Tech Tuesday: Machining with Open Pocket Routine

Tech Tuesday is a weekly blog that addresses some of the most common questions and concerns that I hear throughout the previous week from users of BobCAD’s CNC software. Both customers and future customers are more than welcome to leave a comment on what they would like to see covered for the following Tech Tuesday.

This week, our technicians are creating a milling job in BobCAD-CAM V34 to create a sample part from aluminum stock. The machining will be done on our 3X milling machine that we have in-house that uses Mach3 software. We will be taking a look at one specific operation used to create this sample part. The operation we will be taking a look at today is the pocket operation to create the open pockets on the two sides of this sample part.

After the facing, inside pocket, profile, and chamfer operations, the next operation is the pocket operation for the outside pockets. The brand new Detect open edge option allows you to control how open edges on selected surface geometry are handled. In the past, features would create a toolpath which brought the tool up to the edge without going over whether the geometry had open edges or not. In order to move the tool over open edges, wireframe geometry had to be created and selected to guide the tool over edges. To do this, you needed to extract wireframe from the surfaces of the pockets. Then, you needed to modify the wireframe by making the openings of the pockets into dashed lines.

Now, with the new Detect Open Edges option in the Mill 2 Axis Feature Geometry Picking dialog, simply select the check box to get the tool to move over the open edges, or keep it cleared to keep the tool from crossing those edges. Just another option to save you even more time!

The example shown is the new geometry selection for the Detect Open Edges option. By selecting the floor surface of the open pocket, BobCAD can now detect the open areas of that pocket. Before, you would have to extract the edges of the surface to become wireframe, then modify the lines of the open pocket to dashed lines for BobCAD to understand where the opening was. No need for all of those steps anymore. Now you just need to select the floor surfaces to be machined, and check the box to Detect Open Edges in the Data Entry window.

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BobCAD-CAM has provided CAD-CAM CNC Software products to the global manufacturing industry for over 30 years. BobCAD-CAM software can be found to increase CNC productivity for many applications in aerospace, automotive, production manufacturing, mold making, general machining, woodworking as well as the medical manufacturing industry, consumer products, musical instruments, custom fabrication, defense industry and many others due to the products ability to automatically generate NC programming code for such a wide variety of CNC controllers. BobCAD-CAM software is also found in educational institutions throughout the world as well as independent hobby home use. Products include machining technology for 2, 3, 4 & 5 Axis CNC Milling, Routing, Waterjet, Plasma and Laser machines as well as 2 Axis CNC Lathe. BobCAD-CAM is modular allowing shops to start off at a reduced technology level and add technology as it is needed including an add-on, BobART, for artistic machining. Unique technology includes adaptive high-speed machining multiaxis milling and routing which is a first in the world of CAD-CAM software. BobCAD-CAM also provides a variety of quality training products that include regional and online training classes or private sessions tailored to specific applications. Professional certification and multi-tiered support solutions are available. Contact BobCAD-CAM directly for more information at 877-262-2231 or 727-442-3554

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