CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
March 2006
Events News
Mastercam's New High Speed Toolpaths
The EASTEC show ushers in the latest CAD/CAM software from CNC Software Inc. Mastercam X's Maintenance Release (MR1) will be showcased in booth # 5527 at the Big E Fairgrounds in West Springfield, MA on May 23-25. Seven new toolpaths (2 roughing and 5 finishing) have been incorporated into the MR1 release, and include a new interface for toolpath creation. These new toolpath types are tailored to high speed machining and hardmilling. They offer a smooth cutting motion along with smooth entry/exits.
Core Roughing - A new strategy for Mastercam that is designed for core machining. The toolpath intelligently cuts the part from the outside in, and always climb cuts, reducing the risk of damaging specialty insert cutters. The toolpath changes its cutting method to inside out when internal pockets are encountered. This minimizes the need for helical ramping or full-width cutting.
Area Clearance - A new strategy for Mastercam designed for cavity machining. Similar to Core Roughing, it uses Z slices through the model at different depths. Area Clearance is designed for clearing large amounts of material starting from the center of the part and working outwards.
Waterline - Also generated from a set of constant Z slices, this toolpath is best suited for semi-finishing and finishing. Waterline has an automatic smooth entry/exit calculation and provides smooth transitions from one Z level to the next.
Scallop - Generates 3D passes at a constant distance from each other along the surface of the part, starting from the outside and working in. This toolpath lets the user control the scallop height, allowing for very smooth finishes.
Horizontal Area - Automatically recognizes and machines flat areas. This toolpath shows off the "minimum distance" retract motion (which is also available in all other high speed toolpaths) to avoid the part while moving from region to region.
Raster - Similar to parallel machining with the added benefit of smoothing sharp corners in the toolpath motion. Features like toolpath filleting optimize the toolpath for smooth motion, which is available in Raster and other high speed toolpaths.
Pencil - Newly enhanced, Pencil identifies all the "seams" of a part and develops a toolpath along those seams. Additional cuts can be added that are offset from the initial pass. The Pencil toolpath conforms to the shape of the part, creating a superior surface finish.
These toolpaths are tailored to high speed machining and hardmilling by offering smooth cutting motions and smooth entry/exits. They are also useful for many applications by offering several cutting styles, the ability to change the cutting style, and having controls like steep/shallow angle limits, rest passes, and holder gouge checking. For more information, please visit http://www.mastercam.com .
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