[WOTDesigns]

I spent all night trying to select this face for machining. it is just the first step in the machining process but I figured out that if I draw the part in the order it will be machined and hide later features it made it easier to select surfaces that would exist when they are to be machined.

this face I have done in cambam befor by drawing a box around it and doing a pocket. its just a .056 boss left, but I can't figure out how to explain that to MC4SW. if I select the chain on the face it only pockets inside or if I deselect machine as open have and machine closed chains regular- it does overhang the edges like I want but it does all 4.

it seems like I'm just not selecting the right item(s). I tried the vertical face, the intersection line (this was closest but still wrong), tried face milling just to get the part made but it kept going on the X which would cut off the face too. I tried the three edges which over hung the boss... so it seems easy, but out of reach



I think I could do this by adding stock to the end opposite the boss and selecting those two edges, but I'm thinking thats going through d,e&f to get from a to b.

[WOTDesigns]

befor leaving this morning I selecting the line at the vertical face and the opposite edge and the open pocket worked as expected on the two open sides, but I would like to know how to do all three. in reality I only NEED what I figured out this morning, but would like to know how to do three sides open

[Rstewart]

First: place Curves onto solid edges if you already haven't.

Toolpath Contour

Chain the horizontal line that runs along the base of the "step" starting from the Y+ direction towards datum. This will give you a Climb cut.

Pick your tool (I'd use a facemill) we will use a 2"....

Use multi-pass option: 2 or 3 rough passes followed by 1 finish pass at your specified amount.

Set your lead in/out

Set your retract height and the depth(should already be correct).

GoodLuck!

[WOTDesigns]

First: place Curves onto solid edges if you already haven't.

Toolpath Contour

Chain the horizontal line that runs along the base of the "step" starting from the Y+ direction towards datum. This will give you a Climb cut.

Pick your tool (I'd use a facemill) we will use a 2"....

Use multi-pass option: 2 or 3 rough passes followed by 1 finish pass at your specified amount.

Set your lead in/out

Set your retract height and the depth(should already be correct).

GoodLuck!

place curves into solid edges??? no comprende.

do you mean sketch curves over the edges of the part? I don't understand what you mean, how to do it, or why ???

I understand using contour with a larger tool and running it along the vertical (thank you-this had not occurred to me).

that would work for the picture I posted, but the ops will be x formed into 6x wide which would prevent me from doing that as it would cut the next boss off.

for this part I'm going to add my extra space for cutoff to the low end of this part so I cam do a pocket with two open sides then use a 1/8 F EM to reduce the cutoff area on each of the 4 sides.

I'm really just cutouts if its possible to define a open pocket with 3 open sides

[Rstewart]

First of all Its Not a pocket at all, It's an Island.

Top of the screen in MC:

Create > Curve > Curve on one edge or All Edges > select the line or the solid body to place "chain-able" geometry on your solid.

[WOTDesigns]

:: lightbulb::

I'm looking at it bass ackwards then.

I'm using the plug in for SolidWorks so the parts are already chainable. I opened the demo of MC stand alone last night and have a manual for the stand alone, but only tutorials for the plug in. I need to get the manual for the plug in so I can RTFM.

I am designing it wrong I think. perhaps I should just linear copy all 6 in SW so I can use open pocket between the islands. My brain is still thinking in simple CamBam-manually-draw-over-every-op-to-trick-it-into-"seeing"-the-feature-mode.

[cadcam]

I sure wish I could see the picture of the part as it not showing up.
Can you share your file?

[WOTDesigns]

try this link.

http://www.imgur.com/NfZLE.jpg


I had it all wrong anyways. if I cut over the end it would cut into the next part anyways. need to re do the sw part using subtractive designing so I can linear copy then hide layers to have all of the geometry to go off of.

frustrated that the MC course at my jc was full. it was the only reason I enrolled, but I'm hoping I can stumble through till next semester.

[cadcam]

To bad Anahime is so far from Magic Mountain I have two class getting ready to start Advance and Begenning.

[cadcam]

Ok that would be a simple contour path.
Use contour on the chaining page go to solid selection then use edge and then off to the Paramaters page to set how many step overs and so on.
What version are you running?

[WOTDesigns]

maybe time to set up an OC class

its funny that I've learned everything else on my own via internet/books (sw, machining, building cnc) but mastercam is giving me a run for my money. I do think I have the right idea now of using the finished finished CNCd part to CAM from and spend lots of time verifying and editing.

I thought the book I bought would pertain to the plug in more than it does, but I'll just order all of the training materials for the plug in.

perhaps it was a blessing since my customer who is letting me use his computer has no intentions of getting the stand alone since he already bought this and lost the programmer that "needed" it.

[WOTDesigns]

its x5 for SW running in SW08

[cadcam]

Ok so what you need from me is to load my MC for Solid works and make a sample file for you and send it to you.
You are running SW08 well thaqt might thro a wrench in that. I have )9 and 11 on my testing computer so you will not beable open my file. I guess I can make a video copy of it so you can at least see. Let me see if I can dig some time up soon to do it. I have one other help file in front of you from another guy on this forum.

[WOTDesigns]

I'm not sure I'm proficient enough yet to benefit from a sample as much as I would a video, BUT I think your efforts would be in vain since I so poorly represented what I am trying to do (because I didn't actually know what I was trying to do)

I will provide a better part/picture tonight even though I'm pretty sure I know what I should do now.

[WOTDesigns]

first the answer to my original question: you don't. you draw a sketch around the 3 sides with one edge contained on the remaining face.

wow. no wonder my question made no sense- I was trying to select geometry that doesn't exist.

I discovered eapprentice.net yesterday and signed up the moment I got home. I watched a dry run (didn't make the part) of the first section on MC4SW and had to stop and email then a thank you in the second video for the tips they mentioned FOR SOLIDWORKS before I ever got to MC.

I feel like I'm stealing because I only paid $25 for the first month so far and it has already saved me countless hours just in design time.

the beginner program is definitely is designed for complete noobs like me to start from scratch and I'm blown away at how well it is set up. there are much more advanced topics and areas that are beyond me right now but after watching the beginner section I re made my part and solved my issues in about 12 nineties and had functional tool paths.

what I needed to do was create a new sketch on the part top, select the edges of the pocket bottom, convert entities (didn't even know how that worked), then add the rest of my pocket to the sketch and distance the edges outside the part to cut the stock that would remain in the"corners".

it was that easy. I just had no idea how to do it. lots more to figure out but that got me jump started and definitely was inspiring.


http://www.imgur.com/97ytT.jpg


http://www.imgur.com/6UXdW.jpg

still need to play with the tool paths, but at least I know it works.


http://www.imgur.com/OyO2W.jpg

[Derek Goodwin]

I discovered eapprentice.net yesterday and signed up the moment I got home

Thanks for the positive feedback priddy, it is people like you who help us build the user base, and the more users we have, the faster we can create great content and provide it at the right price.

Thanks,
Derek

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