Reading the CAM Tree Example

Introduction

The purpose of this example is explain how to read the icons found in the CAM Tree and explain what they can tell you about the features and operations.

Example

In this example, we will look at a collapsed version of the following feature.

 

Part 1) The Geometry Warning

 

1. While looking at the items in our CAM Tree, we notice our Feature 2 Axis item has an exclamation point in front of the standard 2 Axis Feature icon.
   
   Click the icon to expand the feature.

 

 

2. Below the main feature item we can see the next two items do not show a warning, and do not have a red plus symbol () in front of them.
   
   This tells us the feature has had geometry assigned to it, and that the geometry that has been assigned has not been altered.
   
   Notice the Pocket operation does have an exclamation point in front of it, and it is the only operation that has this warning.
   
   We can tell this is where the geometry issue is, so click the icon to expand the operation.
   
   

3. With the Pocket operation expanded, we can see the Drill Tip Position is the only item under the operation.
   
   Since this is the only geometry item associated with the pocket operation specifically, and since we can see a warning on its icon as well, we know two things: 
   
   
   1. Specific geometry had been assigned to the drill tip position which would define where the pocket operation should begin.
      
      
   2. The geometry that had been assigned has been altered in some way.
      

Part 2) Correcting the Geometry

Clearing the geometry error warning can be accomplished in several different ways depending on our intentions: 

• Simply right-click the Drill Tip Position item and select Remove to allow the operation to begin at its default position.
  
  
• If the geometry has been moved to a position it is intended to be used in, right-click the feature, select Update All Geometries, and recompute.
  
  
• If new geometry has been created to use in place of the old geometry, right-click Drill Tip Position and choose Re/Select.
  
  This opens the Pick a Point dialog to allow you to assign a new point to be used.
  
  You may then select the point, click OK, and recompute the feature.

Part 3) Locked Operations

 

1. Even without expanding this operation we can tell two things right away: 
   
   
   1. Since the name of the operation is black, we can see it has not been edited with the Edit Toolpath dialog.
      
      
   2. Since there is a lock in front of the operation, we can see that the user has specifically locked this operation from being changed.
      
      
2. Expand the Profile Rough operation.

 

 

3. With the operation expanded, we can see the Chain Start Point does not have a red plus symbol () in front of it.
   
   This tells us the original position of the Chain Start Point has been changed by the user, and the operation has been locked so the current toolpath for the operation cannot be changed if the operation is recomputed.
   
   Click the Profile Rough operation to highlight the toolpath in the graphics area, and click the Chain Start Point to highlight the chain in the graphics area.
   
   The lead-in of the toolpath, and the chain start point arrow of the chain will be in the same position unless the Chain Start Point has been modified after the operation was locked.
   
   
4. For this example we will assume the lead-in and the Chain Start Point are in the same location, but we wish to update the lead-in position.
   
   Right-click the Chain Start Point and select Modify.
   
   The Modify Start Point dialog appears.
   
   
5. Click, or click next to, the desired position of the start point.
   
   The location of the start point arrow updates in the graphics area.
   
   Click OK to confirm and close the dialog.
   
   
6. Right-click the feature and select Compute All Toolpath.
   
   Notice the toolpath does not change. This is because the operation is still locked.

Part 4) Unlocking Operations

1. Right-click Profile Rough and select Lock/Unlock Operation.

 

 

The lock icon disappears.

 

2. Right-click Profile Rough and select Compute Toolpath.
   
   The lead updates to the location of the Chain Start Point.

Part 5) Edited Toolpath

There are two things we can see without expanding this.

 

• The icon shown in front of the lock shows that this toolpath has been hidden.
  
  
• The red text in combination with the icon shows that this operation has been edited with the Edit Toolpath dialog, and that the operation has not yet been unlocked to allow for changes to the edit(s).
  
  

1. Expand the Profile Finish operation.

 

 

With the operation expanded we can see the Chain Start Point of the Profile Finish has a red plus symbol () in front of it.

This shows that the original Chain Start Point has not been modified, or it has since been returned to its default state.

 

2. Right-click the Profile Finish operation and select Lock/Unlock Operation.

 

 

The lock icon disappears.

This operation can now be recomputed which will reset and edits that were made using the Edit Toolpath dialog.

 

3. Right-click the Profile Finish operation and select Compute Toolpath.

 

 

The toolpath updates and the operation name changes to black text.

The operation is returned to the state dictated by the settings of the Mill 2 Axis Wizard.

 

4. Right-click the Profile Finish operation and select Blank/Unblank.
   
   The Blank icon disappears.

 

 

The Profile Finish operation toolpath will now be shown without the need to click on the operation.

 

Note: The red plus symbol () in front of the Chain Start Point is not necessarily a problem since there is a default chain start position that is always used. The only time the red plus symbol () would be an issue is for the main Geometry item of the feature since you must have geometry to compute a feature.

 

That concludes this example.