The Operations Manager
Introduction
This topic will explain what an operation is, what the Operation Tree and Tool Tree are, and where to find them.
Operations
Operations are the building blocks of features. While certain features can utilize many tools to complete them, each of those tools is controlled by a single operation.
The Operations Manager
The purpose of the Operations Manager is to provide a way to keep your tooling and output organized. Layers can be hidden to only show certain aspects of a drawing, or you can place different versions of the same part on separate layers. The Layers Manager can be used to specify a particular color and line style to use for each layer, and you can also select all the geometry on a given layer for use with other CAD functions or CAM features.
Navigation
The default location of the Operations Manager is the left-hand side of the user interface. When the pane is docked with other Managers, as is the case by default, clicking the Operations tab will access the Operations Manager.
The Operation Tree
The purpose of the Operation Tree is to provide a way to keep the output of your operations organized by allowing you to see all of your jobs, their machine setups, and the operations in those setups in a single list, in the order they will be output.
To find out more about the Operation Tree, see The Operation Tree topic.
The Tool Tree
The purpose of the Tool Tree is to provide a way to keep your tooling for the current jobs organized. Whether or not each tool in the Tool Cribs of the file is used by an operation, every tool is shown in the Tool Tree. Any tool used in an operation will least each of the operations it is utilized by. Tools in the Tool Tree can be replaced, can have operations that utilize them updated, can have their operations recomputed, and can be posted.
To find out more about the Tool Tree, see The Tool Tree topic.
