometric Gview and Fit toolbar buttons. The part

should look like the following illustration.


Medallion without shading, with origin and axes displayed

11. Press [F9] to toggle the axes off. 12. Press [ALT+ S] to toggle shading on and off.

Medallion shaded

Viewing the part 1. Choose the Front Gview toolbar button to see the part’s depth.

Press [F9] to see the axes.


2. Choose the Top Gview button.

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About grid density Art base surfaces display as vertical and horizontal line grids or as solid shaded entities. Use the Grid Density dialog box to set the spacing between the grid lines and to control the display’s shading tolerance. Changing these settings might make it easier to view and work with geometry and other Art surface operation features.

Click and enter a new value to change

the grid density. At this point, the Art base surface grid is very dense, which might make it difficult to select geometry. Reducing the density opens the surface to expose the geometry better.

Note: Grid density affects only the appearance of the Art base surface. You can change it as often as necessary. It does not modify the accuracy of the underlying Art base surface point grid.

About surface resolution To change the number of grid points per inch used to generate the Art model, use the Resolution parameter in the Surface parameters dialog box. Resolution controls the crispness of the Art model. You can set a low resolution and have almost instant redraws. Fast redraws facilitate experimentation. You can select a higher resolution to inspect details. A high resolution, however, increases the redraw time. You can increase or decrease the resolution at any time.

Important note: Increase an Art model’s resolution before you create or export a toolpath. Doing so ensures that Mastercam includes all critical points.


Click and enter a new value to change the surface resolution.

The following illustrations show the result of changing the surface resolution in unshaded views.

Surface Resolution= 200 Surface Resolution = 100

Changing grid density 1. Click the Art Manager tab in the Operations Manager pane. The

Art Manager displays.


2. Click Art Surface Grid Density. The Grid Density dialog box opens.

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3. Enter 90 for the density. 4. Click OK to close the dialog box. Mastercam displays the part.


5. Compare the density in the following illustrations.

Grid density = 90 Grid density = 99

6. Click Art Surface Grid Density, enter 99, and click OK.

The grid density setting affects the density in both unshaded and shaded surfaces. This setting also affects the redraw speed. The smaller the grid density number, the more ridged and broken up the surface elements appear in the graphic window. After creating the surface, you can set the resolution to a higher number to improve the graphic for further inspection and for viewing smaller details.



Creating the organic raised letter “S” 1. Select Art, Create Organic Surface Operation. The Chaining

dialog box displays. 2. Chain the outside of the letter, and then chain the interior letter

contours, as shown in the following figure. The letter comprises an outside contour and five inside contours. The contours are closed and contain no gaps. The inside contours are referred to as nested pockets because they are nested inside a larger pocket (a pocket within a pocket).

3. Choose OK. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens.

Tip: For more information on chaining and its selection methods, press [Alt + H] to access help. When Help displays, click the Index tab. Type the word chain. Click the desired chaining topic. Close help when finished.

4. Enter the information shown in the following picture.

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5. Click OK to create the surface.

Viewing the part from different planes You have now completed the model and can examine the result from different viewpoints. Notice that the surface of the letter “S” is a complex organic surface that conforms to the concave surface of the circular dish.

1. Choose the Isometric Gview toolbar button. From this view, you

can readily see the raised surface atop the concave surface.



Medallion not shaded

2. Press [Alt + S] to shade the part.

Note: Shading covers the entire base, including both the surfaces and the flat part of the base.

Medallion shaded

3. Select Dynamic Rotation. Click the center of the part, and then move the mouse to rotate the part on the screen. From this view, you can turn the part in any direction. When the part is positioned as you want, click again to freeze the view. Experiment with different views to get a good mental image of the part. Use the zoom and unzoom functions to inspect small details.

4. Choose the Isometric Gview and Fit toolbar buttons again.

Comparing resolution settings You created this exercise’s model at a resolution of 200 pixels per square inch. You can set a lower resolution and have almost instant redraws. This lower setting encourages experimentation but makes the model look grainy when shaded. Selecting a higher resolution to inspect details, increases the redraw time.

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Note: The Surface Resolution setting affects the mathematical accuracy of the surface produced. That is, it increases or decreases the number of points used to calculate the model. 1. Click the Art Manager tab in the Operations Manager. 2. Click Art Model Resolution. The Surface Resolution dialog box

E


opens.

3. Enter 75 in the Surface Resolution control. 4. Click OK. The shaded model should look like the left image in

the following illustration.

Resolution = 75 Resolution = 200

5. Repeat steps 1-4 but change the resolution setting back to 200.

xercise 6 – Saving the file

This exercise shows how to save your file, something you should do often as you create your parts. Specifically, always save your part after completing an operation and prior to beginning the toolpath 1. Click the File menu and choose Save As. The Save As dialog box

opens.



2. To avoid overwriting the original project, rename your file. For example, add your initials in front of medallion.mcx.

3. Click OK.

This exercise completes the medallion example. In the next chapter, you program and verify the toolpath for the medallion. The next section, however, provides an in-depth explanation of values for the Art base surface and organic surface parameters. Understanding these parameters allows you to use the power of Mastercam X2 Art to make your artistic visions real.

Exercise 7 – Exploring Art base surface parameters

The Art Base Surface New dialog box contains controls and position-selecting icons that allow you to enter values with or without typing. These controls allow you to increase or decrease values with the mouse. Following is an illustration of the Art Base Surface New dialog box.

Note: Chapter 6 presents additional exercises and information about base surface parameters.

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Note: Refer to this dialog box illustration when reading the next section.

Using Art Base Surface New dialog box controls

Controls Click within the Number Field, and roll the thumbwheel on the mouse to increase or decrease a value. Move the Slider with the mouse to increase and decrease the value. Click the Fine Increment Control Buttons to increase and decrease the values. Click the large down arrow to select preset values from a list.

Control



Position Select Button The Position Select button returns you to the graphics window so that you can select a position from geometry using Mastercam’s point selection methods. You return to the dialog box when you complete selection.

Position Select Button

Presets Presets let you save existing dialog box settings. After you fill a dialog page, click the down-arrow, choose Save as, and enter a file name. When you reenter the dialog box again, click the down arrow, and select the file. The dialog box repopulates with the saved values.

Preset Box

Graphic help box The picture to the right depicts the Art base surface origin, lower left and upper right corners of the base, and the axis orientation.

Setting the origin and size 1. To set the origin, do one of the following:

If you know the values, enter the origin in the Origin X, Y and Z controls. or Use the Position Select button and Mastercam’s selection methods to select the origin location from the geometry by selecting points 1 and 2, respectively. Point 1 represents the base origin (lower left corner). Point 2 defines the base size (upper right corner). See the following picture.

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Origin Art base surface (ABS)

To display a tooltip, hold the mouse over a field or button.

Note: The Z value represents the top of the base. Set the Origin Z to 0, which is the standard position for the top of the part. When machining the part, negative Z values cut into the part, and positive Z values orient out of the part.

If you forget to create the part top at Z0, you can change Z with the Set Active Base Surface Top to Z Plane function. Set Active Base Surface Top to Z Plane is discussed in Chapter 8, Exercise 12.



2. To define the base size, do one of the following:

Enter the size of the base as X and Y coordinates of the lower left and upper right corners. or Select the corners from geometry using the Position Select button and Mastercam’s selection methods.

Setting the height range limit and rotation 1. Select the Z Limit check box, and enter a value in the control.

The Z Limit is the maximum model depth or thickness. When the model’s Z value exceeds this constraint value in a positive or negative direction, you receive a warning, but only if you have selected the Z Limit check box.

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Setting the Art base surface attributes

Set rotation angle around left lower point (in XY Plane)

Choose ColorSet Surface Resolution Choose Level

1. Enter the Resolution in points per inch or millimeter.

The higher the number, the smoother the part, and the longer it takes to redraw. The default resolution is acceptable for most applications. You can increase or decrease the resolution at any time.

2. Choose the Level on which to create the base. The Level button opens the Levels dialog box and displays the levels for selection. The default level is 10 and is acceptable for the tutorial exercises. (A level is called a layer on some CAD systems.)

Note: For more information on using levels, see Mastercam help by pressing [Alt + H].

3. Click the Color button, and select the base’s color. There are 16 basic colors and 256 expanded colors. Muted tones in the middle of the 256 expanded color grids look best.

4. Enter the Rotation value. You can enter this value into the control, or use the Position Select button to get the desired angle from the geometry. This value establishes the angle that the base is rotated around the Z axis.



Exercise 8 – Exploring organic surface parameters

Please refer to the following picture for this exercise.

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The cross section parameters define the cross-sectional profile of the organic surface. The default shape is an arc. If you select a line or parabola cross section, the dialog box displays the controls appropriate for the selected shape. The dialog box displays a graphic of the selected cross section on a grid. You can change the cross section shape by clicking and dragging the red nodes to create the desired shape. You can use viewing icons to zoom in or out, and to fit and update the cross section after you enter parameters. The base height control box applies to all surface types. It creates a vertical wall to raise the base of the surface by the specified amount.



Organic shape cross section selection buttons

Choose Dynamic Cross Section to select one of the predefined, customizable cross sections. The selections are Line, Concave Arc, Convex Arc, Concave Parabola, and Convex Parabola. Choose the desired shape, and enter the parameter values in the appropriate controls. Convex Arc is the default shape.

Choose Chain Cross Section to select a custom cross section shape that is displayed in the graphics window. All of Mastercam’s selection methods are available with this function.

Choose Cross Section Library to load a cross section from an existing catalog or to save a cross section to a catalog.

Choose Zoom In to enlarge the cross section display.

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Choose Zoom Out to shrink the cross section display.

Choose Zoom to Fit to enlarge the cross section display to fill the grid and to update the values. Note: If you drag the node out of the viewing range, when you release the mouse button, the window refreshes and rescales to fit the cross section.

Common parameters These Common Parameters (Application Style and Adjust Ridge) apply to most surfaces and function the same regardless of the surface type. Click the down-arrow to expand the drop-down list and choose an option.

Application Styles The nine mutually exclusive Application Styles determine how a surface fits into the base. These styles also determine the fit to other surfaces when you stack one surface on top of another. Add, Sub(tract), and Blend are the most used styles.



The icons used to select a style illustrate the way the surfaces fit together. The blue ellipse represents the base surface. The red bar represents a surface stacked on the base surface. The red bar extends beyond the blue ellipse to illustrate how the surfaces trim.

Add adds the red bar on top of the blue base, following the shape of the base. Note the intersection of the red and blue shape.

Sub subtracts the red bar from the base and cuts the red surface out of the blue base following the shape of the base.

Blend adds the red bar to the base. When it intersects the blue base, the highest parts of each surface are displayed, resulting in a blend.

Add-Cut adds the red bar to the base and ignores the blue base, cutting right through it.

Add-Cut-Trim adds the red bar to the base, cuts through the blue base, and then trims the red surface to the boundary of the base.

Add-Cut-Trim Blend adds the red bar to the base, cuts though the blue base, trims the red bar to the boundary of the base, and then blends the edge of the red bar to the shape of the blue base shape.

Sub-Cut subtracts the red bar from the base and ignores the blue base, cutting through it.

Inverse applies the inverse of the operation to an existing application.

Mask isolates the selected surface. In this graphic, the red bar was masked. The blue base would not be affected in the operation. Tip: Use mask elements on a surface to add a texture to selected elements by avoiding non-masked elements.

Adjust Ridge Adjust Ridge options do not supersede the chosen cross section. Instead, they blend an additional shaping parameter with the cross section. There are nine options for adjusting the shape of the element (surface).

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The Adjust Ridge icons illustrate how the option affects the cross section. The “Normal” icon represents the base cross-section shape to which the other options are applied. They do not represent how a specific cross section might look because the result depends on the base shape. Concentrate on the dark front face and sides of the icon to understand what shape results from applying an Adjust Ridge option.

Normal leaves the cross section unadjusted.

Arc High adjusts the cross section to an arc, full height.

Arc Medium adjusts the cross section to an arc, medium height.

Arc Low adjusts the cross section to an arc, low height.

Parabola High adjusts the cross section to a parabolic shape, full height.

Parabola Low adjusts the cross section to a parabolic shape, low height.

Angle High adjusts the cross section to create high angled walls.

Angle Low adjusts the cross section to create low angled walls

Angle Radius adjusts the cross section to be angular with a radius on the top edge.

Flat Sides adjusts the cross section to have flat sides.

Advanced organic surface parameters Advanced parameters for organic surfaces are located on a separate dialog box. To access this dialog box, go to the first page of the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box . Then click the down-arrows located in the upper left corner. The following illustration identifies and describes the Advanced Organic Surface Parameters.



Double up-arrows return to the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box. The graphic shows the current Transform build shape (to inside or to outside). Scale C-section (percent). If the surface is flat on the top, you can scale it relative to the center. Scale Z (percent). If the surface is too tall or flat, you can grow or flatten it in the Z axis. Build Shape to creates the surface to inside or outside of the selected geometry. Performance determines the speed and accuracy of the surface calculation. 1 is most accurate; 2 skips every other grid point but is still reasonably accurate.

Transforms When you change a surface shape using the Advanced options, the transform graphic on the Advanced Parameters dialog box updates to reflect the change.

Transform setting Corresponding graphic

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Scale C-section Scale C-section scales or stretches the cross section by a percentage toward the center of the element or chained boundary. For example, a surface with an unwanted flat on the top is created when the cross section specified is too short to reach across the selected chained boundary. In the example below, a circle was chained, and the selected cross section was not wide enough. This problem can be corrected by stretching the cross section with Scale C-section. In the following illustrations, the surface began with a flat area across the top. The Scale C-section parameter was set to 200 (percent), and the shape was built toward the inside of the chain.

Original surface with an unwanted flat on top of the cross section because the specified cross section was too short.

Cross section after scaling. It now reaches to the center to eliminate the flat on top

When a cross section is scaled so that it overlaps itself, it is trimmed back to the intersection, thus lowering the total height. Notice that this shape has lost height compared to the preceding shape.



Scale Z Scale Z scales or stretches the cross section height by a percentage in the orientation of the Z axis, either in the positive or negative direction. The illustration below shows a surface scaled in the Z axis. The original surface is on the left. The center image is scaled by 150%, the image on the right by 200%.

Note: The higher the Z value, the taller the resulting surface.

Performance

Performance determines the speed of the calculation and the accuracy of the surface created. A value of 1 is the most accurate. A larger value is less accurate. A performance value of 1 includes every grid point in the surface calculation and produces the most accurate representation. A performance value of 2 skips every other grid point, which speeds surface calculation with little loss of quality. Two is the default and the recommended value.

Note: Regardless of the performance value, all boundary points are counted so that the boundary is represented accurately.

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In this exercise, you experiment with organic surface parameters. Try to complete the following steps without referring to previous exercises.

Modifying the part 1. Create the “S” surface with a convex parabola and make it meet in

the center. 2. Make the dish convex (positive) and the “S” concave (negative). 3. Experiment with different resolution settings. 4. Save the file as (Your initials) medallion CH4.mcx.

Take time to master the exercises in this chapter before proceeding to the next chapter.

What’s next?

In the next chapter, you again use the medallion part. Make sure you save your part before you end this lesson.

Machining and Verifying Organic Surfaces


5 Machining and Verifying Organic Surfaces

This chapter shows how to prepare for machining the surfaces you created in the preceding chapter. In these lessons, you define the stock boundary, create the toolpaths, and verify the toolpath program. For this exercise, use the medallion part you created in Chapter 4.

Mastercam X2 Art allows you to program a toolpath and verify the program graphically prior to machining. To this end, Mastercam creates a solid model of the machined part, which allows you to see how the finished part looks. You can show a potential client the finished part for final approval before it is machined, check for errors in programming, and ensure that the finished part meets specifications.

In some CAM programs, the toolpath cuts all the stock, whereas Mastercam X2 Art can cut inside the circle and not the waste stock. See the following illustrations.

Medallion solid model

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Medallion with toolpaths

Medallion toolpath verification model

When you complete this chapter, you will understand the following tasks: Opening a saved file Selecting the machine type Defining the stock boundary Changing levels and views Creating a toolpath on an Art surface model (medallion

toolpath) Creating a contour toolpath Simulating machining (Verify) Exploring with Verify Part holding methodologies



Exercise 1 – Opening a saved file

In this exercise, you use the Art base surface you created in Chapter 4. In the exercise steps, illustrations show each dialog box, with circles around the parameters you must set. Make sure to set parameters as indicated in the illustration before proceeding with the next step. (You might also want to check that uncircled, default parameters match, as well.)

Starting a new file and clearing the database Note: Starting a new file clears everything from memory and resets the defaults in the software. It is important to do this before starting a new part or opening a different file. 1. Open Mastercam X2 if it is not already open, and save your file if

you have one open. (Choose File, Save, enter the filename, and choose OK. See Chapter 3, Exercise 1 or Chapter 4, Exercise 2 for instructions.)

2. Choose File, New. You are now ready to start a new operation.

Opening the file 1. Choose File, Open. 2. Navigate to the file named (your initials) medallion.mcx.

(Remember that you saved the file with your initials in front of medallion.mcx), or open Chap 4-medallion.mcx, which is provided for you.

3. Choose Isometric Gview and then Fit. If your part is shaded, it should look like the following picture; if your part is unshaded, press [Alt+ S] to shade it.

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4. Press the [Page Down] key until the part display is small enough

to permit working around it.

Exercise 2 – Selecting the machine type

Following is an overview of the machining process in Mastercam X2 Art. The sections that follow explain each step in the process.

1. Choose a machine type and machine definition to be used to cut the part.

2. Open or import a part file. 3. Set the machine group properties, including file, tool, stock, and

safety zone settings. 4. Create toolpaths and apply them to geometry. 5. Verify and edit the toolpaths using the Toolpath Manager,

Backplot, and Verify functions. 6. Post process selected machine group operations. 7. Set up and machine the part.

The order of steps 1 and 2 is unimportant.

Machine type and machine definition Before creating toolpaths, you must first choose a machine definition. You select or create a machine definition from the Machine Type drop-down menu.



Machine definitions describe your machine tool’s physical characteristics, including table orientation, rotary axis, feed rate limits, and more. A machine definition references a control definition, which defines the capabilities of your control. Machine definitions keep you from creating a toolpath that is incompatible with your machine tool.

Each Mastercam machine definition consists of: A machine component group, whose components describe the machine

tool architecture and how it moves A control definition file that describes the control A post processor assignment

These three machine definition elements represent a single machine tool.

Machine group properties Every time you select a machine from the Machine Type menu, Mastercam creates a group to hold that machine’s toolpath operations. A machine group represents a single machine. It also stores stock setup information like the stock model, safety zone, material selection, tool offset preferences, and feed rate and spindle speed preferences. Mastercam uses the machine group to link toolpaths to a machine and control definition. You use the Toolpath Manager to organize and work with machine groups.

Machine groups have four sets of properties: file, tool settings, stock setup, and safety zone. Each set has a separate tab in the Machine Group Properties dialog box.

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Files tab

Use the Files tab to see and change file names and data paths used by the operations in the group. These settings affect default values, posting, and tool and operation libraries. Also use this tab to edit the machine definition or to select a new one.



Tool Settings tab

Use the Tool Settings tab to control NC file numbering, tool offsets, feeds and speeds defaults, and material selection.

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Stock Setup tab

Use the Stock Setup tab to create a stock model for the machine group or to select a file that contains the stock model.



Safety Zone tab

Use the Safety Zone tab to define an area outside the work envelope to which the tool can retract to avoid collisions with fixtures, etc.

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Selecting a machine type In this example, you select a 3-axis vertical machining center. Choose Machine Type, Mill, 3-Axis VMC (12).

Following is a picture of the machine type selected for this project.

3-axis vertical machining center



Exercise 3 – Defining the stock boundary

Stock boundaries help you visualize the part you are machining. Also, Mastercam uses stock boundaries during toolpath verification. The lines that define the stock are phantom lines and are not selectable as geometry.

Defining an accurate stock model ensures that Mastercam calculates correct material removal and feed rates. The dimensions you enter in the Machine Group Properties, Stock Setup tab must be at least equal the physical stock.

Defining a stock model smaller than the physical stock can result in high feed rates through material. Such high feed rates can lead to a broken tool, a damaged part, or increased risk of personal injury.

Defining a stock model larger than the physical stock can create unnecessarily slow feed rates through areas with no stock. These slow feed rates increase machining time and use too much RAM.

In this exercise, you define the stock boundary from which the part is cut. You use this information in a later exercise when you program and simulate machining of the toolpath.

Stock setup 1. From the Operations Manager, click the Toolpaths tab, expand the

machine’s Properties group (if necessary), and then click Stock setup. The Machine Group Properties dialog box opens to the Stock Setup tab. If not already selected, set the stock’s shape to Rectangular.

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2. Choose Select corners. Mastercam returns to the graphics window

and prompts you to enter a point for one corner of the stock. 3. Select the part’s diagonal corners (see the following figure) to

define a rectangle that describes the stock. The Machine Group Properties dialog box redisplays.



4. Enter 0.250 for the stock Z value.

This value is the stock thickness.

5. Select Display and Wire frame, if necessary.

These options display the stock boundary in the graphics window.

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6. Click the upper left corner of the stock graphic, as shown in the following figure. The arrow moves from the center (the default origin) to the corner. You designed the part with this corner at X0Y0. The stock definition requires the same orientation.

7. Ensure that the XYZ stock origin coordinates are all set to 0.0.

Change them, if necessary.



8. Check your settings against the following picture. Make any necessary adjustments.

9. Choose OK to close the Machine Group Properties dialog box.

The stock boundary displays as red, dashed lines.

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Exercise 4 – Changing levels and views

Instead of cutting the entire art base surface, you can create a boundary that contains the toolpath. This is called a containment boundary. Unlike a stock boundary, a containment boundary encloses geometric entities. In this exercise, the tool containment boundary has been created for you and placed on level 2. All levels are visible by default.

In this exercise, you explore the Level Manager, which allows you to turn levels on and off, as well as name levels. You also change the graphics view to prepare the part for toolpaths.

The Level Manager sets and displays the main level you want to work with in the graphics window. The main level is the current working level, where Mastercam places geometry that you create. There can be only one main level at a time. The main level number appears on the Level button in the Status bar. In the Levels Manager dialog box, Mastercam highlights the main level in yellow.

Making all levels visible 1. Choose Level from the Status bar. The Level Manager opens.



2. Click Used to list only the levels used in the part. If a check mark displays in the Visible column, that level is visible. To hide a level, click the check mark. To make it visible again, click in the Visible column.

3. Click All on. A check mark displays in the Visible column for all

levels. 4. Click OK. All levels are now visible on the screen. 5. Press [Alt + S] to toggle shading on / off. When shading is off,

your part should look like the following figure.

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Viewing the part 1. Right-click in the Mastercam graphics window, and choose Fit.

The part fits within the screen extents. 2. Right-click in the graphics window, and choose Top Gview to go

to the Top graphic view. 3. Right-click in the graphics window, and choose Front Gview.

From this view, you can determine whether a toolpath or surface has extended below the bottom of the stock.

4. Press [F9] to display the origin. Verify that the part origin and the system origin are the same. The following illustration shows how the graphic looks in a front view with the origin and axes displayed.

6. Press [F9] again to remove the origin display. 7. Right-click, and change the view to Top and Fit the part.

Exercise 5 – Creating the medallion toolpath

In this exercise, you program a toolpath for the medallion surface. The toolpath machines out the dish shape and raises the letter, producing a carved effect.



Medallion toolpath

The real world has constraints, so in this exercise, you apply constraints to make the exercise more realistic.

You must program a toolpath for the machine on which the part is cut. The machine that cuts this part lacks an automatic tool changer, so this toolpath uses a single tool. If the machine had a tool changer, you might use three or four tools to create this part. The ideal situation is to use both roughing and finishing tools.

The part size and material determine the cutting tools used. For more information on this subject, consult Machinery’s Handbook or catalogs from the various tooling and materials vendors. These publications contain cutting speeds and feeds and other information used to determine proper cutter usage.

In this project, you use a 0.125-inch diameter ball nose end mill. The material for this project is a 3-inch square block of cherry wood, 0.250 inch thick.

Creating the toolpath 1. Choose Art, Toolpath Active Art Base Surface. The Machine

Art Base Surface dialog box opens. (If the Enter new NC name dialog box opens first, click OK to save the NC file under the current name.)

2. Right-click in the large white area of the dialog box. A menu displays.

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3. Choose Tool Manager. The Tool Manager dialog box opens.

4. Scroll down and double-click 0.125-inch (1/8-inch) ball end

mill (tool number 249), and then click OK to load the tool. Mastercam populates the dialog box with the selected tool information, as shown in the following figure.

Note: Do not click OK to close the Machine Art Base Surface dialog box. You must set values on the other dialog box tabs.



Setting machining parameters

1. Choose the Art Base Surface Machining Parameters tab at the top of the dialog box.

2. Check Clearance. Enter 1.0 in the Clearance field. This value sets the height at which the cutter moves when it retracts.

3. Click Absolute (under Clearance) to calculate moves using absolute coordinates from the Mastercam origin.

4. Check Use clearance only at the start and end of the operation. 5. Enter 0.1 in the Feed Plane field. This value is the height at which

the rapid feed rate changes to the cutting feed rate. 6. Click Absolute (under Feed Plane). 7. Make sure your choices match the settings shown in the following

figure.

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Tip: For more help on toolpath parameters, see Mastercam online help.

Chaining the containment boundary 1. Click Select in the Art Base Surface Machining Parameters tab.

The Chaining dialog box opens.



2. Select the larger circle, as shown in the following figure.

Mastercam highlights the circle in the Select Color defined for your configuration (default is yellow).

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3. Choose OK to close the Chaining dialog box

Setting Art toolpath parameters 1. Choose the Art Base Surface Toolpath Parameters tab.



2. Select Parallel spiral up to boundary from the Cutting method list. This method generates a toolpath that cuts in a spiral, beginning in the part center and working to the outside.

2. Select Outside-Out as the cutting direction. 3. Select Climb as the machining method.

Tip: Climb is the preferred cutting method for CNC machining in most situations.

4. Enter 10 for the Stepover Percent. Mastercam calculates the Stepover Distance per cut as a percentage of the cutter diameter.

5. Move the slider to Low for the Toolpath Tolerance/ Optimization setting.

Setting Advanced parameters Note: Checking a parameter check box activates the function. Clicking the associated button opens a dialog box to set the function parameters. Instructions for setting the Advanced and Filter parameters follow.

1. Make sure the Advanced check box is selected, and then click Advanced to open the Advanced Settings dialog box.

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2. Check Z Plunge Angle On, and enter 45 for the Z Plunge Angle. When activated, a Z plunge angle makes the cutter plunge into the stock at the specified angle instead of straight down.

Note: Retract at top height, when activated, machines only geometry that is below the Z0 plane. In the case of the medallion, Retract at top height cuts just the inside of the medallion, not the entire model because all cuts should be below Z0. In the medallion application, you could have used Retract at top height instead of creating and selecting a containment boundary. Do not check the Retract at top height checkbox.

3. Check Accelerate roughing calculation. 4. Check Smooth Toolpath. 5. Click OK to close the Advanced Settings dialog box.

Setting filter parameters

When you filter a toolpath, Mastercam simplifies the toolpath by replacing tiny line segments with long arcs and replacing small line segments with long line segments, within the user’s specified tolerance.



Mastercam’s default toolpath filter tolerance is 0.0005 for curves, although few machines can hold this tolerance. A filter of 0.001 often reduces your program size by 90% with no visible difference in the surface finish. The filtering also increases the machining speed of your part because there are fewer lines to process. Another advantage is the resultant longer entities, which allow the machine to ramp up to speed. If your filter tolerance is too large, you start to see facets in your surface.

Following is an example of the difference in a toolpath created with a cut tolerance of 0.0003 and one filtered to 0.001.

In this exercise, you create a toolpath using a cut tolerance of 0.001. 1. Check the box beside Filter and then click Filter. The Filter

settings dialog box displays.

2. Ensure that you have the default settings shown in the following

figure.

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3. Click OK to close the Filter settings dialog box. 4. Click OK to close the Art Base Surface Toolpath Parameters

dialog box. Mastercam generates the toolpath. (A blue toolpath creation progress bar displays in the bottom right corner of the screen.)

Note: Because the toolpath filter is enabled, Mastercam filters the toolpath after calculating it. This process may require several seconds. The filtered areas of the toolpath display in red. The toolpath displays as shown in the next illustration. The screen redraws as soon as toolpath display completes.



Medallion toolpath, filtered

Viewing the toolpath The backplot function is located on the Toolpaths tab in the Operations Manager. The Toolpath Manager displays information about the toolpath you just created.

Tip: You can press [Alt +O] to toggle the Operations Manager on or off.

1. Click the Backplot button. The Backplot dialog box displays.

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2. If the Display tool button is pressed, click it to toggle it off. 3. Choose Play from the Backplot VCR Bar which is located at the

top of the graphic window.

In Isometric Gview and with shading off, the toolpath backplot should look similar to the following illustration.

Medallion backplot

4. Click Display tool to toggle it on, and select Play again. The toolpath displays with the tool visible.

5. Choose OK to exit the Backplot function.

This completes the medallion surface toolpath. Next, you create the toolpath for the part’s outside diameter.



Exercise 6 – Creating a contour toolpath

You have now programmed the medallion’s surface details. Next, you cut the round medallion out of the square stock. To perform this task, you select the inner circle as the drive geometry, and you keep cutter on the circle’s exterior. You make depth cuts at 0.125 and 0.145 on the last pass. The last pass cuts the last 0.020 of the part and 0.125 into the sacrifice plate.

Do not forget that the outside cuts must be deeper than 0.250 inch. This depth allows the end mill’s tip radius to clear the part, producing a flat wall on the side of the part. Keep in mind that you cut this entire project with one end mill.

Caution: You will cut completely through the stock, so ensure the part is sitting on a base into which you can cut. This base is called a sacrifice plate. Talk to your instructor before continuing with the exercise.

Selecting a contour toolpath 1. Right-click in the white area of the Toolpath Manager, and choose

Mill toolpaths, Contour. This command enables you to create a standard Mastercam contour toolpath rather than an Art toolpath.

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2. The Chaining dialog box opens. Select the lower left quadrant of

the smaller circle as shown. Mastercam highlights the selected chain.



3. Choose OK to finalize your selection. The Contour (2D) dialog box opens.

Setting the contour toolpath parameters You use the tool from the previous exercise for this toolpath, so do not adjust the tool parameters on the Toolpath parameters tab.

1. Choose the Contour parameters tab.

The Contour parameters tab displays.

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2. Set Clearance to 1.0, and check Absolute and Use clearance

only at the start and end of each operation. 3. Set Contour type to 2D. 4. Uncheck Retract. 5. Set Feed plane to 0.02, and click Absolute. 6. Set Top of stock to 0.0, and click Absolute. 7. Enter -0.375 for the Depth, and click Absolute. 8. Set the Compensation type to Computer and Compensation

direction to Left. 9. Set Tip comp to Tip. 10. Ignore Roll cutter around corners. The setting does not apply

because the part is round. 11. Check Infinite look ahead. 12. Set XY stock to leave and Z stock to leave to 0.0. 13. Clear the Lead in/out check box.



14. Ensure that your settings match those shown in the previous figure.

Setting depth cuts 1. Check the box beside Depth cuts, and then click Depth cuts. The

Depth cuts dialog box opens.

2. Enter 0.125 for the Max rough step. 3. Enter 1 for # Finish cuts. 4. Enter 0.145 for the Finish step. 5. Check Keep tool down and By depth. 6. Click OK to close the Depth cuts dialog box. 7. Click OK to close the Contour dialog box. Mastercam calculates

the toolpath and displays it on the screen. In Isometric view and with shading off, the toolpath should look like the following illustration.

Note: If the toolpath does not display on the screen, press [Alt + T]. This is a toggle that turns the toolpath on and off.

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Medallion contour toolpath

You have now finished both programs. The next step is to verify the toolpath using a solid model to simulate machining of the part.

Exercise 7 – Simulating machining (Verify)

Now that you have created the toolpath, you can verify it using the stock that you defined in the stock setup exercise. To do this, you use the Verify function in the Operations Manager. The Verify function allows you to use solid models to simulate the machining of a part. The model created by the verification represents the surface finish and shows collisions, if any exist. Using Verify, you can identify and correct program errors before they reach the shop floor.

Backplotting and verifying the toolpath 1. Choose the Verify button from the Toolpath Manager. The Verify

dialog box opens.



Setting Verify Options

1. Choose the Configure button. The Verify Options dialog box opens.

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2. Click the Use Stock Setup values button. Mastercam populates

the Min and Max point table with stock setup data from the Stock Setup dialog box.

3. Select Use TrueSolid to create a solid model for toolpath simulation. The alternative is Standard mode, which is pixel-based. TrueSolid mode uses advanced solid-modeling technology to create and manipulate accurate solid models for toolpath simulation.

4. Deselect Cutter comp in control. 5. Select Display XYZ axes to display the part’s XYZ axes. 6. Select Remove Chips. This setting allows you to remove leftover

stock from the graphics window after the verification is complete. Remove Chips is available only for TrueSolid with tool simulation.

7. Choose OK to close the Verify Options dialog box. The Verify dialog box displays.



8. Select the Turbo button. This is the fastest option and does not display a tool during verification.

9. Check Update after each toolpath. 10. Select Stop on collision to pause the verification if there is a

collision in the toolpath. 11. Select Verbose.

During verification, this setting opens the Verify ribbon bar. The Verify ribbon bar displays additional details about the current machine state as you step through each move or when the verification pauses or stops. Information displayed varies with toolpath content and machine type.

Note: No information shows in the ribbon bar until after a part is verified. The ribbon bar shown above displays the data from a part verification.

12. Check your settings against the following picture. Make any necessary adjustments.

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13. Drag the dialog box over to clearly display the Toolpath Manager.

Then hold the [Shift] key, and, in the Toolpath Manager, click on the first toolpath to select it for verification. The check

signifies selection for verification. All variables are now set, and you are ready to run the simulation. Do not click OK until you have run the simulation as described next.

Running the simulation 1. Choose the Machine (play) button in the Verify dialog box.

The tool begins cutting the surface. When it is finished, your screen should look like the following picture.



Medallion verified in stock (Turbo mode)

2. Select the Restart button to go back to the beginning. 3. Choose the Simulate tool button. Then choose the Machine

button . The toolpath now shows the tool while displaying the toolpath.

4. When the toolpath finishes, the Pick a chip dialog box displays. Choose To delete and then Pick from the dialog box, as shown in the following figure. This selection specifies that you are selecting the part to remove.

5. Select the unmachined stock area, as shown in the following

figure. The unmachined stock disappears.

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6. Choose OK. The finished part displays on the screen.

Medallion, finished part

7. Examine the solid model in different views to determine if it looks as you had expected. Inspect the part by right-clicking in the graphics window and selecting from the available choices. Zoom in on a detail, zoom back out, and dynamically rotate the part.

8. Choose OK to close the Verify dialog box. 9. Save the file before proceeding to the next exercise.

You have now completed the verification exercise. However, before you continue to the setup and machining of this part, you explore another application of the Verify function.



Exercise 8 – Exploring with Verify

The Verify function lets you to capture the verified toolpath as an artistic representation of the finished part. You can import the toolpath verification image into another graphics application for enhancement. Then use the finished image as art, for example, in product literature.

Art-part-Art process 1. Scan and import the initial bitmap into Art. 2. From the 2D graphic, create organic 3D surfaces in Mastercam

Art. 3. In a graphics program, capture and modify the graphic used to

verify the toolpath, thus completing the cycle.

The following figure illustrates the Art-to-Part-to-Art concept.

You can modify the verification graphic in countless ways. However, Verify’s main use is to visualize the part and check for machining errors.

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Exercise 9 – Holding the part

A critical issue with a part like this is how to hold the part during machining. This part requires that the entire outside of the medallion be machined. To complete such a cut, the part needs the tool to cut below the part bottom and so probably requires a sacrifice plate. You can hold the part in a vice on a sacrifice plate or clamp the part to the table on a sacrifice plate. Following are pictures of sacrifice plates and fixtures that you can use to hold the part for machining.

Sacrifice plates



Clamping fixtures

Medallion mounted

Think about how to hold this part for machining. Discuss with someone who has machining experience about how to hold the medallion. 1. Devise at least three different methods for holding the part. 2. Determine which method you think would be best and state why. 3. Make a sketch of the setup.

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Faster production times mean more profit. The medallion part takes a long time to cut. Now that you have to redesign and remachine, you want to know how to do it more efficiently. 1. Discuss with others how to cut this part faster. 2. Experiment with different toolpath cutting methods, and speeds and

feeds. 3. Observe and record the cutting times for each different type of

toolpath. 4. Compare the different cutting methods and decide which is better for

machining the medallion.

What’s next? This chapter outlined how to create the Art base surface and its toolpath, how to verify the toolpath on the screen, and also provided setup tips for machining. The next chapter describes how to adjust organic surfaces.

Using Art Manager


6 Using Art Manager

In the preceding chapters, you created the surfaces on a part that formed a medallion. You then created a toolpath, set up the job, and verified the program.

In this chapter, you will respond to a change order as you might receive it from a customer so that you can learn how to edit and adjust surfaces. Change orders often come after a design is finished. In this case, the customer wants the letter “S” cross-sectional shape curvier, less flat on the top, and more fluid, perhaps more like the figure on the right.

Medallion, flat top (left) and rounded (right)

This is not a very technical description but a very common one. People know how they want a design to look, but seldom know the dimensions or how to describe them.

Mastercam X2 Art was created to handle non-dimensional creations and has the power to make these changes very easily and quickly. An organic surface has many different choices for a cross section and can be adjusted in several ways. You will make adjustments to the medallion, creating several different cross-sectional shapes for the customer to pick from.

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Mastercam X2 Art lets you edit the existing design instead of starting from scratch. You can visualize the finished part, show it to your customer, and refine the design without spending the time to actually cut it.

When you complete this chapter, you will be familiar with the following: Modifying the convex arc shape Modifying the parabolic shape Using Undo and Redo Changing the parabolic shape to an angle Documenting surfaces Art Manager

Exercise 1 – Modifying a convex arc shape

For this exercise, you will use medallion-edit.mcx, which is provided for you. The medallion is 2.500 inches in diameter and is made from three-inch square stock. In this exercise, you will adjust the cross-sectional shape to make it smoother, curvier, and more fluid.

Original Part Final part

You will make these changes using the Art Manager, which is a history manager of the Art model. The Art Manager allows you to open each Art operation and alter any of its parameters. The Art Manager is a powerful and useful tool in designing and modifying artistic shapes.

Renaming the surfaces You will first rename the surfaces to make them easier to identify.

Using Art Manager


Tip: Changing the names of Art operations helps you keep track of the surfaces you create and also helps you get back to them quickly to edit. Best practice would have you name the Art operations right after you create them. This is strictly for your benefit, and a very good habit to get into.

1. After opening Mastercam, choose File, New to initialize the screen and database.

2. Choose File, Open. Navigate to the Art tutorial part file named medallion-edit.mcx. Select the file, and then click OK.

3. The part is displayed on the screen. Choose the Art tab in the Operations Manager.

4. The Art Manager opens. To choose the elements you will modify,

click + beside Art Base Surface # 1 to expand its history tree, if necessary.

5. Click + beside Organic Surface – Sub and Organic Surface – Add. The complete history tree opens.

6. Click Organic Surface – Sub, pause very briefly, and then click again to rename the surface. Change the name of this surface to Dish. “- Sub” will be added automatically to the end of the name to indicate the Application Style parameter used to create the Art surface. You can also select the operation in the Art Manger list, right-click and choose Rename.

7. Click Organic Surface – Add. Change the name to Initial.

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Changing the letter “S” to a more fluid parabolic shape 1. Under the second surface named Initial – Add, double-click

Parameters.

The Organic Surfaces Parameters dialog box opens. The fields are populated with the selected surface’s parameters.

Note: This is the second surface you created. The first surface was subtracted from the Art base surface and the second operation adds the letter. If there were too many entries, you could also tell the surfaces apart by the number of chains displayed at the end of the sub category “Geometry” line. The first surface was defined by a single contour, a circle, while the letter was made up of six contours.

2. Click the Dynamic Cross Section button to change the cross section profile, and then choose Convex Parabola from the drop-down list.

3. Enter 0.250 for the Width and 0.125 for the Height. 4. Leave the Application Style set to Add. 5. Make sure your settings match those as shown next.

Using Art Manager

Note: If the cross section graph does not fit in the grid, click Zoom


to Fit to adjust it.

6. Click OK to close the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box. In

the Art Manager tab, the second Art operation and its parent operations are marked “dirty” because they have been changed. They must be regenerated to reflect this change.

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Tip: Notice the red checks. They indicate that the parameters have been changed and that the file must be regenerated to reflect these changes. The operation is referred to as “dirty” in this state.

7. Click Regenerate to recompute the surface, reflecting the changes just made.

The following graphic reflects the changes.

Medallion with parabolic cross section

The letter now has a ridge on the top as a result of the choice of parabola as a cross section. Next you will create a smoother, more fluid shape.

Using Art Manager


Exercise 2 – Modifying the parabolic cross section

This exercise will modify the cross-sectional shape of the letter by using the Adjust Ridge feature. Adjust Ridge morphs the original cross section, changing it into a new shape. This exercise continues with the same file.

Using Adjust Ridge to change the surface profile 1. Click + beside Art Base Surface # 1 to expand the history tree, if

needed.

Note: When an operation has a + beside it, click to expand it to reveal editable elements. When it has a –, click to collapse it.

2. Double-click Parameters under Initial – Add.

3. The selected surface’s Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens.

Change the Adjust Ridge from Normal to Arc High as shown, which will smooth the ridge.

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4. After making certain your settings match those shown in the preceding illustration, click OK to close the dialog box.

5. Click the Regenerate button to regenerate the Art model to reflect the changes just made.

Using Art Manager


6. You will see your changes displayed on the model. The part should look like the one shown next.

Medallion, Arc High Adjust Ridge

The part is smoother, but still has a ridge down the middle of the letter. You will eliminate the ridge in the next step by using the Adjust Ridge option along with the advanced scaling options.

Scaling and adjusting the cross-sectional shape You will adjust the shape by stretching the arc and scaling it towards the center to make the shape even smoother. 1. Click + beside Organic Surface Initial – Add, if needed. 2. Double-click Parameters to open the surface’s Organic Surface

Parameters dialog box. 3. Change the Adjust Ridge option to Arc Low.

4. Click at the top of the Organic Parameters dialog box to open the Advanced Parameters dialog box.

5. Enter 150 in the Scale C-section field. This will stretch the cross section shape 150% (1.5 times) to reach across toward the center of the element. Make sure your settings match those as shown next.

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6. Click OK to close the Advanced Parameters dialog box, and then

click OK again to close the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box. 7. Choose Regenerate from the Art Manager.

The part should look like the following illustration.

Medallion, Arc Low Adjust Ridge

This part is definitely more fluid in its cross-sectional shape. Next you will compare the shapes.

Using Art Manager


Comparing the shapes You have now created several different cross sections. You will now compare parts from the previous exercise. Remember the customer request is for a curvier, less flat, smoother, and more fluid letter shape. 1. If your part is not displayed shaded, press [Alt + S] to toggle

shading on.

Original shape

2. In the Art Manager, click Hide Geometry to remove the geometry from the display. Click the option again to restore the geometry display.

3. Compare the two shapes below. Notice that the Part B cross section profile is more curved.

Part A – First modification uses a parabolic shape with a sharp ridge on top of the letter.

Part B (current part) uses a parabolic cross section smoother on top of the letter.

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Which part do you think looks more curved? Keep in mind that the focus of Mastercam X2 Art is on how the design looks as opposed to exact geometric coordinates. Although Mastercam X2 Art can be both artistic and precise, the power of this new technology is to quickly adjust the look when you don’t require or know exact dimensions. With Mastercam X2 Art, you design to accomplish a specific look.

Exercise 3 – Using Undo and Redo

Examining different options is simple with Mastercam X2 Art. In this exercise, you will use the Art Manager’s Undo/Redo functions to view previous modifications. Art Manager provides an undo list, which is a history of the actions you have performed.

If you make an edit you don’t like, you can Undo it. If you then decide you liked it, you can Redo it. Following is a graphic of this process.

1. Created medallion. 2. Modified it and didn’t like modification.

3. Selected Undo to return to original. 4. Selected Redo to return to modification.

Using Art Manager


Undoing the first modification

1. Click next to the Undo button in the Art Manager. A list of the operations is displayed. The most recent operation is displayed first.

1. Click down arrow to display actions.

2. Double-click action to be undone.

3. Double-click Undo to undo the last

OR

2. Highlight the action to be undone and double-click. This will undo

the selected action and everything above it in the list, thus undoing all actions that occurred chronologically after and including the selected action. Tip: If you Undo an operation and change your mind, choose Redo to bring it back.

3. Click to Undo the next action. The change is processed and the graphic reflects the changes. The modified graphic with the ridge is shown below.

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Medallion, parabolic cross section

Redoing the modification

1. Click to redo the last undo action (Arc Low - Adjust Ridge). Tip: You can Redo more than one action at a time. Redo works in the same manner as Undo; it redoes all the actions above it in the list.

The redone graphic is shown below with no ridge and a softened shape.

Medallion, Arc Low Adjust Ridge

Saving the file 1. Choose File, Save As. 2. Type (Your Initials)medallion b.mcx in the File name field. 3. Choose OK.

Using Art Manager


Exercise 4 – Changing a parabolic shape to an angle

Your customer may feel that angled sides might add an “old world” craftsmanship look to the medallion, so you need to design both looks. In this exercise, you will create different design options by enabling and disabling Art operations. First, you will disable the initial Art operation, and then you will create a new operation with an angled cross section. When you disable an element, the Art Manager ignores the operation when it regenerates next. This allows you to hide designs or operations but have them available for display at your discretion. This exercise will also lead you through the process of changing the cross section to an angle.

For this exercise, you will use the file created in the preceding exercise named (Your Initials) medallion b.mcx or you may use medallion b.mcx, which is provided.

Disabling an Art operation 1. Use the file you just saved or open

[C:\mcamx2]\documentation\art tutorial parts\medallion b.mcx.

2. In the Art Manager, click + to expand elements, if needed. 3. Right-click Initial – Add and choose Suppress from the drop-down

menu. (Be careful not to choose Delete.) Suppress will make this element unavailable and it will not be included when the model is regenerated. It also makes the model “dirty.”

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4. Click Regenerate to process. The resulting display, shown next,


includes only the Dish – Sub element because the Initial – Add element has been suppressed.

Note: Suppress acts as a toggle to add or remove a selected operation or Art base surface from the Art model. Mastercam X2 Art ignores all suppressed base surfaces and operations when regenerating the model, and removes them from the graphics window display.

Using Art Manager


Creating a new Art operation You have disabled the letter “S” surface. The next step is to create a new Art operation with an angled cross-sectional shape. This will be the second design option. 1. Press [Alt + S] to toggle shading off, if needed. This will make the

geometry easier to see for the upcoming chaining process. 2. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 3. Choose Area chaining and select the model as shown in the

following illustration. This chains the outer boundary of the “S” and selects all geometry contained within that boundary, thus selecting all entities that make up the letter.

4. Choose OK. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens. 5. Click the Dynamic Cross Section button. 6. Choose Line from the Cross Section drop-down menu.

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7. Enter 0.100 for the Height. 8. Drag the slider in the Angle control with the mouse to change the

Angle to 45 degrees.

9. Choose the Zoom to Fit button to fit the line to the grid. Notice


that the numbers on the grid axes update to reflect the values just entered.

10. Make sure your settings match those shown next.

11. Click to open the Advanced Parameters – Organic dialog box.

Using Art Manager


12. Enter 200 for the Scale C-Section to stretch the cross section 200% toward the center.

13. Verify that your settings match those shown next.

14. Click OK to close the Advanced Parameters – Organic dialog box,

and then click OK again to close the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box.

15. Right-click Organic Surface – Add to highlight it, and then rename this operation “Angled wall.”

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Tip: You can add multiple Art operations and enable and disable them as needed.

16. Press [Alt + S] to shade the part. Your part should look like the one shown next.

Medallion with angled wall

Save the file 1. Choose File, Save As.

Note: Remember to save the file with your initials added to the filename. This keeps the original files from being overwritten.

2. Type (Your initials) medallion c.mcx in the File name field. 3. Click OK.

Using Art Manager


Comparing shapes You now have three additional parts to present. Which one do you think is the most visually appealing? Can you look at the shape and tell if it was made with an arc, parabola, or angle cross section? Can you tell if it was smoothed using an Application Style or with Scaling C-Section? Visualization and ease of design editing are powerful tools in Mastercam X2 Art.

Original part

You edited the original part to create the three shapes shown next.

You then disabled the Art operation that contained the “S” and created a new version shown below.

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Exercise 5 – Documenting surfaces

You now have multiple medallion designs to present to the customer. Another approach to this project is to create the original surfaces, and then disable the surface containing the first letter surface. Next, create a new surface for the next letter design. Continue this process until all the designs have been made. You may now disable and enable each surface as needed.

The customer has requested that you print a copy of each of the designs for consideration. Use the File, Print function to print them.

Printing designs 1. Open the file [C:\mcamx]\documentation\art tutorial

parts\medallion all.mcx provided for you. 2. Change the view to Isometric. 3. Shade the part. 4. Choose File, Print. The Print dialog box is displayed. 5. Choose the appropriate settings for your specific printer.

6. Choose Print Preview to view before printing.

Using Art Manager


7. Choose Close. Choose OK to send to the printer. 8. In the Art Manager, right-click on the first Art surface operation

(the one you just printed), Suppress it, and then right-click the next surface and choose Suppress (to “unsuppress” it). Regenerate the model. Repeat the process until all five designs are printed.

Clicking Suppress when there is a check beside it will bring the surface back (unsuppress it).

Alternate printing method 1. Display the desired surface on the screen in the orientation that you

want. 2. Press the [PrtScr] / [Print Screen] on the keyboard. The file is

placed on the Windows clipboard. 3. Minimize Mastercam. 4. Start Microsoft® Paint or your favorite graphics program. 5. Choose Edit, Paste in the graphics editor. The image is now in the

graphics editor for editing and printing.

Note: You may copy and paste an image of the entire Mastercam window into many graphic programs using the Print Screen key.

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Exercise 6 – Examining Art Manager in detail

The Art Manager tab is a central location where you manage the elements of the current Art model. It is a very powerful tool that keeps track of all your operations in a list called the history tree, which is listed in a tree format. You can edit any element of the operation from the Art Manager as you design. In this exercise, you will explore each of the Art Manager components. Some of the material has been introduced in previous exercises but is reviewed here.

Art Manager functions

Art Manager tab

Art Manager history tree

Surface height and, if a Z Limit constraint is applied to the Art model, the remaining height before reaching the maximum

Using Art Manager


Art Manager functions The Art Manager function buttons are displayed in two rows:

Regene

rate

HelpStatisti

cs

Analyze

Hide Art M

odel

Change A

rt Mod

el View

port

Art Model

Single V

iewport

Hide Geo

metry

Art Manager function buttons (top row)

UndoRedo

Art Model

Resolutio

n

Art Surfa

ce Grid

Density

Unload / L

oad Art M

odel

Art Manager function buttons (bottom row)

Regenerate

Click Regenerate to regenerate and rebuild the Art model to reflect changes or deletions made to an Art base surface or its Art surface operations. Art surface operations, Art base surfaces, and the Art model that require regeneration are “dirty” and are marked with a check mark. They must be regenerated before toolpathing. Regenerating returns them to a “clean” and machine-ready state.

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Hide geometry

Click Hide geometry to temporarily hide the geometry in the graphics window, providing a clear view of the Art model. Click again to display the geometry.

Hide Art model

Click Hide Art model to temporarily hide the Art model in the graphics window, giving you a better view of its underlying geometry and other features. Click again to display the model.

Art model single viewport

Art model single viewport is available only when you set the graphics window display to multiple viewports. It shows the Art model in one of the viewports. In all other viewports, only geometry displays. Use the Hide Geometry and Hide Art model functions to modify the display.

See "Working with multiple viewports" in Mastercam help for more information on changing your graphics window display.

Change Art model viewport

Change Art model viewport is available only when you set the graphics window display to multiple viewports and also choose the Art Model Single Viewport functions. Use the Change Art Model Viewport function to cycle the Art model display between viewports.


Analyzing surfaces

Click Analyze to display XYZ surface coordinates for any point position you select with the cursor in the graphics window.

Surface Statistics

Click Statistics or right-click Art Base Surface in the Art Manager and choose Statistics to display the dimensions, coordinates, and scale of the model. The display contains read-only information on the current Art model extents. This information updates each time you modify the Art model.

Using Art Manager


Tip: For accurate statistics, set the graphics view to Top. To edit this information, use options in the Art Manager right-click menus, or functions in the Mastercam Art, Edit and Xform Art menus.

The report provides the following information:

Model Extents

Width, height, and thickness of the Art model

Bottom Left

XY coordinates of the bottom left corner of the base surface

Top Right

XY coordinates of the top right corner of the base surface

Scale The current scale of the model in X, Y and Z

Pixel Extents

The YX extents of the Art Model in number of pixels

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Undo and Redo

After you edit a surface, use the Undo and Redo functions to undo the changes, and also to redo them, one at a time, in chronological order.

Grid Density

Click Art Surface Grid Density to make the point grid larger when you have trouble seeing geometry through the grid. To see a surface in more detail, tighten the grid. You may change settings as often as needed.

The Grid Density parameters are: Grid Density

Adjusts the density of the vertical and horizontal grid lines by making the grid spacing larger or smaller. Increase the grid density when you have trouble seeing geometry through the grid. Reduce it to visualize the surface in more detail. Note: This parameter does not apply to shaded surfaces.

Shading Tolerance

Defines the speed of computing a graphic object. A higher value shortens processing time. A lower value lengthens it. If you choose too large a value, some crucial points may be skipped and the detail of the graphic image will be diminished. The optimum setting for English is .0001, and .001 for metric. Tips:

• Make small adjustments to grid density until you get the intended effect.

• To make your geometry easier to see, use options in the Mastercam Status bar to modify entity attributes, such as increasing the thickness of lines, or changing entity colors and levels.

• Use Viewports to split the graphics screen display and manipulate the Art model in different views.

Tip: Accept the defaults for Grid Density and Shading Tolerance. If the Art model display interferes with your geometry selection or creation, rather than adjusting these parameters, try using the Art Manager Hide Geometry and Hide Art Model options to improve the display.

Using Art Manager


Unload/Load Art Model

Unload/Load Art Model acts as a toggle, allowing you to remove / restore the Art model in the Mastercam part database. Unloading the Art model removes all data associated with it from the Mastercam part database, and deactivates the Art Manager and most functions in the Art menu. This can reduce the amount of time and resources required to work with other aspects of the part that are not Art related, and can also clear the display so that you can more easily create other types of toolpaths or designs.

After you have unloaded the Art model, select this function again to add the Art data back to the Mastercam part database.

Art Manager history tree The Art Manager history tree is a hierarchical representation of the Art base surfaces and surface operations that make up the Art model, along with their current status—“clean” (up to date and ready for machining), “dirty” (requiring toolpath regeneration), or deleted (to be removed at the next regeneration).

A check mark indicates that the Art model, Art base surface, and one or more of its Art operations are "dirty." This occurs when:

Parameters for an Art base surface or Art surface operation have been modified.

The underlying geometry for an Art surface operation has changed. An Art base surface or Art surface operation was deleted

(represented by an X).

Use the Art Manager Regenerate function to rebuild a “dirty” Art model based on its current parameters and settings and restore its status to “clean.” When you regenerate an Art model, Art base surfaces and surface operations marked for deletion are removed from the Art Manager history tree.

The Art Manager history tree uses standard Windows conventions—press “+” to expand an element; press“-” to contract it. In the history tree shown next, you would expand “Art Base Surface #1” by clicking the “+” next to it.

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The Art Manager uses the following icons to identify elements:

The Art model represents the highest level of the Art Manager hierarchy. Each Art model can include one or more Art base surfaces and, for each Art base surface, one or more Art surface operations. The Art model also includes an historical record of all events that have occurred since the model was first created.

The Art base surface (ABS) is a 2D point grid or 3D point cloud surface that defines the extents of a single Art surface area. The first step in creating an Art model is to define an Art base surface. Then you can use Art surface operations to manipulate this single surface.

Each Art model can contain one or more Art base surfaces. To work with an Art base surface and its operations, you must make it active by selecting it in the Art Manager history tree.

Using Art Manager


Art surface operations can include organic, swept, swept 2-ended, and others. Art surface operations allow you to manipulate an Art base surface by adding surface features, often using geometry to build the Art model. You can create 3D elements from 2D geometry, import designs from external files, create textures, and modify and transform existing Art surface operations. Many Art surface operations require you to define the operation's boundaries by chaining geometry in the graphics window.

Art surface operations are indented under their "parent" Art base surface in the Art Manager history tree. You can view and modify each operation’s parameters and, if applicable, re-select the geometry used to create it.

Art surface operations

A completed surface operation consists of a name, parameters, and geometry:

A surface operation is identified by a surface name and surface type symbol. By default, the name identifies the surface operation type (Organic Surface) and the Application Style (– Sub). You can rename surface operations.

The parameters define the shape of the surface.

The geometry identifies the contour boundaries used to create the Art surface operation.

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Art Manager right-click menu When you right-click an element in the history tree, a menu displays.

Different right-click options are available for surface operations and their components:

Using Art Manager


The menu options are:

Statistics—Displays read-only information on the current Art model extents. This information updates each time you modify the Art model.

Delete—Marks the selected Art operation, or Art base surface and all of its operations, for deletion. The deletion is not processed until you regenerate or rebuild the Art model.

Suppress— Acts as a toggle to add or remove a selected operation or Art base surface from the history tree. Mastercam X2 Art ignores all suppressed base surfaces and operations when regenerating the model. Suppressed Art base surfaces and operations are also removed from the graphics window display.

Rename—Lets you rename the Art base surface or Art surface operation.

Attributes—Lets you change the Art base surface parameters. This opens the Change Art Base Surface Parameters dialog box to allow you to edit the size and attributes of the Art base surface.

Toolpath Art Base Surface— Reads all the data in the selected Art base surface and opens the Machine Art Base Surface dialog box. Use this dialog box to define toolpath parameters and create toolpaths for all operations in the selected Art base surface

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Export—Translates the Art model into other file types.

You can export Art surfaces to the following file types. STL is an acronym for StereoLithography, a 3D model file type developed by 3D Systems, Inc. An STL file is composed of triangular facets of data that represent surface and solid models. Toolpaths can be made directly from this file type. Mastercam can export an STL file from a surface or solids file. Other CAD systems can read and write this type of file. DXF Data Exchange Format, a file format and extension used by AutoCAD®. Mastercam and many other CAD systems can read and write DFX files. Mastercam Surfaces Standard Mastercam parametric surfaces. Mastercam creates the standard Mastercam surfaces from the 3D Art model by patching individual parametric surfaces together to form a whole. The patching is intelligent; large surfaces are patched over flat areas and small surfaces over highly detailed areas. This conversion allows you to work with the Art model using Mastercam functionality that is not available in Mastercam Art.

Using Art Manager


Editing in the Art Manager You can use the Art Manager to:

Rename operations Change the Art base surface attributes Change the geometry that defines the surface boundaries Change parameters the define surface appearance

Right-click to access menuTitle: double-click to renameParameters: double-click to changeGeometry: double-click to change

Renaming surface operations You can rename surface operations to better describe the surface. In the preceding chapter, you changed the default element name from “Organic Surface – Sub” to “Dish – Sub”. Mastercam Art automatically adds the Application Style as a suffix to the operation name, “– Sub” in this example.

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Editing Art base surface attributes Right-click the Art base surface name, and then choose Attributes. The Change Art Base Surface Parameters dialog box opens to allow you to change parameters including, resolution, color, base size, orientation, and so on.

Editing Art surface operation geometry Double-click the surface operation Geometry to rechain the boundary geometry. The Chaining dialog box opens, allowing you to reselect the base geometry boundary in the graphics window.

Using Art Manager


Editing Art surface operation parameters Double-click surface operation Parameters to change the parameters that define the Art surface operation. The appropriate Surface Parameters dialog box opens

Tip: You change can change the cross section and the toolpath parameters here.

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The object of this challenge is to allow you to make changes on your own, without step-by-step directions. It is designed to give you a better understanding of the effect of modifications to surfaces created from identical geometry. Note the difference in each modification you create. Experiment as well with the grid size and shading tolerance.

A file named medallion c.mcx is provided for this exercise. You may use the file you created or use the one provided.

1. Start Mastercam Art and open the file named medallion c.mcx. 2. In the Art Manager, access the parameters for the organic Art

surface operation that was applied to the letter geometry. Change Adjust Ridge to Normal.

3. In the Advanced Organic parameters, set the Scale C-Section value to 200% and Regenerate.

4. For each new shape you create in steps 5-13, Save the file with a new name. (Suggest continuing with adding the next letter for the filename, medallion d.mcx and continue.)

5. Change Adjust Ridge to Angle Low and Regenerate. 6. Change Adjust Ridge to Angle High and Regenerate. 7. Change Adjust Ridge to Angle Radius and Regenerate. 8. Change Adjust Ridge to Arc High and Regenerate. 9. Change Adjust Ridge to Arc Medium and Regenerate. 10. Change Adjust Ridge to Arc Low and Regenerate. 11. Change Adjust Ridge to Parabola High and Regenerate. 12. Change Adjust Ridge to Parabola Low and Regenerate. 13. Change Adjust Ridge to Flat Sides and Regenerate.

The next chapter will lead you through more adjustments. You will perform several adjustments using the Art Manager and the Undo and Redo commands.

Reshaping Surfaces


7 Reshaping Surfaces

The geometry used in this chapter is a scaled-up copy of a necklace design. The design can be scaled down to make matching earrings. It is enlarged so that it can be cut easily by someone who is not experienced in cutting objects this small.

In this chapter, you will create a base surface and add three surfaces to the base. The added surfaces will overlap each other, requiring you to control the intersections. The examples will use common geometry to demonstrate how different Application Styles affect intersecting shapes. Surface intersections can be quickly and easily edited to produce different looks.

When you complete this chapter, you will be familiar with the following tasks:

Defining the Art base surface Creating and stacking base surfaces Stacking surface details - Celtic knot Modifying the Celtic knot – Model 1 Modifying the dish surface Modifying Celtic knot – Model 2 Reversing your changes

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Exercise 1 – Defining the Art base surface

You will use geometry provided for this exercise.

Initializing and opening the file 1. Choose File, New to initialize the screen and database. 2. Navigate to [C:\mcamx]\documentation\art tutorial parts\Celtic-

Blend.mcx. Choose OK.

3. Fit the geometry to the screen. 4. Choose Unzoom Previous / .5 from the toolbar. This will make

the part 50 percent smaller to give room on the screen for working around the part. Tip: Press [F9] to display the coordinate axes. This will verify the location of the part origin. Press [F9] again to clear the display.

Defining the art base surface 1. Choose Art, New Art Base Surface Rectangular. 2. In the Surface Extents section, verify that the Create Art Base

Surface by specifying 2 Points is selected. 3. Set the parameters to match the values as shown next. Make sure

to check Z-Limit and enter 0.500.

Reshaping Surfaces


4. Click the Lower Left Point X Y Position Select button. The

dialog box closes temporarily so that you can select the origin on the part. Select the lower left corner, shown as point 1 in the preceding picture.

5. Click the Upper Right Point Position Select button and select the upper right corner, shown as point 2 in the preceding picture.

6. Click OK when you complete the Art base surface definition. The ABS displays on the screen.

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Exercise 2 – Creating and stacking base surfaces

The original geometry is shown below left. A shaded graphic of the finished base surfaces is on the right. The intersecting organic surfaces are created on the plane in a later exercise.

Original drawing Base shaded surfaces

In this exercise, you will create an organic surface as a base for creating other surfaces. One surface forms a radius around the edge of the base. The base consists of two surfaces blended together to attain the desired shape.

Reshaping Surfaces


Note: In Chapter 8 you will learn a different method of creating a base using a Border & Plane surface

Creating the base’s edge surface 1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation.

2. The Chaining dialog box opens. Select Chain selection mode.

3. Select the lower left side of the outer circle as shown next.

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4. Click OK to indicate that chaining is completed. 5. Enter the following information in the Organic Surface

Parameters dialog box: Radius = 0.125 Application Style = Add Adjust Ridge = Arc High

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6. Verify that your settings match those shown above and click OK

to close the dialog box. 7. When the new surface has been created, choose Isometric Gview

and Fit. Tip: Pressing the Page up and Page down keys will scale the part up and down on the screen.

8. Press [Alt + S] to shade the part. The part should look like the following illustration.

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Base surface shaded

Note: Shading covers the whole base, including the surfaces and the flat part of the base.

9. Press [Alt + S] again to turn shading off. 10. Choose the Front Gview to view the depth (thickness) of the part.

Note that at this point that the top of the part is flat, but has a radius on the edge.

11. Choose Top Gview to begin adding the next surface to the base.

Creating a blended surface In this exercise, you will add the second organic surface to the base surface using the Blend Application Style. Blend will ignore the surface you just created and build from the base level up. The blended surface will seem lower than you might expect because it is not added on top of the base surface. The surface will be convex (creating a dome shape) and is defined by a parabolic cross section. The blended surface will complete the base. 1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation.

Reshaping Surfaces


2. Click the lower left side of the inside circle as shown next to chain.

3. Choose OK to indicate that the chaining process is complete for

this surface. 4. Choose the Convex Parabola cross section. 5. Enter the following information in the Organic Surface

Parameters dialog box: Width = 0.490 Height = 0.290 Application Style = Blend Adjust Ridge = Arc High

6. Open the Advanced Parameters – Organic dialog box and set Scale C-section to 350.

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7. Choose Zoom to Fit in the dialog box to view the entire parabola

in the Cross Section window. Check to verify that your settings match those shown and click OK twice to close both dialog boxes. The finished surface is displayed on the screen.

8. Right-click and choose Isometric Gview. 9. Press [Alt + S] to shade the part.

Reshaping Surfaces


Blended surface

10. Choose Front Gview to view the depth of the part. Notice that the part is not flat on top and has a radius on the edge, which is the desired effect.

Note: You can move a blended surface up by entering a positive number in the Base Height field. Entering 0.125 would lift the surface 0.125 above the base level; entering a negative number would lower it below the base level.

Blended surface, Front view

11. Choose Top Gview to begin adding additional details to the surface.

Note: Remember to save your file after you complete each operation.

Save the file 1. Choose File, Save As.

2. Enter (Your Initials) Celtic-Blend.mcx in the File name field. 3. Choose OK.

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Exercise 3 – Stacking surface details (Celtic knot)

You have completed the base surface. In this exercise, you will add the surface operations that create a Celtic knot. These operations are “stacked” on the top of the dome and on the top of the convex base surface.

Chaining the details 1. In the Art Manager, choose Hide Art Model to hide the surface

and leave the geometry visible.

2. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 3. Choose Chain selection mode. Begin chaining by selecting each

of the three contours inside the circle as shown next. Make sure all of the internal elements are highlighted (chained).

Note: If you chain multiple boundaries that intersect in a single operation, you will get a different effect than chaining and creating each element separately. In the following exercise, we will create the Celtic knot as individual elements.

Reshaping Surfaces


4. Choose OK to indicate that chaining is complete.

Setting the organic surface parameters 1. Enter the following information in the Organic Surface Parameters

and the Advanced Parameters – Organic dialog boxes: Radius = 0.156 Application Style = Add Adjust Ridge = Arc High Advanced Parameters, Scale C-section = 300

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2. Make sure your settings match the preceding illustration and click

OK twice to close both dialog boxes. 3. Change the view to Isometric. 4. Click the Hide Art Model button to redisplay the Art model. The

completed surface is displayed on the screen. Notice how the intersections are ignored (not puffed up). This occurs when intersecting boundaries are selected in a single chaining operation. See the following illustrations.

Reshaping Surfaces


Celtic knot surfaces, unshaded, intersections ignored


Celtic knot surfaces, shaded, intersections ignored

6. Press [Alt + S] again to turn shading off. 7. Right-click and choose Front Gview to view the depth of the

part. 8. Press [F9] to display the axes. Notice how the new surface with

the raised details conforms to the shape of the convex (domed) surface of the part.

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Celtic knot, front view, Application Style Add

9. Choose Top Gview to begin the next operation. 10. Save the file with a new filename. Choose File, Save As. Add

“1” to the end of the end of the filename. Type (Your initials) Celtic-Blend 1.mcx.

Exercise 4 – Modifying the Celtic knot – model 1

In this exercise, you will use the Art Manager to modify the Application Style of the part you created in the preceding exercise. You will modify the knot that protrudes from the part so that it is carved into the part.

Modifying the organic surface parameters 1. In the Art Manager, click + to expand the surface history tree if it

is collapsed.

2. Right-click each surface and choose Rename to rename them

Edge, Dome, and Knot respectively.

3. Double-click Parameters under Knot - Add. The Organic

Surface Parameters dialog box opens. 4. Change the Application Style from Add to Sub as shown next.

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5. Click OK to close.

Applying changes The red check mark on the surfaces in the Art Manager indicates that the Art model must be regenerated to apply the changes.

1. Click Regenerate. The part is regenerated. 2. Click Art Surface Grid Density.

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3. The Grid Density dialog box opens.

4. Verify that the Shading Tolerance is set to 0.0001 as shown

above. This setting improves the quality of the graphical representation of the shaded Art model. Shading tolerance affects the quality of the graphic display only. It does not affect the accuracy of the Art model. The shading tolerance minimum value is .00010.

5. Click OK. The Art model redisplays in the graphics window. 6. Right-click and choose Isometric Gview. Press [Alt + S] to

shade the part. It should look like the graphic shown next.

Celtic knot, Application Style Sub

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Compare this part with the previous one. Remember that with Mastercam X2 Art, the emphasis is the look of the part.

Celtic knot detail, Application Styles Add and Sub

7. Save the file.

Exercise 5 – Modifying the dish surface

In this exercise, you will use the Art Manager to disable and undo the domed base surface. This will leave the base surface with the flat top. The knot details will no longer conform to the domed surface; they will be on top of the flat base surface.

The procedures in this exercise are in a simple list form. If you have completed the previous exercises, you should be able to complete them without additional instructions. If you find you have trouble completing them, go back and repeat some of the exercises.

1. If it is collapsed, expand the Art model history tree.

2. Right-click the Dome surface and choose Suppress.

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3. Regenerate the part.

4. Change the Sub Application Style to Add on the surface named Knot.

5. Regenerate the part.

Celtic knot, Application style Add, flat base

6. View the part from the Front view. The finished part should look like the following illustration.

Celtic knot, Application style Add, flat base, front view

Reshaping Surfaces


Exercise 6 – Modifying the Celtic knot – model 2

In this exercise, you will open a file that contains a base surface. You will then add the Celtic knot details and modify the intersections using Application Styles. This will demonstrate the many ways to create different shapes from the same geometry.

The main difference between this example and the preceding one is in the way the geometry is selected. The knot will be created as three separate surfaces rather than as a single surface, which will have different effects on the intersections.

Initializing and opening the file 1. Select File, New to initialize. (Save your file, if you haven’t

already.) 2. Navigate to the file named Celtic-Blend Mod.mcx and Open the

file.

Creating the surface (Celtic knot, part 1) In this file, the Art base surface and the first surface operation are already complete. You will add the Celtic knot surface details for part 1. 1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 2. Select contour 1 as shown next.

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3. Choose OK. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens.

Entering the organic surface parameters You have been entering the surface parameters each time you created a surface. In this exercise, you will create the three sections that make up the knot using the same parameters. You will enter the parameters for the first surface, save, and then reuse them. 1. Enter the following information in the Organic Surface

Parameters and Advanced Parameters – Organic dialog boxes: Radius = 0.156 Base Height = 0.125 Application Style = Blend Adjust Ridge = Arc High Advanced Parameters, Scale C-Section = 300%

2. Click OK once to close the Advanced Parameters – Organic dialog box.

3. In the Organic Surface Parameters dialog box, choose Save as from the Presets drop-down list.

4. Enter Celtic, as shown next, and choose OK.

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5. Click OK. Surface segment 1 is now displayed on the screen.

Celtic knot, surface segment 1 (isometric and shaded)

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Note: For the remainder of this exercise, the part is shown in a shaded isometric view. Change to Top view, unshaded, as necessary for easier selection.

Creating the surface (Celtic knot, part 2) You will now add the Celtic knot surface details for part 2. 1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 2. Select contour 2 as shown next.

3. Choose OK. 4. Choose the Presets down-arrow, scroll down, and select Celtic

from the list. The Organic Surface Parameter fields are automatically populated with the saved information:

Radius = 0.156 Base Height = 0.125 Application Style = Blend Adjust Ridge = Arc High Advanced Parameters, Scale C-Section = 300%

5. Click OK to close the dialog box. Surface segment 2 is now displayed on the screen as shown next.

Reshaping Surfaces


Celtic knot, segments 1 and 2 (isometric and shaded)

Notice how the intersections blend with each other. Creating the surface elements separately produced this effect.

Creating the surface (Celtic knot, part 3) 1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 2. Select contour 3 as indicated in the graphic shown next.

3. Choose OK.

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4. Click the Presets down-arrow and again select Celtic. The Organic Surface Parameter fields are automatically populated.

5. Click OK to close the dialog box. Surface segment 3 is added and displays on the screen as shown next.

Celtic knot, segments 1, 2, and 3 (isometric and shaded)

Adding to the base surface In this exercise, you will add a second organic surface to the base surface. The surface will be convex (a dome) and will be defined using a parabolic cross section. This surface completes the base. 1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 2. Click the lower left side of the inside circle to chain as shown

next.

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3. Choose OK. 4. Enter the following information in the Organic Surface

Parameters dialog box: Dynamic Cross section = Convex Parabola Width = .400 Height = .290 Application Style = Add Adjust Ridge = Arc High Advanced Parameters, Scale C-section = 350%

5. Click OK twice to close both the dialog boxes. The completed surface is displayed on the screen.

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Celtic knot, all surfaces (isometric and shaded)

Comparing Application Styles You will use the Art Manager to rename the surfaces and apply different Application Styles so that you can make comparisons of the intersections and shapes of the surfaces. 1. Right-click and Rename each surface to 1, 2, 3, and Dome

respectively as shown next. Add and Blend will be added automatically to the names.

Reshaping Surfaces


Modifying the Application Style – Add-Cut The Add-Cut Application Style ignores the current surfaces, cutting through them, and builds the new element flat on the base floor. It can be lifted by using the Base Height parameter. 1. In the Art Manager, expand and double-click to open the

parameters for surface 3 – Blend. 2. Change the Application Style to Add Cut. Leave the remaining

parameters as they are. 3. Choose OK to close the dialog box. 4. Regenerate the Art model. The Art model should look as shown

next. Compare the differences in the two application styles.

Celtic knot, Application Style Add-Cut (surface 3 only)

Modifying the Application Style – Add-Cut-Trim Add-Cut-Trim adds the knot element to the base, cuts through the base shape, and then trims the knot element to the boundary of the base. 1. Expand and double-click to open the parameters for surface

3 – Add Cut. 2. Change the Application Style to Add Cut Trim. Leave the

remaining parameters as they are.

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3. Choose OK to close the parameters. 4. Regenerate the part. The part should look like the next picture. 5. Surface 3 “disappears” because it is trimmed to the other surfaces.

Celtic knot, Application Style Add Cut Trim (surface 3 only)

6. Change the Application Style for surface 3 – Add Cut Trim back to Blend and regenerate the Art model.

Modify Application Style – Sub 1. Double-click to open the parameters for Dome – Add surface. 2. Change the Application Style to Sub. 3. Choose OK to close the parameters. 4. Regenerate the part. The part should look as shown next. The

surface now has a concave shape.

Reshaping Surfaces


5. Choose File, Save As. 6. Name the file (your Initials) Celtic-Blend Mod.mcx.

Exercise 7 – Reversing changes

You have just been through a series of changes of the part. You may undo the changes in reverse order of their creation. In this exercise you will continue working in the Art Manager to undo the changes, and return the Art model back to its original shape.

Undoing changes

1. In the Art Manager, click next to Undo to open the action list as shown next.

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2. Double-click the last action performed on surface 3 - Blend to undo it. The part should look like the part shown next.

3. Continue undoing actions from the top until you have a part shaped

like the one shown next.

Redoing changes You have used Undo to make modifications to the part. You have changed your mind and want to get the part back to the following shape.

Reshaping Surfaces


1. Choose next to Redo to open the action list. 2. Double-click the top action on the list. The part should look like

the part shown next. Tip: Double-clicking Undo will undo one action at a time. The most recent action will be undone first. To undo more than one action at a time, open the list repeatedly and double-click on the desired action. Redo works the same way.

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In this exercise, use the knowledge you have gained to modify this model into what you consider beautiful, or try and imitate the following graphic as closely as possible.

The next chapter will focus on creating Border and Plane surfaces.

Integrated Design, Border and Plane Surfaces


8 Integrated Design, Border and Plane Surfaces

In this exercise, you will make a novelty chocolate mold with a nautical theme, a task that is usually considered expensive and time consuming. Without Mastercam X2 Art, creating artistic molds requires an experienced CNC programmer. Most CAD/CAM software does not facilitate this type of modeling. With Mastercam X2 Art, even a novice can create this mold.

Geometry Shaded model

For this exercise, a scanned (raster) black-and-white image of the design (a seahorse on a geometric base) is supplied. You will convert it to Mastercam geometry in vector format. You will export the finished model to the STL format so that it can also be used for advertising or Web images.

The new functions introduced in this chapter are: Border and Plane Surfaces – Creates two elements in one function: a surface border and a connecting plane. This function is excellent for creating a starting element or base. You will use it to create the base surrounding the seahorse.

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Trace Image – Rast2Vec – Converts a raster file to a vector file, which makes graphics from many sources available for use. (A library of vector designs is included with Art, the Classic Design Library.) You will use this function to convert the seahorse from raster to vector.

Create Texture – Adds a pattern or texture to a surface. Filter surfaces – Filters the elements in a surface.

In this chapter, you will add a sand texture to the top of the base surrounding the seahorse. After the base is created, you will add art (the seahorse) to the top of the Border and Plane surface. Instead of spending time drawing the seahorse, you will convert a scanned image.

When you finish this chapter, you will be familiar with the following tasks:

Converting a file with Trace Image Dragging to position Scaling geometry Working with levels Creating Border and Plane surfaces Creating the part’s base Using the Blend application style Smoothing surfaces Adding textures Modifying a texture Converting a part to a mold Setting Art base surface top to Z0 Exporting to STL format

Exercise 1 – Converting a file with Trace Image

In this exercise, you will open an existing Art file containing the drawing of the base of the Art model. You will convert a bitmap file of a seahorse to a Mastercam X2 Art file, scale it, and move it to the proper position on the base. Shown next is a graphical overview of the process.

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Initializing 1. Choose File, New to initialize the screen and database. 2. Choose File, Open, navigate to the Art tutorial part file named

Seahorse Base.mcx, and open it. 3. Fit the geometry to the screen. 4. Click Unzoom Previous / .5 to reduce the screen display by 50

percent.

Convert the file from raster to vector format 1. Choose Art, Trace Image - Rast2Vec to open the raster-to-

vector converter.

2. Choose Yes when asked if you want to merge new geometry:

Warning: If you choose No, all geometry on the screen is deleted.

3. The Open dialog box displays. If necessary, navigate to: [C:\mcamx]\documentation\art tutorial parts

4. Activate Enable preview and select seahorse1.jpg. A file preview displays in the right pane.



5. Choose Open. The Black/White conversion dialog box opens. 6. Click Linear Black/White conversion. 7. Move the Threshold slider bar to the center of the slider as

shown in the following illustration.

8. Choose OK. The Rast2Vec dialog box opens.

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9. Click Create outlines, and then choose Optimize for: Spline fit.

Spline fit converts the geometry to smooth splines that are connected. (Closed chains are very important in Mastercam X2 Art.) Rast2Vec also lets you convert raster files to lines, arcs, and splines.

10. Choose Spline Parameters as shown in the preceding illustration. The Spline Parameters dialog box opens.



11. Set the following options:

Note: If the icon is blue, the parameter is selected. Noise Filter – Removes any elements that are the specified size or smaller. Enter 4 to remove elements that are 4x4 pixels (16 pixels square) or smaller. Smooth – Instead of mapping each stair step of a slanted pixel edge, you can tell Mastercam to stand off the edge, thus smoothing the spline. Increasing the number will smooth the image more. Enter 3.000. Smooth Filter – Smoothes only elements larger than the specified parameter, which is useful if you have small text that you want to exactly map. Enter 5.000.

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Output Geometry Type – You can output lines, first order


splines (linear), second order splines (curve), and third order splines. Choose second order splines (the icon shown at left), which is the typical choice. Spline Tolerance – Determines how close the spline will map to mathematical edge. Enter 3.000. Spline Corner Break – Breaks the spline at the specified angle to eliminate very long splines that cause long calculation times. Enter 95.000.

12. Make sure your settings match those shown in the preceding illustration, and then choose OK to close the Spline Parameters dialog box.

13. Choose OK to close Rast2Vec dialog box. 14. Choose OK to generate the vectors and complete the function.

Choose OK in the Adjust Geometry dialog box, and then choose Yes to exit Rast2Vec. The following graphic displays on the screen.



15. Note that the converted seahorse image is much smaller than the base part. Right-click and choose Fit to expand the geometry to the screen. The seahorse is located in the lower left corner of the screen.

16. Right-click and choose Zoom Window. Click and drag a rectangle that extends from the lower left corner of the seahorse to the center of the part as shown next. This allows you to see the seahorse and the center of the base simultaneously.

After you click the second point, the graphic should look like the image shown next.

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Exercise 2 – Dragging to position

The seahorse has been converted into usable geometry. The next step is to move the seahorse geometry to the center of the base. In this exercise, you will use the Xform Drag function to position it.

Note: To place the seahorse in the exact center of the part, you can create a bounding box and translate (move) it to the center of the part. A bounding box creates a rectangle around the perimeter of the part and a point in the center. (See the Challenge at the end of this chapter for an example of this procedure.)

1. Fit the geometry to the screen. 2. Choose Xform, Xform Drag. The Drag ribbon bar displays.

3. Mastercam prompts you to select the entities you want to drag.

Click to set the first window corner point. Then continue to hold down the mouse button and drag to draw a window completely around the seahorse. Click again to set the second diagonal corner point of the window. The seahorse geometry is highlighted.



4. Press Enter to complete the selection. 5. In the Drag ribbon bar, choose Move.

6. Click the approximate center of the seahorse, drag it as close to

the center of the base as possible, and then press [Esc] to place it.

The seahorse geometry is now in position at the approximate center of the part.

Exercise 3 – Scaling geometry

In this exercise, you will use the Xform Scale function to make the seahorse larger so that it becomes the focus of the part.

1. Fit the geometry to the screen. 2. Choose Xform, Xform Scale. 3. Click and drag a selection window around the seahorse, clicking

again to set the opposite corner of the window 4. Press Enter to complete selection. The Scale dialog box opens. 5. Click Move to apply the scaling to the seahorse instead of

creating a copy of it at a new scale.

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6. Click the Define scaling reference point button to return to the graphics window so that you can select the reference point.

7. In the graphics window, click the approximate center of the

seahorse. The seahorse will be scaled about this point. 8. In the Scale dialog box, enter 8.5 for scale factor. Make sure the

other settings match those shown in the preceding picture, and then click OK. The result should look like the next picture.

Define scaling reference point



9. If the seahorse is not centered properly, use Xform, Drag to

move it closer to the center. 10. When satisfied with the location, save the file with the name

(your initials) Seahorse.mcx.

Exercise 4 – Working with levels

In this exercise, you will turn off the level where you created the seahorse to make surface selection easier.

1. Click Level in the Status bar to open the Level Manager.

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Click in the Visible column to turn visibility on and off.

A check indicates that the level is visible.

2. Click 3 in the Number column to make level 3 the Main level.

The entire row turns yellow. 3. Click All on to make all levels visible, indicated by a check

mark in the Visible column for all levels. 4. Click in the Visible column for number 1. This removes the

check and makes level 1 invisible. Do the same for level 5. 5. Choose OK. The seahorse and the border offset lines should not

display on the screen.

Exercise 5 – Creating Border and Plane surfaces

Border and Plane surfaces consist of two surfaces—a border (the outer ring in the next illustration) and a flat plane on the interior (the inner plane). You create a Border and Plane surface by selecting a single closed boundary (the purple circle geometry). This type of Art surface operation is often used to make a base on which to start an Art model.



The border surface is created on both sides of the chained geometry and is defined by a cross section. The plane is a flat surface created on the interior of the border surface. It may be moved up and down on the Z axis using the Height parameter. The Border and Plane function trims the two surfaces together.

Border and Plane surface, plane at Z=0 (bottom of border), border 8mm high

Border and Plane surface, plane at Z=4mm (half way up border), border 8mm high

Border and Plane surface, plane at Z=8mm (top of border)

In this exercise, you will create a Border and Plane surface to serve as a base. You will create other surfaces on top of the base in a later exercise.

The base is created from two Border and Plane surface operations. The first is shown below.

Border and Plane surface operation, shaded (1 of 2)

Creating the Art base surface Before you can add surface operations, you must set up the Art base surface.

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1. Choose Art, New Art Base Surface Rectangular. 2. In the Surface Extents section, verify that the Create Art Base

Surface by specifying 2 Points option is selected. 3. Set the parameters to match the values as shown below.

Lower Left XY = 0.0 Upper Right YX axis = 3.00 Z axis = 0.0 Color = 51

4. Click OK.



Creating Border and Plane surface 1 1. Choose Art, Create Border and Plane Art Surface

Operation. 2. Choose Single chaining method. 3. Select the left side of the circle as shown in the next illustration.

4. Choose OK. 5. The Border and Plane Parameters dialog box opens. Enter the

following parameters: Radius = 0.0625 Application Style = Add Build Shape to = Inside Plane Height = 0.0625

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6. Click OK to close the dialog box and create the surface. 7. Choose Isometric Gview. The part should look like the next

image when you Fit to screen.



Border and Plane surface operation, unshaded (1 of 2)

Note: This Border and Plane surface operation looks like an Organic surface. You could also use an Organic surface to create a base if the plane height is the same as the border height.

Creating Border and Plane surface 2

Border and Plane surface, shaded (1 and 2 of 2)

1. Choose Hide Art Model from the Art Manager. This hides the surface and leaves the geometry displayed, making it easier to see the geometry for chaining.

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2. Choose Art, Create Border and Plane Art Surface

Operation. 3. Choose Partial chain mode and begin chaining by clicking at

number 1 where indicated in the following illustrations. After you select the first entity, Mastercam prompts you to select the last entity.


4. Select the geometry at number 8, as shown in the following picture. When prompted to select the next branch point, choose 2, and then 3-7 until all eight arcs have been selected. The chain stops at each branch point. You tell it where to go next by clicking in front of the chaining direction indicator.

5. When all the arcs have been selected as shown, choose OK. 6. Enter the following information in the Border and Plane

parameters dialog box. Radius = 0.0625 Application Style = Add Build Shape to = Inside Plane Height = 0.0315


7. Click OK to close the dialog box and create the surface. 8. Click Hide Art Model again to toggle the setting and display

the surface. The part should look like the following image.

Note: Notice the differences between the first and second Border and Plane surface operations. In the second surface, the plane is lower than the border. You can adjust the plane height of a Border and Plane surfaces; you cannot adjust the Organic surface height.

Chapter 8


Border and Plane Surface, unshaded (1 and 2 of 2)

You have completed the Border and Plane surface operations for this Art model. Next, you will create an Organic surface on top of this plane.



Exercise 6 – Creating the part’s base

Border and Plane surfaces, Organic surface

This exercise will lead you through the process of creating Organic surfaces as part of the base for the chocolate mold.

Turning off levels Begin the process by turning off all the levels except level 2 and 5 to make the chaining process simpler. 1. Choose Level from the status bar. The Level Manager opens. 2. In the Number column, click level 2 to make it the Main level.

The row is highlighted yellow. 3. Click in the Visible column to turn off all levels except levels 2

and 5. 4. Choose OK.

Creating Organic surfaces 1. Choose Top Gview, and Fit to screen.

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2. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. 3. The chaining dialog box opens. Choose Area.

4. Select inside each section as shown next.

5. Choose OK.


6. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens. Enter the following information: Cross Section = Convex Parabola Width = 2.000 Height =0.03125 Application Style = Add Adjust Ridge = Parabola High Advanced Parameters, Scale Z = 400%


7. Click OK to close both dialog boxes and create the surface. Mastercam Art displays the part.

8. Choose Isometric Gview. 9. This is how the part should look once you use the Level Manager

to make all the other levels Visible.

Border and Plane surfaces, Organic surface

10. Save the file: (Your Initials) Seahorse surface.mcx. The base is now complete. The next exercise will add the seahorse details to the base.

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Exercise 7 – Using the Blend application style

In this exercise, you will add the seahorse surfaces to the base using the Blend application style, which was used in the Celtic knot project. The Add application style adds the new surface on top of the previous one and conforms to it. The Blend application style builds the surface on the base floor, which may be below the base surface, ignoring the surface that it is on top of. You can “lift” a Blend surface into position by using the Base Height parameter.

Turning on levels The seahorse geometry (on levels 1 and 2) must be made visible in order to create the surfaces. 1. Choose Level from the status bar to open the Level Manager. 2. Make levels 1 and 2 visible. 3. In the Art Manager, choose Hide Art Model. 4. Choose Top Gview. The part is displayed as shown next.



Creating the body outline surface

Border and Plane, base, and body surfaces

1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The Chaining dialog box opens.

2. Chain by clicking the seahorse outline as shown next. Select only the outer border.

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2

3. Choose OK to end the chaining process. 4. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens. Enter the

following parameter information: Cross Section = Convex Arc Radius = 0.0312 Base Height =0.200 Application Style = Blend Adjust Ridge = Angle High


5. Click OK to close the dialog box and create the surface. 6. Choose Isometric Gview and, in the Art Manager, click Hide Art

Model again. Mastercam Art displays the part.

Chocolate mold, unshaded, with seahorse using Blend application style




Seahorse outline using Blend application style

Notice that the seahorse body is flat and does not follow the organic surface contour because it uses the Blend application style. The 0.200 base height raised the seahorse above the base floor and through the organic base. After viewing the part, press [Alt + S] again to turn shading off.

Creating the main body surface

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1. Choose Top Gview. 2. Select Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 3. Chain by clicking the inside seahorse outline as shown next.


following parameter information: Cross Section = Convex Parabola Width = 0.250 Height = 0.125 Base Height = 0.156 Application Style = Blend Adjust Ridge = Arc Low Advanced, Scale C-section = 500%


6. Click OK to close both dialog boxes and create the surface. Mastercam Art displays the part as shown next.



Border, plane, body outline, and body surfaces, unshaded

7. Press [Alt + S] to shade the part. 8. After viewing the part, press [Alt + S] again to turn shading off.

The main body surface is complete. The next step is to create the fins on the seahorse using the Add application style.

Creating the fins

Chocolate mold project, shaded, including fins

Chapter 8

1. In the Art Manager, select Hide Art Model to remove the Art model from the graphics window display.

2. Right-click in the graphics window, and choose Top Gview. 3. Select Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 4. Choose Area. Click the inside fin outline as shown next.


following parameter information: Cross Section = Convex Arc Radius = 0.0625 Base Height =0.000 Application Style = Add Adjust Ridge = Arc Low Advanced, Scale C-section = 200%

7. Click OK to close both dialog boxes and create the surface.




8. Switch to an Isometric Gview. Click Hide Art Model in the Art Manager to add the Art model back to the graphics window display. Mastercam Art displays the part as shown next.

Chocolate mold project, unshaded, including fins

Fins, shaded and unshaded

9. Press [Alt + S] to shade the part. After viewing the part, press [Alt + S] again to turn shading off. The main body surface is completed. The next step is to create the outline of the eye.

Chapter 8


Creating the eye outline

1. Switch to Top Gview. 2. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The

Chaining dialog box opens. 3. Right-click and choose Zoom Window. Click and drag a window

around the eye area. 4. Chain by clicking the eye outline as shown next.

5. Fit the part to the screen. 6. Choose OK to end the chaining process.


7. The Organic Surface Parameters dialog box opens. Enter the following parameter information: Cross Section = Convex Arc Radius = 0.0156 Base Height =0.000 Application Style = Add Adjust Ridge = Arc Low Advanced, Scale C-section = 200%


8. Click OK to close both parameter pages and create the surface. Mastercam Art displays the part.

9. Change to an Isometric Gview and Shade the part. It should look like the illustration shown next.

Chocolate mold project, shaded, including eye outline

Chapter 8


Creating the eyeball

1. Switch to Top Gview. 2. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The


around the eye area. 4. Click the eye outline as shown next.



following parameter information: Cross Section = Convex Arc Radius = 0.0315 Base Height =0.000 Application Style = Add Adjust Ridge = Arc High Advanced, Scale C-section = 400%

7. Click OK to close both parameter pages and create the surface.


Mastercam Art displays the part.

Chocolate mold project, shaded, including eyeball

Creating the pupil When creating carved eyes, the pupil is generally created as a negative. You will create the pupil using the Sub application style.

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1. Choose Art, Create Organic Art Surface Operation. The


around the eye area. 3. Select Chain. Click the eye outline as shown next.


following parameter information:


Cross Section = Convex Arc Radius = 0.015 Base Height =0.000 Application Style = Sub Adjust Ridge = Normal

6. Click OK to close the dialog box and create the surface.


Mastercam Art displays the part.

Chocolate mold project, shaded, complete

Chapter 8


Exercise 8 – Smoothing surfaces

The seahorse would look better if it were smoother. In this exercise, you will use the Mastercam X2 Art’s Smooth function to modify selected surfaces in the Art model.

Following are illustrations of the model before and after smoothing.

Before smoothing After smoothing

1. Click Hide Art Model in the Art Manager to remove the Art model from the graphics window display.

2. Choose Art, Edit, Smooth.



3. The Chaining dialog box opens. Select chains as shown next.

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4. Choose OK. The Smoothing parameters dialog box opens.

5. Set the following parameters:

Smoothing Radius = 0.015 Scale Z (%) = 100% Smoothing Style = Arc Direction = Inside Application Style = Add Cut

Note: The Smooth function modifies only the chained surfaces. The Mastercam X2 Art Filters function smoothes all the surfaces in a part. In the Filters function, use the Round Edges option to smooth.


6. Click OK to close the dialog box. When you add the Art model to the graphics window, the shaded part should look like the following picture.



Note the differences in the part after smoothing. Smoothing makes the part easier to release from the mold and also makes it more visually appealing. This concludes part creation. The next step is to add a texture to the base around the seahorse.

Chapter 8


Exercise 9 – Adding textures

Use the functions in the Art, Create Texture menu to add different textures to existing Art surfaces. In this example, you will add the sand texture to the area around the seahorse.

Adding a texture to the Art surface

Chocolate mold project, shaded, with sand texture

1. Switch to Top Gview. 2. Use the Art Manager Hide Art Model option to remove the Art

model from the graphics window display. 3. Choose Art, Create Texture, Create Texture Sand Art Surface

Operation.



4. In the Chaining dialog box, choose Partial chain mode. Begin

chaining by clicking at number 1 as indicated in the following illustration. After you select the first entity, Mastercam prompts you to select the last entity.

Chapter 8

5. Select the geometry at number 8, as shown in the picture. When prompted to select the next branch point, choose 2, and then 3-7 until all eight arcs have been selected. The chain stops at each branch point. You tell it where to go next by clicking in front of the chaining direction indicator.

6. When promoted again to “Select the first entity,” click on the outline of the seahorse (chain 9). When prompted to “Select the last entity,” click the next line segment in a counterclockwise direction that is adjacent to the first line you selected. This final selection chains the outside boundary of the seahorse.

7. Choose OK to end the chaining process.

8. In the Sand Surface Parameters dialog box, enter the following values: Height = 0.020 Density = 10 Base Height =0.000 Application Style = Add


9. Click OK to close the dialog box and create the texture. When you unhide the Art model, Mastercam Art displays the part as shown next.



Chocolate mold project with sand texture

Zoomed detail of textured surface

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Exercise 10 – Modifying a texture

In this exercise, you will smooth the texture using the Filters function.

Before filtering After filtering

Smoothing the textured surface 1. Choose Art, Edit, Filters.


2. The Filter Parameters dialog box opens. 3. Choose Smooth and select 5 Pixels as shown next.


4. Click OK to close the dialog box. The part should look like the following image.

Chapter 8


Chocolate mold project, texture filtered

5. Compare the graphics of the textured surfaces shown next. Note the significant difference in the surfaces.

Before smoothing texture After smoothing texture

Exercise 11 – Converting a part to a mold

The previous exercises in this chapter focused on building a model that represents the part. The part is considered a positive image, but you must machine the mold as a negative. Next you will create a negative image of the project by mirroring the part in the Z axis.



Mirroring the part 1. Choose Art, Xform, Mirror/Rotate Active Art Base Surface.

2. The Mirror and Rotate Parameters dialog box opens.

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3. Choose Mirror Z and click OK. The Mirror & Rotate Parameters dialog box closes. The part should appear as follows.

Chocolate mold project, shaded, mirrored in Z

4. Right-click in the graphics area and choose Front Gview. 5. Press [F9] to display the axes. The part should look as shown

next. The Z0 location is now located at the bottom of the part.

Exercise 12 – Setting Art base surface top to Z0

In this exercise, you will move the Z0 plane to the top of the part. Placing Z0 at the top of the part is the commonly accepted standard and makes machining setup easier. When the customer receives the part, it will be ready for programming the toolpath.



Offsetting the part in the Z axis 1. Choose Front Gview. 2. Press [F9] to display the axes. You can easily see the Z0 position. 3. Choose Art, Xform, Set Active Art Base Surface Top to Z

Plane.

4. In the Set Active Art Base Surface Top to Z Plane dialog box,

choose Surface Top to. Then enter 0.000 as shown next.

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5. Choose OK to close the dialog box and move the part. The part should look as shown next. Remember that this is now the mold. The bottom of the part is now the top of the part.



Exercise 13 – Exporting to STL format

This exercise leads you through the process of exporting the file you just created to a STL format. STL files can be read by many different CAD and CAM systems.

1. Save the file using the name (Your Initials) Seahorse (Done or Fin for Finish).mcx. You now have two versions of the file—one file containing the base surface and another containing the whole part. Saving the base surface as a separate file allows you to reuse the base surface and add a different motif to it.

2. Choose Art, Export Active Art Base Surface. The Save As dialog box opens.

3. Save your file as Seahorse. The Export STL Parameters dialog

box opens.

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Note: If the filename you entered in Step 3 does not appear in this dialog box, click Browse and re-enter it. 4. Click STL CAD, and then click OK. You have saved your file as

an STL file. 5. Save the file using the name (your initials) Seahorse All.mcx. This completes the seahorse project.



Exercise 14 – Challenge: translating a bounding box

In this exercise, you will recreate the model using different methods of placing the part in the center of the base and creating a different texture.

Creating the bounding box 1. Open Seahorse Base.mcx, which contains the base geometry. 2. Use the Art, Trace Image – Rast2Vec function to import the

seahorse outline (seahorse1.jpg), using the same parameters as in Exercise 1.

3. Choose Create, Create Bounding Box.

4. The Bounding Box dialog box opens.

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5. Deselect All Entities to return to the graphics window where you

are prompted to select the entities to translate. 6. Drag a selection window around the seahorse geometry, and press

Enter to end the selection. 7. In the Bounding Box dialog box, choose Lines Arcs, Center

Point, and Rectangular. This will create a rectangle around the selected geometry and a point in the center.

8. Choose OK. The part should look as shown next.



Moving the seahorse to the center of the base

The process of translating geometry in Mastercam consists of the following basic steps:

Selecting the geometry to be moved (translated). Choosing the translation method. Entering a point to translate from, and a point to translate to.

To move the seahorse to the center of the base: 1. Choose Xform, Xform Translate. 2. When prompted to select the entities to translate, drag a selection

Window around the seahorse geometry. Then press Enter to end the selection.

3. In the Translate dialog box, choose Move.

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4. In the From / To section, click +1 to return to the graphics

window and select the position from where to move the selected seahorse geometry.

5. In the graphics window, select the seahorse bounding box center point that you created in the previous exercise.

6. When prompted to select the point to translate to, click the center point of the Art base geometry. Tip: Use AutoCursor to detect and snap to the center point.

7. When the Translate dialog box redisplays, choose OK. The part should look as follows.



10. Scale the seahorse geometry to fit inside the base. 11. Create the Seahorse surfaces. 12. Create a Weave Texture on the top of the base. 13. Save the file.

Chapter 8


Machining Practices

Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial A-1

A Machining Practices

This appendix provides introductory information about tooling, machining, and troubleshooting. This is introductory information and materials for those just beginning the machining portion of the CAD/CAM process. It is not intended to provide exhaustive information on any of the subjects it covers.

In this appendix, you’ll learn about:

Factors affecting cutting conditions Factors influencing feeds and speeds Tool selection Cutting Preparing to machine Cutting tools Chips Tool holders Workpiece/work holding Tool offsets Tramming the head Aligning the vice Locating part positions Machining stock square and parallel General “rules of thumb” Challenge

Factors affecting cutting conditions Three main factors affect cutting conditions: cutting speed (rotating speed), feed rate, and depth of cut,

Appendix A

A-2 Mastercam X2 Art Tutorial

Factors influencing feeds and speeds

Feed rate and cutting speed (feeds and speeds) are two important factors in efficient material removal using any type of cutting tool.

Many factors influence feeds and speeds: The condition of the cutting tool The type of cutting tool used The diameter of the cutting tool The type of material the cutting tool is made from The condition of the machine The type of material being machined The clamping method used to hold the stock on the CNC

machine The maximum and minimum speeds and feeds available on the

machine.

The Machinist’s Ready Reference by C.Weingartner (Prakken Publications, Ann Arbor, MI) provides tables to look up correct feeds and speeds for different materials and cutters. Most major tooling providers have digital feed and speed calculators on their Web sites. Search for “feed speed calculations” to obtain a list.

Machining Practices


Feed and speed recommendations

This chart offers speed and feed recommendations for generic materials. However, you should seek advice from a machinist or cutting tool specialist to select the best cutter, feed, and speed for your application. Incorrect speeds and feeds usually cause poor part quality and finish, and cause unnecessary damage to the cutter.

Recommended endmilling speeds and feeds

Speed (SFM) Feed (Inch/Tooth) for each Diameter Material Group

1/8 1/4 1/2 1

Aluminum and Alloys 800-1300 0.0005 0.0020 0.0040 0.0080

Brass/Bronze 250-400 0.0010 0.0020 0.0030 0.0050

Copper and Alloys 400-800 0.0010 0.0020 0.0020 0.0060

Malleable Iron 250-400 0.0005 0.0010 0.0030 0.0070

Magnesium and Alloys 1000- 1500 0.0010 0.0020 0.0040 0.0100

Hi-Temp. Alloys - Nickel Base

25-100 0.0004 0.0008 0.0010 0.0020

Monel - High Nickel Steels 200-250 0.0005 0.0010 0.0020 0.0040

Plastics - Glass Filled 350-600 0.0015 0.0030 0.0040 0.0120

Plastics 800-1600 0.0005 0.0030 0.0060 0.0150

Low Carbon Steels Annealed

250-400 0.0005 0.0010 0.0030 0.0070

Med. Carbon Steels 275-425 Bhn

125-300 0.0006 0.0015 0.0020 0.0050

Hardened Steels 48-52 Rc ``C"

30-100 0.0002 0.0005 0.0010 0.0030

Stainless Steels Soft 200-400 0.0005 0.0010 0.0020 0.0060

Stainless Steels Hard 60-250 0.0002 0.0005 0.0010 0.0050

Titanium (Soft) 150-400 0.0005 0.0010 0.0020 0.0080

Titanium (Hard) 50-200 0.0003 0.0005 0.0010 0.0040

Refractory Alloys 100-300 0.0005 0.0010 0.0010 0.0020

Appendix A


General guidelines for selecting cutting depth

To determine the depth of cut, you must first select the proper cutting tool, the proper machine, and a suitable setup. These guidelines are meant to suggest a starting point.

Generally, cutting depth should not exceed flute length Maximum width of cut should not exceed 2/3 x cutter diameter Foam plastic up to 10 x cutting edge diameter Plastic (acrylic, etc.) 1- 3 x cutting edge diameter Aluminum 0.5 - 1 x cutting edge diameter Steel 0.3 - 0.5 x cutting edge diameter Stainless steel 0.1 - 0.2 x cutting edge diameter

Machining Practices


Tool selection Use these guidelines when selecting a tool:

Match the tool to the material and application. Select a tool with the shortest cutting length that will cut through

the material. Use a tool with a diameter that will give the best rigidity based

on the desired feed rate. Select a tool that takes into consideration the part holding

method.

Cutting Peripheral and plunge milling are the most frequently used milling processes for cutting 3D parts.

In peripheral milling, the tool cuts a surface that is parallel to the end mill axis. Side and face milling are examples in the next picture.

In plunge milling, the tool sinks directly into the workpiece and moves directly through the workpiece along the center line.

The following graphic represents some of the common milling processes you might encounter in artistic productions.

Appendix A


Milling processes

Cutting direction and tool rotation Cutting direction and the direction the end mill rotates relative to the cutting direction also affect machining outcome. Direction of end mill rotation relative to cutting direction is described as either conventional cutting (up milling) or climb cutting (down milling).

Machining Practices


Climb versus conventional cutting In conventional (up) cutting, the end mill revolves opposite to the direction of the table feed (cutting direction). The flute (cutting edge) meets the workpiece at the bottom of the cut, so the width of the chip starts at zero and increases to a maximum at the end of the cut. In climb (down) cutting, the flute (cutting edge) meets the workpiece at the top of the cut, producing the thickest part of the chip first. Conventional cutting follows the chained geometry with the tool rotating in the same direction as the direction of travel along the cutting side of the tool. When using a right-hand tool, moving around a finished part counterclockwise would be considered conventional cutting, while a clockwise part path would be climb cutting.

In router applications, conventional cutting typically provides the best edge, assuming you have chosen the appropriate tool geometry to cut the specific material. This applies primarily to man-made board products. When cutting solid wood, multidirectional grain and patterns must be considered. It is usually necessary to climb cut. This limits the amount of chip the tool can remove at one time and reduces splintering. These are the main applications for climb cutting with a router.

Appendix A


Use conventional cutting wherever possible, utilizing combination geometry tools to reduce fuzzing and tearouts. Conventional cutting forces the tool to toss the chip away from the workpiece instead of pushing into the workpiece. Conventional cutting allows the chips to be tossed behind the tool, while climb cutting requires the chips be thrown in front and then run over, thereby creating more pushing of the workpiece due to preloading of the flute. When rough and finish passes are utilized, use a climb cut on the finish pass. However, when cutting metals, you should climb cut whenever possible. The inserts or flutes enter the cut at full feed per tooth, and exit as the chip thins to zero. In this situation, less heat is generated and work hardening of the surface of the workpiece is minimized. Inserts can easily take the forces generated. Properly designed free-cutting positive geometries are easier on the machine and won't shake the machine excessively. However, if you are machining thin walls, the setup is not very rigid, or the machine is overly worn, use conventional cutting.

Advantages of climb milling

Beginning chip thickness is large. Increased tool life. The chips pile up behind the cutter rather

than in front and can increase the tool life by 50 percent. Less costly fixture devices. Climb milling exerts a downward

force making it easier to hold. Improved surface finishes. Chips are less likely to be carried by

the tooth, reducing marring of the machined surface.

Machining Practices


Easier chip removal. Chips are tossed behind the cutter, resulting in faster and easier chip removal.

Decreased power requirements. A higher rake angle can be used on the cutting tool, resulting in lower power consumption. This is particularly applicable in smaller milling machines.

Low temperature (long tool life). Smoother surface finish.

Disadvantages of climb milling Rigid setup is required because the cutter pulls the workpiece

along. In routing, the material can be pulled out of your hands or the

fixture if not handled carefully.

Advantages of conventional (up) milling

Rigidity is not as critical because the cutter is opposed by the

feed of the work. Good for machining thin walled parts

Disadvantages of conventional milling Tends to cause more tool chatter. Surface finish not as smooth as climb milling. Workpiece or part can move up.

Note: When cutting slots, both climb and conventional milling methods are used.

Appendix A


Preparing to machine Before you can start machining on the milling machine, the part must be firmly attached to the machine table. In milling, setting up the workpiece is usually the most difficult part of the job. Setups require critical thinking. It is imperative that the part be fastened to the table and positioned so that the intended surfaces can be machined without obstruction. It is also important that the part is registered/squared using the correct features of the workpiece for positioning. When a setup is not properly planned and made, the part will probably end up as scrap.

Setup considerations

How a part (the workpiece) is fastened to the table and how far the cutter is extended from the spindle make up the majority of the setup. To ensure a higher quality cut, maximize the life of the tool, and minimize premature tool dulling and breakage, the part must be held securely during machining. The parts may be held by mechanical means or by vacuum devices. The rigidity of the setup should always be maximized for productivity and safety sake. When the tool is overextended and the part can only be clamped in a limited number of places, the depth of cut and the feed rate are directly affected. A higher metal removal rate is directly proportional to a more rigid setup. The closer the tool is to the support, the higher the metal removal rate.

The setup is clearly a very important consideration in the machining process. In order to machine effectively, there are several factors involved. It is important to consider each of the following for best performance results.

Machine capability

When machining, it is important to select the machine best suited for your particular part. It is important to understand the capabilities of the machine in order to properly program it and utilize its full potential. The machine must have the necessary rigidity to minimize spindle deflection and sufficient horsepower to perform at the recommended speeds and feeds to machine effectively and efficiently.

Machining Practices


About cutting tools When selecting a cutting tool (end mill) for the job, choose the shortest possible tool available with the largest diameter permissible and the shortest flute length as the depths of cuts and part geometry allow. Longer end mills have more overhang and consequently must have their feed rate reduced. Stub (short) length end mills have more rigidity and may have faster feed rates than extra long end mills of the same diameter. The differences in extra long and stub length may vary as much as 25 % in their feed rates.

End mill terminology

When choosing feeds and speeds, keep in mind the amount of chip room for the end mill you are using. Underestimating the importance of allowing room for the chips can lead to clogging (packing) and breaking the cutter. Proper chip room and its subsequent evacuation is a very important factor in successful cutting.

Appendix A


Criteria for the ideal cutting tool

The ideal cutting tool should be Sturdy enough to support and maintain its cutting edge Tough enough so that the cutting edge won’t erode quickly Tough so that the cutting edge won’t chip easily Large enough to carry away the heat generated during cutting

A tool’s most important part is the cutting edge. This is the part that actually does the work. A tool with more cutting edges will last longer because it has more edges to share the load and wear. A cutter that has two or more cutting edges runs truer than a single-flute cutter. The more cutting edges there are, the smaller the chips become, so you will get smoother surfaces. Therefore, selecting a cutter with the appropriate number of cutting edges is important.

Machining Practices


Choosing the right number of flutes

2-flutes

The flute extends to the center, allowing plunge cutting to an unrestricted depth. Plunging is aided by the large end-gashes that allow chips to exit easier. This design is also applicable to both square or ball ends.

Good results in roughing and in slot milling.

Also used for plunging and drilling in aluminum alloys and materials with long chips.

Allows for maximum chip volume and is used for plunge milling, roughing of slots, or peripheral milling.

3-flutes

One end-flute extends slightly beyond the center and permits plunge cutting to desired depth. The clearance gashes at the center facilitate chip flow and allow it to be resharpened several times without regashing.

Excellent choice for slot milling and “ramping” in ferrous materials and heat resistant alloys.

Less vibration and a straighter plunge cut than 2-flutes.

It has more chip room than a 4-flute and allows higher material removal rates.

It is more rigid and less likely to "walk" in the cut.

3-flutes provides for reduced deflection also improves tool life and workpiece finish.

Recommended for aluminum.

Appendix A


4-flutes (center cutting)

Two-flutes extend to the center allowing plunge milling to unrestricted depth. The alternate teeth are partially cut away to allow a less restricted flow of chips. This also facilitates resharpening. This design is applicable to square or ball end and also 6- or 8-flutes.

Universal geometry, used for side and face milling and peripheral milling.

High tool rigidity due to the larger web diameter.

4-flute end mills are stronger than either the 2- or 3-flute designs.

Limited chip volume area restricts stock removal rates and deep plunge cutting is not recommended.

4 + flutes (cleared center)

The internal chamfer on the center hole is cleared and allows plunge milling to the depth of the chamfer only. The end teeth are long to accommodate a large corner radius or chamfer when required. This design is also applicable to 6- and 8-flutes.

Used mainly for finishing - good surface finish.

Allows a higher feed rate.

Smoother cut because there is always a tooth in contact with the workpiece material.

Cutter types

Following is a sampling of some of the miniature cutters and engraving tool types that lend themselves to cutting intricate 3D shapes. Each of the types shown is available with a 0.250 or smaller shank, and can be used in miniature milling machines.

Machining Practices


Cutter types

Plastic cutting end mill

Spherical ball end

Taper with flat end

High Helix for Stainless

Gravers

Extra long reach

Miniature ball nose

Runner cutter

Abrasive plastic cutter

Taper with radius

Engraver for stainless

Engraver for acrylic

Ball end runner cutter

Conical carbide engraver

Carbide blanks

Appendix A


Die sinking end mill

Diamond end mills for nonferrous materials

Profiling end mill

Undercutting end mill

Extended reach rougher

Clearance cutter

Indicators of tool wear

These are all indicators that the tool needs to be resharpened or replaced: Burrs on the upper edges of the workpiece A change in chip color from white to gray, black, or blue A dimensional change in the workpiece Noise and or smoke suddenly generated at the point of cut

When does an end mill need to be resharpened?

The following conditions are some of the indicators that the end mill needs to be resharpened.

When the dimensions cannot be held. When it begins to make strange noises and smoke appears. When the chips start to change colors, (especially to a blue color

when machining steel). When excessive burrs appear on the edge of the workpiece. When the surface finish quality on the workpiece decreases. When motor ampermeter level increases.

Machining Practices


Tools used in Mastercam X2 Art A tool profile is geometry that describes the shape of a tool. Art has a variety of predefined cutter shape tool profiles. You may create your own special profile if desired. Mastercam uses the tool profile to simulate a tool in Backplot and Verify. Mastercam provides a tool profile for each tool type shown in the Tool Type tab of the Define Tool dialog box.

Art’s predefined tool types

When you use one of Mastercam’s tool types, you can change the dimensions of the tool to customize it, and Mastercam scales the profile so that cutter compensation is displayed correctly in Backplot and Verify.

The predefined tool types are as follows:

♦ End mills, flat, ball nose, bull nose

♦ Face, radius, chamfer, slot, taper, dove, lollipop mills

♦ Drill, center drill, spot drill ♦ Taps, right and left hand

♦ Reamers ♦ Boring bars

♦ Counterbore ♦ Countersink

♦ Brad point drill ♦ Engrave tool

Appendix A


About chips It is important to clear chips from the cutting area immediately to avoid packing and clogging. Re-cutting chips dulls the cutter prematurely and can affect the surface finish of the part.

Warning: Metal chips from machining operations are very sharp and are a serious hazard. They should not be handled with bare hands. Gloves should be worn for handling chips. Do not attempt to remove chips while the machine is running.

Machining performed on various machine tools produces chips of three basic types: the continuous chip, the continuous chip with built-up edge on the tool, and the discontinuous chip.

Continuous chips with a built up edge still look like a long ribbon, but the surface is no longer smooth and shining.

Machining Practices


Continuous chips

Continuous chips are not always desirable, particularly in automated machine tools, because they tend to get tangled around the tool, and the operation has to be stopped to clear away the chips. Continuous chips are less likely to form if the workpiece is brittle. However, a continuous chip usually results in a good surface finish. The optimum kind of chip for operator safety and producing an acceptable surface finish are shaped like a “9” and are usually produced with a chip breaker. The following chip is considered to be the perfect or ideal shape.

Built-up edge chips (BUE)

BUE in a common problem caused by the workpiece material sticking to the face of the tool and often leads to chipping of the tool cutting edges. The BUE consists of layers of material from the workpiece that are gradually deposited and welded to the tool. The BUE eventually breaks off but usually leaves a streak on the part. It is most likely to form when the workpiece is highly plastic (gummy or stringy).

BUE is caused by low surface feet-per-minute or poor shearing action of the workpiece material. The workpiece material is adhering to the surface of the tool possibly due to improper insert geometry or to the inherent attraction of the work material to the insert or possibly its coating. A rough microfinish on the face of the tool promotes BUE. It is also caused by a coolant’s improper characteristics and/or its application.

In general, BUE can be reduced by: Increasing cutting speed Decreasing feed rate Increasing ambient workpiece temperature Increasing rake angle Reducing friction (by applying cutting fluid)

Appendix A


Discontinuous chips

The discontinuous or segmented chip is produced when brittle metal, such as cast iron or hard bronze, is cut. Discontinuous chips consist of segments that may be firmly or loosely attached to each other. Some ductile metals can form a discontinuous chip when the machine tool is old or loose and a chattering condition is present. It can also happen when the tool form is incorrect.

Interpreting chips

Machining Practices


Your chips are telling you a story. They are reporting your cutting conditions, providing you have learned to read them. It is important to monitor the chips while machining because they can contain information about your cutting conditions. For instance, needle shaped chips, chips that have several colors, or irregular shaped chips are indicative of improper cutting conditions. These conditions are indicative of inefficient cooling, a dulling tool, or excessive vibration.

A good understanding of these relationships leads to a prediction or expectation of the chip condition for a particular operation. Basing your adjustments upon this feedback can help provide better control over surface finishes.

All milling chips should be basically the same color for similar cuts. For instance, a deep blue chip (in steel) indicates extreme heat. The following refers to milling operations.

Chips formed from milling are spiral shaped. An end mill produces an interrupted cut and governs the chips

length. The tool diameter and width of cut controls the chip length. The larger the tool, the longer the chip. A chip’s width depends on the depth of cut. A chip’s thickness is directly related to the combination of feed

per tooth and the width of cut. Milling chips should have a regular and consistent shape.

Chip thickness (chip load)

Chip load is defined as the thickness of the chip removed. Chip thickness is an important factor affecting tool life in milling operations. A very thin or feather-edge chip dulls the cutting edges much faster than a thick one. The chip thickness is controlled by the size and relative location of the cutter and workpiece. It is also affected by the feed per tooth.

To show the relation of the chip thickness to the cutting process, look at what happens at the cutting edge:

A chip is being removed from the part.

Appendix A


The RPM of the spindle and the feed rate of the tool are controlling the size and thickness of the chip.

The chip load is equal to the amount of material cut by one single edge during one revolution of the cutter.

The cutting action produces heat and the most effective way to remove heat is to have it removed with the chip.

Note: The total chip load is the same on multi-flute cutters except that the chip load is equally spread over the number of flutes. More flutes create less chip load per flute.

To increase chipload

Increase feed rate Decrease RPM Use fewer flutes

To decrease chipload Decrease feed rate Increase RPM Use more flutes

Note: Chip load in wood and wood byproducts should be in the range of 0.014 to 0.030 inch, with the theoretical optimum being somewhere in the middle. Remember these values are only a starting point. They may require adjustment based upon specific conditions or individual requirements

Tool holders The appropriate holder must be selected for each tool used for machining. It is important that tool holders and collets provide good concentricity between tool and machine spindle. If not, tool life will be shortened considerably.

Machining Practices


Note: Always be sure the surface of the collet is clean and burr free before inserting it into the machine.

Note that some tool holders utilize a collet, while in others the tool shank is inserted directly into the holder. Tool holders that use collets allow you to hold a variety of cutter sizes in a holder. An endmill holder holds only one size shank. Some collets are inserted directly in the machine’s spindle, while others are inserted into a chuck that is then inserted into the spindle. Following are examples of some tool holder configurations available:

Following are examples of the different types of collet assemblies. This will allow you to see how the end mills are held during machining.

Appendix A


Collet types

Tool holder with endmill

Mounting and removing the endmill You will mount the tool in the holder as part of the setup for machining.

Machining Practices


1. When handling an end mill, hold it with a shop rag to avoid

injury. 2. After loosening the collar, remove the end mill. Be careful when

loosening the collar to not let the end mill drop on the workpiece. This can damage both the end mill and the part.

3. After the collar is loosened, if the end mill does not easily drop out, tap on the side of it with a soft faced hammer.

4. After it is removed, clean the collet and insert the next cutter. Do not forget to use a rag to handle the cutter especially if it is a larger cutter.

5. Tighten the collar and continue machining. The holder depicted is a quick change type and it can be tightened adequately by hand for most machining tasks.

.

Appendix A


Workpiece/work holding Before you can begin the chip-making process on the milling machine, the workpiece (part) must be fastened to the machine’s table. Frequently in milling, the setup is the most difficult part of the job. Without proper fixturing, you will break more tools, produce more scrap and tasks will take longer to complete than necessary. To make a good setup, the operator must understand the types and proper uses of the work holding devices.

Fixturing types

There are several different approaches to fixturing. Some of the basic methods are explored next.

Adhesives

Adhesive fixturing uses double-sided tape of various sizes and strengths to hold the workpiece in place. This type of setup can be quick and cheap. The disadvantage is that is can be very hard to remove the workpiece when finished. Cleanup is also problematic.

Glues

Another method is to use the many different types of glues available. There are glues and compounds formulated specifically for holding parts during machining. This has virtually the same disadvantages and problems as using tapes. Smaller and thinner parts are sometimes destroyed while trying to remove or to clean after machining.

Clamps

Clamps are a popular method of holding parts during machining. During production machining, they are especially popular. There are many clamp configurations commercially available. The disadvantage is in keeping out of the way of all moving parts of the machine, including the cutter.

Machining Practices


Mechanical

The most common approach is to use mechanical fixtures. This category includes vices. Some mechanical fixtures require more upfront planning than any of the other methods. Following are examples of different devices for holding the workpiece on the machine. This is just a few of those available and is by no means intended to be an all-inclusive list.

Appendix A


Machining Practices


Regardless of how the parts are held, your end product will be no more accurate than your setup. Consequently, the setup of both the machine and the part are very important considerations in the machining process.

Example of setup with correct placement of clamps and parallels

Appendix A


Make sure the table is clean and free from burrs before clamping the part in the vice or directly to the table. When clamping a workpiece to the table or on parallels, the placement of the clamps is important. If the stud is placed too far back, clamping pressure is greater on the step block than on the workpiece. Following are examples of right and wrong setups.

Stud too close to step block

Clamp too low in back

Parallels placed too close to the center cause the workpiece to bow.

Machining Practices


No support under the area where workpiece is clamped.

No parallels under the part

Part not centered in vice

Part too far up in the vice.

Seating the part Before you put the part in the vice, make sure it is clean and free of burrs. To seat the part in the vice, hit the part with a dead blow hammer to seat it all the way down on both the parallels. Tighten the vice by hand; do not hit the handle with a hammer to tighten.

Appendix A


Tool offsets The Z0 position must be set for each tool used by the program before beginning to machine. The Z0 position tells the program where the end of each cutter is located in relationship to the part. Follow the directions specific to the machine controller you are using for this procedure.

Machining Practices


Tramming the head

A milling machine cannot machine a parallel surface unless the head is precisely aligned with the table. The process of aligning the head and table is called tramming, also referred to as squaring the head. To tram the head means to locate the spindle exactly 90° to the table. Accuracy is achieved by using a test indicator. Tramming must be done on machines with heads that can be rotated.

Tip: Prior to using a test indicator, use a machinist’s square to get the head roughly aligned. This makes the process easier and quicker to complete.

Rough alignment 1. Begin by placing a machinist’s square on the mill table. 2. Slide the square to the quill in the X direction. 3. As the square and quill come together, look for a gap between the

quill and square. 4. Begin rotating the head until the gap is closed. Snug the bolts at

this time. This is demonstrated in the following graphics.

Appendix A


5. When the gap is closed in the X direction, repeat the process in

the Y direction. When the gap is closed in both directions, the head is roughly aligned. You are now ready to precisely tram the head.

Tramming considerations

Consider the guidelines in this section when tramming the head. The next illustration defines terms.

Machining Practices


How far you place the indicator from the spindle influences the accuracy of the setup. As an example, a reading of + .001 over 8 inches is more accurate than +.001 over 6 inches.

The greater the distance between the indicator and the spindle, the greater the skill required to get a zero indicator movement from each sweep.

When adjusting the swivel and knuckle, leave a little tension on the clamping bolts. This will help prevent the head from moving when you fully tighten these bolts.

Move half-way to zero for tramming right to left. For tramming front to back, zero at the back and move the head

past indicator zero when at the front. The indicator movement is roughly twice the error. The pivot point in the Y direction is not in the center of the spindle as illustrated next.

Tramming the head with an indicator Following is an overview of the process. 1. Mount the indicator on a bent rod or indicator holder.

Appendix A


Indicators and holders

2. Position the machine about an inch in from the edge of the table. You should be able to rotate the indicator 360° on the table.

3. You may use parallels or 1-2-3 blocks to slide under the indicator

for the reading or use the table alone.

1-2-3 blocks

Parallels

4. Tighten the knee-lock clamp on the machine saddle.

Machining Practices


5. Set zero on the indicator and sweep the indicator to the opposite end. The indicator reading will change as you sweep from left to right.

6. Move to the left and set the indicator reading to zero.

Sweep right Sweep left

7. Use a dead blow or rubber hammer to tap on the head until the indicator moves approximately halfway back to zero.

8. Adjust the head in the X axis to get zero readings at both positions

from left to right. Sweep back to the other side again and repeat the above steps until the indicator reads zero on both ends.

9. Retighten the four bolts that hold the head in the longitudinal rotation direction and test once more.

10. Now swing the indicator to the front position, and adjust the knuckle joint in the Y-axis to get zero readings from front to back.

Appendix A


Front to back

Note: It is harder to get the head into position from front to back (Y) than in left to right (X). This is because the pivot point is not as centered as in the Y direction as it is in the X direction.

Machining Practices


11. At this point the head is closely aligned. When the indicator reads within + 0.001 in all four directions, the head is aligned in both axes.

12. Finish tightening the bolts and double check to confirm that no movement occurred during the final tightening.

There are devices available to place directly on the machine table to aid in tramming as shown. With this device, the mill can be trammed without moving the vice. The round parallel has an advantage over the table, 123 blocks, or parallels because it is an uninterrupted surface.

A solid surface is easier on the indicator and gives a more accurate reading.

You are ready to proceed to the next process, aligning (squaring) the vice with the table travel.

Aligning the vice

The process of aligning the vice with the longitudinal travel of the machine is also referred to as squaring the vice. Before squaring, remove all the burrs and clean the table and vice.

1. Loosen the locknuts on the vice about one-half of a turn and swivel the vice until the index line on the base is lined up with the 90-degree mark. Tighten the left nut and snug the right one. You need to keep one side in place but allow the vice to swivel around the other stud.

Appendix A


2. Attach the test indicator on its holder and mount in the mill spindle. Orient the spindle and adjust the indicator to the back (solid) vice jaw.

3. Adjust the table until the indicator is placed near the left end of

the back vice jaw. Raise the table until the indicator tip is roughly ¼ inch below the top of the jaw.

4. Change the machine into back gear so that the spindle will not

easily turn. Use the table crossfeed to move the table until the indicator needle moves roughly one quarter of a revolution. Set the indicator bezel to zero, taking care not to rotate the spindle.

5. Move the table in the X direction until the indicator is located at

the right end of the vice jaw. Compare the readings on both ends of the jaw.

Machining Practices


6. Note which end the indicator reading is higher. Use a dead blow

hammer to adjust the vice one-half the difference between the two readings. Tighten the right nut.

7. Rotate the bezel to set the indicator reading back to zero. Move the table back and forth, taking care not to run the indicator off the ends of the vice jaw, and check the indicator reading.

8. If there is any difference between the indicator readings between the left and right ends when moved, repeat the process from step 4 until both readings are the same.

Locating part positions

Regardless of how the part is secured to the table, you must tell the machine control where the part is located. This procedure is called setting the part zero or locating the home position. Once the part is tightened in the vice, put the edge finder in the spindle. The rightmost picture below displays the edge finder held in a drill chuck.

Edge finders

Appendix A


Setting part zero

1. Turn the spindle on in a clockwise direction. Do not exceed 1800 RPM.

2. Bring the edge of the part to touch the side of the edge finder.

3. The edge finder will initially wobble and begin to run true as you touch the edge.

4. Watch for the edge finder to suddenly move off-center and stop immediately.

5. Record this reading. The edge of the part is now ½ the diameter of the edge finder away from the center of the spindle.

Note: The working end of an edge finder is typically either .200 or .500 diameter.

6. Enter this value in the control and repeat the process for the Y axis.

Locating a point A rough method for quickly finding a location is by using a wiggler. This method is capable of finding a location within .003.

1. Mount the body in the spindle and center the probe with your fingers. Make sure there is nothing in the area that the pointer could strike. Turn spindle on at approximately 1000 RPM. The pointer will spin off center making a large diameter as depicted in the following graphic.

Machining Practices


2. Use a piece of wood or a pencil to push on the spinning pointer.

Slowly and gently press toward the spindle. The pointer will move to the actual center of the spindle. It will look as if it is not spinning.

3. The wiggler is running aligned with the spindle. Move the axis to

align the spindle to the desired location. This could be a centerline or the edge of a part.

4. Enter the location of the center of the spindle in the control.

Repeatability

One of the challenges in making setups entails accuracy as well as repeatability. When multiple parts are required, a stop may be used to locate the part in the same position. A stop attached to the table may be used in a vice or fixture. The shape of the part and the method of holding dictate the type of stop used. Following are a couple of examples.

Appendix A


Stop attached to vice jaw

Stop attached to table

Machining square and parallel

One of the most important aspects in machining is considered to be learning the process to machine square and parallel. A specific sequence of operations must be followed to machine the sides square with one another.

Squaring a part The process begins by machining the largest side first. 1. Set the part in the center of the

vise with the largest side up and tighten the vice securely with the part tapped down on the parallels.

2. Machine side 1. Remove the part from the vice and remove the burrs.

Machining Practices


3. Place side 1, (the first machined surface) against the solid jaw of the vice. The part is rotated 90 degrees.

4. Tighten the vice, seat the part, and machine side 2.

5. Remove the part from the vice and remove the burrs. Place side 2 against the solid jaw of the vice. The part is rotated 90 degrees.


7. Remove the part from the vice and remove the burrs. Place side 3 against the solid jaw of the vice. The part is rotated 90 degrees.


Tips for machining a part square: Start with the largest side or surface first. This establishes a

base surface. Position the side just machined against the solid jaw to machine

the next side. (Rotate the part 90 degrees for the next cut.) Deburr the part before putting it in the vice. Make sure the part is seated on the parallels before machining.

Appendix A


A part can be square and not parallel. This can happen when a part is not properly seated down against the parallel or vice.

Machining Practices


General “rules of thumb” The rule of thumb is the depth of cut should not exceed 1/2 the

diameter of the cutter for a plain high-speed endmill. If drill depth exceeds 3 diameters, reduce speed and feed for

carbide drills. Maximize the feedrate and the depth of cut while leaving the

R.P.M in the calculated range. When maximizing the depth of cut, use a slower feedrate with

an acceptable chip load factor. If the feedrate needs to drop below an acceptable chip load,

decrease the depth of cut instead. Too low of a feedrate will prematurely dull the endmill. Milling cutters with fewer teeth will allow a greater depth of

cut. Fewer teeth will allow for larger teeth on the tool and therefore

more chip clearance. The greater the rigidity of the setup, the higher the metal

removal rate. Use cutting fluids whenever possible. Cutting fluids serve to dissipate heat. When a smooth accurate finish is needed, always take a

roughing and a finishing cut. Heat is the tool’s biggest enemy. Excessive depth of cut will result in tool deflection. On nonferrous metal, lubrication can be more important than

cooling.

Appendix A


Challenge Read this chapter and answer the following questions.

1. What is wrong with the two setups shown next?

Setup 1

Setup 2

2. What is the cutting speed and feed per tooth for soft stainless steel?

3. Name three things that increase chip thickness. 4. Study the setup and discuss what is right and wrong about it.

5. Explain why this is not a good setup. 6. Explain the difference in climb and conventional cutting.

Machining Practices


7. From the following setup, determine whether the part could be

machined square or parallel or both.

8. Explain how a part may be parallel but not square. 9. Using the vice and parallels shown, could the part be setup better

for machining the top (in red) of the part?

10. Name two situations when climb milling is preferred.

Appendix A


11. Name two situations where conventional milling is preferred. 12. Why is it easier to tram the X axis than the Y axis? 13. Study the following endmills. Which is best for:

1. Plunge cutting? 2. Milling aluminum? 3. Milling plastics? 4. Rough milling?

14. What type of cutting is depicted in the following graphic?

Machining Practices


15. Identify three causes and solutions for breakage of endmills. 16. What are the three major factors that influence cutting conditions? 17. What information about the cutting conditions can be gained by

reading the chips?. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

18. In order to rough tram the head of a mill, use a ____________________________________________________.

19. In order to precisely tram the head of a mill, use a ____________________________________________________.

20. The greater the rigidity of the setup, the higher the metal removal rate. True or False?

21. Making the _________________________ is usually the most difficult part of machining.

22. Name four criteria for the ideal cutting tool. ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

23. The ideal chip is shaped like _____________________________________________________

24. The process of aligning something with the longitudinal travel of the machine is also referred to as __________________________.

25. Which endmill has more room for chips? __________________ 2-flute or 6-flute

Appendix A


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