[msomerville]

I have been tying to get myself up to speed with Gibbscam and I've noticed when using some of the surfacing tools I get toolpaths that are not broken into short enough line segments. That in turn leaves me with a toolpath that looks choppy. I notice in the surfacing tab I can modify a lace cut toolpath to a smooth profile, but on all of the other options this tab is greyed out. Even in the advanced machining process I can't seem to locate an adjustment. Anyone have any suggestions?

[cadman]

Are the actual parts faceted, or just when rendering the toolpaths?

The default Spline Machining Tolerance is .001. You should change it to .0005-.0001. I leave it at .0001.

There are a lot of settings to experiment with in the Advance 3d toolpaths.

The default settings in Flash CPR are .0015 for both the Cut Part Chord Height & Body Chord Height. I set them at .0005, change the Steps per Update to 1 and adjust from there depending on toolpath complexity.

The same settings for Simulation are .01, rather coarse, and Multi Axis Rendering is not enabled. I set them at .001 and enable Multi Axis Rendering. I normally only use Simulation when doing 4 & 5 axis programming, so rendering speed is more of an issue here and .001 is a good starting point. The Multi Axis Rendering option does a good job of accurate rendering, so you don't need to be so tight here on the settings.

[msomerville]

The parts does look a little bit choppy when zoomed in really close, but it shouldn't be faceted.

In the sufacing process I have the smoothed line segments set to .0001, but I didn't have the Nurbs set to .0001

Could Nurbs setting effect the toolpath when smoothed line segments is chosen?

You say the default spline machining tolerance. Are you talking about the smoothed line segments?

Could you elaborate on your Flash CPR comment? You kind of lost me there.

Thank you for your help. Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I left work at work this last weekend.

[Ryan Jagoda]

Could you elaborate on your Flash CPR comment? You kind of lost me there.

What he is saying is that Gibbs will by default render images in a sort of sharp, blocky way. It saves processing time by not smoothing every line. If you adjust your settings to lower numbers the image will appear smoother, but take longer to render.

[msomerville]

Ok. I was looking for that setting when I was working with some smaller parts. The rougher resolution wouldn't have anything to do with the toolpath right?

[txcncman]

Is the actual finished machined part choppy/faceted? Or is just the rendering in GibbsCam appear choppy/faceted?

[Ryan Jagoda]

The rougher resolution wouldn't have anything to do with the toolpath right?

Nothing at all. It's strictly a tool to help your video card/processor work a little easier.

As for your facet problem, it has been some time since I took the surfacing class and my current company does not have the module (99% turning work here), but here are a few things you can try:

Turn on Flash CPR and right-click the render menu. There should be an option called "Analyze Cut Part" about halfway down. You can then select an option to show gouges or remaining material.

It's hard to guess at your geometry, but it sounds pretty curvaceous... have you tried a 2-curve flow and synced your points?

Again, I have not used the surfacing module in over a year, so I am throwing out suggestions based on my notes. Also, going forward from TXMan's question, if you have not physically cut anything yet, I would suggest a trial piece to see if the facets are real or perceived.

[msomerville]

Is the actual finished machined part choppy/faceted? Or is just the rendering in GibbsCam appear choppy/faceted?

Yes, the machined part is choppy/faceted. Too bad it wasn't just in the rendering. I could live with that!

[msomerville]

Thanks for the suggestions Ryan. I have not tried the 2 curve flow. I have tried about everything else from the advanced machining process and the surfacing process. I will read up on the 2-curve flow as I didn't try that because it wouldn't allow me to "do it".
I am waiting on my training for Gibbs, but this job can't wait for that of course.

[cadman]

Yes, the machined part is choppy/faceted. Too bad it wasn't just in the rendering. I could live with that!

Tighten your Spline Machining Tolerance. Its in the Preferences menu on the Machining Prefs tab.

Also, if you have "Use Global Settings For Solids" enabled, you'll notice the default settings here are .005 for everything except for Fixture Clearance. Either disable it or change the Part Finish Tolerance to something smaller.

[msomerville]

Tighten your Spline Machining Tolerance. Its in the Preferences menu on the Machining Prefs tab.

Also, if you have "Use Global Settings For Solids" enabled, you'll notice the default settings here are .005 for everything except for Fixture Clearance. Either disable it or change the Part Finish Tolerance to something smaller.

Excellent advice Cadman. I did have those global finish setting still set at .005

I changed it to .0003 and have had good results since. I did lower this all the way to .0001 but the toolpath started to look eratic. I don't know why, but when I bumped it up to .0003 it went away.

Thank you for allowing my newbieness to shine through.