The Document Default and Current Document Tabs

Units

The Units group controls what type of units values are used in the software. Select from one of the following options: Millimeter, Centimeter, Decimeter, Meter, Inch, Custom. When Custom is selected, in the 1 Unit is box, type the equivalent value in millimeters for the custom unit.

Settings

• Dialog Digits - controls how many digits are displayed, in any dialog box, to the right of the decimal point.
  
  
• Standard Coordinates (X,Y,Z) - sets the CAD functions to list coordinate values using (X,Y,Z).
  
  
•  Lathe Coordinates (Z,X,Y) - causes the CAD functions to list coordinate values using lathe mode (Z,X,Y).
  
  
  • Radius Mode - sets the CAD functions to use radius values.
    
    
  • Diameter Mode - causes the CAD functions to use diameter values instead of radius values.
    
    

Colors

The color group displays all of the items for which a default color can be assigned. To change a color, highlight a particular item, and click the down arrow next to the color sample to launch the Color Selection dialog.

• Background - sets the background color of the graphics area.
  
  
• Selection - sets the color of an entity when it is selected in the graphics area.
  
  
• Highlight - sets the color of an item, that can be selected, when the pointer is over the item.
  
  
• Preview - sets the default color that is used to show the CAD preview.
  
  
• Entity - sets the default color used for new entities that are created.
  
  
• Solid - sets the color of solid entities.
  
  
• Dimension/Text - sets the color of dimensions.
  
  
• Axis - sets the color of the X and Y axes (Show Axis).
  
  
• UCS Plane - sets the color of the User Coordinate Systems.
  
  
• Toolpath - sets the default color of the computed toolpaths.
  
  

Note: Solid, Dimension/Text, and Toolpath all have available check boxes which are selected by default. With the check box selected, the colors assigned to these items will be adhered to regardless of whether layer attributes are being used in the Layer Manager. In order to have these items conform to the colors being used when the Layer Attributes option is selected, clear the check box. See The Layers topic for more information on the Use Layer Attributes option.

Axis X - Y 

• Show Axis
  
  - With this check box cleared, the X and Y axes will not be displayed in the graphics area.
  - With this check box selected, the system displays the X and Y axes in the specified color.
  
  
• Show Gnomon
  
  - With this check box cleared, the gnomon will not be shown.
  - With this check box selected, the gnomon for the World Coordinate System will be displayed in the graphics area.
  
  
  • Number of Tick Marks - sets how many unit lines are displayed along each axis.

Quality

• Selection Area - controls the area of selection for the cursor. Moving the slider to the left reduces the picking area of the cursor, and moving the slider to the right increases the picking area of the cursor.

Tip: Moving the slider to the far right increases the amount of memory consumed for rendering images in the graphics area. This may result in stuttering movement when the view zoom, pan, and rotate functions are used. This function does not change the real surface quality, it only adjusts the display to save memory. With the slider all the way to the left, a round surface is still round though it may not appear to be.

• Selection Area - controls the area of selection for the cursor. Moving the slider to the left reduces the picking area of the cursor, and moving the slider to the right increases the picking area of the cursor.

Solids Wireframe Line

• Thicken Exterior Line
  
  - With this check box cleared, the system displays interior, and edge lines, normally.
  - With this check box selected, the system displays thicker interior and edge lines than the normal display.
  
  
  • Line Brightness - controls the brightness of the interior lines displayed on surfaces and solids. Moving the slider to the right increases the brightness of the interior and edge lines, while moving the slider to the left decreases the brightness.

UCS Plane Display

• Transparency - controls the opacity of the UCS planes in the graphics area. Moving the slider to the right makes the UCS planes more transparent, while moving the slider to the left makes the UCS planes more opaque or solid in color.

Orthogonal View

• Perspective Distance - controls how far away from the part the view is, for an orthogonal view.

Selection

• Selection Area - controls the area of selection for the cursor. Moving the slider to the left reduces the picking area of the cursor, and moving the slider to the right increases the picking area of the cursor.

CAD Tolerances

• System - sets the default CAD tolerance.
  
  
• Chain Select - sets the largest distance between two entities that is acceptable when selecting a chain.
  
  

Snap Increment

Snap Increment acts like a uniform grid in the graphics area to which wireframe entities or sketch handles are snapped.

• Distance - sets the unit spacing for the snap grid.
  
  
• Angle - sets the number of angle movements per increment when using snap increment.
  
  
• Scale - sets the incremented scale factor used when dragging to scale.

Text

• Windows Font - enables the Windows fonts for you to select a TrueType (.ttf) font from the font list.
  
  
• BobCAD Font - enables the BobCAD fonts for you to select a BobCAD (.fnt) font from the font list.
  
  
• Text Height - sets the default maximum size, along the Y Axis, of the text.
  
  
• Text Angle - sets the default angle, relative to the X Axis, of the text.
  
  
• Slant - sets the default angle of the characters of the BobCAD fonts. This does not apply to Windows fonts.
  
  
• Ratio - sets the default height to width ration (X:Y) of the text size for the BobCAD fonts. This does not apply to Windows fonts.
  
  
• Vectorize Text - sets the default accuracy used when creating vectorized text.

Point Style

The Point Styles group control how points that are created are displayed in the graphics area. Select one of the options, as shown, to define the point style used.

• Point Size - sets the size of the points that are displayed in the graphics area.
  
  

Text

• Windows Font - enables the Windows fonts for you to select a TrueType (.ttf) font from the font list.
  
  
• BobCAD Font - enables the BobCAD fonts for you to select a BobCAD (.fnt) font from the font list.
  
  
• Text Height - sets the default maximum size, along the Y Axis, of the text.

Dimension Value

• Decimals - sets the number of decimal digits displayed.
  
  
• Scale - sets the scale or the ration of the actual measured dimension, to what dimension is displayed int he graphics area. A value of 0.5 creates dimensions that are half of the actual measure value.
  
  
• Extra Zeroes
  
  - With this check box cleared, trailing zeros are not used. As an example, if a value of four is used for the Decimals option, a dimension of 1.1 would appear as 1.1 in the graphics area.
  - With this check box selected, trailing zeros are used. As an example, if a value of four is used for the Decimals option, a dimension of 1.1 would appear as 1.1000 in the graphics area.
  
  

Tolerance

None - No tolerance value will be displayed with the dimension. Single - allows you to enter one specific tolerance. The + or - display in front of the tolerance will be determined by the number entered by the user. Symmetric - allows you to enter one tolerance value to be displayed with the +/- symbol in front of the single tolerance. Custom - allows you to enter two specific tolerances. If a negative value is needed, it must be typed into the text field, otherwise + will be used.

• Tolerance 1 - sets the first tolerance value that is displayed with dimensions when Single or Symmetric is used.
  
  
• Tolerance 2 - sets the second tolerance value that is displayed with dimensions when Custom is used.
  
  
• Decimals - sets the number of decimal digits displayed.
  
  
• Extra Zeroes
  
  - With this check box cleared, trailing zeros are not used. As an example, if a value of four is used for the Decimals option, a dimension of 1.1 would appear as 1.1 in the graphics area.
  - With this check box selected, trailing zeros are used. As an example, if a value of four is used for the Decimals option, a dimension of 1.1 would appear as 1.1000 in the graphics area.
  
  

Witness Lines

• Extension - sets the distance that the witness lines extend past the leader line.
  
  
• Distance from Geometry - sets the distance between the witness lines and the dimensioned entities.

Dimension Line Text

• Spacing On - sets the distance between the dimension text and the beginning of the leader line.
  
  
• Distance from - sets the distance between the bottom of the dimension text and the leader line.

Styles

• Left - sets the style used for the left arrow dimension.
  
  
• Right - sets the style used for the right arrow dimension.
  
  
• Length - sets the length (height) of the arrows used.
  
  
• Width - sets the width of the dimension used.

Parameters

• In/Out - Select one of the options, as shown, to define whether the arrows for dimensions appear on the inside or outside of the witness lines.
  
  
• Position - Select one of the options, as shown, to define position and number of the arrows used.
  
  
• Leaders - Select one of the options, as shown, to define the position and number of leader lines used.
  
  
• Outside Arrow Leader - sets how far past the end of the arrow the leader lines extend when the arrows are set to display on the outside of the witness lines.

CAM Tolerance

• 2 Axis - sets the tolerance used for 2 Axis features.
  
  
• 3 Axis - sets the tolerance used for 3 Axis features.
  
  
• Lathe - sets the tolerance used for Lathe features.
  
  
• Spline facet - sets the tolerance for spline creation or how far away the resulting entities can be from the mathematically correct spline, when spline entities are broken into lines and arcs for machining.
  

Simulation Tolerance

• Workpiece Mesh Tolerance - sets the tolerance used for generating the STL for simulation for the workpiece.
  
  
• Fixture Mesh Tolerance - sets the tolerance used for generating the STL for simulation for the fixture.
  

Default Machining Order

This group will allow you to set the Default Machining Order for each job type. For Milling Job, Turning Job, Mill Turn Job, and Wire EDM Job, choose one of the following options: 

• Individual Feature
  
  
  • Milling / Mill Turn / Turning
    
    When selecting Individual Feature, all operations are performed for each feature before moving on to the next feature. This method does complete all possible operations with each tool before making a tool change as in Individual Tool, but it does not complete similar operations with the same tool across multiple features. This method is useful when one feature operation must remove stock material before the next feature operation can start.
    
    
  • Wire EDM
    
    When selecting Individual Feature, all operations are performed for each feature before moving on to the next feature. The posting order is the same as the order in the CAM Tree. If you want to reorder the operations contained within a single feature, edit the feature, and then return to the Machining Order.
    
    
• Individual Tool Per Machine Setup / By Operation Type
  
  
  • Milling / Mill Turn / Turning (Individual Tool Per Machine Setup)
    
    When selecting Individual Tool Per Machine Setup, the Machining Order is optimized in a manner similar to Individual Tool. The difference is that each possible operation for each tool is performed, before a tool change, across all features contained in a Machine Setup group. This method is useful when using a different Machine Setup for each side of a part.
    
    
  • Wire EDM (By Operation Type)
    
    The By Operation Type optimization posts the program by completing all similar operations (across all features) before moving on to the next type of operation. For example, all Rough Cut operations first, all Skim Cuts operations second, and all Tab Cut operations last.
    
    
• Individual Tool / By Pass Sequence
  
  
  • Milling / Mill Turn / Turning (Individual Tool)
    
    When selecting Individual Tool, the Machining Order is optimized by completing all possible operations with each tool before changing the tool and moving on to the next operation. This is done across all features to reduce the number of tool changes. This method is useful, for example, when drilling operations of different sizes are performed with multiple drilling features. All center drill holes are drilled before changing the tool. Then all drill holes of the same size are drilled before the next tool change. This process is repeated until all features are completed.
    
    
  • Wire EDM (By Pass Sequence) 
    
    The By Pass Sequence optimization is similar to By Operation Type except that this option provides further control over all passes, meaning the Skim Cut operations. Skim Cut operations can contain one or more passes, which can be changed using this optimization type.
    

Default Tool Numbering

This group allows you to set the default setting for the Use automatic tool numbering option in the Tool Crib and Assigned Tools dialog for milling and turning jobs. For each job type, choose between: 

• Automatic Tool Numbering - The Use automatic tool number option in the Tool Crib and Assigned Tools dialog is selected for new jobs. Tools are numbered sequentially as they are added to the Tool Crib.
  
  
• Manual Tool Numbering - The Use automatic tool number option in the Tool Crib and Assigned Tools dialog is cleared for new jobs. Tool numbers are read from the Tool Library. Tools added which do not exist in the library are then numbered sequentially beginning with the lowest tool number not currently existing in the Tool Crib.